"Strengthen youth resilience and leadership while preventing suicide through mentorship, community support, and early crisis intervention."
Four-Pillar Dual-Population Ecosystem · 14 Modules · Colorado Springs, CO
Transitioning service members who mentor youth, build civilian careers, and support each other through Buddy Backup. Mentors and participants simultaneously.
At-risk and high-potential young people who receive structured mentorship, leadership development, and real-world career exposure through FOB cohorts.
Local business owners who actively mentor both veterans and youth and host apprenticeship placements. Active participants — not passive sponsors or donors.
Veterans regain purpose. Youth gain direction. SMBs invest in their community. All three reduce suicide risk through belonging, purpose, and connection.
Veterans die by suicide every day — one every 80 minutes
Higher suicide rate for veterans vs. non-veteran U.S. adults (CDC)
Of veteran suicides involve veterans NOT enrolled in VA care
Tools for the veteran helping another veteran — until now
When veterans are in crisis, 20–30% reach out to peers first — only 10–15% contact a crisis line.
The peer is the intervention point. FOB gives that peer the tools.
High school students seriously considered suicide in the past year
High school students made a suicide plan in the past year
Of students in grades 9–12 attempted suicide at least once in the past 12 months
Of high school students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in the past year
Youth suicide rates rose 62% between 2007–2021 (ages 10–24). Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 10–34 and 3rd for high school students specifically.
CDC 2023 YRBS: strongest protective factors are a trusted adult outside the family, community belonging, structured activity, and a caring adult who has their back. That is exactly what FOB builds.
Sources: CDC YRBS 2023 · CDC MMWR Suppl. Oct 2024 (Verlenden et al.) · AFSP · SAMHSA NSDUH 2024 · CDC NCHS
Daily or near-daily engagement. Designed for transitioning veterans and youth not currently enrolled in school. High contact hours, fast relationship-building, accelerated pathway to SMB placement.
Veterans · Youth between school years · Young adults 18+ entering the workforce
Aligned with the academic semester. 2–3 hours per week. Same mentorship relationships, same SMB exposure, same Buddy Backup access — built around an existing school schedule.
High school students · Referrals from school counselors and extracurricular programs
Same mentors. Same SMB pipeline. Same Buddy Backup access. The track fits the participant’s life — not the other way around.
3 Modules
3 Modules
3 Modules
5 Modules
14 Total Modules · Dual-population: veterans + youth · SMB and nonprofit partner ready
Program Director: Jacob Johnston · Current operating entity: True North Data Strategies LLC
Translates military occupational skills to civilian job market language. Adapted for youth career pathway mapping and skills assessment at any experience level.
Veterans + YouthConnects veterans to DoD SkillBridge and DoL apprenticeship programs. Surfaces FOB SMB placements for youth participants in the cohort pipeline.
Veterans + YouthJob matching, income stabilization, and financial coaching for transitioning veterans and youth entering the workforce after cohort completion.
Veterans + YouthCoordinated across Pillars 1 and 2. Veterans and youth placed with local SMB partners based on skills fit — not age-restricted.
AI-powered federal proposal drafting for SDVOSB and veteran-owned businesses. Reduces govcon barriers for transitioning veterans pursuing federal contracts.
Veterans / SMBsSDVOSB tax credits, compliance tools, and financial reporting for veteran-owned businesses and SMB partners active in the FOB ecosystem.
Veterans / SMBsAI-matched grant and subsidy discovery for veteran entrepreneurs and small businesses participating in the FOB apprenticeship pipeline.
Veterans / SMBs"The SMB community is not a passive donor base. These tools keep them operational, compliant, and growing — which keeps them in the program as mentors and pipeline hosts."
Consent-based peer crisis escalation via Discord. Full grant/deny/revoke consent flow. AES-256-GCM encryption, 34 RLS policies, 988/VCL fallback. Deployed on Railway.
Compliance flag: youth-side deployment remains gated behind attorney review and platform compliance decisions before any expansion.
Veteran track deployed · Youth track: Phase 2Responder training, mentor onboarding, certification tracking, and peer support community infrastructure for both the veteran responder pool and the FOB mentor network.
Veterans + YouthTracks at-risk veteran status, outreach history, and intervention progress. Designed for coordinated entry workflows. A crisis outreach tool — not a housing admin tool.
VeteransVeteran: peer responder pool, 988 fallback. Youth: FOB mentors only, Program Director in escalation path, COPPA/minor compliance required before launch. No AI in crisis chain. Consent controls everything.
Centralized grant tracking, reporting automation, and compliance documentation for FOB and any approved partner-managed funding streams.
FOB AdminHIPAA, COPPA, FERPA, and state privacy compliance tooling. Critical given FOB serves minors and processes crisis escalation data.
FOB AdminMentor roster, background check tracking, training completion, cohort coverage scheduling, and Buddy Backup on-call rotation management.
FOB AdminDonation tracking, spending visibility, funding gap analysis, and partner-facing financial reporting for FOB operations.
FOB Admin+ Legal-Aid Integration & Document Vault — secure document management and benefits navigation for veterans across all program areas.
Participating SMB Partners
Participating SMBs get the proposal and contract-generation workflow while active in the program. Other modules can be purchased separately as operational support.
Current Funding Status
The website keeps the current structure explicit: FOB remains under True North Data Strategies LLC until a fiscal sponsorship agreement is executed.
"17 veterans die by suicide every day. 1 in 5 high school students considered it this year. When either population is in crisis, they don't call a hotline — they reach out to someone they trust.
Forward Operating Base builds that trust before the crisis happens. Veterans mentor youth. SMBs open doors. Youth find direction. Veterans find mission again.
Four pillars. 14 modules. Two populations. One outcome: nobody gets left behind."
Current operating entity: True North Data Strategies LLC · Colorado Springs, CO
Jacob Johnston · jacob@truenorthstrategyops.com · 719-204-6365