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The Board of Directors
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Christopher B. Wells
Colonel, U.S. Army, Special Forces, (Ret.)
Founder, President, and CEO
Headquarters, San Antonio, Texas
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Colonel Christopher B. Wells is a retired Special Forces officer, who served 32 years in the U.S. Army. He began his military career in 1989 as a Private in the Army Reserves, where he served as a Combat Support/Construction Engineer and worked his way up to the rank of Sergeant. After earning his Bachelors Degree from the Universtity of Texas at San Antonio and his commission as an Infantry Officer, he attended Ranger School and was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. Four years later, he attended the Military Intelligence Officers Transition Course to become an Intelligence Officer and then subsequently assigned to served with the 82nd Airborne Division.
After the events of 911, Chris was compelled to join Special Forces and to finally attain his lifelong dream of becoming a Green Beret. One year later, after graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course, then Captain Wells, was assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Initially, he was assigned as the Executive Officer for Bravo Company; later, he would command two Special Forces Operational Detachments - Alpha (ODAs 321 & 324), and then serve on the battalion staff as an Assistant Operations Officer. After promotion to Major, he was selected to become a battalion Operations Officer, and was given the daunting task of leading a 10-man activation detachment, whose purpose was to establish a completely new specialized battalion, the 4th Battalion for 3rd SFG. He took the newly formed battalion from a 10-man activation cell to a combat ready 427-man battalion. He then oversaw the battalion's inaugural deployment to Afghanistan, where it earned a respected standing in the Special Forces Regiment. Although Chris has a total of five combat tours to Afghanistan, it was in 2005, during his third deployment and because of the Battle of Syachow, where he earned our nation's third highest award for Valor, the Silver Star. Given his proven leadership ability and experience, he was again hand selected to serve as the Delta Company Commander for the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School. This school oversees the world renowned Unconventional Warfare culmination exercise known as "Robin Sage", the final test for all Special Forces candidates. After company command, he went on to serve at the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in Tampa, Florida, as the Chief of the Joint Special Operations Forces Academics Week (JSAW), which planned, organized, and oversaw the convention style gathering for up to 1,500 Special Operations Forces (SOF) from each of the major services who were designated to deploy to Afghanistan. The primary purpose of JSAW was to ensure all SOF were well versed and prepared to execute in a coordinated manner the new overarching SOF Strategy known as Village Stability Operations (VSO). After two years at SOCOM, he was again selected for battalion command. In 2014, he assumed command of the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion for the U.S. Army Pacific Command (USARPAC) at Fort Shafter in Hawaii. Post battalion command, he joined the Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC), where he served his final four years of his career deploying across the Pacific on various exercises and theater engagements.
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Colonel Wells' significant military awards and decorations include: The Silver Star, Five Bronze Stars, The Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Airborne Master Parachute Wings, Military Freefall Wings, Combat Infantrymen's Badge, Valorous Unit Awards, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, and various other awards. His operational deployments include: Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Thailand and the Philippines.
His civilian and military educations include: undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in Political Science and Masters Degree in International Military Affairs from the U.S. Air Forces' Air University in Montgomery, Alabama. He is formerly trained in Arabic and Pashtu and has a working knowledge of various other languages.
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Chris is married to his wife of 32 years, Karen Koch Wells. After retiring in 2021, they returned to San Antonio in their home state of Texas to start their planned travel years together. However, since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Chris felt compelled to establish the GBNT Group to assist our At-Risk Afghan Partners who are attempting to escape Taliban persecution. Although retired from active duty, Chris continues to embody the Special Forces motto,
"De Oppresso Liber!", translated to:
"Liberate the Oppressed!"
MAJ Grant McGregor
U.S. Army NG, Special Forces
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Vice President and Director of Operations
North Texas
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Grant McGregor is a Green Beret who served in the US Army, on active duty, for 10 years and is currently serving in the National Guard. Major McGregor was first commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2005. In his first assignment, he was the Support Platoon Leader for the 6th Regiment, 9thUS Cavalry based in Killeen, Texas. During that assignment he deployed to Iraq, both during and after the ‘Surge,’ and was part of the strategy shift from counter-guerilla to counterinsurgency focused warfare. Upon returning to Texas, he served as the Executive Officer for the newly established Warrior Transition Unit where he was responsible for ensuring wounded soldiers received the care they needed so that they could eventually return to their units or assist them in transitioning to careers outside the military.
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In 2008, Grant volunteered to attend the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course (SFAS). After selection, he entered Qualification Courser to complete his training and earn the coveted Green Beret. After language school, he was subsequently assigned to serve in the 1st Special Forces Group and was assigned to command a Special Forces Operational Detachments-Alpha (SFOD-A). After a successful team command, he thought it was a staff job that awaited him next but he was surprised to be given command of a second SFOD-A, this time a specialized Military Freefall Team. In all, he led his teams and on multiple deployments and several combat tours of duty to the Middle East and Asia including Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Korea, Thailand, India, and Malaysia. Post his team time, Grant was hand selected to oversee a Pacific Augmentation Team based in India on behalf of the Commanding General for Special Operations command Pacific (SOCPAC). Later, he went on to serve as the liaison to NATO Special Operations in Belgium.
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In 2015, Grant made the difficult decision to transition from active duty in order to become a business man but decided to continue his service as a Special Forces Officer in the Army National Guard. Once released from active duty, he established a thriving business and years later sold it and was subsequently hired by the buyer to oversee key aspects of the business's operations.
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MAJ Grant McGregor is a graduate of Whitworth University (where he earned a BA in International Business), University of Oregon (MBA), US Army Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course, US Army Ranger School, Captain’s Career Course, Special Forces Mountaineering, Military Freefall School, Airborne School. His significant awards include two Bronze Star Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Valorous Unit Awards, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, the Combat Infantryman Badge and various foreign awards and decorations.
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He currently works for a national home remodeling company leading the company’s Western United States business units. He lives in Oregon with his wife and three daughters where he spends his free time cheering on volleyball, softball and soccer.
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Mrs. Leah Fiddler
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Secretary of the Board and Administrative Advisor
(Volunteer)
Washington D.C.
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Leah Fiddler is the Visiting Fellow for Democracy and Human Rights at the DFR Lab’s Democracy + Tech Initiative. Her career has included roles at the White House, the National Security Council, Truman National Security’s Afghanistan evacuation operations center, Bono’s international advocacy organization, foreign policy roles on political campaigns, and academic research. Her expertise includes humanitarian and development assistance, global health and health crises, and democracy building. Leah has a demonstrated ability in leveraging policy, people, and process to address the most complicated foreign affairs and national security challenges.
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She was a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project; a Member of Foreign Policy for America’s NextGen initiative where she co-leads the Afghanistan and Development, Refugees, and Global Health working groups; and an alumni advisor to the University of Southern California. Currently, she serves as the Senior Analyst for Policy and Diplomacy and Deputy in charge of investigating US Government policy making, decision making, and diplomatic engagements during the United States' involvement in Afghanistan. She speaks French fluently and studied at Sciences Po Paris and at the Universities of Chicago, Southern California, Stanford, and Georgetown.
Although Leah has never been a military service member, she has been a God send to the GBNT Group. Her knowledge coupled with her experience and extensive network established over years of working in and around our Nation's Capital and abroad have made her an invaluable addition to the GBNT Group family. Her tenacity to run issues to ground, competence and results based mentality are the perfect characteristics that make her well suited for our team.
She embodies the Special Forces moniker, The Quiet Professionals, and is dedicated to our mission to Liberate the Oppressed!
Leah and her husband live in Washington D.C. They spends their free time enjoying our nation's capital with their beloved dog or traveling which is why Leah particularly enjoys learning various new languages