SAN DIEGO – The IATSE has given its endorsement and assistance to Forget Me Not: The Wounded Warrior Foundation for Careers in Media program, which inaugurates its first class beginning Oct. 24 in San Diego.The IA has agreed to accept into the Union and offer full accreditation to combatwounded Center graduates, giving graduating Marines the ability to work as professional crew within the entertainment industry.The first-of-its-kind career training and job placement program for Marines and Navy Corpsmen wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Foundation will assist vets selected from the Wounded Warrior Regiment in transitioning to new careers while helping them heal through learning the art and skill of visual storytelling.

Any Wounded Warrior who expresses interest in learning filmmaking and/or video journalism skills willbe eligible for training, despite physical capability.IATSE President Thomas Short said, “This project is a way to honor our wounded veterans and to help them transition into new careers in the media, whether they choose to stay in the Marines, or continue in civilian life. We are giving them a head start, and know they will make a substantial contribution to our industry. It is our hope that the Forget Me Not Foundation will give hope and skills to these brave veterans.”More than 30 media industry professionals will share their video and photojournalism expertise and experience with these class members. The growing faculty roster includes recipients of three Academy Awards, 27 Emmys, and eight Cine Eagles. Potential professional sponsors include Apple, Adobe, Canon, and AbelCineTech.

The Center will be located on a 20-acre campus at Stu Segall Productions, ten miles north of San Diego, home of the innovative Strategic Operations Marine training facility, where training and combat immersion scenarios are already being carried out. Currently, Marine and Habitat for Humanity volunteers are refurbishing the Center. Camp Pendleton Marine Base and Miramar Naval Air Station are to its north.The Forget Me Not Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded by IA Local 600 member and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Kevin Lombard and his wife, Judith Paixao. Lombard’s father was a Marine who served in the South Pacific in WWII and, as a member of Local 644 (now Local 600), went on to win four Emmys of his own at NBC.