Navy Veteran Creates Healing for Others: Inclusive Leader Award Winner for Nonprofit, Ken Falke
Ken Falke's story is truly inspirational as he uses his experience to improve the lives of others, especially those who are injured and suffering. Ken is a 21-year combat veteran of the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community and retired Master Chief Petty Officer. He is highly respected around the world as an innovative and forward-thinking leader on the subjects of wounded warrior care, military and veteran transition, counterterrorism, military training, and innovative technology development. He has written on Posttraumatic Growth, including Transformed by Trauma, Struggle Well, and Lead Well.
In January 1982, Falke helped pull out the wreckage and recover remains at the Potomac River site of the Air Florida Flight 90 plane crash. His fascination with the Navy divers’ work recovering victims and parts of aircraft, combined with his hard work, impressed one of the leaders who mentioned that they could use someone like Falke at EOD. He transferred to the Poseidon U.S. Naval submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland in 1983, plunging into a grueling year of EOD training, where each member had to be qualified in diving, parachuting, and working with chemical weapons.
Falke served 19 years in Navy EOD. He would go on to make over 1,000 parachute jumps and roughly as many dives. He also led crews on thousands of high-risk operations, including many in support of Navy SEAL Teams and U.S. Army Special Forces.
What led you to join the Navy?
I joined the Navy after a failed attempt to play professional ice hockey. When my life felt like it was at rock bottom, I looked back on my childhood mentors, teachers, guidance counselors, bosses, and scoutmasters, most of whom were military veterans. I thought if the military made them great people, it could do the same for me…and it did.
What have you learned through joining the Navy?
The US Navy is the most predominant sea service in the world. It’s like playing on a professional sports team. The Navy values character and core values like honor, courage, and commitment. These values helped shape me into the man I am today and for that, I am grateful.
What key moments in your life led you to where you are today?
In 2010, my wife and I began to host families of wounded warriors at our home in Bluemont, Virginia. We then donated 37 acres of our estate and built the nation’s first privately funded retreat for veterans and their families, opening our doors in September 2013. At an early retreat, I had a wife tell me, “I wish my husband had lost his legs. He’d be treated like a hero. Instead, he has PTSD and is treated like a criminal.” We can’t treat people who fight for our country this way. That was when I knew I had to do something better.
Where does your passion for serving come from?
I come from a military and first responder family. One lesson I took from my grandfather and father is that service never stops. It’s on each of us to do what we can to make the world a better place. As a veteran myself, I can’t live in a world where we lose more of my brothers and sisters in the military and first responder communities to suicide each year than we do while they’re in the line of duty. That’s why I’ve created the Boulder Crest Foundation. Over the last 13 years, we’ve helped 100,000 combat veterans, first responders, and their families transform their struggles into strength through the science and wellness teachings of Posttraumatic Growth.
Tell us about your AARP Purpose Prize Award. What does it mean to be given this prize?
In September 2023, I was awarded the AARP Purpose Prize, receiving $50,000 as well as access to technical assistance for my organization. This prize was huge for our small nonprofit. To be recognized by AARP, one of the nation’s finest organizations, is a true honor and we are hopeful that because of this prize, and the Inclusive Leader Awards, more people will be able to learn about Boulder Crest.
How can GlobalMindED help you reach your goals?
I think it would be great to develop programs for First Gen that focus on character, patriotism, and military service.
