The last time I attended a SEAL convention was the summer before I decided to leave the Navy in 2006. SEAL reunions at the time were little more than an excuse to play golf and get drunk. I don’t play golf, and I’ve had enough of drinking heavily over the years, so I decided this would be my last go-round.

I haven’t been back since then and I doubt I’ve lost anything other than a whiskey hangover.

Leaving Teams was a very lonely experience.

Once surrounded by a solid support network, and then it’s gone. The moment you leave, you’re alone, without a support group. The SEAL brotherhood you once shared is gone in an instant.

The key to resilience in life (in any career) is building and maintaining solid support networks that provide a foundation you can rely on in difficult times. We all experience difficulties in life, and having great people and organizations around you to help when you need it is essential in difficult times.

This is why so many professional athletes, like Michael Phelps talks about, and SEALs, struggle with external issues, because when they leave the club, they lose access to their long-established support network.

They were gone in the blink of an eye, and that put them in danger.

This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by the top SEAL leadership at WARCOM.

The last time I went to a SEAL reunion was the summer before I decided to retire from the Navy in 2006. SEAL reunions at the time were nothing more than an excuse to play golf and get drunk. I don’t play golf, and over the years I’ve had my fair share of heavy drinking, and I decided this would be my last reunion.

I haven’t been back since and I doubt I miss anything other than a whiskey hangover.

Leaving Teams was a very lonely experience.

Once surrounded by a solid support network, and then it’s gone. The moment you get out, you’re out of it, all alone, with no support group. The SEAL brotherhood you once shared is gone in the blink of an eye.

The key to resilience in life (in any career) is building and maintaining solid support networks that provide a foundation to lean on during difficult times. We all experience difficulties in life, and having great people and organizations around you who can help you through difficult times is crucial in difficult times.

This is why so many professional athletes like Michael Phelps and SEALs struggle externally because once they leave, they lose access to a long-established support network.

They were gone in the blink of an eye, and that put them in danger.

This is a serious problem that needs to be resolved by top SEAL leadership at WARCOM.

Teams need a strong network of former members to serve as a bridge between active-duty SEALs and veterans, and a foundation that players can count on when needed.

I still remember talking to Jocko Willink, my old neighbor at Ocean Beach on Etiwanda Street in Dallas, at Chris Kyle’s funeral.

He gave me a hard time when it came to writing books and being in the media, just like a lot of the guys who attacked Kyle, Luttrell and me.

I told Jocko that one day when he got out of the Navy maybe he would understand.

Maybe he will do it now.

Although I struggle with injuries, fortunately most of them seem to be joint related. My back and shoulders hurt and my right hip stays together during Pilates classes.

But I’m one of the lucky ones.

I can still think, unlike our current president.

That’s also one of the reasons I love writing – it doesn’t hurt my back.

In training teams, we fire multiple rounds, expose our bodies to hell, conduct live explosions, and are exposed to repeated shots from shoulder-fired missiles like the Carl Gustaf. I remember hearing that one SEAL platoon fires as much ammunition per year as the entire Marine Corps is allotted.

A recent study published in the New York Times found that this type of blast exposure leads to brain fog, memory loss and even worse effects.

The result was an epidemic of suicides among SEAL soldiers.

“He was an explosives expert with the elite SEAL Team 6, exposed to thousands of blasts during training. After years of constant service, his health began to fail. He couldn’t sleep and kept losing things. The frustration was driving him crazy. He dwelled on negative interactions in his squadron and began drinking before work.

“In all the years I knew him, he was such a capable man,” Ms. Mulder said. “He would wake up at six in the morning and exercise. He was incredibly intelligent, organized and hard-working. And then he wasn’t like that anymore.”

After years of trying to get help from doctors who largely overlooked the possibility of brain damage, Mr. Mulder took his own life at the age of 46. -Excerpt,”“Pattern of Brain Damage Is Common Among Navy SEALs Who Committed Suicide”

I am glad that brave SEAL spouses like Jamie Metcalf continue to shine a light on the issues related to brain injury affecting the community.

The thing that saved me was my love of children and aviation. I was lucky enough to be brought into a group of former military fighter pilots in San Diego, California, who took me in like a Mexican homeless person.

I will always be grateful to these men for providing a home for an orphaned SEAL.

I have also witnessed the power of their strong aviation alumni communities who are there to help and support them.

YPO.org and Harvard Business School graduates also proved to be a great support for me and my family. I am grateful to these two organizations for giving me so much.

SEALs don’t have anything like that.

Creating a strong SEAL graduate would also go a long way to ending SEAL cannibalism that exists outside of active duty, serve as a communication bridge, and create a support system for former SEALs and their families when it has never been more needed.

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