For the veterans of Oklahoma, the cost of admission to an Eagle OPS event is simple: show up. That’s the guiding philosophy behind Rally Points, the signature gatherings hosted by Eagle OPS, a nonprofit built on the idea that no veteran or their family should have to
face life’s hardest moments alone.
Eagle OPS was founded by Johnathon and Jessica Shepherd, who met in the sixth grade. Shep, as most people know him as, served five years in the Marine Corps, leaving service in December 2002 with plans to focus on raising his soon-to-be-born son. He had a job lined up the day after his discharge. On the surface, he looked like a success story in
the way of being a good provider about to make a smooth transition. However, in reality it was a different story. Shep struggled privately, hiding his difficulties from nearly everyone, except Jessica. During those years, he spent time in and out of jail. Jessica’s ultimatum became his turning point. Shep began asking for help, and over the following decade the couple discovered how many resources existed to support veterans through transition, resources that simply weren’t reaching the people who needed them. As Shep connected with other veterans, he found the same story again and again. He wasn’t alone, and neither were they.
That realization became the seed of Eagle OPS: a mission to connect struggling veterans with the right resources, built on relationships rather than paperwork.
The couple ran their own communications company for years, primarily serving VA and federal contracts. Eagle OPS itself began as informal outreach in 2016, organized around events Shep already loved like hunting, fishing, and fire pit nights. In 2019, it became an official nonprofit.
At the heart of Eagle OPS is the simple belief that relationships are key. Shep tells his story authentically, and that honesty builds the rapport and trust that make it possible for veterans to ask for help. The connections made at these events are the real reward. Through them, Eagle OPS helps veterans work through transitions, whether they ended their service yesterday or forty years ago.
Because most veterans still hold full time jobs, Eagle OPS schedules its events for evenings and Saturdays, generally from 6-9 p.m. Fire pit nights remain the most popular gathering, although the Oklahoma heat has pushed the organization toward alternatives like “Game On” nights, which are games played in the street or a backyard.
From 2019 to 2023, Shep and Jessica built out Eagle OPS’ programming while both continued working day jobs. In 2023, the organization partnered with Oklahoma Veterans United and won a grant for the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program through the VA. This was formal recognition of the work Eagle OPS had already been doing informally for years. Loneliness and isolation are among the leading contributors to veteran suicide, and combating both has been the throughline of Eagle OPS’ work from the beginning.
Rather than chase growth for its own sake, Eagle OPS focuses on creating more events, and keeping Rally Points intentionally small because smaller groups make for stronger connections. Muldrow, Oklahoma currently hosts the most weekly events and the largest turnout of anywhere in the state. Eagle OPS is also expanding its footprint beyond its base in Owasso into other nearby communities.
Rally Points events are active in 21 counties across Oklahoma. If an event is on the calendar, it happens. “Postpone,” not “cancel,” is the operative word when Oklahoma weather interferes. Canceling, in Eagle OPS’ vocabulary, means giving up and they don’t do that.
The organization actively looks for “difference makers” among the veterans it serves. These are “people willing to step up as Mission Coordinators and extend the same relationship-first approach to their own communities.”
Shep and Jessica believe that everyone grows through adversity, however no one should have to go through things alone. Eagle OPS’ role is to guide and mentor, drawing on lived experience rather than theories.
There are four core programs:
• Reach One More: the organization’s number one program
• Outreach: sharing resources and benefits available to veterans in the community
• Difference Makers: the volunteer network that keeps Rally Points and other events running
• Grants and Scholarships: an area of growing focus. It’s a small part of what Eagle OPS does, but the most frequently requested
Eagle OPS was born from one veteran’s honest reckoning with his own struggle and the decision to make sure no one else had to face theirs alone. A decade later, it has grown into a statewide network built on the same founding principle: “Connecting relationships and resources to bring our heroes home, one operation at a time.” For more information and full details of upcoming events, visit their website: www.eagleops.org. • story by Jill Stephenson, contributing writer
