It is amazing what the Long Gray Line network can accomplish, especially on a global scale.In March 2020, Total Courage, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit comprised of former American soldiers and citizens dedicated to educating college and high school athletes with its “Winning with Character” curriculum, found itself as an organization without a mission. “When COVID hit, our client base disappeared,” says COL(R) Darryl “Dee” Daugherty, executive director and founder of Total Courage.
Enter LTC(R) Todd Scattini ’96. Through a mutual Army connection, Scattini learned of Daugherty and his work and helped add humanitarian relief and development to Total Courage’s overall mission just as COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. Around the same time, Scattini, who spent three and a half years on assignment in Slovenia, heard from a friend who used to be the deputy ambassador to the Republic of Georgia embassy about how the pandemic was devastating the Eurasian country. Upon hearing this, Scattini sought to mobilize his many contacts in the Balkan and Caucasus regions to combat the impact of COVID. Among the grads he contacted were COL Mike Tarquinto ’94, defense attaché to Bosnia, LTC Corey Shea ’97, Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in Bosnia, COL Stephanie Bagley ’98, the defense attaché to Georgia, and CPT (GAF) Giorgi Janjalia ’13, president of the West Point Society of Georgia, who brought even more grads into the fight. Scattini notes, “I was compelled to assist in the Republic of Georgia, as I observed their Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan while I was there from 2011-2012 in the CIG with General John Allen (USMC), ISAF Commander. The Georgians had a Brigade there. They were attacked one day in November 2011. They lost around 14 soldiers. The next week, instead of retreating, they sent another battalion to fill in the lines. I think it is important to recognize that bravery, and I hope to honor that here with our activity.” Read more.