Ben Seekell is an active-duty Chief Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force and recipient of the Purple Heart, which is the oldest Military Decoration and given to those who are wounded or killed while fighting the nation’s wars. The Purple Heart is a solemn distinction and means a service member has greatly sacrificed themselves, or paid the ultimate price, while in the line of duty.
Full Audio Episode with Chapter Markers AND Topics:
https://passingthetorch.buzzsprout.com/1946508/12511782-ep-28-your-capacity-is-limitless-with-ben-seekell
FULL VIDEO Episode with Chapter Markers AND Topics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVzZGz6PtRA
More info about the guest:
Per the book Courage Under Fire: True Stories of Bravery from the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines - On May 8, 2011, Chief Seekell and his military working dog, Charlie, joined a security mission. As they returned to Bagram Airfield, they stepped on a landmine. The ground exploded, sending Chief Seekell and Charlie sailing through the air. Not aware that his leg was almost completely torn off, Chief Seekell tried calling out to members of his team. He was especially worried about his canine partner. Charlie suffered several shrapnel wounds and cowered in terror from the noise.
Chief Seekell faced a long, painful recovery. He had five surgeries, which included the amputation of his foot. He also struggled through about five hours of intense physical therapy every day. But Chief Seekell was determined to work with Charlie again. Only eight months after losing his foot, he passed the Air Force fitness test. Chief Seekell once again returned to active duty with Charlie at his side.
My Links
Podcast: https://www.passingthetorchpod.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04suOPTX3ny_M0aDxmBAXQ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pttorch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torchmartin/
TRANSCRIPT:
So I just decided to be fine. I don't know why. I didn't know what it meant. But that guy thought I could do it. So I just latched onto that. That goes into so many more ins and outs. But a good friend of mine, Brian Williams, he was also a dog handler about two years after I got hurt. He also got hurt and lost his leg. And not, I think, maybe eight hours after he got hit, he sent me a message and said, I need all the advice in the world. And guess what I thought to say to him? I said, man, you're gonna be fine. You just gotta take it day by day. And there's so much more. But I think when these things happen, I think it's important to tell people it's gonna be okay. Yeah. Because it can be okay. And people don't want to hear the master plan that you lay out because it gets too complicated, too quick. They're not even listening at that point. You know, when you're in crisis, you only have the capacity to absorb so much. Oh, this is wrong. Well, let's turn to page 57 and read, you know, paragraph 5. It'll tell us what to do. I think simple is the way to go. Being encouraging and keeping it simple.