Our
TEAM
Thomas C. Cunningham, US Army (Ret.)
Chief Operating Officer
Professional Journey
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Master Sergeant (Retired) Thomas Cunningham served 26 years in the United States Army with 24 of those years as a Special Forces (SF) Medic, Team Sergeant, Battalion Medic, Operations Sergeant and First Sergeant.
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Thomas strives to increase trauma understanding and healing by connecting and informing Health Practitioners and survivors of combat or other trauma at the individual, community, and national levels. He continues to advocate for greater Soldier and Veteran care through multiple pathways including the foundational Responses to Trauma (R2T) initiative. He promotes respect, understanding, and creative solutions at the ground level to foster a climate where conflict prevention strongly supports national strategy.
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Military Experience
Over his career, Thomas deployed on multiple rotations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines. He provided training in trauma and tropical disease to medical practitioners in Central, South, and Southeast Asia improving national health infrastructures and aid delivery.
As an Operations Sergeant, he helped educate refugees in understanding the personal and collective impacts of conflict-related trauma. He co-facilitated an Applied Trauma Awareness for Practitioners (ATAP) program, which built immediate and long-term capacity to establish security, provide humanitarian assistance and mitigate the effects of war-related trauma.
Advocacy & Community Service
As a volunteer Steering Committee member for the Community Blueprint-Fayetteville, 1SG Cunningham helped to connect providers and supporting agencies to meet the needs of Soldiers, Airmen, Veterans and Family Members across Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, and surrounding communities. His skills include negotiation, conflict resolution and the unique set of attributes encapsulated in the 'engagement' warfighting function.
He continues to seek and develop similar opportunities to guide others towards a place of healing by facilitating understanding of the shaping influence of events that pre-date Combat Trauma exposure and encouraging self-reflection, a community of understanding, and openness to the potential benefits of counsel with professional Behavioral Health Practitioners.