10 Veterans to Know From NexfinityNews’s 250 for 250 Series

What Is the “250 for 250” Series?

Launched on October 27, 2025 — exactly 250 days before the Fourth of July, 2026 — “Countdown to 250: The Americans Building Tomorrow” profiles one exceptional living American each day. The focus is everyday exceptionalism: people who face adversity and keep going, who serve without chasing recognition, and who do the right thing because their character demands it. Veterans feature heavily throughout, which is no surprise given that NexfinityNews is itself a veteran-owned publication led by Editor-in-Chief Dominick Bianco, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

The Top 10 Veterans From the 250 for 250 Series

1. Paul Rieckhoff

U.S. Army (Iraq) • Founder, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

NexfinityNews opened the countdown with Rieckhoff, and it is easy to see why. A former Army infantry platoon leader who served in Iraq during the 2003 invasion, he came home and founded Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in 2004 — at a time when the newest generation of combat veterans had no organized voice in Washington. IAVA grew into a leading advocacy group for post-9/11 veterans and helped drive passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which has funded education benefits for more than a million veterans and their families. His story sets the tone for the whole series: service that doesn’t end when the uniform comes off.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

2. Travis Mills

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant • Founder, Travis Mills Foundation

One of the few service members to survive as a quadruple amputee after a combat injury in Afghanistan, Mills turned a catastrophic moment into a mission. His foundation runs retreats and programs that give wounded and ill veterans — and their families — a place to recover, reconnect, and rebuild. NexfinityNews profiles him under a fitting banner: never quit, never give up. It’s a reminder that resilience isn’t a slogan for Mills; it’s a daily practice he has built an entire organization around.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

3. Gen. Joseph Dunford

U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) • Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Few Americans have carried more responsibility than Dunford, who served as the nation’s highest-ranking military officer as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. What makes his profile compelling isn’t the title — it’s what came after. NexfinityNews highlights his continued service with the Semper Fi & America’s Fund, which supports wounded, critically ill, and injured members of all branches and their families. It’s a portrait of a four-star general who treats caring for the troops as a lifelong assignment rather than a chapter that closed at retirement.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

4. Carol Whitmore

Veteran • First Woman Commander-in-Chief of the VFW

History-makers earn a place on any list, and Whitmore made it as the first woman elected Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars — one of the largest and oldest veterans organizations in the country. NexfinityNews frames her milestone not as symbolism but as leadership: a barrier broken at the top of an institution that shapes veterans policy and benefits nationwide. Her selection signals how much the face of American service has changed, and who now sits at the head of the table.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

5. Art delaCruz

U.S. Navy (TOPGUN) • CEO, Team Rubicon

From flying as a Navy TOPGUN instructor to running disaster operations, delaCruz leads Team Rubicon, the organization that mobilizes military veterans — its volunteers are known as “Greyshirts” — to respond to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other crises. NexfinityNews captures the throughline that makes veteran-led disaster relief so effective: the same skills that defined military service — logistics, teamwork, calm under pressure — translate directly into helping communities on their worst days. It’s service redirected, not retired.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

6. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Michael Linnington

U.S. Army (West Point) • CEO, USO • Former CEO, Wounded Warrior Project

A West Point graduate and retired Army lieutenant general, Linnington is credited with leading the turnaround of Wounded Warrior Project from 2016 to 2024 before being named the USO’s 24th CEO. NexfinityNews tells the story of an organizational rebuilder — someone who took on a wounded institution and restored its mission focus, then stepped up to lead the group that has connected service members to home for generations. It’s a reminder that leadership in the veteran world often means fixing what’s broken, quietly and well.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

7. Ryan Gallucci

Post-9/11 Veteran • Leads the VFW’s Washington Office

Gallucci represents a generational shift: NexfinityNews profiles him as the first post-9/11 veteran to lead the VFW’s Washington office, the nerve center for the organization’s national advocacy on benefits, healthcare, and policy. Putting a member of the newest combat generation in charge of that work matters — it means the people who fought the longest wars in American history now help shape how the country cares for those who served them. His profile is a look at the future of veterans advocacy taking the wheel.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

8. Carl Blake

U.S. Army (West Point) • Leader, Paralyzed Veterans of America

A West Point veteran who leads Paralyzed Veterans of America, Blake is featured for advocacy that hits where it counts: accessibility, healthcare, and benefits for veterans living with spinal cord injuries and disease. NexfinityNews underscores the kind of work that rarely makes headlines but changes lives — fighting for ramps, research, and rights that determine whether a disabled veteran can live independently. It’s persistence over recognition, exactly the thread the series is built around.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

9. Stephen Peck

U.S. Marine Corps (Vietnam) • Filmmaker • Former CEO, U.S.VETS

A Vietnam-era Marine who became a filmmaker before devoting decades to leading U.S.VETS, Peck spent his career attacking one of the hardest problems in the veteran community: homelessness. NexfinityNews profiles a leader who helped build housing and support systems for veterans who fell through the cracks — proof that the fight to honor service sometimes looks like a roof, a bed, and a path back. His long tenure is a study in showing up, year after year, for people the rest of the country forgets.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

10. Jerry Landkamer

U.S. Navy (USS Enterprise) • American Legion National Vice Commander

Rounding out the list, Landkamer’s journey runs from the deck of the USS Enterprise to elected leadership in The American Legion, the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization. NexfinityNews highlights the grassroots side of veteran service — the post commanders, district leaders, and national officers who keep the community’s institutions running. Landkamer is a reminder that for every household name on this list, thousands of veterans serve in roles that never trend but hold the whole network together.Read the NexfinityNews profile →

How to Follow — and Nominate the Next Honoree

The countdown runs daily through July 4, 2026, so there are dozens more profiles still to come. You can follow along at NexfinityNews.com and on social media under #250for250. The series is also crowdsourced: NexfinityNews is actively asking readers to nominate exceptional Americans — the veteran next door, the volunteer who shows up when it’s hard, the leader nobody’s heard of yet. Nominations can be sent to info@nexfinitynews.com.

If you’re looking for a feel-good antidote to the usual news cycle as the country turns 250, this is one of the better ones going. Ten profiles in, it’s clear the series found a deep well to draw from — America’s veterans.