Tom Amenta was born in Chicago, IL, and grew up in the area before enlisting, against his family’s wishes, into the United States Army on his 18th birthday. Following his five years as a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, including two combat tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Tom earned his degree in political science from the University of Illinois.

Tom spent the next eight years as the COO of the veteran lifestyle apparel company Ranger Up. He pioneered the veteran lifestyle apparel category and helped grow Ranger Up into the premier company in the space. While at Ranger Up he passionately advocated for veterans’ causes in many spaces, including lobbying Senate service committees. Leveraging the success at Ranger Up he helped produce and starred in the only fully veteran-produced Hollywood movie, Range 15. He is a passionate advocate for veteran entrepreneurship and assisting veterans in transition led to him authoring his first book, The Twenty-Year War.