501(c)3 NonProfit
Peer Group
The shared training, hardships, missions, and lifestyle of military and first responder service bring service men and women close together as a family type unit. Few civilian organizations or family members can replicate the level of camaraderie and belonging that one feels in the industry of serving and protecting others. Especially those in combat/front-line units.
SDIA provides a peer group of veteran military and first responders in the civilian community that becomes the service family for the separated soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine; and first responder from the law enforcement and/or fire & rescue community. We help bridge the gap from active duty military to a civilian community that can seem foreign when the tour of duty ends.

Continued Service to Society
The men and women who once served in the armed forces or public safety are often cut from the same cloth. They will always feel a desire and call to action helping their fellow citizen and community.
SDIA provides an outlet for these individuals to use their extensive training and natural desire to help in their civilian lives. It's a building block to the Peer Group, getting service members re-engaged and providing them with a sense of purpose again.
Helping is Healing
Veterans who experienced physical or emotional wounds in the service often feel alone and suffer through depression while trying to deal with the trauma by themselves. Add joblessness or a failed relationship to the equation, and the veteran can quickly find themselves in trouble beyond their ability to manage it.
SDIA’s Disaster Response Missions build upon the Peer Group and Continued Service blocks by helping wounded warriors see others who have lost everything in a natural disaster. By helping their fellow citizens, they themselves are healed in the process.
Transition Assistance
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The military experience is unique for both officer and enlisted members alike. The military has a high degree of structured activity, a clearly defined chain of command, standard operating procedures for nearly every task, and a clearly defined career path. The civilian world is much less structured, with job responsibilities and a promotion system less well defined, and no clearly recognizable rank system. Reporting seniors do not often have prior military experience, and simply can relate to the veteran. As a result, veterans frequently have a hard time adapting to the civilian job market.
SHEEP DOGS IN NEED
Team Building Activities
Veterans and first responders are accustomed to team building, group activities and thrive in that environment.
SDIA Team Building activities complete the Peer Group, Community Service, Helping Is Healing, and Transition Assistance building blocks of veteran re-integration. Our chapters host and support activities where members participate as a team. Our holiday programs require members to raise money for, and collect / distribute meals and toys for Sheep Dog families in need.
We participate in Warrior Dash and Spartan Runs carrying a flag dedicated to a hero among us. We participate in Memorial Day flag plantings at National Cemetery, and sponsor our Patriot Day event to both honor active duty Sheep Dogs and help communities interact with those who serve and protect.
