My FEARLESS Adventure- The Tender Warrior, part 1

​I have an incredible story to tell. It’s not that I have done anything incredible or that I possess any attributes that one might consider to be incredible (I am really pretty regular). Rather, it is that I have had some life changing incredible things happen to me in the last couple of years. It is possible that it all may have never happened and it is interesting how it did. At least it is interesting to me. I hope that the hand full of people that read this find it interesting as well.
 
We were at a local mall one day and stopped at a Christian book store that is there. I saw a book on display that was titled SEAL of GOD. It was written by a former Navy SEAL named Chad Williams. I looked at it and thought to myself that this is right up my alley, so I purchased it and brought it home. I couldn’t put the book down. Chad’s story and how he wound up in BUD/S training was riveting to me. I finished the book over the next couple of days. His story of success and how God transformed his life was amazing! It left me the desire to keep reading about America’s elite warrior’s. I will always be thankful to Chad for this.
 
We are a Navy family. My wife Rosemarie and myself were both in the Navy. In fact, both our fathers were. I had an uncle that served in the Navy as well. Actually, Rosie and I met while on active duty together. We were both serving at Naval Air Station New Orleans in Belle Chase Louisiana. I was an Aviation Mechanic and Rosie was a Data Processing Technician. How we met is another story. We eventually moved on her orders, after I had got off active duty, to San Diego. She was stationed on board a Submarine Tender called the USS McKee which was docked at the submarine base. If I am not mistaken, that was across the bay from Coronado Island where the SEALs trained. We both ran across SEALs at various times, while serving in the Navy. I have met a few people that have served in other Special Operations groups along the way. 
 
I still remember to this day that all of us were asked in boot camp if we were interested in trying out for the SEALs. A couple people did try the PT test but I was like, Um no thanks! This is hard enough. I have always had an appreciation for America’s elite Warriors. Whether we are talking about Navy SEALs, the Army Rangers and Green Berets, Air Force PJs, or the Marine Recons, these are all bad dudes (bad is good in this case)! Even so, I never had the knowledge that I do now concerning the amount of training that goes into becoming one of America’s elite. I have done a lot of reading thanks to all the great books that have been written as of late. These are all special individuals to me. I love professional sports as much as anyone does, but my heroes wear camouflage not football pads.  
 
So as I was saying, reading SEAL of GOD really opened a renewed interest in the elite and left me with a desire to read more. It wasn’t long after that, when we were at a local store that I ran across Marcus Luttrell’s book titled Lone Survivor. Once again I found myself riveted as I read the story about his training and how it led to the battle that he fought alongside his teammates in Afghanistan. I remember vividly, how the training he received helped him to survive his harrowing ordeal. His book, of course a best seller, inspired the movie by the same name. I saw it in the theater. We all left the movie speechless as it ended. So this was starting to become a habit of mine, and again the search for another good read was on.
 
We were at Benjamin’s favorite mall one day, in his favorite book store, and I went to the military section in search of the next great story. I searched the shelves and saw many books of interest with titles that caught my attention. Among those was a book titled FEARLESS. I picked it up and looked at the back cover. It described a man that overcame some really big problems to get into the SEALs only to be killed in action. I don’t completely know what it was about the storyline as it was described but I was hesitant to purchase the book. After all, I had had my own problems in life at various times.  Why would I want to read about a person with problems of their own? Plus, he was killed in action, I wanted to read about victory! I would later learn that I had just put one of the most inspirational, (and for me, life changing) stories ever told, back on the shelf.
 
Instead, I purchased Marcus Luttrell’s second book titled SERVICE. I wasn’t disappointed. Again, it just continued to tell the story of Marcus’ remarkable career in the SEALs. Another great read! To me there aren’t any bad firsthand account Special Operation books out there. These are all incredible people to me. They all have something in their background and/or upbringing that prepares them for the advanced training and endurance exercises that they have had to go through. I really can’t say enough about this.
 
I have never considered myself to be warrior material. I would like to think that I have been a warrior for my family. I have worked a lot of hours to keep a roof over our heads. Like I have said in the past, I am on the home stretch of my career. I am so thankful for where I have been and look forward to where I am going. I feel like my body is wearing out, one appendage at a time (humor me please!) but my character is still being worked on. The character examples that I see in these guys as I read their stories leaves an impression on me. Things like a never quit attitude and remaining calm in trying circumstances under pressure are things that I am gleaning from. As I have said in the past, I didn’t intend this blog to necessarily be biblically based. I do have to say that I find that a lot of what these guys have been taught in their training is compatible with the values taught in God’s word.
 
So I know that I am Rabbit Trailing a little here. I am going to get to the point soon. I want to tell you just a little about a guy who is often referred to as the Tender Warrior and how reading about him has impacted my life. I also want to tell you about a little warrior princess…. but not yet! Like I said, I have met some incredible people as of late!
 

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It's amazing how a chain of events can begin.

Me at Fearless Rock. I haven't told you about that yet.