Veteran has recruited 17 men to fight in Veterans Against ISIS: Offensive Wing group

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local veteran has put together a combat team to fight terrorists in the Middle East. Now, they’re getting ready to deploy in a few months.

Action News first told you about this story last month on the day Veterans Against ISIS: Offensive Wing was formed.

Founder and Army veteran Sean Rowe’s goal was to find several veterans willing to fight the terror group, and he found more than a dozen veterans are willing to fight.

Almost half of them are from Florida and Rowe said a lot of people reached out to him after our first story aired. They all have a military background and are ready to return to the battle field to fight ISIS.

Rowe said he was looking for a few good men to join his group Veterans Against ISIS: Offensive Wing and he’s found them. Just don’t call them mercenaries.

“I hate that term. We’re not doing this for money; we’re volunteering our time,” Rowe said.

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This new team of combat veterans is less than 90 days from taking the fight to ISIS on their turf.

“Every single guy I talk to, they are burdened by what is going on with ISIS and they want to help,” Rowe said.

Rowe has 17 men ready to go. Eight are from Florida, five from the Jacksonville area and they have seven spots left to fill.

“Our mission is to support the locals against ISIS,” Rowe said.

The newly formed team is on Veterans Against ISIS: Offensive Wing’s website. Each of these vets served; some are decorated, but almost none of them show their face or name.

Instead they have code names like Cowboy, H-Money and Scuba Steve.

“Each veteran goes through a lengthy process,” Rowe said.

Veterans Against ISIS: Offensive Wing will train as a group in May, but for security reasons won’t say exactly when they’ll leave for their mission.

The group is also receiving donations from people for their mission. So far, they’ve raised $1,000 and received equipment for training and medical supplies.

This group is paying their own way to get to the Middle East. We're told this team will not get paid for their efforts. However, they will receive weapons and food and shelter from the local forces as compensation.

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