Injuries
Adam was the kind of guy prone to injury. But it never stopped him. In fact, he applied for exemptions to stay on the teams, permitting he could still serve up to the standards of everyone else. Being a shooter, as most of us are, I was really impressed with what Adam did while maintaining his SEAL status with the injuries he sustained.
While training for urban warfare, simunition ammo is used during scenarios. Simunitions are high powered paintball cartridges, to add realism to the training. When hit, it hurts, and a welt usually develops immediately. Adam caught a simunition round in the eye, from the side. After months of treatment, he eventually lost his right eye, his dominant eye.
The Navy wanted to retire him, but Adam fought, and won, with the understanding if he couldn’t do the job he’d be retired. One year after losing his eye, Adam completed Navy sniper school, shooting left-handed and using his left eye. Adam once again graduated top of his class.
Later, while out of country in Kandahar, Adam’s Humvee hit an IED, causing the vehicle to flip over. His right hand was crushed, with all four fingers almost severed from his hand. The fingers were reattached, followed by intense physical therapy. Being righthanded, Adam was worried about shooting. Would he be able to qualify with this major hand injury?
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