Navy SEAL Adam Brown had a rather unconventional start with the military. He was at rock bottom and was looking for a new direction, a better direction. He had a lengthy rap sheet with charges such as theft, possession of meth and crack, and much more.

Turning His Life Around

Brown had to choose between rehab and jail. He chose rehab, became a Christian, met his wife, and was very happy.

However, his path turned back toward addiction again. Brown had another choice to make, his addiction to crack or his wife. A friend had told Brown that he joined the Navy and was going to be an aviator.

Brown was almost rejected from the military due to his background, but a high-ranking recruiting officer happened to be his friend and vouched for him. He was sent to basic training.

Becoming A SEAL

Brown set his sights on becoming a SEAL, which turned out to be the perfect fit for him. He began with SEAL Team Four and lost his right eye during a room-clearing exercise.

He passed SEAL training with only one good eye. He set his sites on joining SEAL Team Six. In the interim, he deployed to Afghanistan in 2005.

He was injured in a convoy incident, and his right hand was missing fingers and was terribly mangled. He chose to focus on the rest of his team.

Not Giving Up

He lost the use of his right hand, so he trained himself to shoot with his left. In 2006, he was Chief Petty Officer Brown and on deployment in Afghanistan. While there he handed out shoes and socks to Afghan children who needed them.

His final mission was Objective Lake James, taking out a Taliban Leader. As he and his team came up to the enemy stronghold, they took out one guard.

A firefight ensued.

Brown was tasked with getting a grenade into the building. As he approached with a grenade launcher, he was hit by bullets in both legs. More shots were fired in his direction. Brown died at their base.

Brown's story is a lesson in perseverance. While he may have been a late bloomer, he pulled himself out of the darkness and onto the right path.

Every time something got in the way of his goal, he pushed onward, not letting anything get in the way of being the best version of himself.

Source: wearemighty.com