OpsLens Deck of 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders
In 2018, as a spin-off and salute to the original 2003 deck of 52 Most Wanted playing cards, let’s honor post 9/11 frontline leaders here at home. Once a week, for 52 weeks this year, OpsLens will post a card highlighting one of the 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders. You’ll learn the top facts about their business or organization, as well as why they made the list, which comes down to impact, scalability, health, and unique value proposition.
I encourage you to look for these weekly updates, share the card with your network, and support or buy the products and services they offer. See the 52 Most Wanted Post 9/11 Frontline Leaders launch story here.
2 of Diamonds | Combat Flip Flops
On their first deployment—of many—to Afghanistan in the winter of 2003, two U.S. Army soldiers and Rangers became fast friends. Seven years later they launched Combat Flip Flops. Cofounders Matthew “Griff” Griffin and Donald Lee are authentic, outright role models leading the way with a socially conscious business model. The idea for this venture came to Griff when he toured an Afghan-owned boot manufacturing plant in Kabul and saw one of the workers modify the sole to make sandals. The mission was born: create peaceful, forward-thinking opportunities for self-determined entrepreneurs affected by conflict.
Combat Flip Flops has an unmatched willingness to take bold risks, forge community connection, and unearth distinct designs that communicate “Business, Not Bullets,” flipping the view on how wars are won. They aspire to manufacture peace through trade by making “cool stuff in dangerous places.” Combat Flip Flops believes the consumer is mindful, and the larger scope of their effort means something to them, such as empowering entrepreneurs in conflict areas and funding women’s education through various philanthropies that receive revenue upon your purchase. The consumer is invited to join the “Unarmed Forces” when they buy a product from Combat Flip Flops. No surprise they secured a high-profile investor early on (Mark Cuban) when their business was featured on Shark Tank.
Combat Flip Flops is a frontline leader that should be on your list of most wanted businesses to support in 2018.
Frontline Leader (Founder(s)): Matthew “Griff” Griffin and Donald Lee.
Name of Company/Organization: Combat Flip Flops, founded 2010.
Location: HQ is Issaquah, Washington; lifestyle products made in Afghanistan, Colombia, Laos, and America.
Post 9/11 Service Connection: U.S. Army (both are Airborne Rangers). Griff is a USMA graduate and was a Field Artillery Officer; Donald was a Forward Observer.
Tours of Duty: Donald did one combat tour to Iraq and two tours to Afghanistan with 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Griff served in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a Rifle Company Fire Support Officer and deployed three times to Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq.
One sentence tagline &/or mission statement: Business, Not Bullets. Be a Better Human. We Make Cool Stuff in Dangerous Places. Join the Unarmed Forces.
Website: https://www.combatflipflops.com/
