BLUEMONT, Va., Aug. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation (WEODWF), the nation's only non-profit organization that provides financial assistance and resources to the families of EOD experts who have been injured in the line of duty, has announced the expansion of the Board of Directors with the addition of Robert M. Sehnert.
Mr. Sehnert is the Vice President and General Manager of Wabtec Global Services, a division of Wabtec Corporation based in Pittsburgh, PA. A 1991 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he transitioned from Naval Surface Warfare to the EOD community in 1995. He served as a Detachment Officer in Charge at Mobile Unit 11 in Whidbey Island from 1995-97, and as a Platoon Commander for the VSW Mine Countermeasures Unit in Coronado, CA from 1998-2000. He currently resides in McMurray, PA with his wife and three boys and maintains close ties to the Navy EOD community.
Mr. Sehnert joins nine fellow WEODWF Board Members, many of whom have a prior career in the military and specifically, the EOD joint service corps. Among them are Jeff Simons, Co-founder of WEODWF and 26-year combat veteran from the U.S. Navy EOD community; Sue C. Payton, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force; Frank Skinner, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps with a diverse EOD background; and, Adam Popp, a 12-year combat veteran of the U.S. Air Force and EOD Team Leader.
"I could not be more delighted to welcome Rob to this distinguished Board of Directors," said Ken Falke, chairman and founder of the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation. "IEDs remain the number one threat to our EOD forces on today's battlefields and the situation does not seem to be getting better. Our EOD forces place their lives on the line every day to make these IEDs safe and unfortunately we continue to have severe physical injuries in the community. Rob will be a tremendous champion of our mission to increase our community outreach and to expand our endowment so we can continue to support both physically and mentally wounded EOD warriors and their families, long after the war ends."
Last year, the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation issued over $350,000 in grants and assistance to over 60 families across the country; 56 of which were newly-injured EOD technicians that had just returned from Iraq and Afghanistan for medical treatment. They represented all four branches of the military. More than 7,000 men and women serve as EOD Technicians responsible for disarming, rendering safe and disposing of a variety of unexploded military ordnance and terrorist devices, normally called Improvised Explosive Devices or IEDs.
"The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation grants make a tremendous difference in easing some of the financial pressures these families face in meeting their day to day living expenses while their loved one is undergoing medical treatment," said Mr. Sehnert. "I wholeheartedly endorse this generous mission so we can assure all returning wounded EOD troops that financial support above and beyond what the government offers will be available to him or her without question."
Among the upcoming fundraising events for the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation is the 6th Annual Foundation Golf Tournament on September 14 in Fredericksburg, Virginia and the 2-Day Undefeated Bike Ride from Los Angeles to San Diego from October 6-7. To participate, donate money, contribute silent auction gifts or to sponsor, contact info@woundedeodwarrior.org
About the Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation
The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation, founded in 2007, is the only national, non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to the families of EOD experts who have been injured in the line of duty. With an endowment of more than $1 million, the foundation offers resources and monetary donations above and beyond the budgetary constraints of the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. A wide range of ongoing annual fund-raising events and programs take place across the country to raise awareness and donations from individual and corporate sponsors. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.woundedeodwarrior.org