A former Coast Guard rescue boat, brought back into service and crewed by Special Operations veterans, out to put a number on a crisis: twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day. They set off July 25 chasing the outright Great Loop record, but a back injury ended the record bid early. Rather than quit, they kept going — and on Aug 22 they crossed their wake, completing the entire ~4,880-mile Great Loop for veteran suicide prevention.
🛰️ Live now on our tracking map — position, miles run and pace update every few minutes
Tracking now: with the onboard tracker down, the crew is tracking live via VesselFinder (AIS) ↗; our live map shows their latest fix.
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Veterans Crisis Line: call 988 then press 1, or text 838255
Freedom Fighter is the flagship project of Veterans Against Suicide, Inc., a nonprofit founded by retired Army Special Forces veteran David Skrzecz. The Great Loop run is built as a national awareness campaign: every mile is tied to the veterans lost each day, and the boat's route is meant to connect communities and mental-health resources along the way. The crew's official start and finish point is Grand Harbor Marina in Counce, Tennessee, where Freedom Fighter departed on Friday, July 25, 2026 at 1:45 p.m. CDT (1345).
"Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day, and too many of them die believing no one is coming."— David Skrzecz, founder, Veterans Against Suicide
| David Skrzecz Mission leader | Retired U.S. Army Special Forces, 23+ years, with deployments to Central and South America and Afghanistan. Served on a 7th Special Forces Group maritime operations team — navigation, vessel ops, coastal and riverine work. Grew up boating the Chesapeake Bay. Lives in Madison, Alabama, on the Tennessee River. |
| Michael "Buch" Bucher | U.S. Air Force Security Forces veteran, 20+ years, including 17 in Europe in law enforcement and security. Ran law enforcement, security and maritime operations for the Kwajalein Police Department at U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll. Based in Huntsville; boats the Tennessee River. |
| Vessel | Freedom Fighter — a 25-foot former U.S. Coast Guard SAFE Boat 25 Defender, the aluminum rescue/response hull, running completely stock and unmodified for this mission |
| Symbolism | A boat built for service, given a second life in service — the through-line of the whole campaign: "second chances, resilience, and continued service beyond the uniform" |
| Chasing | The outright record of 12d 18h 10m set by Lady Lor in 2025 |
This is the most heavily backed attempt of the 2026 season. Its "Mission Accelerator" founding partner is BAILOR, a Huntsville growth-strategy firm, alongside Honda Marine, SAFE Boats, BoatUS, Tatitlek, ASPI, Dry Creek Marine and Ditto Landing.
Freedom Fighter began its continuous record run from its official start/finish point at Grand Harbor Marina, Counce, Tennessee on July 25 at 1:45 p.m. CDT (1345 / 18:45 UTC) — the moment our tracker clock starts. They are tracked live on our map via their Nebo tracker. The departure point and time, the two-man crew and the completely stock SAFE Boat 25 Defender were confirmed directly by the boat's captain, David Skrzecz.