Zach Reeves

MYSTERY RANCH Military Ambassador

Hometown

Port Gamble, WA

Resides

Bozeman, MT

Profession

President of MSO. meta.aero/mso

I spent over 22 years in the Marine Corps, with the bulk of that on various Reconnaissance and Special Operations Forces (SOF) teams. Most guys I know who have retired from team life on active duty do not necessarily miss the military itself, but they struggle with losing the camaraderie they had in their units. I think I would have been in the same boat, so I feel very fortunate to still be in a line of work that gives me that kind of connection. At MSO, we are all SOF veterans who have been friends and worked around each other for years, and our customers are the same SOF units made up of many folks I still know, so my job keeps me plugged in with that community. We get to train and hang out with our favorite units and people, and it’s hard to put a price on that.

I had previously been issued and deployed with various MYSTERY RANCH backpacks while on active duty, and before retiring, I spent time with the MYSTERY RANCH Mission Team as an active duty intern at their headquarters in Bozeman, MT. That experience increased my respect for the brand's integrity as I saw first-hand the standards, attention to detail, and craftsmanship that go into their products. Now, I often incorporate MR products into many of the training events that I run for SOF units. I would not be willing to represent a brand that I don’t truly believe in, so representing MR is easy because I can confidently look people in the eyes and explain to them why this really is the best load carriage product. I think that, along with the culture of MYSTERY RANCH, is what has kept me in bed with this brand for so long. That, and I will forever be "The Intern!"

Accomplishments:

  • Retired Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant
  • Arabic/Spanish/Swahili Cryptologic Linguist
  • Served as a Recon Marine, Special Operations Marine, and Joint SOF Operator
  • Built and led a successful Private Military Company providing year-round tactical Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare training to SOF for the past 6 years
  • Most Importantly: Husband for 19 years, and counting!

Foundations:

What Mystery Ranch Packs do you Run?

Favorite Quote:

"The moment you tell yourself you’ve made it, you’ve become irrelevant." - Anonymous Marine