Navy SEAL says role requires humility as well as strength

Eric Greitens has been busier than usual since the death of Osama bin Laden.

Greitens, a Navy SEAL now serving in the Reserves, has recently appeared on several national news programs as a commentator on the training SEALs endure. He’ll share some of these stories and those from his new book at Auntie’s Bookstore today.

Since bin Laden’s death, the nation and world have wondered just who makes up Team 6, which carried out the historic mission. But for their triumphs they get little public recognition. Because of safety concerns, members of Team 6 can only be recognized internally.

“I think SEALs put a strong emphasis on humility as a core value,” Greitens said. “The SEAL community is really proud of the warrior values we represent. These men will be recognized and appropriately honored for what they have done, and they also appreciate the necessity of remaining secret.”

Despite comparisons of SEALs to real-life superheroes in the wake of bin Laden’s death, Greitens said they’re “regular citizens” when they come home. And while they’re known as the toughest of the tough, SEALs aren’t immune from difficult emotions.

“As you’re going through SEAL team training, there are a lot of things you’re afraid of,” Greitens said. “What you learn is how to deal with your fear. You learn how to put your fear to the side and do what you need to do.”

Of more than 220 people who began the mentally and physically grueling training with Greitens, just 21 graduated, he said: “It’s considered to be the hardest military training in the world. In the course of that training they ask you to do really difficult things.”

During training known as “drown-proofing,” trainees’ hands and feet are bound before they’re thrown into water to swim 50 meters. They also must swim two miles in the ocean and run a four-mile timed run on sand.

Greitens is also a humanitarian.

Greitens, who will marry Ferris High School graduate Sheena Chestnut this summer, went from working in refugee camps around the world to serving four tours as a Navy SEAL in the fight against global terrorism.

Greitens, a Missouri native, said those two roles go hand in hand, joining in meaningful service.

The stories he shares in his book, “The Heart and the Fist,” about his experiences on the front lines and humanitarian efforts in war zones, are relevant to the average person. “What I’ve found is everybody has a front line in their life,” he said. “The front line in your life is the place where your hopes for yourself and your hopes for the people you love come right up against the reality that the world presents you.”

His inspiration to join the SEALs came while he was doing humanitarian work in a refugee camp in Bosnia. A man whose family had suffered hardship told Greitens he appreciated the aid but said “if you really want to help us, you would protect us.”

He realized serving others sometimes requires fighting for them. “You need the heart and the fist,” he said. “You need courage and compassion. You have to be able to live with both compassion and courage in whatever struggle you face in your own life.”