WEBVTT 1 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.480 Welcome to Veterans' Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition is 2 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:21.640 retired US Navy Seal Lieutenant Mark Green. He's a veteran of both Iraq and 3 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:26.440 Afghanistan, and he is the author of Unsealed, a Navy Seal's Guide to 4 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:31.320 Mastering Transitions. In the first episode with Lieutenant Green, we discussed how an 5 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:36.600 injury that ended a promising athletic career forced a major course correction in his future 6 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:41.119 plans, why he joined the Navy and then pursued becoming a Navy seal. 7 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:46.280 He also told us about the rigors of sniper school and the challenges he overcame 8 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:50.600 and becoming an officer. In this edition, we'll hear all about his deployments 9 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:55.799 in Iraq and Afghanistan and how he now helps service members readjust to civilian life 10 00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:00.479 after leaving the military. In just a moment, Green will describe his first 11 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.480 combat deployment to Iraq, but right now we pick up with his officer's story. 12 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:08.920 After all the work it took to navigate the military bureaucracy to become an 13 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:14.560 officer, it was then time to be one and lead the enlisted men, 14 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:22.359 and that required some major adjustments as well. That was really challenging because I 15 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:26.519 had a hard time with the separation between, Hey, you're in a leadership 16 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.959 position. Now you can't buddy buddy with the enlisted guys. But I was 17 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:37.640 just literally enlisted guy three months ago. And so when I got to my 18 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.519 platoon at Team eight, They're like, you have to make that separation. 19 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.560 And some of these guys I worked with, I put through sniper school a 20 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:49.120 couple months prior, so they knew me as mark, but they were great 21 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:55.799 that the teams are really good about that rank structure. And so once they 22 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:59.120 saw my little butter bars is what they call them, my insign bars, 23 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:02.120 they called me all the time and went enlisted guys, address you, because 24 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:06.840 Circin made a bunch of different things, right, it depends on the way 25 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:08.919 it said. But they were always super respectulhen they were happy for me. 26 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:16.919 But I really learned my leadership style one My first platoon was fantastic from the 27 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:22.039 LPO and my chief, it just ran really well. And then the second 28 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.759 platoon, the dynamics were different, and I learned a lot from that experience 29 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:30.240 as well. So when I had my OCS class, I really just took 30 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:35.680 my lessons learned and said, okay, these are my problem children dron in 31 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:38.039 structuresho leave them alone. I'll discipline them, I'll make sure they make it 32 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:42.120 through. I was really just there to take care and make sure that these 33 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:46.840 young kids who were just playing, you know, Xbox and going to college 34 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:50.639 and drinking too much, to all of a sudden they're at OCS with these 35 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:54.400 marine drones structors who were just maniacal sometimes and they're great at their job, 36 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:59.879 but just to see the terror in these young people's face, and I was 37 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:04.080 like, hey, you have to make sure your class is taken care of. 38 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.560 So I really just I didn't perform as well on academics because I was 39 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:12.520 putting down fires all day and I could get some academics when I could. 40 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:20.639 But to watch the students progress from novice to expert in that atmosphere, it 41 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.439 was just really rewarding. So I just got to watch and watch them progress 42 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:28.960 and watch them grow. And then my favorite time in sniper school was when 43 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.479 my students would fire me, so, you know, you tell the wide 44 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:37.639 I like, don't know anything about the art of sniping, and then over 45 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.520 the course of ten weeks they start to pick it up. And then the 46 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:45.759 light switch comes on in the shooting phase and then the light comes on in 47 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:49.479 the stalking phase and you can see it. It's like, oh, I 48 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:53.000 get it. And then the best words I ever got was hey, Mark, 49 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:59.400 I'm good. Beat it. I was, so I get fired. 50 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:01.960 That was my favorite time of Sancris work. It's done here. Yeah. 51 00:04:01.960 --> 00:04:04.960 I was like, yeah, you got it on your own and just to 52 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:11.919 watch the light bulb moments were really cool. So the best advice I got 53 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:15.680 from my dron instructor I'm some really good friends with. He said, you're 54 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.879 doing a good job as an officer or as a leader when your people come 55 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:23.199 to you with their problems. I was like, huh, okay, So 56 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:26.480 the last day of Lucis, kids are coming to me with their problems. 57 00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:28.759 I was like, okay, I'm good. And then when I got to 58 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.639 my platoons, it was the same thing. It was family dynamics or you 59 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:36.040 performers or whatever, and they were just pulled me off to the side and 60 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:38.639 say, hey, what do you think about this? I was like, 61 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:43.040 Okay, I'm doing this the right way. If they're still trusting me with 62 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.160 their life, that only good life within their personal life. Let's talk about 63 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.079 your deployments now. First of all, to Iraq. It was the year 64 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:53.319 after the war began, I believe, two thousand and four, two thousand 65 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:59.120 and five, sectarian issues certainly ramping up at the time. Where were you 66 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:02.040 deployed and what merrily were you doing there? So we were in the Green 67 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:08.800 Zone and we were charged with them protecting the life of the Deputy Prime Minister, 68 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.879 doctor Barham Sali, and we had to make sure he got throughout our 69 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:19.600 rack safe and sound. So we were his personal detail and when he would 70 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:26.240 travel up north to Sulimania where he's from Van Kurdistan, then they're like, 71 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:29.920 okay, Mark, your principal's gone. Sniper team's going out and I really 72 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:33.000 just had to crawl walk around. They took me on an op that was 73 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:36.759 like okay, low level, but you just need to figure out the landscape 74 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:41.279 and what things look like. So you know, it wasn't training anymore. 75 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:46.000 It was targets are real and if they see you, you're out in bad 76 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:50.560 guy country. So the first time we were on our sniper we were doing 77 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:54.839 our first sniper op in a meadow. It looked like what we were trained 78 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:59.800 to. It wasn't in the deep desert, and all of a sudden, 79 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.879 I just see these little heads bobbing, and I was like, what in 80 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:06.439 the world is that? And I was like, does anybody else see that? 81 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.319 I was the tallest one, so nobody else saw it. So all 82 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:14.399 of a sudden, this dude, the goat herder, who walks this goat 83 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.199 path for how I don't know how long he's been walking, but he's all 84 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:20.600 these little goats are coming up. He's coming up with this old lady and 85 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:27.560 the goats start eating the bushes that were in and I was like, hey, 86 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.600 we got a guy. And I you know, everybody sniper reverence were 87 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:35.399 pointless at that point. Everyone has their pistols pulled out on this guy because 88 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:39.319 if he takes a look into that bush and looks at it, he's going 89 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:44.560 to see like six gringoes in there. So but the coolest thing was he 90 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:47.199 looked into the bush, and you can tell when somebody sees you, right, 91 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:49.480 he just looked into the bush, looked right at us, and just 92 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:55.839 kept he just kept looking and then took off. So we thought that he'd 93 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:59.240 seen us and he's going to call people in, but the guy never saw 94 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:01.439 us. I was just like, wow, this is this is crazy. 95 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:08.079 But you know, the the most interesting thing about being in the combat zone 96 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:14.480 for the first time was my alarm clock was a car bomb going off every 97 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:20.240 morning after morning prayers. So the first time I was awakened by it, 98 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:25.720 I thought that the bomb had gone off in our tent. So we go 99 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.279 into these command center and I was like, hey, we had you know 100 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:31.759 at eight o three, what would happen. It's like, oh yeah, 101 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:35.040 car bomb went off about six miles away. It was like that was six 102 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:42.040 miles away. And every morning after prayers, boom, it's buddy, you'll 103 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:46.199 fine. So that was my alarm clock every morning. Is that sectarian violence? 104 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:49.600 Are they attacking Americans? Are they Yeah, they were just attacking Americans 105 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:55.720 and they were after their morning prayers. You know, then the Mayhem would 106 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:58.399 start for the day. So what did that mean for you? That just 107 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.759 made it more real. You know, rockets are coming into the bases, 108 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:07.560 You're getting reports on rout Irish on Id's going off. Ads just started popping 109 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:11.560 up in in Irac. They've been in Afghanistan, but they just started showing 110 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:15.920 up in Iraq because the foreign finersy come in and that just changed that the 111 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:20.040 dynamics of both combat. You know, chessions were there. People from all 112 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:24.000 over the Middle East were coming there just to kill Americans, and the battlefield 113 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:30.639 had changed completely by the time we got there, and it was just chaos. 114 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.240 Let me follow up on one thing you mentioned that, you know, 115 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:35.759 when you're combat for real, obviously the targets are real. They could fire 116 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:39.440 back at you or put you in compromise position. In another way, when 117 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:43.000 you're at that grade of a distance, I don't know exactly what lengths you 118 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:48.120 were normally dealing with there. How do you confirm that you've got the target 119 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:52.759 you're looking for? There's unconfirmed and confirmed. So an unconfirmed kill is you 120 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:56.559 take your shot in your spot, like, hey, that was a good 121 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:00.960 hit, and if you don't, you know you've got a kill shop that 122 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.720 you can't there's not an officer who's going up to the body and say that 123 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:09.600 guy's dead. That's a confirmed kill. Everything else is unconfirmed. So we 124 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.240 do it's called a battle damage assessment, and sometimes it's rare that you get 125 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.759 to do it, because you know, once bullets start flying, that's when 126 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:20.799 you know they've been shot at before, so they scatter and they pulled the 127 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:22.879 dead off the ground, so you don't actually, you tend to not know 128 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:28.879 when you're doing sniper work if you actually got your target, do you have 129 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:33.039 specific targets in mind? Or are you just protecting your other guys and whoever's 130 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:35.480 a threat to them is who you need to focus on. Oh no, 131 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:39.960 this is when he was gone. So when we were down in Iraq, 132 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.600 we would actually go out into the city and we would set up in a 133 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:48.440 building. And what they teach you at snipers school is counter sniper. So 134 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.600 there said any mistake you make, there's somebody out there also hunting you. 135 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.200 So when you're looking at a target, you're also looking around the city and 136 00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:01.799 it's like, okay, somebody's probably looking at me also, So you just 137 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:05.919 have to everything has to just be dialed in. You know, your gun 138 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:11.080 has to be completely matt painted matt. You have to have a cover over 139 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:16.120 your scope, your urban hide has to be flawless, and you're constantly changing 140 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:22.240 because the conditions are always changing. So if the sun is going down then 141 00:10:22.279 --> 00:10:28.200 you're facing west. If that sunlight hits your scope and you don't have it 142 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.320 done properly, that other sniper out there is hunting. He was like oh, 143 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:37.120 there he is. So you're looking at your targets, but you're also 144 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.159 looking around. It's like, okay, I'm like camouflage enough to where some 145 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:45.440 other sniper who's out there can't see me. So between Iraq, which was 146 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.039 two thousand and four, two thousand and five, and your first deployment to 147 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:54.480 Afghanistan was twenty ten, what were you focused on in those intervening years. 148 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:58.720 You know, there's a progression and the officers signed you have to a disassociated 149 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:03.720 tour and there are certain checkofs that you have to have. I went to 150 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.519 Boat Team twenty, so our special boat teams who are our direct support, 151 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:15.879 great guys, and I deployed with the Boat Team twelve back in two thousand 152 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:20.200 and one and just saw how hard the job was. We just thought they'd 153 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.200 started up the boats and you got us on target. I mean it's a 154 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:26.919 two hours three hours before we launched, they were getting those boats ready, 155 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.840 and then once we're doing our business, they have to stay on station to 156 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.240 make sure that if things go south, they cover us on our x fil 157 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.480 and then get us back and then we just keep repeating that. So had 158 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:43.279 a really great group of guys. So when my disassociated tour, came up 159 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:46.519 to play I want to go over to the boats and just had a great 160 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:50.679 time. We were at the boats and those guys are such professionals and they 161 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:58.240 were professionalized I think in the early to mid nineties, so they had their 162 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:03.080 they went through their switch course when they became professional boat drivers. But that 163 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:07.200 was a great tour, and we deployed over the pay com and then there 164 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.960 was this little skirmish that have been going on over there and the Philippines that 165 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:13.919 we were a part of, and which was a completely different mission and we 166 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.919 were working with a different government agency and their rules were different, and we're 167 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.799 just like, okay, this is I never I did never even knew this 168 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:26.320 was happening. And then the rule that we were able to play over there. 169 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:31.120 I learned a ton on that on that deployment was great. That's retired 170 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:35.600 to US Navy Seal Mark Green. He's also the author of Unsealed, a 171 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:41.360 Navy Seal's guide to Mastering Transitions. Still to come. In this edition, 172 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:46.759 Green will tell us about his multiple deployments to Afghanistan and the mission that turned 173 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.360 into what he calls Mayhem. But before that and up next, Green finds 174 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:56.799 himself back in the last place he wanted to be or expected to be, 175 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:03.600 the classroom. I'm Greg Kurrn and this is Veterans Chronicles sixty Seconds of Service. 176 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:07.960 This sixty Seconds of Service is presented by T Mobile. T Mobile offers 177 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.639 exclusive discounts for a veteran and military families and are proud supporters of the National 178 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:18.080 Defense Network. Visit t mobile dot com slash military to learn more about how 179 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:22.399 they support our military community. In Hampton, Virginia, a national program called 180 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:26.679 Troops to Teachers with centers and states across the country, is helping veterans become 181 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:31.360 teachers. That program is having an impact in Hampton Roads. James Kimbrow is 182 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:35.279 a teacher at Cacouoton High School in Hampton. He's also a twenty two year 183 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.960 Army veteran. His journey to the classroom began while he was still in the 184 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:43.000 Army. He said, I just grew to absolutely love helping soldiers be better 185 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:46.480 versions of themselves, furthering their career, furthering their training, and helping them 186 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:50.000 go through that. When he retired, he reached out to Troops to Teachers 187 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:56.039 for help becoming a teacher. They've assisted up to three thousand veterans since twenty 188 00:13:56.279 --> 00:14:01.240 seventeen. For more great veteran stories, just go to National Defense Network dot 189 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:05.679 com. This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. This is part two 190 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:11.559 of our interview with retired US Navy Seal Lieutenant Mark Green. He's also the 191 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:16.159 author of Unsealed, a Navy Seal's guide to Mastering Transitions. In Just a 192 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:20.600 Moment, Green tells us all about his first deployment to Iraq. But first 193 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:28.919 something that scared him far more going back to school. And then I had 194 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:33.799 been going pretty regularly since I joined the Navy in ninety six. So in 195 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:41.919 two thousand and eight I applied for the Naval Postgraduate School and got selected for 196 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:46.360 that. But our detail named Margaret, I was going to go to the 197 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:52.720 Kumbai A School, or you the Special Operations Low Intensity Conflict course. You 198 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:56.360 read a bunch of books and you talk with others and special operators and you 199 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:01.159 just kind of understand case studies on combat and history and stuff like that. 200 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:05.240 That's where I was going to go and just kind of get a break and 201 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.919 reconnect with my family. And Martur's like, well, how many kids do 202 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.080 you have? I was like, I have three, and she's like, 203 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:13.799 well, you have too many damn kids and not have a job when you 204 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:15.919 get out, so I'm going to send you to get your MBA. I 205 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.840 was like, no, no, you're not. I funked out of college. 206 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.879 You know, I'm lucky to be here. She's like, now you're 207 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:22.159 gonna be fine, and I was pleading with her, and she's like, 208 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:28.080 honey, I just hit enter and you're in, so go enjoy Monterey. 209 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:35.879 So I got my academic blood kicked, and Monterey get my MBA. That 210 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:41.919 was an adventure in and of itself because I had a sociology degree with criminology 211 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:46.120 and all of a sudden, I'm learning business at the graduate level with no 212 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:52.480 background, so long and long hours of studying statistics and economics and microeconomics and 213 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.799 budgeting, and I mean it was brutal. And I've never been good at 214 00:15:56.840 --> 00:16:03.039 the garbage in, garbage out, like read this book and we're gonna have 215 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:04.720 a test, because I can never figure out what was important, because to 216 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:11.279 me, everything was important. So I just had to survive the first nine 217 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:15.840 months of that portion. But then the second part was the analytics part where 218 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:18.639 they give you case studies and it's like Okay, let's think through this problem 219 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.159 and let's figure it out using your brain. I was just like, oh, 220 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:25.759 this is pretty easy because and the Seal Times, that's what you do 221 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:27.960 all the time. You know, you just analyze the targets. So you 222 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:33.320 just analyze the information that you have and you have to make a decision off 223 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.480 of and the best decision because their lives at stake. So once I got 224 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:38.879 to the analytics part, I was like, okay, this I understand, 225 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:45.440 and then ended up getting an Outstanding Thesis award. And that's when I met 226 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.279 a gentleman named Bobby and he said like, hey, where are you going 227 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.279 for your next tour? Just keep going to Seal Team maate And he's like, 228 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.080 who's your chief? And I was like, totally my chief? What's 229 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.720 He's like, wait, what's his name? They told him his name again, 230 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.960 He's like they're putting you two together. It's like, yeah, what, 231 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:03.559 yeah, what's the problem is? Like, do that dude used to 232 00:17:03.599 --> 00:17:10.119 be a skinhead when he was younger? I was like oh okay, but 233 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.759 then he was my chief, so you know, I processed it all and 234 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:17.839 I was like, okay, well this is this is my chief. So 235 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:23.079 showed up a teammate met him and he was just a great, great dude, 236 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:26.920 and he and I had a great relationship. We didn't always agree, 237 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:32.400 but as far as we had an incredible amount of trust between each other. 238 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:38.880 We He ran the tactics and trained all the guys and I trusted him. 239 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:42.720 And one day we were doing some part of the workup and like until something 240 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:45.759 was bothering them and uh, he said, hey, Mark, you got 241 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.480 to tell you something. And I said, but when you were a skinheaded, 242 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:52.799 when you were younger, and she got so bad. He's like, 243 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:56.720 you after you do this whole time. I was like, yeah, somebody 244 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:57.559 told me at Grants, was like, well, why didn't you say anything. 245 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:02.759 I was like, because I don't. Here didn't matter. You and 246 00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:07.640 I worked together. You're the best chief I've ever had, and it never 247 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:11.519 came up. It was never a problem. So I didn't care. You 248 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.559 were my chief and now you're my friend. Man. I didn't care about 249 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:19.440 any of this though. Great guy. Let's talk about the first deployment to 250 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:26.720 Afghanistan twenty ten that says shortly after President Obama had ordered an uptick in personnel 251 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:32.319 there. What was your location and focus on that deployment we were right at 252 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:37.759 the foot of the Hindu Kush and like we were at Camp Wolverine, and 253 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:44.440 we were I think about forty miles south in Kanahar, and you know, 254 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.839 we were working with the Lithuanians, and we were training up the Iraqi forces 255 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.799 and we were going out with them on patrol. And every once in a 256 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.839 while we go out with the conventional army guys because they needed some sniper overwatch 257 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.960 and we got our got our guys out on missions as much as I could. 258 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:07.400 And then that was a great book because it was completely different. You 259 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:12.640 know, we flew everywhere, and I took a tour of Afghanistan through a 260 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:18.039 helicopter and that place was just stunning. It was a beautiful place. And 261 00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:22.640 the villagers they just wanted to be left alone, you know, like they 262 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.480 just want to raise their goats and raise their families and just you know, 263 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.559 just be left alone. So it was just a different mission. But when 264 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:36.240 you go into those villages, it's you're on high high alert because you just 265 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:40.920 never know who who's in town, and the Taliban are working with them, 266 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:47.160 so car bombs. We can only have so many routes in so once we 267 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.000 were driving, I just it was like, okay, this is probably your 268 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:56.160 last stop because they plant bombed everywhere. So we were there for the last 269 00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:00.880 three months of my six month deployment, and then a couple of days before 270 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.000 there was a helo crash. I think Stilteam five and Silting three were doing 271 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:10.279 a turnover helo crash. Some people had died. It was Team four Team 272 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:15.079 five were doing a turnover. So the helicopter crashed on the mountain and the 273 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:18.839 skipper or the bass on the base at Aymark. We're going to recover the 274 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.759 helicopter and there's going to be a ton of firefights up there, and he 275 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.200 said have a good time, and I was like yes, sir. So 276 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.400 we voted up and we went to uh recover the helicopter, and sure enough 277 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:37.039 we got into a firefight on top of that mountain and it was it was 278 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:41.839 just mayhem up there. But then we were really we were fully supported because 279 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:47.880 they knew how how hot of a target it was. And we were recovering 280 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:52.839 onto the helicopter and you just hear round sitting the helicopter and they pulled us 281 00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:56.440 off that mountain and the next day I on the plane home. That was 282 00:20:56.720 --> 00:21:00.880 that was the worst part. Of the deployment was at that intensity. You 283 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.920 don't really understand the intensity because you just this just becomes your norm. And 284 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:10.200 then to be in a firefight and you know, pretty heavy one, and 285 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:15.880 then you land. You debriefed the op and the skipper says, hey, 286 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:19.960 go pack up. Your flight's eaven like six hours and six hours later I 287 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:23.759 was on a flight heading home. That's retired US Navy Seal Mark Green. 288 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:30.599 He's also the author of Unsealed, a Navy Seal's Guide to Mastering Transitions Still 289 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:34.880 to Come. In this addition, Green shares his powerful story of his severe 290 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:41.440 struggles in readjusting to civilian life after leaving the Navy, and how that experience 291 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.559 fuels the work he does now to help veterans every day. But first we'll 292 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:52.079 hear more about his service in Afghanistan. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veterans 293 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:57.240 Chronicles. This is Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. This is the second 294 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:02.880 part of our interview with retired US Navy Seal Mark Green. In just a 295 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:07.200 few minutes, well hear about Green's difficult transition from military to civilian life and 296 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:12.000 how that's prompted him to help retiring veterans today, but right now he takes 297 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:18.279 us back to Afghanistan to explain why the terrain there did not allow him opportunities 298 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:22.839 as a sniper. We weren't doing any sniper work because the mountain, the 299 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:27.359 distance between mountain ranges was so vast that you know, you couldn't set up 300 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:30.160 on a mountain, So it was all when you go into a village, 301 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.839 it was just like everything was close. You know, you'd go into the 302 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.400 village and you know, these villages have been there for a thousand years. 303 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:40.440 There's no secrets in there. You can't hide anywhere. They you know, 304 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:45.119 that's their backyard. So it was just different and you had to interact with 305 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.839 the elders to get anything done. So it was just a completely different way 306 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:52.759 of operating because it was you just had to be patient. You knew that 307 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.759 was going to be happening, but you just didn't know when and where. 308 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.480 And we were working, like I said, we were working with the unions 309 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:03.880 and doing a different mission. So the combat environment was completely different than I 310 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:10.960 can understand, but it was it was as dangerous. It was as dangerous, 311 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:15.160 if not more so, because we had been fighting over there since two 312 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:18.000 thousand and one and I got there in twenty ten. So the locals and 313 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:22.440 the enemy had known our tactics and had adjusted to how we do business. 314 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:26.880 So it was the planning part of it was a lot more specific and you 315 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:32.519 had to have a lot more support doing seal ops. Over there's moved to 316 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:37.039 your twenty twelve deployment. Now how much different were things and where were you 317 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:41.119 and what were you doing on that one? So we were in Kandahar for 318 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.680 that one, and at that position at that point, it was more of 319 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.079 a staff. It was a staff, so I got to see the battlefield 320 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:53.759 from watching how the operations would happen. And then you'd have to manage assets 321 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:57.480 for the special operators in theater, and then you have to make sure that 322 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:02.359 they had all their and equipment. You had to approve their con ops and 323 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:07.599 you know, send them back because it was a non permissive so much. 324 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:12.599 And then we had to determine what their afghany counterparts, how capable they were, 325 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:17.039 and it was just it was completely it was completely different. We got 326 00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:19.480 to go out every once in a while, but that was a different job. 327 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:26.319 And just to watch how the sausage is made. Really it's it's a 328 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:30.599 very deliberate process. At that point, it had gotten slow. It slowed 329 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:34.599 down a lot because the mission had changed so much. So it was really, 330 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:41.799 we need to make sure that the Afghanis are taken over their own country. 331 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:48.880 So I think I learned more on that deployment, understanding how at an 332 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:52.599 operational level that wasn't working on the tactical level anymore. It was, Hey, 333 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.200 the general and sect Death thinks, here's the way the mission is going 334 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:02.079 to go. So we're going to have to great to accomplish that mission, 335 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:06.400 as opposed to, hey, we we got a target package, we've got 336 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.119 a good intel, conditions are good, let's go out and shoot band guys. 337 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:12.680 It wasn't. That wasn't what that one was. It was we were 338 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:17.119 making sure that the guys who did go out on target had all the intel 339 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.519 that they need, had all the assets they needed, and all the support 340 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:22.440 that they needed so they could accomplish the mission and then come home. We're 341 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:27.319 talking with Mark Green, retired US Navy Seal. He's also the author of 342 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:33.680 the book Unsealed and Navy Seal's Guide to Mastering Transitions, And let's transition out 343 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:36.720 to that part of your story. You say that one of the toughest times 344 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:40.599 in your life came when leaving active duty. In fact, someone asked you 345 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:44.240 how you were approaching it. You instantly said you thought it was terrifying. 346 00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:49.559 Your book is all about transitions. Of course, it was tough to adjust 347 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:53.599 to the military. Is you know, obviously transitioning from regular active duty to 348 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:57.000 being a seal, from enlisted to an officer, and now you're going through 349 00:25:57.079 --> 00:26:00.839 this one. What was the most challenging part of returning to civilian life for 350 00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:04.799 you? One how quiet it was like you didn't have you weren't prepping for 351 00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:12.440 anything, and it was the loss of my tribe. I was not prepared 352 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:17.160 for what that was going to be like. You know, one day Friday 353 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:22.200 before I retired, I was Mark Green Navy seal, and Saturday it was 354 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:25.720 just Mark walking around the neighborhood. The only thing I was shooting at that 355 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:30.160 point were emails, you know, and it was like what And I didn't 356 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:33.799 speak the language anymore. I didn't know what I was good at. I 357 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:34.960 can't go on a resume and say, hey, you know, it was 358 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:41.000 sniper first seventeen years and you know, blue stuff up. And so I 359 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:45.079 really had to learn. I had to relearn how to integrate myself into society 360 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:55.480 and then make myself valuable and change my military language to how it would translate 361 00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:57.720 into the civilian world. But then, you know, I didn't have a 362 00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:03.920 mission anymore. Like I said, to not know what you're good at after 363 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:11.720 twenty years, it's really challenging because you can't go back. You're never going 364 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:14.680 to be the seal again. You know that locker room, You're never going 365 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:21.960 to recreate that locker room ever again. And you're not special anymore. You 366 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:23.279 don't have that support, you don't have that mission, you don't have the 367 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:29.920 guys to rely on. So I realized I was tolerated but not welcome. 368 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.720 And if I see some of the guys out in town, like Hey, 369 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:37.599 what are guys doing? And can I can I join you? Can I 370 00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:41.200 hang out for beer or something, that's like yeah, we'd love to, 371 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:45.000 but you know, we're heading down the key or we're doing we're doing the 372 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:49.359 missions, continuing on. And at that point I realized, like, oh, 373 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:55.279 well, that makes sense because the mission of the military is designed to 374 00:27:56.319 --> 00:28:00.519 continue and thrive without you being there. They're training there, they're bringing in 375 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:03.880 and training up your replacement all the time. So when I left, it 376 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:08.599 was you know, mission didn't stop and the guys op tempo didn't stop. 377 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:12.039 So then I was like, then it was just quiet. And then you 378 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:18.200 know, then your invisible injuries start to manifest because you know you're you're not 379 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:22.559 occupied, You're just sitting in it. And luckily for me, I had 380 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:29.319 a dream job out at the University of Southern California where I went out to 381 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:32.519 USC and all of a sudden, I had a tribe, an instant tribe. 382 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:34.920 They just really embraced me. Hey, you're a trojan now. I 383 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:37.839 was like, no, no, I just got here. I just worked 384 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:40.519 here. Like yeah, it doesn't matter, you're you're part of the cult 385 00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:42.119 now. So I had a mission again, I had a tribe again. 386 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:48.119 I was supporting the students and the president of the university, and in such 387 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:52.720 a big city, I really found a great purpose. See, the first 388 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:56.960 job I had was fundraising, which I was terrible at. But then I 389 00:28:56.119 --> 00:29:00.720 got to work. My boss said, hey, this isn't working for you. 390 00:29:00.799 --> 00:29:03.200 Where would you like to work? I was like, I'd love to 391 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:07.039 work in the veterans programs at the Provost Office. So that was at two 392 00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:10.440 o'clock. At three o'clock, he made the change and I reported to a 393 00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:15.400 new guy. And the guy's name was Mark Todd and just an amazing guy. 394 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:18.839 And he said, Mark, here's a job. We don't actually have 395 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:23.400 enough work for you, so just go find stuff to do. So I 396 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:27.960 embedded with the football team. I was a mentor to the tennis team. 397 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.079 I was working with a cardiologist. I was doing public speaking. You know, 398 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:36.079 I was tailgating, I was going to football games. I was just 399 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:41.319 I was incredibly happy with that. And then they just had programs and stuff 400 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:47.319 available for veterans, who are you going through transition and cognitive issues are happening, 401 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:48.920 and like, hey, don't worry about it. We have a specialist 402 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:52.039 over across the street, and we really make sure you're taken care of. 403 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:59.400 So had I not had that opportunity to go out and immediately get incorporated into 404 00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:00.920 a new tribe, the new mission, even though I had all that support, 405 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:04.480 there were those times where I was just I felt like a burden because 406 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:08.839 I wasn't good at anything. Yet. I wasn't good at my new job. 407 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:12.599 I was in a brand new city, was trying to keep my family 408 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:17.079 together, and you know, we're going through a divorce. So then I 409 00:30:17.160 --> 00:30:19.240 was just like, man, I'm not really good at any one thing. 410 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:23.519 I feel like a burden now. And I just thought like, well, 411 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:26.440 the place would be better if I wasn't around. Yeah, that was very 412 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:32.920 real. And I had a friend who happened to call me right when I 413 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:37.960 was at the worst point, and she said, are you all right? 414 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:40.799 And I was like no, I'm having to go through a rough patch. 415 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:44.000 And I said, to have guns in the house, will you just come 416 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:48.759 over and just make sure they're out of the house. And before she hung 417 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:49.880 up to the phone, she's like, well, you know, we love 418 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:53.400 you around here and you're you're valuable, right. I hear you, but 419 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:56.359 I don't believe it. And she said, okay, I'm on my way. 420 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.759 So she lived about thirty minutes away, and so I was like, 421 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:03.359 get out of the house, walk down to this store, walk around a 422 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:06.480 little bit, and come back. It usually takes about thirty minutes. So 423 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:10.400 as I was coming back there she was. She just pulled up and she 424 00:31:10.559 --> 00:31:14.039 just gave me a big hug and walked upstairs and told her where the stuff 425 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:17.880 was and she grabbed it and she just gave me a huggs like I'll see 426 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:21.319 you tomorrow. That one act of kindess just kind of snapped me out of 427 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:26.440 it because I was inspiraling so much to where I was going to take my 428 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:30.599 life. But it was just it was like the thought of maybe just be 429 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:33.240 better if I wouldn't know how. And then I really started to recover after 430 00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:37.480 that, and those thoughts never crept back in, but you know, I 431 00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:41.559 still had cognitive issues that I was dealing with and some signs of PTS that 432 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.559 I was still working through. As strange as it was, LA, the 433 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:49.079 city of LA took care of me. And so based on your own story, 434 00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:53.240 I'm guessing the encouragement now that you're sharing with other veterans or anybody else 435 00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:57.880 whos struggling for major transitions is to find what you found, a purpose, 436 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:01.359 a mission, people around you that you know will be there for you. 437 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:06.799 There's so much help out there. Just go find the help that you need, 438 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:13.240 because reach out to either your network or reach out to the mirriad of 439 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:19.960 nonprofits that are out there that specifically target what you're going through. And it's 440 00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:24.039 just to please, don't take a permanent solution to what's often a temporary problem. 441 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:28.920 You talk in the book and many others have as well about the horrific 442 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:36.839 suicide rate among veterans. Oftentimes there's post traumatic stress or maybe traumatic brain injury 443 00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:40.359 or whoever else you want to classify the trauma that they've seen. But how 444 00:32:40.440 --> 00:32:43.599 much of it And I don't know if it's possible to quantify this, but 445 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:47.480 how much do you think it is that difficulty of transitioning back into civilian life. 446 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:52.000 I think it's probably ninety percent of it, really, really, I 447 00:32:52.079 --> 00:32:58.319 think so, yeah, because it's such a oftentimes catastrophic loss, and if 448 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:01.319 you're not planning for it, and all of a sudden, you're one day, 449 00:33:01.359 --> 00:33:06.799 you're you know, you're serving your country and you're accomplishing the mission. 450 00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:10.359 You're grade at your job. You know, you put sometimes decades into this 451 00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:15.079 specialty, and you're an expert out of you're a SERGECT matter expert. You 452 00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:17.480 know, you have prestige with whatever you're doing, and then all of a 453 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:23.559 sudden, you're all that's gone. The military doesn't prep you for what's next, 454 00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:28.480 and that's not their job. You know, their job is to man 455 00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:34.000 train, equipment, deploy forces throughout the world to accomplish the mission, whatever 456 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:38.559 that mission is so when you leave, they fully supported you while you were 457 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:44.400 in one hundred percent percent taken care of and they give you a course to 458 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:47.960 to kind of get you started, but they still have a mission to accomplish, 459 00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:53.880 and they've armed you with so many different skills and the attributes you need 460 00:33:53.960 --> 00:34:00.240 to survive out there, but they don't prepare you for how you know, 461 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:06.720 catastrophic it can be to lose that blanket of support that you've grown to take 462 00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:10.599 advantage of, or it's so readily available that it becomes invisible and you don't 463 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:16.119 understand how heavily you are supported. And then you know, so many people 464 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:21.639 go through a divorce and you're home, you're unemployed for the first time and 465 00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:24.559 for my case, twenty years, and you still have to put food on 466 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:30.480 the table and life is still happening, and you're just oftentimes not prepare for 467 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:35.920 the speed at which that happens, and you don't give yourself enough time and 468 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:42.519 grace and understanding to say, Okay, I'm going to be okay, I'm 469 00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:45.280 just going through a rough path right now. You either self medicate, or 470 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:51.360 you get into the wrong job, or you're just taking some time to figure 471 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:55.320 life out, what life looks like now, and it's a process and it 472 00:34:55.400 --> 00:35:00.320 takes years. I was heavily supported and it took me four years, and 473 00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:06.480 over the course of that time, I learned how to manage life again as 474 00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:09.119 opposed to just getting my butt kicked by it. Mark, just a couple 475 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:13.920 of questions left in our remaining moments together. What, more than anything else, 476 00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:16.280 do you want readers to take away from your book unsealed? I want 477 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:21.599 them to take away that transitions are a normal part of life. You've gone 478 00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:25.440 through several and the way I wrote the book was, you know, athletic 479 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:31.840 transition, career transition, becoming a parent, transition, losing a parent, 480 00:35:32.519 --> 00:35:37.920 and all those are transition points. So I want the service member to read 481 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:43.079 it and connect and say, Okay, this person struggled and he was you 482 00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:45.360 know, at some of the highest levels in the military. He figured out 483 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:51.159 a way to navigate that. But then I also want either the spouse to 484 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:54.119 say hey or the significant others say hey, this is what I see you're 485 00:35:54.159 --> 00:36:00.360 going through, and this story is exactly what you're going through. Read this 486 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:06.480 story and maybe read the entire book, or your children also see it. 487 00:36:06.519 --> 00:36:10.440 Because everybody transitions together. It's not just the individual transition, the entire family 488 00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:15.320 unit transitions and if the kids say, hey, mom or dad, this 489 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:19.239 is what you're going through. This is a little bit of a roadmap to 490 00:36:19.639 --> 00:36:23.400 get you over that hump and let them know that they're okay and there's support 491 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:25.679 out there for you. So that's what I want to get. I want 492 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:30.639 somebody to say, hey, I'm having a tough time transitioning and maybe one 493 00:36:30.679 --> 00:36:36.559 of these stories resonates and helps as a catalyst to start the healing process. 494 00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:40.719 Lastly, when thinking about your twenty years of service in uniform, what are 495 00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:46.760 you most proud of? I am most proud of the last deployment. Your 496 00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:51.719 mission is to get everybody home. And when I was on that plane, 497 00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:57.840 came in country with my guys and we're on this plane to see where thirty 498 00:36:57.880 --> 00:37:04.920 coming home. And I'm counting heads and everybody who came on deployment and Michael 499 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:09.199 tone and made it back, and those the best sleepless night I've ever gotten. 500 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:13.480 So because I just kept recounting, it was like, Okay, yeah 501 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:15.840 that's Mikey, Yeah that's Patty, Yeah, that's Billy. You know, 502 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:23.039 everybody's coming home. So that was as a leader that was the best part 503 00:37:23.119 --> 00:37:30.400 of my career professionally personally was having all four of those kids in mine. 504 00:37:30.519 --> 00:37:32.239 We were just amazing, awesome. Mark, It's been an honor to have 505 00:37:32.320 --> 00:37:35.639 you with us today. Thank you so much for your time, thank you 506 00:37:35.719 --> 00:37:37.679 for the work you're doing, and thank you most of all for your service. 507 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:40.039 We appreciate it very much. Thanks so much for your support, and 508 00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:44.280 thanks for having me on today. Retired US Navy seal Mark green. He 509 00:37:44.440 --> 00:37:49.760 is also the author of the recently released book Unsealed Navy Seal's Guide to Mastering 510 00:37:49.880 --> 00:38:02.679 Transitions. I'm Greg Corumbus and this is Veteran's Chronicles. Hi. This is 511 00:38:02.760 --> 00:38:07.840 Greg Corumbus and thanks for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of the American 512 00:38:07.960 --> 00:38:15.199 Veterans Center. For more information, please visit American Veteranscenter dot org. You 513 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:19.800 can also follow the American Veterans Center on Facebook and on Twitter. We're at 514 00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:25.280 AVC update. Subscribe to the American Veterans Center YouTube channel for full oral histories 515 00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:30.480 and special features, and of course, please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast 516 00:38:30.840 --> 00:38:36.320 wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks again for listening, and please join us 517 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:37.320 next time for veterans Chronicles,