I was in DC in 2010, just shortly after getting hurt in Afghanistan when a good friend of mine gave me a book to pass the time. The title Lone Survivor didn't register with me, but he said "You'll Love It." I remember to this day laying down in my room at Walter Reed and reading the entire 388 pages of the book (took this Mississippi fella all day). What I read grabbed me and pulled me straight into the pages with the author Marcus Luttrell, as he experienced and overcame something most cannot fathom.
Lone Survivor is the account of a four-man Navy SEAL team that in 2005 was sent into the mountains of Northern Afghanistan to find a ruthless Taliban commander Ahmad Shah. The mission was compromised by some goat herders and the team was left to decide, kill them for being in the wrong place or cut them loose knowing Shah would be alerted immediately. This is a choice no warrior wants to make and they decided to cut the kids, man, and one-hundred goats free.
On their way out, up the mountain, they discovered exactly how many men Shah commanded and how tactically capable they were. The account Luttrell gives of that battle, which resulted in the deaths of his three teammates, one of which resulted in a Congressional Medal of Honor, is one of the most remarkable things I've ever heard. The most incredible part is hearing what Luttrell had to endure all alone in the mountains of Afghanistan for days. Luttrell had gunshot wounds, RPG shrapnel, rock and tree fragments, a broken back, a broken leg, a tongue that was bitten in half, and falls so violent off the mountain it ripped his pants off and yet he crawled over seven miles evading his hunters. He didn't just endure and evade, he fought back killing more men on that mountain than smallpox. He was eventually rescued and now tells the story across the country.
I am still in awe when I think about what Marcus Luttrell has endured, did I mention he went back overseas after this to Iraq following his recovery. The man is truly of a different breed of warriors that defines what/how men should react when pushed to the limits in life, regardless of circumstances. I have seen him tell the story through YouTube videos at different events and last year when I heard that Mark Wallberg would play him in an upcoming film by Peter Berg, I was ecstatic.
I had been preparing for the release on January 10, 2014 for a long time and made plans weeks before to go see the film twice on opening day. Then something really cool happened, Dad asked me three days before the movie release if I could fly out Monday the 13th with him to Palm Springs, California and hear Marcus Luttrell speak. Not only that, but I would get to meet him personally.
Marcus laughed and nodded in agreement at how I described the camp being set up as a place to challenge this generation physically, mentally, and spiritually. He said he would love to come help "challenge" kids as they navigate military obstacles and accomplish team activities that force them to bond together.
I was nervously anticipating the time I would spend with Marcus before I met him, kind of like a kid when he sees LeBron James (except LeBron sits out when he rolls his ankle). However, Marcus is a humbled hero that doesn't like reliving the worst week of his life, but does it with honor so that the world can know what his teammates did up on that mountain in 2005.
I told him I wouldn't say anything awkward and dumb like he normally gets from people, but I did thank him for doing what he does. It not only reminds us of the great men serving in extremely hostile situations (he's buried 72 of his teammates since joining), but personally it makes my heart swell up with pride for this country and the blessed opportunity we have to live in it knowing that everyone doesn't take it for granted.
After our time in the conference room, we heard Marcus speak to a group, much like the videoes on YouTube, but it was different this time. I knew the person up there, not just what he's been through, but a little about who he was inside and what a blessing it was. His talk about responsibility, commitment, and never quitting stands to benefit anyone and everyone. It's hard to have met him and not walk away differently.
I am beyond encouraged and inspired through this one Survivor weekend. I was reminded that we all have a purpose and sometimes (most of the time) we don't get to pick it, but it is our job to always keep moving forward in life. In the words of Marcus Luttrell, "Make the decision, accept the outcome, and move on." I've made my decision and picked my fight that the CSF will spend its existence training the next generation how to be warriors for God. I want the boys we bring to Down Range to become men that understand their duty and responsibility in life and learn how to live it with integrity, honor, and faith knowing we all serve a sovereign God.
My encouragement to you is simple and comes from our motto of being Battle Tested (John 16:33). Remember this, tough times don't last, but only tough people do. Whatever life has for you right now, rest in the fact that you can overcome anything with the God of everything. Even if that's being all alone, paralyzed from the waist down, and on a mountain in the worst area of one of the worst countries on the planet, you still can overcome!
Hang Tough,
CJ
