About the Founder
Ryan Gunning: Marine, University of Alabama Graduate, Founder of The Calm Seas Project
President & Founder, The Calm Seas Project
Ryan Gunning is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served from 2014 to 2018 with the Marine Raider Regiment and finished as a Sergeant. He is a graduate of The University of Alabama, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in operations management. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he is President and Founder of The Calm Seas Project, which he started with college friends who supported veterans and wanted to keep giving back. The nonprofit offers all-expenses-paid fishing and diving excursions for veterans and first responders.
Connect with RyanU.S. Marine Corps, 2014–2018
Service
Ryan Gunning served in the United States Marine Corps from 2014 to 2018 and finished his service as a Sergeant. He served as an Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist with the Marine Raider Regiment, where he worked within Marine Special Operations Teams as an enabler, supporting Marine Raiders through precision resupply and mission-critical air delivery.
That work was all about logistics and timing. Just as important, those years showed him how much Marines lean on one another, a lesson he carried with him out of uniform.
“The Marine Corps taught me that no one gets through the hard days alone. That truth didn't expire when I hung up the uniform, and The Calm Seas Project is how I keep faith with the men and women who still carry the weight of service.”
The University of Alabama
Education
After completing his service in 2018, Ryan enrolled at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He earned a bachelor's degree in operations management with a minor in supply chain management, then completed an accelerated master's degree in operations management, graduating in June 2025. He believes operations management is an outstanding degree for veterans because it builds directly on what many service members already know firsthand: planning, logistics, supply chains, and getting people and equipment where they need to be.
On campus, Ryan served on the board of the University of Alabama Campus Veterans Association and advocated for student veterans who were not receiving the educational benefits they had earned. He still encourages student veterans to take internships and student worker positions so they build a resume while they study.
The Calm Seas Project
Why Calm Seas
Ryan knows what time on the water can do. He started The Calm Seas Project with fellow University of Alabama graduates. Every member of the board is a friend from college who supported veterans during their school years and wanted to keep giving back after graduation, and together they set out to get veterans and first responders out on the water too. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit offers all-expenses-paid fishing and diving excursions for veterans and first responders, so the people who have carried the weight of service can spend a day with others who understand it.
Today
Ryan lives in Jacksonville, Florida, a great military town close to the water. As President and Founder of The Calm Seas Project, he spends as much time as he can fishing and diving and building the organization, one trip at a time. He also writes about military history, Marine Corps news, and the move from the military to civilian life.
Find Ryan online