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This is Part II of a three-part series on Navy SEAL sniper Matt Axelson. You can read Part I here.
The transformation of the SEAL sniper course was not just about techniques and technology. It was also a shift in how we related to our students and brought out the best they had to offer. Among the many changes we made in the course, one of the most significant had to do with the power of mentoring. Starting in 2004, we made it a regular practice to assign a specific instructor as a personal mentor to each pair of students. At a ratio of about six instructors to 24 students per class, that meant every instructor typically had just two pairs of students to focus on.
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This is Part I of a three-part series on Navy SEAL sniper Matt Axelson. You can read Part II here and Part III here.
“Listen up, gents. The next 90 days are going to be some of the toughest you’ve ever experienced. You’ll be put under more pressure and greater mental demands than you’ve ever been under before, and with zero tolerance given for error.…”
Déjà vu. I’d heard this speech before, or one much like it. Back in the summer of 2000, Glen Doherty and I had been inducted into the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) sniper course with a welcoming pep talk just like this one. The world had gone through a century of change in the four years since. It was now the summer of 2004, and this time the guy giving that speech to a fresh batch of incoming sniper students was me.
latrell is hoping to get him a green card so he can settle at least part time in the united states. i mean, we re family. you consider him family? absolutely. we re brothers in blood. we ve bled together. he very well could have left me laying on the side of that waterfall and let me die. but he didn t. for his bravery, marcus latrell was awarded the navy cross in a white house ceremony. matt axelson and danny dietz were awarded it posthumously. for sacrificing his life to make that telephone call, lieutenant mike murphy was given that medal of honor. his parents accepted it. it was the first time the award for honor was awarded in afghanistan. ahmed shaw was killed in a separate operation in 2008. after retiring, vice admiral joe mcguire runs the special operations warrior foundation which provides support for veterans and their families. marcus latrell created and raises money for a similar group, the lone survivor
left me laying there on the side of that waterfall and let me die but he didn t. for his braveries marcus latrell was awarded the navy cross in a white house ceremony. matt axelson and danny dietz were awarded it posthumously. for risking his life to make that telephone call, mike murphy was awarded the congressional medal of honor. ahmed shaw was killed in a separate operation in 2008. after retiring, vice admiral joe mk gier runs the special operations warrior foundation which provides support for veterans and their families. marcus latrell created and raises money for a similar group, the lone survivor foundation. he s also visited families of his fallen s.e.a.l. brothers. you travel around the country to do that? yes, sir. what was that like? that sucked. think about it like this.
protecting latrell. he says his house burned down and his cousin killed. in afghanistan he s had to go hiding with his wife and ten children. latrell hopes to get him a green card so he can settle at least part-time in the united states. we re family. you consider him family? absolutely. we re brothers in blood. we ve bled together. for his braveries marcus latrell was awarded the navy cross in a white house ceremony. matt axelson and danny dietz were awarded it posthumously. for risking his life to make that telephone call, mike murphy was awarded the congressional medal of honor. ahmed shaw was killed in a separate operation in 2008. after retiring, vice admiral joe mcguire runs the special operations warrior foundation