When I was in boot camp I was training hard to become a SEAL.  There was a guy in my brother division that wanted to be a SEAL also.  Wouldn’t you know it, his last name was Manly.  This guy was a total stud.  Top in his division in push-ups, sit up’s, etc.  He broke up with his girl friend to join and everything.  He was dedicated.

I was inspired by him so I always trained with him and talked with him and becoming a SEAL.

To become a SEAL you first have to pass an initial physical fitness test.  You have to do a certain amount of push-ups and sit-ups within 2 minutes.  You also have to complete a 1 1/2 mile run and a swim under a certain time to pass.  Once you do then you have to go to dive school. Then I think the SEAL school (BUD’s) comes after that.  I don’t know because I never got that far.

Now comes the point where I tell you about one of the biggest regrets of my life.  I was training really hard to pass the initial physical fitness test and then one day I got to thinking.  I thought that if I become a SEAL I will be far away from my family and would rarely see them.  I had heard that SEAL’s can sometimes be gone as long as 8 months out of the year.  So I decided to quit.

Why? Did I get cold feet?  Was I really afraid of leaving my family for so long?  Was I just flat out scared??

To this day I still don’t know why I quit.

For the longest time I really wanted to do it.  I thought I was crazy enough and that I would be able to hack it.  Then one day, I just didn’t want it anymore.  I regret the decision because I now wish I would of at least tried.  What if I did make it.  70% drop out of SEAL training within the first 2 weeks.  What if I made it all the way?  Would I be able to quit then?  Probably not.  There is so many if’s involved and that is what bothers me.  I should of at least tried.  Well I didn’t try and finished boot camp and went on to do my regular job.

In the next episode I will tell you about a small place I stayed before I went onto my ship.