The Warriors Choice Foundation

Darren LeMorta is a veteran of the United States Army  who served 20+ years.  Over the course of his service, Darren  was stationed in many different bases throughout the United States but spent most of his tenure at Fort Drum, NY.  Darren was an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division(11 Bravo).  He retired as an E-7 Sergeant First Class in 2015.  During his career with the US Army, Darren served multiple deployments around the world , including Egypt, Thailand, the Phillipines and Panama.  Darren also served three combat deployments to Iraq from 2005 to 2010.  Over that five year span,  Darren was deployed on combat missions over 33 months.  His deployments lasted anywhere from six months to twelve months with the longest lasting fifteen months.  During Darren's 2nd deployment, Darren's unit was involved with multiple IED explosions resulting in post concussion syndrome, a traumatic brain injury and the onset of severe PTSD.  These injuries have caused short term memory loss, headaches, vision issues, hearing loss and ringing in his ears.  These medical issues don't even begin to describe what Darren deals with on a daily basis with just the basic tasks of getting through the day. We hope with the help of all of our friends and family and all of their friends and family that we can return the favor to Darren and help him receive his custom service dog.          

Warriors Choice Foundation is a veteran run charitable organization providing free residential adaptive comprehensive programs and services addressing the unmet needs of returning OIF and OEF veterans. Warriors Choice also helps to educate veterans on government services and care for, returning veterans suffering from TBI, and PTSD.

The founder of Warriors Choice is Anthony Longo is a Combat Veteran who served multiple tours in Fallujah, Iraq while in the U.S. Marine Corps (former native of Scotia/Schenectady). Upon returning home, Anthony relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida and became a nationally registered Paramedic. He has deployed over 12 times to Afghanistan as a private contractor and during his time spent overseas, Anthony was awarded the Medal of Heroism (the third highest award to be given by the Department of State) for actions during an attack on a U.S. base in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

The Donations will help Darren LeMorta, who was selected through an application process to attend the Warriors Choice Training Program; ROESEC-K9 Solutions (Restoring, Opportunity & Enjoyment of Servicemen/Woman’s Emotional Confidence through (-) K9 Solutions) obtain a custom service dog.

Darren will be an active participant in helping shape the behaviors of his canine by learning the importance of classical and operant conditioning through the training of a Chicken. Once Darren has learned the fundamentals, Darren will finalize the remaining training that best suites his needs and his families needs while also enjoying sponsored events in South Florida with his new canine that only the Florida Sun can provide.