Jerome Hardaway is a Memphis native and Air Force veteran who has served three tours of duty in Afghanistan and three in Iraq. While in the Air Force, he received specialized training in urban warfare operations through the Phoenix Raven Program and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the Community College of the Air Force and Florida State University. When a young veteran who suffered from PTSD was killed in a local police incident, Jerome raised ten thousand dollars in twenty-seven hours to fill the gap left by the Veterans Administration's services for the soldier's funeral. He formed Frago immediately after in an attempt to prevent such an incident from happening again. With Frago, a not-for-profit organization, Jerome aims to change how veterans' services are delivered by taking a proactive approach to the challenges that veterans face during the difficult initial years following their return to civilian life.
Photo Credit to Amanda Hill.