(NewsNation) — Army and Navy veteran Bryan Stern and his nonprofit, the “Grey Bull Rescue Foundation,” are helping Americans get out of Israel amid its war with Iran.
It has launched its latest operation, called Olive Shield, busing Americans stuck in Israel who apply for help through their website.
The first two groups of evacuees have just made it out in the last few hours, and the organization says it’s received thousands of requests for help.
Grey Bull Rescue is comprised mainly of U.S. veterans.
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“We don’t like to talk too much about the specifics, but the bottom line is … the airspace is closed,” Stern said of the current operations.
“There are only so many ways to deal with this. One way is the maritime option, boats from Israel to another country. Usually it’s Cyprus, maybe Turkey, or you go by ground, and that’s buses to a plane. So you’ve got to delicately navigate some pretty complicated countries and some diplomatic relations.”
Grey Bull Rescue has completed 731 missions, according to Stern, explaining to NewsNation that each operation has its own challenges.
“There’s no cookie cutter,” he said. “It’s not war zone Uber, where [you] call a bus and figure it out. There’s always bumps in the road.”
