Fortress Investment Group LLC was named the 2011 recipient of the Navy SEAL Foundation's Patriot Award, based on the alternative investment manager's charitable support for military and veterans' organizations and its commitment to hiring veterans.
“Fortress supports the veterans' community in many ways, and we believe it is a company that exemplifies the SEALs' "All In, All the Time' credo,” said Michael Martin, chairman of the foundation's annual benefit and awards ceremony, in a foundation news release.
At that December event, Fortress and other sponsors helped to raise $5.5 million for the foundation, said Drew Fox, managing director of Fortress subsidiary Logan Circle Partners and the firm's point man on veteran's charity support.
“We are humbled and honored to receive the SEALs' Patriot Award,” Mr. Fox said in an interview, noting that Fortress counts 40 veterans from all branches of the U.S. and foreign military forces among its employees.
The $25 million Navy SEAL Foundation Inc. provides support to active Navy SEALs and other members of the Naval Special Warfare forces and their families. Services of the Virginia Beach, Va.-based foundation include assistance to families of Naval Special Warfare combat personnel who are killed or wounded; scholarships and educational support for active-duty personnel and their families; and morale-building events to help families cope with the prolonged absence of deployed family members.