Adam + Duke

Adam is a United States Air Force veteran who served 4 years on active duty, followed by 6 years in the Air Force Guard. He deployed to Nasiriyah, Iraq in 2003, Djibouti, Africa in 2004, and again in 2005, a deployment that left a lasting impact after he witnessed the loss of 14 soldiers. Since returning home, Adam has focused on personal growth, resilience, and building a meaningful life for himself and his family.

Adam is a dedicated stay-at-home dad to three children and spends most of his time caring for them. He makes a conscious effort to stay active and engaged in their lives, taking family trips to places such as Legoland, Big Bear, Tahoe, Washington State, and occasionally Sacramento. He strives to be a present, functional father, and his commitment to his family is a driving force in everything he does.

By his side through all of it has been his wife of 16 years, Courtnie. She has supported Adam through the good and the bad, standing firm in her commitment to his mental health and their family through every transition, challenge, and moment of growth. A fantastic wife and mother, Courtnie is nothing short of proud of the man Adam continues to become — and she is just as excited as he is about the newest addition to their family. She looks forward to seeing Duke by Adam’s side every single day.

Adam has recently been matched with Duke, a service dog in training, whom we adopted from Labs & More under the generous Red Star Sponsorship of Logomark. While we do not know much about Duke’s life before Labs & More, it didn’t take long to see that he had the potential to be an excellent service dog. Duke is a stoic dog with a playful side, and he’s not much of a cuddle bug, often preferring play over attention. His independent personality had us wondering who he would best connect with, which makes this pairing with Adam all the more exciting.

Duke has already built a strong foundation in his training, and now the focus is on helping Adam catch up to everything Duke already knows so they can work together seamlessly. With Adam’s determination and Duke’s steady, playful presence, this team is off to a strong start — building the kind of partnership grounded in trust, support, and the bond every veteran deserves in a true battle buddy.