Frogman stories, p.13
Frogman Stories, page 13
The deal was made. We were to fly to Boston for the procedure and stay in Manchester, New Hampshire, for the following eight weeks while I healed up. Thank God for good friends. Through my friends and their contacts, my wife and I were able to weather this storm as comfortably as anyone could. My wife is one of the greatest women on the planet. I am lucky to have ever met her, let alone marry her. She is also one the fittest and healthiest eaters I have ever met. When we first started dating, she always reminded me the only thing I had in my refrigerator was packaged cheese slices, store-brand yogurt, Little Debbie peanut butter cookies, and Jack Daniels. Sad, but true. I was converted quickly with no mercy and no say in the matter.
I can’t say I was worried about the procedure, perhaps a little anxious and relieved at the same time. I had my wife write a note to the doctor on my bad foot for a little comic relief. “If found, please return to the Navy SEAL Museum.” The surgery was uneventful from my perspective—I was out cold for seven hours. The surreal thing, however, was waking up and looking down at my feet only to realize I only had one left. It took me a few weeks for my mind to remember that, which made it very important not to fall and reinjure the amputation site during that time. The surgery went well. My new limb healed ahead of schedule and I was fortunate enough to be fitted for my first new leg at the six-week mark. Prosthetists are skilled masters at their trade. The carbon-graphite leg must fit perfectly to the limb in order to eliminate pain. No small feat considering no two legs are the same.
CHAPTER 28
Love / Hate
After my surgery, friends set my wife, dog, and I up in a penthouse apartment in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, to recover. Yes, penthouse. The 12,000-square-foot luxury accommodation came complete with everything you could imagine and was constructed with glass, allowing for a 360-degree view of the surrounding greater Manchester area. It was one unbelievable place to recover from amputation surgery and it was close to Boston for follow-up appointments. The penthouse itself was last decorated in the 70s or 80s and was in perfect condition. It was a real blast from the past that my wife and I are still grateful to have experienced to this day. In the first few weeks following the amputation, I did not have a prosthetic limb and was forced to use crutches to get around. My main goal was to heal and not fall down. Most mornings I would hobble to the kitchen, make myself a cup of coffee, and sit in the bar area near a window to look out at the world around me. Like a plant. I did a lot of reading and thinking and, of course, computer work. It was a scary proposition to cut my foot off but now it was done. The waiting, thinking, and talking about the procedure was over. Now was time to heal and learn to adjust. My leg looked like that of a statue with the foot broken off. Basically, normal until the point of the cut and flat on the bottom. The surgeon, who was absolutely fantastic, used the skin from my calf to wrap around to the front of my leg. It actually feels like I am rubbing my calf when I am rubbing the bottom of my nub. Weird.
One of the things that really assisted in my healing process was my service dog Jesse. Jesse is a male Border Collie and truly man’s best friend. He is always happy to see me and will do just about anything he can to assist me. I speak of this because I wouldn’t have had the concept of a Military Working Dog or Service Animal had it not been for my time in the Teams.
The SEAL K9 program actually started back during the Vietnam war. Dogs had limited use in the jungles, rivers, and deltas operating alongside Navy SEAL platoons. Unfortunately, after the war, the K9s were not allowed to be returned Stateside due to government policy. Of course, the SEALs brought back a few teammates, but the program was cancelled and SEAL K9 handling became a lost art. Fast forward to 9/11. A new war was in full force in Afghanistan. The request came into SEAL Team SIX headquarters for dogs to assist with explosive protection and bite work. It seems the bad guys would take off running when told to stop and the men thought it would be better to have a dog chase down the “squirter” than to shoot them. Sound logic. The only problem was we hadn’t had a dog program since Vietnam. It was left to me and another Master Chief and good friend to figure out the solution. The Military Working Dog lead service in the U.S. military is the Air Force. Pre 9/11, dogs were mainly used by military police to sniff out bombs, drugs, and catch the occasional drunken soldier or sailor. Run out of Lackland Air Force base in Texas, units from around the country would go there to get training and receive trained K9s. Once we figured out the system, we started requesting augmentation from qualified dog handlers across the forces that would volunteer to deploy with a combat-hardened SEAL Team for four months or more. At the beginning, we had enough volunteers to meet the need. After a few deployments, however, word got out that deploying with the SEAL Team wasn’t that great of a deal. The chances of getting shot were greatly increased with a group that went out every night in search of bad guys. With the slow down on volunteers, we had to figure out a different plan. We brought in a third Master Chief, to run the program full time, and we let him take the reins. Our U.S. Army counterparts had already started a K9 program of their own so, instead of reinventing the wheel, we used their model with modifications to start the first full-fledged program for Naval Special Warfare since Vietnam. Soon, members were making regular buying trips to the Netherlands, which at the time was the best source for Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherds. These two breeds, more than any other, are the choice of the SEALs. Smaller, faster, and more aggressive than your typical German Shepherd, these dogs complement every SEAL mission practical.
I have learned a lot about military K9s and their uses: how to take care of them, how to train them, and how best not to get bit. The number one receiver of dog bites from our own dogs is the actual handler. One of my early jobs at the Command was to write up a report on every dog bite and give suggestions on how to prevent them in the future. After years of writing reports almost every week, I finally figured out it was the cost of doing business. If you want a bad-ass dog, sometimes you have to put up with a little pain, especially the handlers and the role players. Muzzle or no muzzle, these dogs live to bite and will figure out a way to hurt you should they get the command. Similar to SEALs, I suppose.
I have grown to have a love/hate relationship with the dogs at this point. The Navy SEAL Museum sources its dogs from first-rate Canadian company Baden K9. Their dogs’ bloodline and instructors are impeccable, but that doesn’t stop the mishaps. What I have found out, however, is these breeds are actually suited for retired Special Forces individuals suffering from PTSD or other maladies. The dogs require constant supervision and care which helps the veteran take the focus off themselves and turn it to a purpose. Although not a good mix for everyone, the Navy SEAL Museum’s K9 Project hand selects and trains individuals to partner with these dogs. The program is a huge success with a long waiting list of qualified applicants. The Museum’s K9 Project was designed and built around helping veterans by providing service dogs for those struggling with PTSD, TBI or any number of needs. In addition, we educate the public with demonstrations of K9 skills and obedience.
CHAPTER 29
Stand for Something or Die for Nothing
Each year at the museum, we honor our fallen by swimming out the ashes of Frogmen that have passed from the beaches of the original training grounds of the Naval Combat Demolition Units in Fort Pierce, Florida, directly behind the museum. Their families attend, each receiving a folded flag on bent knee, a blessing, and a military salute. The only time a SEAL kneels to the flag is when it is draped on your teammate’s casket or when the chaplain hands the folded flag to the wife and children of a fallen hero.
The museum is a 501c3 not-for-profit charity which exists to preserve the history and heritage of the Navy SEALs and our predecessors, while honoring our fallen at the Navy SEAL Memorial and caring for our families through the Trident House Charities program. We regularly conduct capabilities demonstrations, showcasing SEALs doing their job, for the public. We put on a little show to give everyone a small glimpse of what it is like to be a Navy SEAL while raising money for the museum’s charitable wing.
Sunday, August 2, 2020, was a Sunday like most Sundays. Rest and relaxation until my nephew called and told me about a Twitter post which showed a video from a Navy SEAL Museum fundraiser that featured our military working K9s attacking a man wearing a football jersey over his bite suit. The football jersey was that of a player known for unapologetically disrespecting our flag and the police. The video dated back to 2018 but had now taken on a different tone in the heightened atmosphere of 2020.
This individual had begun sitting and then kneeling for the National Anthem back in 2016. I was not happy about it then and neither were many Americans. Typically, privileged millionaires do not try to deliberately irritate the very people who are supporting them, but here it was on national television for everyone to see. I thought it was just a fad, someone trying to make attention for themselves. Then he actually wore socks depicting police officers as pigs while recruiting other spoiled millionaires to kneel beside him. I let it go once again, like many of those who viewed the performance. Surely this would not last. The National Football League and the owners would not allow this type of behavior. Kneeling for the flag was the football player’s God-given right in this country and I respected it. That didn’t mean I had to like it. My only means of countering this sign of disrespect at the time was by not watching football.
As the kneeling continued, however, I felt I had to make more of a statement. People had to know it is not alright to kneel for the flag. Maybe they weren’t being taught in school? Maybe they didn’t know what the flag meant to the military and all the men and women who have given their lives for this great country? How could they not know? And how could this behavior not only be allowed, but celebrated? Maybe you can understand why, after overseeing the swimming out of ashes for so many years, I am so offended when I see others disrespect the flag and our country.
I decided I wasn’t going to let it happen without a fight. I personally had the idea to dress a role player in a certain football jersey, have him kneel for the National Anthem, ask him to stand and then request the K9s assist him to stand up. It was a skit meant to fire people up. Make them proud to be an American again, but it was also meant to send a clear message. Not everyone thinks it is alright to kneel for the flag.
In the three times we performed that skit to thousands of people, many got up and cheered when the football player stood. Not one person complained, feedback was positive. I knew in the back of my mind the skit could be viewed as controversial, but could it be worse than the actual kneeling in front of millions of people during a televised football game? I didn’t think so at the time. We also used other football players’ jerseys to get the point across. Not that many were kneeling at the time, but they were crowd favorites to be loved or hated. Nothing more, nothing less.
After a handful of iterations of the football protest, I was asked by one of our board of directors to discontinue the use of jerseys in our demonstrations because he deemed it offensive. No problem, we moved on in 2018 and focused on other likenesses to entertain our supporters.
Fast forward to August 2020. I personally communicate with others in person, on the phone or by email, in that order preferably. I do not use or intend to ever use social media. So, when my nephew informed me the video had a few thousand hits, I merely laughed and ignored his warning. By that evening, the post had a few hundred thousand hits and I started to pay attention. I know social media can be important to the retail part of our museum business and also on the communication side of things, but I had no idea just how powerful it could be.
Soon the little video was receiving millions of views. The shit was hitting the proverbial fan. People were starting to call, email, text, and tweet. There was no context to the 2018 video compared to what was going on in 2020. Rioting, looting, killing, and defunding police are the norm now and a video depicting a football player being attacked by dogs is not good. To say the least.
The only mob I had confronted in my life was in Somalia, when I had had weapons and a whole team of professionals behind me. The Twitter mob was now going after my livelihood, the museum itself, and my reputation. I had no experience in fighting this battle. There was no point in trying to explain the video. It was meant to counter a message that was now accepted across the country on every sports field and at every sporting event. Kneeling for the flag is okay. I had failed. The demonstration, which had been meant to show a different point of view, was now being used against me. The only thing I could do at this point was take the social media beating. I never considered myself a racist, but I was called that and a lot worse. The only privilege I had in my life was growing up in a loving, intact family and serving the military and this country for over 34 years. The football player had the right to express his opinion; shouldn’t all of us? Apparently not.
Plans, ideas, and statements were swirling all around me—everything from resigning to apologizing or both. The only sensible thing to do would be to fall on my sword. That is what the mob was screaming for. I saw my future at the museum as bleak indeed.
Four things turned it around for me. The first was the original idea behind the skit in the first place. That never changed and it is still not alright to kneel for the flag. The second was support from my friends and family. They knew I was not a racist and were probably there at the demonstrations when literally thousands of people stood up and cheered as the “football player” was made to stand for the Anthem. Third was time. The more we waited, the less traction the story held. According to our traction report, we went from 300,000 Facebook engagements on Monday to zero on Friday. The news cycle had killed the story and moved on. Fourth was my nephew offering an alternative to the mob. Fight back. Use their methods to turn the story in our favor and gain a much wider following across the country. With the video having now received over eight million views, that was probably nearly eight million people who hadn’t previously known that a Navy SEAL Museum even existed. Of that eight million views, only about 500 negative reviews were posted and, quickly, the positive reviews were far outnumbering the negative. We did not address the video. Hope is not a strategy. Hoping the problem will go away will not work. We simply stuck to our mission statement and did not deviate. Preserve the history and heritage of the Navy SEALs, honor our fallen and support our families. Bringing in trusted advisors familiar with social media and how it works was the only answer in this case so that is exactly what we did. We brought in an outside public relations firm to help guide us through the situation. Life was starting to get back to normal when the bomb dropped.
The admiral in charge of Naval Special Warfare Command (top active-duty SEAL) released an official statement pulling support of the Navy SEAL Museum in addition to stating the video was not in keeping with the Navy SEAL Ethos. I am still not sure what part of the Ethos the video was not in keeping with. Loyalty to country and team? Persevere and thrive on adversity? Placing the welfare of others before my own? Was the video in bad taste? Probably, but it was definitely not racist when it was made in 2018 and it is definitely not racist now. Was it a freedom of speech issue? Are we only allowed to speak freely if it does not offend the social media trolls? Was it because of the stand to support our police? In a time when it is acceptable to defund or even abolish police departments, who is going to say “Stop, it is not alright.” We need the police more now than ever. Look how well it is working out for the citizens in Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland, to name a few. And what did the admiral mean by the pulling of support? The museum is a non-profit. Maybe he was talking about moral support. Regardless, his statement hurt me and the Navy SEAL Museum to the core. So much for brotherhood. There were over 100 different ways the statement could have come out that would have been much less damaging. How about something like, “The Navy SEAL Museum has raised over 2.5 million dollars in support of our SEALs and their families since 2016. We will investigate this matter thoroughly before making any premature statements.” A knee-jerk reaction from a guy who had had plenty of screw-ups of his own during his time in charge of Naval Special Warfare. Laughable. But the damage was done.
Most people outside the museum organization didn’t understand that Naval Special Warfare withdrawing support really didn’t mean anything. It was up to me and the team to explain the intent of the video and move forward. No whining, back tracking, or apologizing at this point. Coming out with a statement like “We are not racist” wouldn’t have helped anything or anyone. The decision was made to ride it out. Take care of our supporters and donors; they understand what it is all about. By day three, the heat almost totally subsided and the texts, emails, tweets, and calls of support started flowing in at a much higher rate than the hate had. Things had just done a 180-degree turn. Donations were up, store sales were up, and we had not made any errors to make the situation worse. Everything went away and life went on.
