U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Brian L. Freeman was killed in combat in Iraq in 2005 while serving with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The SSG Freeman Scholarship was established by his family to provide college funding for one student per year who graduates from Freeman’s former high school and writes the best essay concerning what our country or military means to them. The Second Dragoons Firepit Foundation has supported the scholarship effort and has received a copy of the winning essay from the Freeman family.

SSG Freeman’s memory lives on through his family’s dedication to this scholarship and we are proud to be associated with this effort. SSG Freeman’s 3ACR commander, LTG (R) H.R. McMaster, sent the Foundation a note with his donation thanking us for honoring the memory of SSG Brian Freeman.

In 2024 the Second Dragoons Firepit Foundation funded a scholarship to support a participant in the Shelton Red Hat Leadership Challenge. The Red Hat Challenge is part of the Shelton Leadership Center at NC State University and seeks to provide a week of practical leadership training during the summer to current high school students. One of the members of the Firepit National Security Seminar serves as a mentor for the program and testified to the benefits, and we were able to identify a participant in need of financial assistance whose father had served in the U.S. Army and received a medical discharge.