There are moments in life that define a person. For Bryan Trembath, one of those moments came on September 11, 2001.
When the second plane struck the World Trade Center, he was preparing to respond. Within minutes, he was airborne in a medevac helicopter—flying toward the Pentagon, landing amid smoke, chaos, and debris to help evacuate survivors.
“We flew a helicopter up, landed it on the North Lawn… and that was my 9/11,” explained Trembath.
That moment would become part of a much larger story—one that would take him through war zones, into life-or-death missions, and eventually… back home, building something entirely different.
A Life of Service—And Survival
Trembath didn’t take a traditional path into the military.
He walked into a Navy recruiting office on a whim—fed up with his job, chasing something bigger. After enlisting he went home for a few weeks to tell his parents before deployment. His mom cried. His dad shook his hand with great pride.
“I jumped out of helicopters for a living… I’ve broken my back, my knee, my shoulder,” noted Trembath.
But even before the military, there was another defining moment—one that shaped his instinct to act under pressure.
As a boy, he watched his sister nearly drown.
That fear—helplessness in the face of crisis—never left him.
Later in life, it would drive him to jump into the ocean during rescue missions… not away from danger, but directly into it.
It wasn’t that the fear went away—it was that he learned to move through it.
Building Something From Nothing
Ironically, the foundation for Veterans Decks didn’t begin in a workshop—it began in a war zone.
While deployed in Iraq, Trembath found himself living in harsh conditions—tents, cots, and little else.
So he started building.
Trading MRE snacks for tools and materials, he started small—building a storage space, then a desk, then showers and bathrooms—eventually working his way up to full deck platforms outside the tents.
“It kind of just started there,” Trembath explained.
What began as survival turned into skill.
When he returned home, he carried that mindset with him—teaching himself construction, learning from mistakes, and slowly mastering the craft.
A Partnership Built on Shared Values
Eventually, Trembath crossed paths with Chuck Palasick —an Army veteran with deep construction experience.
The connection was closer to home than business—Trembath’s fiancé and Palasick’s wife had worked together for years, eventually bringing the two veterans together.
Different branches. Same mindset.
Palasick brings decades of construction experience to the partnership, handling much of the day-to-day operations, ordering, and logistics, while Trembath leads sales, marketing and customer relationships.
It’s a balance that works. “He does most of the sales and marketing,” Palasick said. “I just like to show up and be part of the team and work.”
Their working relationship is built on what Palasick describes as “brutal honesty”—a no-nonsense approach where both say what needs to be said, solve the problem, and move forward.
That dynamic carries off the job site, too, where the Army-Navy rivalry still shows up—especially during the annual Army-Navy Game, when the two trade jabs like they’re still in uniform.
Together, they built Veterans Decks on principles shaped by their time in uniform—doing the right thing even when no one is watching, taking care of the people around them, and seeing every job through to the end.
“We do everything we say we’re going to do… you know exactly what you’re getting,” said Trembath.
Their approach is simple but rare:
When they start a job, they stay on it—every day—until it’s done.
More Than a Business
That mindset carries into how they build their team.
“We only hire people that are good—and have fun while they work,” explained Palasick. “You have to be a good person, get along with people, and want to work hard.”
Today, Veterans Decks employs up to a dozen workers during peak season.
But for Trembath, the responsibility goes far beyond construction.
“All of those guys have families… we can’t fail these people.”
That same sense of duty extends to the veteran community. In September, Trembath and Palasick will host a golf outing to raise funds for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, a nonprofit that helps injured and disabled veterans through the therapeutic benefits of fly fishing.
Their commitment doesn’t stop there. Beyond individual projects, Trembath and his team regularly raise money for veteran-focused nonprofits and organize events to support local veterans in need.
For them, giving back isn’t a marketing strategy—it’s a continuation of the mission they began in uniform.
One story stands out—a wounded Marine who couldn’t even step onto his own unsafe deck after being taken advantage of by another contractor. Trembath and his team stepped in, securing donated materials and heavily discounting the labor. In the end, they refused payment altogether.
“You can put that check away. The rest of it is on us,” explained Trembath.
The veteran’s wife broke down in tears.
The moment wasn’t about business. It was about brotherhood.
Still Serving—Just in a Different Way
Trembath describes veterans as people who once “wrote a blank check” with their lives.
And for him, that commitment didn’t end when he left the military. Today, he continues to serve—helping fellow veterans navigate VA benefits, access healthcare, secure disability support, and find direction after service. Too many, he says, still don’t know what they’ve earned.
The Mission Continues
For Palasick, the mission isn’t complicated—it’s built on doing the basics right.
“Quality work. Fair price. Great service… and we stand behind what we build,” he said.
They may be building decks, patios, and outdoor spaces, but the mission runs deeper than construction. It’s about restoring trust in an industry where that can be hard to find. It’s about serving the community they now call home. And it’s about taking care of people—customers, employees, and fellow veterans alike.
For Trembath and Palasick, success isn’t measured in revenue.
It’s measured in responsibility.
In showing up. In doing what you said you would do. In finishing the job—and making sure no one gets left behind.
In the end, Trembath and Palasick didn’t stop serving when they left the military.
They just found a new way to do it—this time, building something that lasts right here at home.
Special Offer: Veterans Decks is offering 15% off siding and window replacement for customers who mention this story.
Disclosure: Veterans Decks is a current sponsor of The 228 Times, including support of Rodney’s Rundown. Sponsorship does not influence editorial content, which is reported and written independently.
