Thousands of US service personnel have returned from the battlefield with career-ending wounds.  But many of them still have a sense of service and a lot of fight left in them.  Now, some of them are putting their skills to work chasing down people who abuse children.

Two dozen elite war veterans from the US Special Forces - whom the US military spent more than a million dollars each training to be physically and mentally exceptional - are now prepping for a new mission.

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"So the H.E.R.O. Corps being the unique program that it is, it gives a veteran the opportunity to not only take on a mission, but really, really go out and rescue children," said CEO J. Christian.

J. Christian, a highly decorated Army Ranger, is the leader of a non-profit called Protect. The group is partners with Homeland Security Investigations and US Special Operations Command - to train and place these veterans with law enforcement agencies around the country.

The H.E.R.O. Corps veterans share another trait. In order to qualify for the program, the veteran must have been wounded, ill or injured in service to their country.

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Ernie Suggs, a reporter at the AJC since 1997, reviews a selection of articles he has contributed to during his time with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as of Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins' Senate campaign used Sen. Jon Ossoff's Senate portrait (center) to create an AI-generated video of Ossoff talking about his vote not to end the government shutdown.  The video was reposted to Collins' campaign account on X (left). (Screenshot)

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