
Operation Jawbreaker Fellowship Program
Building unity. Sharing our mission. Honoring all who served.

The Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation’s Jawbreaker Fellowship Program is named after Operation Jawbreaker, the deployment of CIA personnel on the ground in Afghanistan within fifteen days after September 11th, 2001. Led by CIA legend Gary Schroen, these bold heroes were the very first American personnel to deploy in the Global War on Terrorism.
Naming our fellowship program after Operation Jawbreaker honors the contributions which non-uniformed personnel have made in the Global War on Terrorism. It also conveys a unity between military and non-military personnel around our sole mission of building the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Fellowships are an important part of the Foundation’s lasting legacy. Even after our Memorial is built on the National Mall in Washington DC, our fellows will help raise awareness of the Global War on Terrorism, its heroes, and its lasting impact on our nation’s history.
“As the Foundation’s first Gold Star fellow, I can attest to how our Jawbreaker Fellowship roles serve as force multipliers in support of the mission. I am confident that our fellows will continue to build a community around the Foundation that will help the Memorial come to life.”
– Jennifer Ballou
GWOTMF Chief of Staff and former Gold Star Fellow
Our Fellows
Our fellows currently include our Gold Star Fellow, Gold Star Child Fellow, Uniformed Veteran Fellow and Non-uniformed Veteran Fellow. The Jawbreaker fellows support the Foundation in many ways, including:
Spreading our message
Connecting us to new allies in our mission
Uniting Americans around the purpose of the Memorial
Ganpat “Gunner” Wagh
Non-uniformed Veteran FellowMegan Taylor
Gold Star Child FellowStephen Ross
Gold Star FellowScott DeLuzio
Uniformed Veteran Fellow
“By naming our fellowship program in honor of the CIA-led Operation Jawbreaker, we pay tribute to the very first Americans deployed following the attacks of 9/11, thereby highlighting the past and continued contributions made by non-uniformed personnel in the Global War on Terrorism. Just as military and non-military participants have cooperated in fighting terrorism globally, so will our diverse fellows be united around the shared goal of building the most inclusive war Memorial in history.”
– Michael “Rod” Rodríguez
President and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation
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