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Inkandescent Kids Story of the Day

Meet Rob Heber, co-author, Founders’ Font and publisher, Ranger Sacred Honor Publishing

About the Author: In February 2026, Rob Heber co-founded Ranger Sacred Honor Publishing with fellow Army Ranger Sean Hagerty. Together, they co-authored Founders’ Font, a children’s book that teaches critical thinking, introduces STEM concepts, and our nation’s foundational cursive by helping young readers understand and engage with America’s founding documents. Their mission is to preserve cursive as an essential skill that strengthens natural brilliance, literacy, art, historical understanding, and civic engagement for future generations. Learn more about their book below!

Here’s what their moms are saying: 

Check out our Q&A with Rob:

Inkandescent Kids: How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a writer?

Rob: Unlike my co-author Sean, I didn’t know from an early age that I wanted to be a writer. As a kid, I’d rather be outside fishing, playing sports, or exploring the woods and enjoying the beaches on Cape Cod. Writing became important during my Army career, where clear communication could influence decisions, shape doctrine, and ultimately save lives. Whether writing operational assessments, contributing to Army doctrine, or briefing senior military leaders, I learned the importance of using precise words precisely.

After retiring and raising my two boys, I felt called to write for a different audience—our nation’s children. Founders’ Font is my way of continuing to serve by helping the next generation understand the history, principles, and freedoms that define America.

Inkandescent Kids: What do you hope readers will take away from your story?

Rob: I hope children discover the confidence that comes from learning things for themselves. The Founding Fathers believed liberty depends on an educated, capable, and self-reliant citizens. Through Founders’ Font, I want children to develop more than beautiful unique handwriting, I want them to learn to read our founding documents as they were written, think critically, ask thoughtful questions, and appreciate the responsibilities of citizenship. In a world that moves faster every day, reading deeply, writing by hand, and learning patiently remain timeless skills that build character, independence, and lifelong curiosity.

Ben the Pen, featured in Founders Font

Inkandescent Kids: What was it like to see your work published?

Rob: Working alongside my friend and fellow Army Ranger Sean Hagerty, we realized that we wanted more than just another children’s book—we wanted to create a resource that would help families reconnect with our nation’s history while teaching practical skills that build confidence and independence.

That vision led us to establish Ranger Sacred Honor Publishing, where our mission is to create books that inspire character, curiosity, patriotism, and lifelong learning. Seeing Founders’ Fontbecome a reality has been incredibly rewarding because I believe its greatest impact will be seen in the children who grow up understanding the principles that have sustained our Republic for nearly 250 years.

Publishing Founders’ Font is one of the most meaningful accomplishments of my life. During my Army career, I helped write doctrine and developed capabilities to protect our nation. This book is about helping preserve it.

More about Rob: A husband and father, and a citizen of Huntsville, Alabama, Rob was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in Texas and Massachusetts, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1997 from Hyannis, Massachusetts. During a distinguished 25-year military career, Rob served primarily within the Army’s elite Special Operations and Special Missions community. As both a Non-Commissioned Officer and later a Commissioned Officer, he served most notably with the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG). He retired as a Captain (Promotable) after previously attaining the rank of Master Sergeant.

A seasoned combat leader, intelligence professional, and innovator, Rob led soldiers in some of the world’s most demanding operational environments. Rob began his career in the Ranger Regiment and was developed as an NCO and Ranger Leader. Rob was routinely selected to lead Ranger Regiment snipers, Special Operations Forces, Special Mission Teams, and Allied Partnered Soldiers. Rob was entrusted with planning, executing, and leading high-priority missions requiring independent decision-making under extreme combat conditions. Rob deployed 17 times in support of the Global War on Terrorism and Overseas Contingency Operations, including nine deployments to Afghanistan, one to Iraq, and seven operational deployments, including Israel, Georgia, and Ukraine. He served as a sniper, sniper team leader, operational advisor, military intelligence officer, and troop commander.

Rob and Sean at the Library of Congress, July 4, 2026

Throughout his career, Rob helped drive several significant Army modernization initiatives, including the fielding of the MK-12 Special Purpose Rifle (SPR), Soldier Load program – during Operation Enduring Freedom, and the integration of the Switchblade Loitering Munition into Army programs. Rob helped design and shape today’s modern drone warfare capabilities, and in 2010, he was recognized as the Asymmetric Warfare Group’s Asymmetric Warrior of the Year.

Rob is among an elite group of American Special Operations Soldiers who have been awarded two combat parachute assault bronze service stars on his Parachutist Badge, for participating in combat parachute assaults “spearheading” both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rob participated in and supported Task Force K-BAR, Task Force Sword, and Task Force Dagger during the opening phases of the war in Afghanistan and participated in combat operations at Haditha Dam in Iraq (2003) as well as numerous combat operations in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley (2008–2009).

  • Rob Heber and family

    In 2012, Rob earned his commission through the Johns Hopkins University ROTC program, graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate and receiving the George C. Marshall Leadership Award from the George Marshall Foundation.

  • In 2013, he was selected by the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Raymond Odierno, to receive the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) Major General Sidney Shachnow Grateful Nation Award, presented by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Admiral William McRaven, recognizing his extraordinary contributions to Special Operations during the Global War on Terror.
  • As an Army officer, Rob served as a Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, Executive Officer for U.S. Army Pacific G-2, Troop Commander, Deputy Operations Officer (S3), and Brigade Intelligence Officer (S2). Most importantly Rob was the Asymmetric Warfare Group’s Eastern European Troop Commander – Ukraine and he was responsible for intelligence operations supporting Ukraine, Poland, the Baltics, and Georgia. His team’s assessments on Russian hybrid warfare informed senior leaders across the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, Congress, and the Executive Branch.
  • For his leadership and contributions, Rob received numerous prestigious awards, including the Military Intelligence Corps Association’s Lieutenant Colonel Thomas G. Knowlton Award (2018), the Order of Saint Maurice (Centurion) (2019), and the National Military Intelligence Foundation’s Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. Nicholson Award (2021).
  • Following retirement in 2022, Rob joined Workhorse Group AERO as Director of Commercial Sales and Government Programs, where he led initiatives involving electric unmanned aircraft systems, autonomous logistics, drone delivery, and precision agriculture scanning technologies in partnership with organizations including UPS, FedEx, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Valqari, drone delivery.
  • In 2024, Rob founded Global Terrain Solutions (GTS), a Huntsville-based intelligence, technology, and innovation companyfocused on hybrid warfare, emerging /advanced technologies, national security, and strategic decision support for government and commercial clients across the landscape of Diplomatic Information, Military, and Economic (DIME) interests.
  • In 2025, Rob earned his Masters of Business for Veterans (MBV) degree from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
  • In January 2026, Rob joined Cimarron Inc. as a Business Development leader for Watring Technologies supporting U.S. Government customers and Department of War modernization priorities from Huntsville, Alabama.

Founders’ Font

About the book: Parents and educators, this is a brilliant and exciting book for our children. A book for every son, daughter, or grandchild. Before the alphabet became a collection of keystrokes on a screen, it was something children carefully learned by hand—one letter, one word, and one thought at a time. The simple act of putting pen to paper was once recognized as an essential part of learning, helping young minds develop focus, memory, creativity, and the ability to express themselves with clarity and purpose.

Today, we live in a world of remarkable technological convenience. Information is available instantly, and communication travels at the speed of light. Yet amid these advances, something valuable has begun to fade. As handwriting becomes less common, so too does an important connection between thought and action—the deliberate process of slowing down, reflecting, and transforming ideas into words.

Founders’ Font is about much more than learning cursive. It is an invitation to rediscover a foundational skill that strengthens the mind while opening a window into our nation’s history. Through the pages that follow, children will not only practice writing letters; they will encounter the words, principles, and ideals that helped shape the United States of America.

This is a fun journey through our nation’s history with our main character, Ben the Pen. As a time traveler accidentally created by Benjamin Franklin, Ben takes the reader on a journey around the country to understand the importance of critical thinking and our nation’s history.

Founders’ Font brings families back to the basics where learning is active, creativity is personal, and every letter written strengthens a child’s ability to think, comprehend, and express. It begins with a simple but powerful step: reintroducing the fine motor skill of physical writing.

Read more articles in the Summer 2026 issue of Inkandescent Kids