Who We Are
A brotherhood, not a charity.
Battle Scars to Bass is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the mental, emotional, and physical recovery of U.S. military veterans, active-duty personnel, and Gold Star families — one cast at a time.
One Breath
“It was time to stop just healing myself. It was time to start building a legacy that could heal others — to help my brothers cast away the ghosts of battle and find the peace they so bravely fought for.”
— MSG (Ret.) Jeffrey L. Haskins, Founder
The Founder
MSG (Ret.) Jeffrey L. Haskins
JEFFREY L. HASKINS didn’t learn leadership in a boardroom; he learned it in the dirt. As a retired United States Army Master Sergeant, he was the standard-bearer, the enforcer, and the senior tactical advisor responsible for the lives, discipline, and lethality of his Soldiers.
After twenty-two years leading Infantry Soldiers through Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Haskins founded Battle Scars to Bass to build the sanctuary he wished he’d had — a quiet boat on calm water, and a brotherhood that doesn’t end when the uniform comes off.
- 22 Years, U.S. Army Infantry
- Airborne Ranger
- Pathfinder
- Master Gunner
- Combat Infantry Badge
- Expert Infantryman Badge
- Two Bronze Stars
- Order of Saint Maurice
- Kosovo · Iraq (x2) · Afghanistan (x2)
Where It Started
Before the war. Before the brotherhood. Before any of this had a name, there was a boy standing in the cold water of the Deerfield River, watching his father fish.
James Haskins taught Jeff patience there — how to read the water, how to adapt when the fish weren’t biting, how to let a cast be about rhythm instead of frustration. Jeff was an impatient kid. His father never was.
Every lesson Jeff has ever passed down since — to his own son on that same river, to Tiger, Molina, and Chambers on the front deck of a bass boat, to every veteran who will ever step into one of these boats — started right here, with a quiet man who never raised his voice.
This mission carries his name too.
Leadership
Board of Directors
Our founding board brings the same standard to the boardroom that we bring to the water — character first.
MSG (Ret.) Jeffrey L. Haskins
President
As founder and President, Jeff sets the standard the rest of the board is built to match — leading not from behind a desk, but from the front deck of the boat alongside every guide and every veteran this mission serves. His approach to leadership is simple: don't just point the way, walk it first. He learned that from a WWII veteran who lived it before he ever preached it — and from his grandmother, Mimi, who taught him that the size of a person is measured by the size of their heart.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
— John C. Maxwell
MSG (Ret.) Micheal Chambers
Vice President
Bio — pending
Wendy N. Haskins
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Wendy is the steadiness this board is built on. Long before this mission existed, she carried a family through twenty-two years of Army life — multiple deployments, and a pregnancy so dangerous it nearly took her life and her son's. Through all of it, she never wavered. The Army recognized that endurance with the Shield of Sparta, the highest honor given to an Infantry spouse — awarded not for what a soldier survives, but for what the person standing behind him survives alongside him: the long separations, the darkest unspoken nights, the quiet strength that holds a family together when no one is watching. Wendy has always been that shield.
“Come back with your shield, or on it.”
— Ancient Spartan Farewell
On the Water
Our Fishing Guides
Our team of four guides puts every veteran and family on the water safely — each one bringing their own experience and connection to the mission.
- MSG (Ret.) Jeffrey L. Haskins
- MSG (Ret.) Micheal Chambers
- SFC (Ret.) Tiger Singh
- SFC (Ret.) Joel Molina
The Promise
This isn’t a hired guide service — it’s a promise. It began in the mountains of Afghanistan, when Jeff, Tiger, and Molina swore that if they made it home, they’d meet on the water every year, no excuses, no matter what. Chambers earned his place the same way every man on this crew did: on the front deck, no ego, no judgment, just a brother handing you another lure and telling you to cast again. Because that’s what this crew has always known — if you ever find yourself back on that couch at 3 a.m., in the dark place, one phone call brings a brother to your door. No questions asked. He’ll just ask for your address, and bring his rods. That’s the promise we’re extending to you.
The Men Who Keep It
SFC (Ret.) Tiger Singh
Jeff first saw the hollow look in Tiger’s eyes after Tiger came home from a fourteen-month deployment — the look of a Ranger-qualified NCO who had lost his own Sound of Honor. Pulling Tiger back from that place became Jeff’s mission, and in the process, it became his own way home too. Today, Jeff calls him what he’s earned: ‘brother and fishing partner for life.’
SFC (Ret.) Joel Molina
Molina came into the brotherhood as the ‘greenhorn’ — a young door-kicker with more raw talent than experience, earning his stripes (and a few good-natured nicknames) on the water. Jeff and Tiger took him under their wing, and even after deployments scattered the three of them to different provinces overseas, they’d steal an hour together whenever they could — sharing a meal and repeating the same promise: ‘Sam Rayburn. Don’t forget.’ The kid they mentored became one of the men now trusted to guide others.
MSG (Ret.) Micheal Chambers
Chambers came to the water a seasoned Master Sergeant but a total rookie with a rod — starting out with a basic pushbutton reel that once made an entire camera boat crew do a double take. Jeff taught him everything his own father had taught him: how to read the water, how to be patient, how to adapt. Years later, watching Chambers get called up for the tournament’s grand prize was, in Jeff’s words, ‘the profound satisfaction of a teacher watching his student excel.’
The crew
There’s More
This mission was built on the backs of two men — Jeff’s father and grandfather — and what they each gave up so he could stand here. Their full story lives on its own page.
Sound of Honor→Our Standing
Battle Scars to Bass is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization currently in formation. Every dollar and every hour goes toward building the guided fishing program, the coin and giving ladder, and the board that will carry this mission forward.
Get Involved
Join the brotherhood
Whether you serve on the water, on the board, or from your own living room — there’s a place for you in this mission.