Navy SEAL on Returning to Civilian Life: 'I Would Rather Get Shot Again Than Have to Go Through What I Went Through Assimilating Back Into Society' (Video)
Navy SEAL and author of The New York Times best seller, SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper, Dr. Howard Wasdin has released a new book, The Last Rescue, which details his struggle to assimilate back into civilian life.
Wasdin, with the help and support of his wife, Debbie, and his faith in Christ, was able to overcome the difficulty of the adjustment, but not without experiencing some harsh trials in the process.
"Imagine going from the tip of the spear [as a Navy SEAL], 100 miles an hour, life or death all the time, to going back to normal life — what you guys call civilian life — that's the hardest thing I ever did," Wasdin told The Christian Post. "After being shot three times, I'm telling you, I would rather get shot again than have to go through what I went through assimilating back into society."
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Wasdin's hardships included divorces, an addiction to alcohol, and an overall dependence upon who he was during his days serving the U.S. as a Navy SEAL.
"I actually looked in the mirror one morning, with a friend holding me in the mirror, basically saying, 'Hey, look at this guy, he's not going to last that long,'" Wasdin said, describing his attitude during that time.
Part of Wasdin's journey in making the transition back to civilian life successful involved him finding a new identity and job outside of the military, which his wife played a big role in assisting him with. Wasdin eventually decided to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a chiropractor with her encouragement.
"The biggest thing that Debbie helped me with was realizing, 'Hey buddy, your life's not over.' There's still things you can do. There's stuff that you want to do, which [was] to be a chiropractor and help people," he said. "And as corny as that sounds, the same reason I became a SEAL Team Six member, is the same reason I became a chiropractor, to help people."
Debbie also shared with CP how her faith enabled her to help her husband along his journey.
"God kind of puts you on the path that you need to be on," she explained. "Everything for us from the time we met just fell into place, except careerwise for him."
Wasdin called his wife at work one day to tell her about a job that he wanted to take in Brazil, and she reacted by encouraging him to pursue being a chiropractor instead. It was at this time she realized he had an identity crisis.
"In conversations we had after that it kind of came to light that he had no current identity," she said. "The only identity he had was Howard Wasdin Navy SEAL. And that was a great past to have, but it wasn't his current [life]."
She continued: "Once we got him into school and he started taking the classes, he started building that identity and his whole personality changed. His self esteem changed. It was just amazing to watch. I'm just proud to be a part of that. I don't think I had anything to do with it. I think it was all God."
Wasdin authored SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper in 2011 which tells the story of his experiences serving in the U.S. Navy, along with talking about his upbringing, marriages and personal life. The book went on to become a New York Times best seller.
The book was released just one week after Osama Bin Laden was taken out by a SEAL operation known as DEVFRU.
