\u201cWe were at Hostages Square all day,\u201d Stern told TBBW<\/a>, from Israel. \u201cFor 737 days, families gathered, prayed and wrote messages. They shook their fists at the government, at officials, at bad guys, at everyone. And today there were smiles everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n He described the moment as one of collective relief.<\/p>\n \u201cHostages Square has always been this very somber, fearful place, filled with all of the negative emotions that we\u2019re capable of,\u201d he said. Today, there were smiles everywhere. There were happy tears. The nightmare for all these families is finally over.\u201d<\/p>\n READ: Metro Diner opens first Palm Harbor restaurant \u2013 Tampa Bay Business & Wealth<\/a><\/p>\n From special operations to rescue missions<\/p>\n Long before he stood in Tel Aviv, Stern built his career in the shadows of military operations. He spent nearly three decades in special operations and intelligence, serving in roles that required precision and secrecy.<\/p>\n \u201cI spent years in the military in special operations and intelligence,\u201d he said. \u201cI trained for missions on the darker side of operations, depending on the assignment. I did that for 27 years.\u201d<\/p>\n After leaving government service, Stern said he wanted to stay connected to the mission but without the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n \u201cI left government full-time to stay in the game a little bit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In 2016, he moved to Tampa<\/a> and founded Grey Bull Rescue, a nonprofit<\/a> that deploys veterans to evacuate civilians from conflict zones and disaster areas.<\/p>\n \u201cSince August 2021, my team and I have done 796 operations,\u201d Stern said. \u201cThat turns to just under 8,000 people in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, Haiti, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Gaza. We did Hurricane Ian. We did the fires in California and a couple of other disasters.\u201d<\/p>\n Among those rescued were Americans held in Russian prisons.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done 12 jail breaks for Russia, including the first American victim of war crimes since World War II,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s actually with me here in Israel as we speak.\u201d<\/p>\n An organization built for speed<\/p>\n Grey Bull operates differently from most humanitarian or government-backed groups. It is entirely donor-funded<\/a> and intentionally small, built for speed and discretion.<\/p>\n \u201c82%of our cases come from social media,\u201d Stern said. \u201cWe don\u2019t charge money. We run entirely on donations, big or small. Ultimately, helicopters don\u2019t fly themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n He described Grey Bull as a last-resort rescue team, often contacted only when traditional efforts fail.<\/p>\n READ: Tampa\u2019s Liquor Depot Event Raises $20K for Mike Alstott Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are never the first call,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re the last resort. The State Department and FBI have referred families to us. We go where the government isn\u2019t or where they can\u2019t land.\u201d<\/p>\n Without bureaucracy or political barriers, the team can move quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have no red tape at all,\u201d Stern said. \u201cWe\u2019re able to do things at a speed that the government can\u2019t compete with. We answer to two people: God and the families of the people we\u2019re trying to rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n Life in the line of fire<\/p>\n The work comes with danger.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took 32 missiles in one day this past June,\u201d Stern said. \u201cThe size of school buses.\u201d<\/p>\n He said his team accepts the risk as part of the job.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to control the environment to manage risk,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there\u2019s not much you can do against a missile being lobbed from Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n Stern said he has worked throughout the region, often deep behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were 420 miles into Hezbollah territory earlier this year rescuing an American from Reno, Nevada, and got him out,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a 100% success rate. If we tell you yes, we\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n Each mission, he said, is different.<\/p>\n \u201cEach operation is different, sometimes requiring only one or two people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done ops alone or with small teams. A big footprint for us is six. We run very small.\u201d<\/p>\n Stern personally participates in nearly every mission.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m not on a mission, it\u2019s because I\u2019m doing another mission somewhere else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The moment in Hostages Square<\/p>\n Standing in Hostages Square, Stern said the atmosphere felt like both an ending and a beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 737 days, families gathered to write, pray and hold signs,\u201d he said. \u201cThey shook their fists at bad guys and good guys alike. And today, they finally smiled.\u201d<\/p>\n He called it a \u201crebirth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s this real kind of a rebirth of the people,\u201d he said. \u201cBetween soldiers killed in the war, people killed on October 7, or hostage families, every single person in this country is affected without exception.\u201d<\/p>\n READ: Tampa Edition named one of Florida\u2019s top hotels by Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler<\/a><\/p>\n He said the feeling in the square stood in stark contrast to the long wait that came before it.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a daily topic of conversation for 737 days with no end in sight, up until recently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Looking forward<\/p>\n For Stern, the end of the hostage crisis is not an end to his mission, only a reminder of how fragile peace can be.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important that this isn\u2019t over,\u201d he said. \u201cThe hostages are over, right? But it\u2019s fragile.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Grey Bull\u2019s operations depend on continued public support.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re entirely donor-funded and need public support,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery life we save is tied to donors. If people don\u2019t donate, people die.\u201d<\/p>\n To visit Grey Bull Rescue\u2019s website, click here<\/a>. To donate<\/a>, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stay Connected<\/p>\n Sign up for TBBW\u2019s newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Bryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-4-15-1-1000x563.png\")
Grey Bull Rescue founder Bryan Stern, center, with team members in front of the tribute wall at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where families have posted photos and messages for loved ones held in Gaza.<\/p>\n![\"Bryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Untitled-4-14-1-1000x563.png\")
Bryan Stern, founder of Tampa-based Grey Bull Rescue, is pictured during an evacuation mission in Afghanistan in August 2021. The organization was formed after the fall of Kabul and has since led nearly 800 rescue operations across global conflict zones.<\/p>\n