November Update

Again I have let to much time go by in my journal posting. I wanted to share something personal to me that I got to experience in the past few weeks/months. In September I decided to try out for the SWAT team thinking I would most likely not make it but would set myself up to be better prepared when I try again a second time in 2009. I did really well in the testing process (Scenario based oral board, shooting, physical challenge) and was invited to attend SWAT school with 7 other candidates. I went through SWAT school October 9 through the 16th and after successfully completing the school 6 of us were invited to join the team on a 1 year probation. So here I am officially on the SWAT team going through a 1 year probation that started on November 1st.

Of course being on the team is so much fun and the training is amazing but what really made me feel honored was realizing who I get to work with. During the SWAT school I was given a home work assignment to analyze a poem called "The Warriors Creed", written by a special forces commander named Steven Watt. Reading the creed helped me see the character type and attributes that I wish to aspire to having in this life and common denominator in many of the team members around me. Obviously no one is perfect and there are character flaws in all of us but finding these common themes and being invited to join the group was a huge honor and a humbling experience.

The creed states that if today is to be THE DAY, then so be it. It reflects an individual who has spent their time preparing, training, drilling and rehearsing for THE DAY and an attitude that suggests that I will give everything I have in the final fight and if its not enough then it will still certainly impress the enemy and cost a severe price if not their very life in the fight. It goes on speaking on honor and courage yet it describes a humble attitude.

It talks about "the most dangerous nice guys you'll ever meet" and almost every trait can be viewed from a mortal and physical understanding to an eternal and spiritual one too. Anyway I will post the whole creed in a further post. I am honored and excited to be part of the SWAT team and I hope I can make a positive contribution to the team. I have been asked to show them my diligence in improvement of three areas of my life on a weekly basis. The three areas are: shooting, tactical knowledge, and physical preparation or exercise.