Bryan Stern remembers the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, not from a television screen, but from the front lines, as a first responder, in New York City. More than two decades later, the Tampa-based veteran and founder of Grey Bull Rescue is sharing his behind-the-scenes experiences as part of the Netflix documentary American Manhunt: The Search for Osama Bin Laden.
The series, which offers a unique look into the years-long intelligence operation to find the world’s most wanted terrorist, features Stern as one of the many who played a role in the global hunt that ended in 2011.
“What the documentary really does a good job with is showcasing all the, literally, tens of thousands of people from the intelligence community that worked for years,” says Stern. “The raid on Bin Laden was really the last 40 minutes of a 17-year-long operation.”
Stern served within multiple agencies in the U.S. intelligence community and is quick to deflect attention from himself. While he appears in the documentary, he emphasizes that his role is representative of a vast, largely unrecognized network of professionals.
“There are tens of thousands of people, literally, exactly like me, or more accomplished, who had even bigger effects,” he says. “I tried to represent them well, to represent my tribe.”
That tribe, as Stern describes it, is a tight-knit group of anonymous professionals often sent into the most dangerous situations, with no fanfare or backup.
“The intel folks go to all the same places as special operations, just earlier, unarmed and usually alone,” he says. “If you get caught, you’re arrested for breakfast, tried for lunch and executed for dinner. And no one throws a fundraiser.”
Stern’s nonprofit, Grey Bull Rescue, specializes in extracting Americans and allies from dangerous environments across the globe. From Ukraine to Haiti and Gaza to Sudan, the organization has executed more than 700 missions since inception.
“We’re not an Uber service,” Stern says. “Everything we do is very, very hard. There’s nothing cookie-cutter about it.”
The Netflix appearance, he hopes, will draw attention to the intelligence community’s crucial, yet quiet, role in global security.
“We like to make movies about fighter pilots, and Navy SEALs, and all that’s good,” Stern says. “But this was an intelligence war. And the documentary really showcased the people who don’t usually get their stories told.”
Stern likens the work of Grey Bull to something closer to a heist film than a war zone.
Working with Governor Ron Desantis and the state of Florida, Grey Bull currently helping Americans evacuate from Israel, as the country’s conflict with Iran intensifies.
The U.S. State Department issued a level four do-not-travel advisory for Israel on Monday, the highest travel warning possible.
“We’re more Ocean’s 11 than Navy SEALs,” he said. “We don’t go in with machine guns. We operate undetected. The bad guys just scratch their heads and say, ‘How did we lose them?’ That’s the goal.”
Still, for all the tactical strategy and adrenaline that comes with his work, Stern keeps his purpose simple.
“People are in trouble. Somebody has to show up,” he says. “If no one else is going to, then I take it upon myself, and that’s okay.”
And for those wondering what motivates someone to willingly step into harm’s way, Stern offers a blunt assessment:
“Because I can,” he says, and when asked if his story will get its own movie, Stern laughs it off.
“We’ve done 729 missions, and counting,” he said. “You’d need a 729-part mini-series to tell it all.”
