RENO, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 29, 2025--
Liberty Dogs ™ is proud to announce the appointment of Major General Ondra L. Berry, Air National Guard, Ret., as its new Chief Executive Officer. Berry brings a distinguished career marked by exceptional leadership skills, a strong commitment to service, and a proven track record in organizational excellence.
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A flagship initiative of the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation, Liberty Dogs is a national Service Dog training and placement program for U.S. military Veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"We are thrilled to welcome Ondra Berry to Liberty Dogs," said Dave Duffield, Chairman of the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation. "His extensive military background, combined with his commitment to strong values, integrity, and creating positive and impactful organizational cultures, makes him the ideal person to lead our team. His vision and enthusiasm will be instrumental to our mission of honoring our nation’s veterans who are dealing with PTSD by providing them with a life-changing Service Dog.”
Berry's career spans nearly four decades of distinguished service in the Nevada National Guard, where he most recently served as the Adjutant General from 2019 until his retirement in October 2024. In this critical role, he was responsible for developing and executing plans and policies impacting more than 4,700 Nevada Army and Air National Guard personnel. He also oversaw the state and federal missions of the Nevada National Guard and served as the official channel of communication with the National Guard Bureau. Berry enlisted in the Nevada Air National Guard in 1986, was commissioned as a lieutenant four years later, and held numerous positions throughout his tenure.
In addition to his military service, Berry dedicated 25 years as an officer in the Reno Police Department, rising to the rank of Assistant Police Chief. He also held the role of Senior Vice President of Learning and Development at MGM Resorts International, showcasing his diverse leadership experience across various sectors.
“This opportunity with Liberty Dogs is a special calling that is made possible by the remarkable dedication of both the Liberty Dogs team and Dave and Cheryl Duffield,” said Berry. “The Duffields and Liberty Dogs are dispensers of hope for Veterans with disabilities, and the pups we are already training are working hard to give those heroes the freedom to live with dignity and purpose.”
Berry’s appointment signifies a pivotal moment for Liberty Dogs as it trains puppies and prepares to open its Reno, Nevada, campus in 2026.
About Liberty Dogs
Liberty Dogs will be among the nation’s premier Service Dog training organizations for U.S Veterans living with a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. The program will provide our nation’s Veteran heroes with the ability to lead more independent and fulfilling lives through the enhanced emotional and psychological well-being that research shows a Service Dog provides. Liberty Dogs is the vision of Nevada residents Dave and Cheryl Duffield and is fully funded through the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation.
About the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation
The Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation (DCDF) continues the Duffield family's commitment to creating and funding transformational services and programs. DCDF focuses on pairing Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs, expanding access to care for companion animals, and supporting public service organizations in which the founders have personal connections.
Major General Ondra L. Berry, Air National Guard, Ret.
ADAMUZ, Spain (AP) — A high-speed train derailed, jumped onto the track in the opposite direction and slammed into an oncoming train Sunday in southern Spain, killing at least people 21 and injuring dozens more, the country's transport minister said.
The tail end of an evening train traveling from Malaga to Madrid with some 300 passengers went off the rails near Córdoba at 7:45 p.m. and slammed into a train with some 200 passengers coming from Madrid to Huelva, another southern Spanish city, according to rail operator Adif.
Spain's Transport Minister Óscar Puente updated the death toll to 21 after midnight when he said that rescuers had removed all the survivors. But Puente said there could be more victims still to be confirmed.
Andalusia regional President Juanma Moreno said 75 passengers were hospitalized, with most taken to the nearby city of Cordoba, including 15 people with serious injuries.
The Spanish Red Cross set up a help center in the town of Adamuz, near the crash site, offering assistance to emergency services and people seeking information. Members of Spain's Civil Guard and Civil Defense were also on site working in the cold, cloudless night. Only emergency services were allowed to approach the crash site.
Moreno said emergency workers would work all night to remove bodies from the wreckage.
“We have a very difficult night ahead,” Andalusia’s regional health chief Antonio Sanz said.
Puente said the cause of the crash was unknown.
He called it “a truly strange” incident because it happened on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May. He also said the train that jumped the track was less than 4 years old. That train belonged to the private company Iryo, while the second train, which took the brunt of the impact, was part of Spain's public train company Renfe.
Iryo issued a statement saying it “deeply lamented what has happened” and that it was working with authorities to manage the situation.
According to Puente, the back part of the first train derailed and crashed into the head of the other train, knocking its first two carriages off the track and down a 4-meter (13-foot) slope. He said the worst damage was to the front section of the Renfe train.
When asked by reporters how long an inquiry into the crash's cause could take, he said it could be a month.
Salvador Jiménez, a journalist for Spanish broadcaster RTVE, was on board one of the derailed trains and told the network by phone that “there was a moment when it felt like an earthquake and the train had indeed derailed.”
He said passengers used emergency hammers to break the windows, and that some had walked away without serious injuries. Videos from the scene show people crawling out of windows to escape the wreckage with carriages leaning at an angle.
The crash occurred in the early evening near the village of Adamuz and hundreds of survivors had to be rescued in the darkness.
Francisco Carmona, the firefighter chief of Cordoba, told Spanish national radio RNE that one of the trains was badly mangled, with at least four wagons off the rails.
The regional Civil Protection chief, María Belén Moya Rojas, told Canal Sur the crash happened in an area that is hard to reach. She added that local people were taking blankets and water to the scene to help the victims, she said.
Spain’s military emergency relief units joined the deployment of other rescue units. The Red Cross also provided support to health care officials.
“Tonight is one of deep sadness for our country,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X. “I want to express my sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of the victims.”
Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia also expressed their condolences and concern on social media.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she was following “the terrible news” from Cordoba.
“Tonight you are in my thoughts,” she wrote in Spanish.
Spain has the largest high-speed rail network in Europe for trains moving over 250 kph (155 mph), with more than 3,100 kilometers (1,900 miles) of track, according to the European Union.
The network is a popular, competitively priced and safe mode of transport. Renfe said more than 25 million passengers took one of its high-speed trains in 2024.
Adif said train services between Madrid and cities in Andalusia would not run Monday.
Spain's worst train accident this century occurred in 2013, when 80 people died after a train derailed in the country's northwest. An investigation concluded the train was traveling 179 kph (111 mph) on a stretch with an 80 kph (50 mph) speed limit when it left the tracks.
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Naishadham from Madrid and Barry Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal.
Passengers wait in the hall of Madrid train station on Sunday, January 18, 2026, following the announcement of the suspension of service due to an accident in which two trains derailed in Cordoba. ( Carlos Luján/Europa Press via AP)
