Urgent four-day suicide-prevention retreat answers the unit’s call for help after more than a dozen post-combat losses
2/3 Marines
Lake Havasu City, Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Independence Fund is reuniting nearly 100 Marines who served with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment for an urgent Operation Resilience retreat in Lake Havasu from August 13–16. This four-day suicide-prevention retreat will restore life-saving connections within a unit that survived devastating combat only to continue losing over a dozen more after returning home.
Known as 2/3 Marines, the battalion served in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush during Operation Red Wings and Operation Whalers and completed multiple deployments to Iraq’s Anbar Province from 2004 to 2008. Across these campaigns, the battalion sustained 27 killed in action. Since leaving combat, the unit has lost more than a dozen additional men, including a Veteran lost as recently as July 2026. Each new loss reinforces the urgency of reconnecting the heroes who still carry the weight of their shared service.
Members of 2/3 Marines had begun planning a reunion in the hopes of bringing each other closer together, but their numbers were small. They contacted The Independence Fund for help, and the organization answered the call by expanding the gathering into a full Operation Resilience retreat focused on suicide prevention and continuous support.
“When the Marines of 2/3 told The Independence Fund that their brothers needed help, the answer was immediate: The Independence Fund would stand with them,” said Doug Ackerman, Chief Operating Officer of The Independence Fund. “Operation Resilience is bringing them back together now because the bonds forged in service can become a lifeline when Veterans need one most.”
Throughout the retreat, participants will work to rebuild the bonds they forged in battle, with the only people who truly know their story. These bonds, with the help of clinical support, are proven to fight suicide long after the retreat, according to research by Dr. Keita Franklin, who offers therapy at each retreat.
Since 2019, The Independence Fund has served more than 850 Veterans from over a dozen units through Operation Resilience. The program recognizes that when Veterans reconnect and rebuild trusted peer networks, the impact extends to spouses, children, parents, friends, and entire communities.
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENCE FUND
Founded in the halls of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, The Independence Fund is a national nonprofit serving wounded, ill, and injured Veterans, Caregivers, families, and wartime Allies with unmet needs. Through programs addressing mobility, Caregiver and family support, suicide prevention, food insecurity, advocacy, and casework, The Independence Fund works to restore independence and strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual health. The organization is known for its flagship Mobility Program, which has provided more than 2,750 all-terrain trackchairs to catastrophically wounded Veterans.
ABOUT OPERATION RESILIENCE
Operation Resilience is The Independence Fund’s unit-based suicide-prevention program for post-9/11 Veterans. The program reunites military units that endured traumatic combat experiences and significant losses, drawing on the bonds formed in service to rebuild communication, restore connectedness, strengthen peer support, and reduce isolation. Retreats combine reunion, resiliency education, physical and restorative activities, resource navigation, and continued follow-up support.
Attachment
- 2/3 Marines
CONTACT: Katie Koenig The Indepedence Fund 7047125380 [email protected]
