#178: Going Where Government Can’t - Grey Bull Rescue Founder Bryan Stern

Americans are valuable commodities. America’s adversaries know it and too often, when given the opportunity, our enemies kidnap, arrest and hold hostage Americans in an effort to get what they want.

The United States Government maintains robust diplomatic and military programs to bring Americans home; but the process is often slow and bureaucratic. Bryan Stern isn’t waiting around for permission to act. He’s the founder of Grey Bull Rescue, a nonprofit that specializes in pulling people out of the worst situations on Earth including conflict zones, collapsed governments, and failed evacuations where no one else is coming. Since its founding, Grey Bull has led over 700 missions in more than 70 countries, rescuing thousands of Americans and allies left behind.

From SOF Week 2025 Fran Racioppi sat down with Bryan to talk about what it means to lead through chaos. They broke down the rescue of 117 Americans from Afghanistan in 2021, how Grey Bull makes life-and-death decisions with limited information, and why Bryan believes the phrase “No American Left Behind” isn’t negotiable; for the government or its citizens.

We also discussed the future of rescue operations. As global instability increases and our enemies get smarter, the need for fast, precise, off-grid capability is only going up. Grey Bull is filling a gap where the government can't move fast enough and showing what’s possible when the mission comes first.

This episode is about courage, clarity, and acting when no one else can. Because leadership under pressure means getting the job done, no matter how impossible it looks.

Highlights

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:57 Welcome to SOF Week 2025
• 3:58 The Mission of Grey Bull Rescue
• 8:03 How do you choose who to rescue?
• 11:48 Government Entities Relationships
• 15:56 Founding Grey Bull Rescue
• 25:03 Making Bad Deals
• 32:45 Finding The Next Battlefield
• 47:21 Overcoming Fears of Taking Action

Quotes

• “Our mission is to rescue Americans and allies from denied areas, war zones, and natural disasters wherever the government is not.”
• “I answer to two people and two people only: God and the families of the people we’re trying to rescue.”
• "Bureaucracy doesn’t bleed. People do.”
• “I deploy knowing that the first idea I have I know will fail.”
• “I’m not trying to be in the way. I’m trying to help.”
• “I live every day like it’s September 12th.”
• “As an American, we move heaven and earth to get your back.”
• “We have never successfully negotiated with anyone.”
• “Right now, everyone should be deployed.”
• “We got the tools. We just have to think about the problems the right way.”

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health & Performance, providing our Veterans world-class education and training as fitness and nutrition entrepreneurs.

Our SOF Week 2025 Series is made possible in part by Accrete.ai; solving business’s most complex challenges today through the technology of tomorrow.

Follow the Jedburgh Podcast and the Green Beret Foundation on social media. Listen on your favorite podcast platform, read on our website, and watch the full video version on YouTube as we show why America must continue to lead from the front, no matter the challenge.

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The opinions presented on The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of my guests and myself. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy, nor does the Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.