My name is Dan O’Shea. I am a Reserve Navy SEAL officer and graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In the 1990’s, I deployed to the Middle East numerous times with SEAL Team Three before leaving the Teams to compete in Adventure Races all over the world (Raid Gauloises, Eco Challenge, Southern Traverse . . .). Following the attacks of 9/11, I voluntarily returned to active duty to serve at Special Operations Command CENTRAL and have deployed many times since to US Central Command (USCENTCOM) supporting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
My friend Scott Zagarino (of FGB IV and Athletes for a Cure) asked me if I would write a brief note acknowledging the CrossFit community for the commitment you’re making by giving your time and sweat to Fight Gone Bad IV on September 26th. I also wanted to add a personal thank you to each of you because my Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the 1990’s and is still living a full life today because of research supported directly by Athletes for a Cure.
I want each of you to know that you may never personally meet or know how many people you affect by giving up one day in your life for others. Remember, “only a life lived in the service to others is worth living” (Albert Einstein) and “Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly.” (Plutarch).
Today, every man, woman in uniform serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, offers up sweat and sometimes blood and tears defending a country, their community, and you. Competing in Fight Gone Bad will be more than merely saying thank you. You will be sweating while some Army Rangers are rucking up the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan or Navy SEALs stacking on a door in some Baghdad slum. We may never meet in person, but we thank you for your sacrifice to train and raise money and awareness on behalf of AfaC for the Wounded Warrior Project.
What you’re doing matters to every warrior serving this country. Your efforts will directly support American brothers and sisters wounded in combat defending our way of life.
Dan O’Shea CDR USNR
