CHAPTER EIGHT

Rise to the Occasion

If you want to change the world…

be your very best in the darkest moments.

I stood on the small sandy spit of land, looking across the bay at the line of warships that were moored at 32nd Street Naval Base. In between the ships and our starting point was a small vessel anchored in San Diego Bay that would be this evening’s “target. ” Our training class had spent the last several months learning to dive the basic SCUBA and the more advanced, bubbleless, Emerson closed-circuit diving rig. Tonight was the culmination of Dive Phase, the most technically difficult part of basic SEAL training.

Our objective was to swim the two thousand meters underwater from the starting point across the bay to the anchored vessel. Once underneath the ship, we were to place our practice limpet mine on the keel and then, without being detected, return to the beach. The Emerson diving apparatus was morbidly referred to as the “death rig. ” It was known to malfunction occasionally, and according to SEAL folklore a number of trainees had died over the years using the Emerson.

At night the visibility in San Diego Bay was so bad that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. All you had was a small green chemical light to illuminate your underwater compass. To make matters worse the fog was rolling in. The haze hung low over the bay, making it difficult to take an initial compass bearing on our target. If you missed the target you would find yourself in the shipping channel, never a good place to be when a Navy destroyer was pulling into port.

The SEAL instructors paced back and forth in front of the twenty-five pairs of divers preparing for the night’s dive. The instructors seemed as nervous as we were. They knew that this training event had the highest potential for someone to get hurt or die.

The chief petty officer in charge of the event summoned all the divers into a small circle. “Gentlemen, ” he said. “Tonight we find out which of you sailors really want to be frogmen. ” He paused for effect. “It’s cold and dark out there. It will be darker under the ship. So dark that you can get disoriented. So dark that if you get separated from your swim buddy, he will not be able to find you. ” The fog was now closing in around us and the mist encircled even the spit of land on which we stood. “Tonight, you will have to be your very best. You must rise above your fears, your doubts, and your fatigue. No matter how dark it gets, you must complete the mission. This is what separates you from everyone else. Somehow those words stayed with me for the next thirty years.

As I watched the fog encircle the airfield at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, another dark moment was unfolding in front of me. A massive C-17 aircraft was parked on the tarmac, its ramp lowered, standing by to receive the remains of a fallen warrior.

This was a Ramp Ceremony. It was one of the most solemn and yet unquestionably inspiring aspects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was America at its finest. Every man, every woman, regardless of their background, regardless of how heroic their final moments, was treated with incredible dignity and honor. It was our nation’s way of recognizing their sacrifice. It was our last salute, our final thanks, and a prayer to send them on their way home.

Extending out from the ramp were two parallel lines of soldiers. Standing at parade rest, they formed the honor guard. Off to the right of the airplane was a small three-piece band softly playing “Amazing Grace. ”

A few others, myself included, were gathered to the left, and all along hangar row stood hundreds of other soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, civilians, and our allies. They had all come to pay their last respects.

The HUMVEE tactical vehicle carrying the remains arrived right on time. Six men from the fallen heroes unit acted as pallbearers. Off-loading the flag-draped casket, they slowly marched through the honor guard, up the ramp, and onto the plane.

They positioned the casket in the middle of the cargo bay, turned smartly, came to attention, and saluted. At the head of the casket, the pastor bowed his head and read from Isaiah 6: 8.

“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send and who will go for us? And I said, Here I am. Send me! ”

As “Taps” was played, tears rolled down the soldiers’ faces. There was no attempt to hide their pain.

As the pallbearers departed, those lined up outside came through one by one, saluting, and kneeling by the casket for one last thought.

The C-17 would depart later that morning, refueling along the way and arriving at Dover Air Force Base. There, another honor guard, along with the family of the fallen soldier, would meet the casket and escort it home.

There is no darker moment in life than losing someone you love, and yet I watched time and again as families, as military units, as towns, as cities, and as a nation, how we came together to be our best during those tragic times.

When a seasoned Army special operator was killed in Iraq, his twin brother stood tall, comforting the soldier’s friends, holding the family together, and ensuring that his lost brother would be proud of his strength in this time of need.

When a fallen Ranger was returned home to his base in Savannah, Georgia, his entire unit, dressed in their finest uniforms, marched from the church to the Ranger’s favorite bar on River Street. All along the route, the town of Savannah turned out. Firefighters, police officers, veterans, civilians from all walks of life, were there to salute the young soldier who had died heroically in Afghanistan.

When a CV-22 aircraft crashed in Afghanistan, killing the pilot and several crewmen, the airmen from the same unit came together, paid their respects, and flew the next day—knowing that their fallen brothers would want them in the air, continuing the mission.

When a helicopter crash took the lives of twenty-five special operators and six National Guard soldiers, the entire nation mourned but also took incredible pride in the courage, patriotism, and valor of the fallen warriors.

At some point we will all confront a dark moment in life. If not the passing of a loved one, then something else that crushes your spirit and leaves you wondering about your future. In that dark moment, reach deep inside yourself and be your very best.

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