Service MArriage strong
“Great nations are built on the shoulders of great families.” -Sheriff Bill Waybourn, TACKF Board Member
we believe in:
Cultivating Hope
We believe 2 are stronger than 1 against the challenges of service lifestyles.
Strengthening legacies
There is a reason why couples choose each other. We work to reunite them impacting their lineage for generations.
combating suicide
One couple with hope and strength is a light in service communities who experience things most of us cannot imagine.
Our mission:
Taya and Chris Kyle Family - Service Marriage Strong (TACKF) walks with military and first responder couples through strengths focused coaching - restoring trust, renewing hope, saving lives, and transforming legacies.
Our vision:
We see a world where service couples love each other well through trauma and hardship, leaving future generations a legacy of marriages that don’t just survive - they thrive.
our Impact:
Strengthening Service Marriages
4324 Participants
1 2 Years Experience
487 Smccp graduates*
363 Mym Students*
*Partnership with Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work.
SMMCP is Service Marriage Counselor Certification Program, a continuing education certificate program, for providers wanting to learn how to effectively serve this unique service population.
MYM is Mastering Your Service Marriage, a six month program, designed to be shared with organizations who want to serve this population effectively.
Evidence based
studied
effective
TAckF has a 99% success rate based on all standards and measures.
Proven Tools to Conquer Unpredictable Lifestyles
The lifestyles our first responders have chosen entail sacrifices for families as well as the service members. Missed milestones and emergencies challenge the foundations of even the strongest relationships.
Time Together to Overcome Frequent Separation
Military and first responder couples face long separations and unusual schedules. We help them create time dedicated to their relationship.
Self-Care and Resilience to Combat Exposure to Trauma
By the very nature of the work they do, this group of people have seen traumas, tragedies, and violence that take a toll regardless of how strong they are.
Relationship as a safe place to beat Workplace Challenges
When your work experience often involves trauma and difficult situations, and talking with colleagues who have experienced the same hardships may not be healthy, your partner is important. We give couples the tools they need to be there for each other.
Our Founder
Taya Kyle is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and the Executive Director of the Taya and Chris Kyle Family Foundation (TACKF).
Taya was unexpectedly thrust into the national spotlight following the murder of her husband, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose life and service were portrayed in the book and film American Sniper. In the years since, Taya has continued to build on the lessons she and Chris learned through the joys and challenges of marriage, family, military service, faith, loss, and resilience.
As a mother to Colton and McKenna, Taya is passionate about faith, family, and strengthening the marriages of those who serve our country and communities. Through TACKF, her writing, and speaking, she continues Chris’s legacy of service while sharing a message of hope, purpose, and the power of strong families.
Taya is the author of the New York Times bestseller American Wife and American Spirit: Profiles in Resilience, Courage, and Faith.
The Legacy
Colton Kyle has continued his father's legacy by creating the apparel and tactical brand American Sniper. American Sniper offers a variety of apparel and tactical products built on the values he shared with his father: Godliness, Patriotism, Passion, Service, and Excellence. American Sniper donates a portion of proceeds to TACK-F, Taya and Chris Kyle Family- Service Marriage Strong.
Colton serves as a thought partner and passionate advocate for TACKF. He has been training locally and internationally as a strengths-based coach to help service members and their spouses thrive in their marriages.
The Legacy
McKenna Kyle was almost seven years old when her father, American Sniper hero Chris Kyle, was brutally murdered by someone he was trying to help. McKenna spent the following decade learning the power of faith and the intricacies of healing both individually and in a family that was also grieving.
McKenna serves TACKF as a thought partner and passionate advocate for the work. McKenna continues to train in trauma and relational care for others through conferences both locally and internationally. She is also pursuing her career goals in event make-up and special effects art for studio and film.
Meet the Team
-
Taya Kyle
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
“In the months following Chris’s death, amongst the crushing pain, I had these moments of overwhelming gratitude that God had given us the gift of lasting love and allowed us to end on a high note of having weathered the storm with love stronger than I could have predicted. I want that gift for every service couple. I want deep love and a joyful family for them to rest in and savor. It makes all the difference in healing.”
-
Meghan Najera
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
“My late Father was a career DEA and my brother a decorated Officer in the United States Marine Corps. I have seen the profound differences, challenges, and impact of living in a service family. Now more than ever I want to serve those Service families who need support, empowerment, and understanding of their marriage and daily lives.”
-
Mariangela
LEAD COACH
“After spending 17 years as a military spouse, enduring multiple deployments, living in seven different states, and facing all the highs and lows of military life, I have a lot of experience and insight to offer couples going through some of those same challenges. I am passionate about serving service couples and am a Gallup-certified Strengths Finder Coach, Nurse, Life Coach, and Family Trauma Professional with advanced degrees in Psychology and Marriage and Family Counseling.”
-
Karen
TACK-F COACH
“As a military spouse and mother to four young adults, I've journeyed through the intricacies of service life for over two decades, celebrating twenty-five years of marriage along the way. With this wealth of experience, my focus lies in strengths training and fostering a positive outlook. I am dedicated to assisting families like yours in navigating the challenges of service life while emphasizing the strengths that make your journey unique.”
Meet the Board
-
Taya Kyle
Taya Kyle continues the life-changing and life-saving work of helping service members save their families. TACKF recognizes and strengthens military and first responder marriages through unique programs and powerful partnerships. TACKF leads the charge in providing insight and targeted programmatic interventions to offer service members hope and, importantly, statistically significant outcomes when it comes to a multitude of force readiness and wellness issues, especially as they relate to the family.
-
Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey
“Taya’s mission to strengthen military and first responder marriages is a lifechanging act of grace from a passionate patriot. I’ve been proud to showcase military causes as the Executive Producer of Extra-tv. I’m blessed to be married for 30 years to Gary Dempsey, an air force veteran, who was also a first responder and honored to serve on the board.”
-
Bill Waybourn
“I believe this nation has become so great and been so blessed because strong marriages are the cornerstone of this country. The foundation is on the tip of the spear of not letting that cornerstone be chipped away; they do this by simply engaging the most at-risk marriages of first responders and our military in order to restore them to their rightful place of reconciliation. What an honor to be a small part of this.”
With Every $100 donation
We will send a copy of Taya Kyle’s Children’s Book
Prayers for Bears
To one of the service families currently enrolled in our programs.
The story of Bailey The Grateful Bear is a version of Taya and her children's story.
When all the chips were down, and life seemed bleak, they always had something to be grateful for, even if it was a roof over their heads or simply their hands and feet.
In a world full of difficulty, particularly with families who fight evil and protect the rest of us, we hope Prayers for Bears will help empower children to intentionally combat anxiety through noticing and thanking God for the things we often take for granted.
-
TACKF RESEARCH
-
2023 EOY Report
-
2025 EOY Report