To create a well-known, local Veteran community where Veterans have a place to go to be creative in a therapeutic way, contributing to society with the support of the greater Veteran (EMT, Security, Fire Fighters, Nurses, and Police) community.

What We Do

Oregon has the highest rate of suicide among veterans in the nation; we are working tirelessly to change that. At Operation Spartan Flag, we offer a supportive, long-term network of veterans that come together in an innovative and creative way: woodworking.

Veterans come together to build and craft wooden American flags, shadow boxes, coin racks, specialty items, and much more. We use reclaimed wood from barns, fences, and pallets, upcycling in the best possible way. This gives Veterans who are struggling an opportunity to feel (and be) useful on a regular basis. Operation Spartan Flag offers another way for Veterans to connect on a deep and meaningful level outside of the more common use of firearms, hunting, and fishing.

Even more than a woodworking shop, this a place where Veterans can be with each other as brothers and sisters. They have created an environment where they feel free to talk to those who understand and relate. Woodworking provides an opportunity for these Veterans to be among like-minded people, while working on projects together or separately. Conversations don’t have to revolve around suicide, PTSD or specific Veteran issues. More than that, they become friends, confidants, and allies.

What is Operation Spartan Flag

There’s an old saying that if you’re a Spartan you either come back with your shield or your body on top of it. In the military realm some of us have come back with wounds that most people can’t see even though we came back with our shield. There’s the will to fight, but the fight is inside.

In Operation Spartan Flag we do more with less. That’s why we use reclaimed wood to create something new, beautiful, and useful. Similarly, we want service members that feel broken in some way to feel useful again, a rebirth.