Welcome to the Hook & Barrel Trophy Room, where we showcase some of the boldest and most badass outdoorswomen in America.
For Callie Forbes, courage, strength and commitment are not abstract qualities. They were forged through a difficult childhood in West Virginia, the loss of her younger sister during basic training and a military career that took her from Kuwait to the Pentagon.
After leaving the military in December 2025, Forbes carried that same drive into fitness, competitive shooting and work supporting other veterans. Now based in Dallas, she is building a new chapter around the values that have guided her from the beginning.
Hook & Barrel spoke with Forbes about the family that shaped her, the moment she learned grit and the life she is building after military service.
Editor’s note: This interview was conducted before Forbes’ scheduled Tactical Games appearance in June 2026.
Who is Callie Forbes?
Name: Callie forbes
Age: 26
Hometown: Lewisburg, West Virginia
Current residence: Dallas, Texas
Instagram: @callie.forbes
- Forbes joined the military at 18 after learning that doing so could help provide health care for her younger sister.
- She uses fitness to manage stress, support her mental health and help military women prepare for their combat fitness tests.
- Her next chapter combines competitive shooting, veteran advocacy and plans to build a training business for women in the military.
Callie Forbes Q&A
Hook & Barrel: Tell me about growing up in West Virginia, your family and how it shaped you.
Callie Forbes: I was born in North Carolina, but I grew up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, the middle of three sisters. My little sister Ella was born with Cerebral Palsy and had severe special needs. Our mother was abusive, but my dad worked away from home a lot, and he didn’t realize what was happening. One day, CPS came and took us, and we spent a few years in the foster care system. Our dad fought through the court system and finally got us back. I have the utmost respect for my dad. He worked to basically raise us by himself.
When I was 17, I was the valedictorian at the top of my class and had the option of going to college on a near-full ride. But at the time, my dad couldn’t afford the health insurance to cover all my sister’s needs, but if I joined the military, I could take her as a dependent and cover her health care. In October 2018, when I was 18, I joined the military. In January, I went to basic training. I didn’t realize when I left that it was the last time I’d see my little sister. During the first few months of basic training, my sister passed away. That was the first time in my life I had to choose between comfort and pushing through the pain. My dad said, “Ella would want you to finish,” so I missed her funeral and stayed to finish basic training. That’s when I learned grit.
In January, I went to basic training. I didn’t realize when I left that it was the last time I’d see my little sister.
H&B: Tell us about your military career.
CF: I found out pretty quickly that I loved the military. I had my first deployment to Kuwait in 2019, and it was an adventure, to say the least. All I ever wanted was to be a combat MOS, but when we deployed, I ended up doing so many different things. I even worked as a mechanic for a time. Every time I changed jobs, I learned something new. When I got back, one of my superiors told me that they’d never met anyone as driven as me, and they put my name forward as a candidate for the Face of the Army advertising campaign. I filmed a commercial for the Army that ran for three years. It was cool—there were billboards with my face on them.
At the same time, I started ranking up pretty quickly. I applied for a job at headquarters and got it. I was doing recruiting and, at one point, was the number-six recruiter in the country. In December 2025, I decided it was time for a new challenge and left the military. I loved my whole term of service, and I have met the most amazing community of veterans.
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H&B: How did you transition to the fitness realm?
CF: Through my participation in the campaign, women started reaching out to me for fitness tips. They wanted help passing their combat fitness tests. I still train five to 10 military women on my own because it’s my passion. One of the biggest issues in the veteran community is struggling with mental health and stress, and using the wrong things to manage that. I use fitness as a way to manage my mental health and stress. I ended up doing a HYROX event with a friend from the military who was struggling. I love competition, so I’m always looking for something competitive to do. I’m preparing to do my first Tactical Games in June, which combines fitness and shooting, merging my two worlds. For me, fitness is so much more than what it does for your body—it’s what it does for your brain. It is what has helped me to cope with so much pain in my life.
H&B: How did you get to Texas?
CF: The last year of your military service, you can do something called SkillBridge, a program that allows transitioning service members to participate in industry training, apprenticeships or internships with private companies while still being paid by the military. My last job was doing marketing for the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon, so I thought that after I finished, I might get into marketing.
I applied for a position with a company in Texas called NFQ (which stands for Never F*#cking Quit), and they hired me. I got to work in a bunch of different areas and learned a lot. Then I went to work with MRS (Military Retirement Systems) to help veterans transitioning out of the military. These days, I work with NASCAR, Black Rifle Coffee and other companies.
H&B: Were you raised shooting, or did your military service bring that into your world?
CF: I did not really learn to shoot well in the military. All of my shooting skills came outside of that. Most of my shooting skills were developed when I worked for NFQ. They had range days every week, and they took everyone who worked there to the range. They told me that I had a knack for it.
My dad really raised us on guns. He taught us how to shoot and firearm safety. It was a blessing. I want to continue competitive shooting and plan to cycle over to the Tactical Games. For the games in June, I’m partnering with Ranger Point Precision, which is assembling a lever-action gun that I’ll be using. It’s the first time a lever-action will be used in the Tactical Games.
H&B: What is your favorite gun to shoot, and what is a gun on your wish list?
CF: I love my Geissele AR pistol. They sent it to me, and I love the way it shoots. It is so smooth. I also have memories of this custom build that I had built for me in West Virginia. And I’ve been looking everywhere for a sawed-off, double-barrel shotgun—probably a vintage one with a double trigger. So far, I haven’t been able to find one.
H&B: You’re in Texas, and love to shoot. Have you been hunting yet?
CF: I went on my first official hunt in Georgia at the beginning of this year with Black Rifle Coffee. I got my first deer kill with a rifle. I did go hunting when I was younger in West Virginia, but I never shot anything.
H&B: As we celebrate America’s sesquicentennial, what makes you proud to be a veteran and an American?
CF: The community. There’s nothing like when one veteran is in need, and the community comes together to help. After the Texas floods last year, I drove down there to help in any way I could. I slept in my car for two weeks. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. I posted that I was going, and 40 or 50 vets showed up to help. It was the most patriotic I’ve ever felt in my life.
H&B: What’s your five- to 10-year strategic plan?
CF: I’m going to turn the community of women I train into a business because there’s a huge demand for it. When it comes to my effect on the world, I want every time I meet someone, for them to say that I made them dig deep in their soul. The one thing that isn’t replaceable and that I think the world is losing is authenticity and genuineness. It can be so hard and uncomfortable to be authentic, but I think we need to sit in those uncomfortable spaces.
H&B: Describe your perfect day.
I’d wake up right before sunrise and have a cup of Black Rifle Coffee with a splash of milk and honey. My dad is making waffles in the kitchen, and he’s humming—he’s always humming a song. My whole family and all of our dogs are there, and we spend the day going down the river or out in the garden. Then we go to the range. There has to be a workout in there somewhere. Come back and eat steaks. We’d watch the sunset and have a campfire. Just a day of perfect peace.
