This is Jockel Podcast number 292 with Echo Charles and me, Jockel Willink. Good evening.

Good evening. August 2nd, 2006 was the worst day of my life. Ryan Job had been

gravely wounded by a single enemy round that hit his weapon as he looked down.

It sights and then ripped into his face, rendering him blind and critically injured.

And then soon after, Ryan was wounded, Mark Lee, who had stepped into the enemy line of fire to engage the enemy

and protect his teammates while assaulting a building was shot killed. Mark was a larger than life character in every aspect.

Mark athletic, charismatic, charming, talented, tough, and also hilarious, and faithful, and loyal, and obviously brave.

Now he was gone. And in asking a bruiser, we closed ranks to get through it. We celebrated his life.

We mourned his loss, and then we loaded him on his last flight home as Angel flight.

And we got support from our chain of command from my commanding officer at Seal Team 3, our command master chief, the operations master chief, and the rest of Seal Team 3 backed us up and assisted us as we worked through this devastation.

But it didn t stop there. I got a call in my tactical operation center. It was from Admiral Joe Maguire, the senior seal officer in charge of all of Naval Special Warfare, in charge of the Seal Teams, in charge of the boat teams, in charge of the training center, in charge of everything.

And I had previously worked for him directly for 13 months as his aide to camp. And I knew how busy he was. And I knew what his daily schedule was like. And I knew the demands that were upon him.

But I also knew that he cared. He cared deeply about the Seal Teams. He cared about his seals. And he cared about me. And he called to check in with me. And to check on me.

And when he called, he told me that he was reviewing the Silver Star that I had submitted for Mark. And he was about to send it directly to the chief of Naval operations for a signature based on my recommendation.

And he told me that he was sorry for our loss. And he assured me that he would take care of Mark s family.

He also told me that we were doing the right thing. And to keep doing it, to keep taking the fight to the enemy, to keep eliminating enemy fighters, to keep protecting the local populace, to keep the pressure on.

Because the war wasn't over. And the enemy wasn't going to stand down. We still had work to do. Lots of it. And he knew that. And so did I. And that meant a lot.

And I wanted to know that the Admiral in charge of all the seals was there for us. Was there for Mark? Was there for Mark's family?

About three months later, October 21, 2006, my plane landed at Naval Air Station, North Island, with the last members of TASC unit, Bruiser, to come home.

And Admiral McGuire was there to welcome us home to be sure that we were okay because he cared about his seals. He cared about his troops.

And that meant a lot. And soon I was hugging my wife and kids on the tarmac. But even as I embraced my family, I knew I hadn't brought all my men home.

And that that burden will always be present. But it helped to know that leaders like Admiral McGuire were there.

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