Thank you to Today Show producers and hosts for the opportunity to share our mission with your viewers, and for helping to spread awareness about the important work and the lives our volunteers and donors are supporting through our Ukraine and Afghanistan programs. It was an honor.
“Veterans and married couple Mark and Christine Antal’s sense of honor and duty compelled them to take on a new mission where they provide aid to Ukraine and Afghanistan. NBC’s Cynthia McFadden reports for TODAY.”
What is a SKED, and why is it so important to Ukrainian soldiers and civilian first-responders?
SKEDs are an important rescue technology that have come to make all the difference for Ukrainians in conflict zones. Their name is a combination of “sled” and “skid” and they are used like stretchers to carry wounded civilians and soldiers out of the rubble of destroyed structures. The use of SKEDs increases survival rates because it is a much more effective way of getting people to life-saving medical help.
Without SKEDs, Ukrainians carry their wounded neighbors and family members in their arms which is both life-threatening and traumatizing for all involved.
We presented the SKEDs pictured to front-line Ukrainian leaders to support the cause. They were generously donated in 2022 by one of Task Force Antal’s key partners, RevMedx, a company specializing in groundbreaking devices for combat medics and civilian first responders.
Like RevMedx, you can support getting critically important medical equipment to the first responders who need them most.
Join us in our mission to keep people and hope alive in Ukraine.
If you’d like to join our team as a donor, please visit our campaign.
Task Force Antal team has three centuries of combined experience leading and executing missions in hostile environmentsNEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, July 5, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Task Force Antal1 (TFA) recently moved its operations to Budapest, Hungary, making it easier for the humanitarian organization to bring direct and meaningful relief to citizens trapped in Ukraine.
Task Force Antal was founded by a small group of former Tier One commanders, operators and their spouses, and veteran partners from the special operations intelligence, medical, logistics and legal community in response to the requests for assistance that came pouring in during the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan. The team has three centuries of combined experience leading, managing and executing missions in the most dynamic, fluid and hostile environments, which fueled their successes in extracting and assisting more than 2,000 people, including over 107 U.S. citizens in their departure from Afghanistan.
While continuing their ongoing efforts in Afghanistan, Task Force Antal began also responding to the critical need in Ukraine.
“As an organization, we are committed to helping those who are the victims of destabilizing circumstances. We forged that commitment by joining the Afghan Evacuation Coalition to evacuate U.S. citizens and allies who were left behind in Afghanistan. We made a promise to those trapped, forgotten and left behind. A commitment to families worldwide to bring them to safety in the face of war,” said TFA co-founder Mark Antal, a former Tier One operator and special operations professional with more than 30 years of experience in no-fail direct action missions impacting national security, counterterrorism operations, hostage rescue and critical and strategic infrastructure security.
Co-founder Christine Quinn Antal spent seven years working in Ukraine on U.S. security assistance missions as the U.S. Army Europe’s primary legal adviser to Ukraine. She is a recognized national security legal expert with deep experience in security assistance and appropriations law. From 2015-2021, Christine served as the Army’s primary legal adviser on Ukraine security assistance and cooperation matters, working extensively in-country and negotiated directly on implementing arrangements covering more than $200 million in security assistance training packages.
So committed are the Antals to their mission that the couple recently moved to Budapest, along with their three daughters, all under the age of 10. In mid-June, TFA also received non-profit status in Hungary as Task Force Antal Nonprofit Kft.
With its base of operations closer to Ukraine, Task Force Antal can now execute its capabilities more efficiently. This includes providing safe housing, food, medical supplies and other basic non-lethal aid for evacuees and those still in Ukraine, along with the speedier transfer of supplies from the United States to Ukraine.
Task Force Antal also provides evacuation assistance from Ukraine by paid professionals and navigates the day-to-day hazards of assisting families to safely leave Ukraine. The task force is also assisting with the safe relocation of a Ukrainian orphanage to neutral territory and plans to support the rebuilding of hospitals, clinics, homes and other pieces of key infrastructure in Ukraine.
“Our ability to come to the rescue of those in need is based solely on independent contributions. Government organizations do not fund us and our team takes no salary. We do what we do because our values tell us it is impossible not to,” Mark Antal said. “We are in collaboration and communication with Ukraine’s senior leadership and members of governments in surrounding countries. And the make-up of our organization directly informs TFA’s unique understanding of the unfolding geopolitical conflict and our ability to address it.”
For more information about Task Force Antal or to make a donation to this vital organization, visit taskforceantal.org2.
About Task Force Antal
Task Force Antal (TFA) is a non-profit humanitarian action organization providing life-saving supplies, evacuation support and crisis management to the vulnerable in high-risk conflict zones. Our expert team of volunteers and veteran Tier One Operators is currently leading the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Task Force Antal is a registered non-profit in the U.S. (501c3), Hungary and Ukraine, headquartered in New York City with offices in Hungary and Poland. www.taskforceantal.org3
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Media Relations
Task Force Antal
heather.philipp@taskforceantal.org
1 https://www.taskforceantal.org/
2 https://www.taskforceantal.org/
3 https://www.taskforceantal.org/