ABU DHABI: Being back in the Gulf for Idex 2017 this week has been a homecoming of sorts for Jared Ogden, a former Navy Seal who served in active duty from 2004 to 2012, deploying to the Middle East on four occasions.
He has served with the most elite, highly trained soldiers in the US military, including the Naval Special Warfare Group in the Middle East, and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in Afghanistan.
His last duty station in 2012 was in Manama. There, he was part of a team of US special operators training US allies’ forces in the Gulf and Levant countries.
“If you’d asked me at the time if my training of GCC forces would push me in to a career helping to train others, I would’ve said no,” Ogden said in an interview.
“Now, when l look back, that was the foundation of me realising that we could really change how people train. That time of my life, living in the GCC, looking back it really influenced me to start Triumph Systems.”
Jared Ogden’s young business provides training systems for shooters.
After comparing the way he trained as a Navy Seal to become a proficient, thinking shooter, to the way that others train, Ogden wanted to bridge that gap, and make that elite-level training more affordable.
“Your life, your buddy’s life, and the civilians around you are relying on you to make the right decisions. To act under pressure, to act quickly. You need the right training for that.”
Triumph’s product line involves a variety of moving targets and intuitive systems designed to strengthen the basics of shooting, and improve performance under pressure.
At Idex, Ogden’s aim was to target countries from around the world, and gain some international exposure.
His company’s day-to-day mission, he says, is to create as many touch points in the market as possible. And on this week’s evidence, he was clearly succeeding in this mission, constantly on his feet chatting to visitors at his stand.
“But we also have a higher goal at Triumph: to save lives. Training with my responsive targets increase the chances of you surviving a violent encounter. Period. They are more likely to make the correct split-second decisions.”
The unemployment rate among veterans in the US is about 1 per cent higher than the civilian population, with many struggling from alcoholism and depression.
“We’re tired. We live our lives at a million miles an hour. By putting yourself in harm’s way, you know you’re doing something inherently dangerous, that could result in loss of vision, loss of limb, loss of life, or perhaps, worst of all, you burying your friend. There’s no greater pain, to have to bury a friend. This is the mindset a veteran comes with,” Ogden said.
“There’s just no transition coming from that lifestyle to the private sector that’s easy. It’s hard to transition, hard to find your niche,” he added.
But the military also taught Ogden how to be an entrepreneur. “There’s a formula to it,” he says enthusiastically.
“It requires structure, it requires discipline. You’re working 18 to 20 hours a day, six-and-a-half days a week. The military gave me the work ethic, the discipline, the drive and the grit needed to succeed.”
And succeeding he is.
“I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve contributed directly to the GCC mission, back in 2012, and now with Triumph Systems, where I’m working with the same guys from the Fifth Fleet headquarters.
“The enthusiasm and interest in my products from every single member of the GCC has been tremendous. It’s very rewarding, because these are my friends. To be able to come back years later in this capacity, with my own business, is just amazing, I love it,” he said.
