Fearless: The Adam Brown Story

79

Adam Brown, shown with his daughter, Savannah, always “got her nose” whenever he could

Occasionally, you read a book that stirs your inner soul. You know the feeling. You start reading and can’t put the book down until the wee hours of the morning, and eye fatigue forces you to stop. You keep the book by your EZ chair or bedside, reading when you can until you’ve finished it.

Once finished, you still keep it in these places so you read and re-read your favorite excerpts, replaying what you’ve read in your mind over and over. That’s how the book “Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown” by Eric Blehm was for me.

Adam successfully completed Navy Sniper school a year after losing his dominant eye and shooting left-handed.

The Story

Adam Brown grew up in Arkansas and was always considered a daredevil of sorts — jumping out of trees, off the family car or the monkey bars at a young age. Being active, he broke several bones during these exploits, but it never discouraged him from doing these daring stunts. These traits carried over to the football field, where Adam was an undersized high school player who played with heart.

After high school, he had no plans and fell in with the wrong crowd. He started doing drugs, and his life quickly spiraled down, leading to numerous arrests. At his lowest point, he decided the Navy was his best shot at making something of his life. Adam didn’t want to be just a sailor; he aspired to become a Navy SEAL.

With his previous brushes with the law, he was initially denied admittance but had a friend whose father was a high-ranking Naval Officer who vouched for him. Adam completed basic training and graduated at the top of his class. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled in BUD/S and successfully completed the tough program.

During this time, he married his very supportive wife, Kelley. Adam was assigned to a SEAL team for further training and thrived.

The Humvee Adam was riding in when it hit an IED.
The vehicle rolled, crushing Adam’s fingers on his right hand.

Fearless

Adam’s daredevil attitude served him well during training. While not necessarily the best athlete, his drive, determination and toughness made him stand out. One of his greatest traits was his sense of humor when facing adversity. When things get tough, some guys lose it and blame others, bringing the whole team down. Those who can keep things light, boost morale with humor, and keep their heads when in stressful situations are the guys people respect and choose to go into battle with. This was Adam.

“Stories involving burning gloves, the blade incident, the anthill are funny incidents and help us understand the man Adam was,” said Chief Harley, who had contributed $20 to the pot for the anthill antic, which involved Adam taking a dare to place part of his anatomy on a hill of fire ants for 30 seconds. “But without a doubt, they should never ever diminish his abilities, his personality as a warrior, as a SEAL. He could flip the switch from having this stuff happen, these funny moments, and the next minute, we could be downrange and be in harm’s way, and he would be the ultimate professional operator, warrior that you’d want. Adam had that rare ability to look in the mirror and laugh at himself to the cool-headed professional, the one person I’d choose to have beside me if I was surrounded by the enemy and running out of ammunition.”

Tender Warrior

Adam would read a lot when deployed. One book he read was “Tender Warrior: God’s Intention for a Man” by a Vietnam-era green beret, Stu Weber. Here’s a passage Weber wrote that Adam shared with a teammate. It perfectly describes Adam.

“The heart of the Warrior is a protective heart. The Warrior shields, defends, stands between, and guards … He invests himself in ‘the energy of self-disciplined, aggressive action.’ By Warrior, I do not mean one who loves war or draws sadistic pleasure from fighting or bloodshed. There is a difference between warrior and brute. A Warrior is a protector … Men stand tallest when they are protecting and defending.”

Adam’s right hand after reattaching his fingers.

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 at the top of his class.

Later, while out of the 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?

Having one eye, shooting left-handed, Adam completed
the incredibly tough “Green Team” SEAL Team 6 training,
the top 1% of Navy SEALS.

Gentle Warrior, Adam Brown, would bring shoes, clothing
and toys to the Afghan children when he was deployed.

Green Team

Adam not only aspired to be a Navy SEAL, but he specifically aspired to be a SEAL Team 6 member — the highest-tiered anti-terrorist team. While the selection process for becoming a SEAL is tough, the process for SEAL Team 6 is extraordinarily tough!

Only 15 % of those who apply pass the initial screening. Of those, only around 1% from the pool of SEALS from the other teams successfully complete tryouts. Talk about the best of the best! But Adam wanted to try. Again, while missing his dominant eye and teaching himself to shoot left-handed, Adam was about to attempt to become a SEAL Team 6 member. You can imagine how tough the shooting courses and scenarios are.

I’ll break the suspense. Adam successfully completed the training. But think about it: here’s a man who lost his dominant eye, re-trained himself to shoot weak-handed, to the rigorous standards of a top-tier anti-terrorist unit, and completed the tough physical standards with reattached fingers and one eye.

Adam with his Batman underwear. A special gift from his kids.

Ultimate Sacrifice

With profound sadness, Adam Brown was killed during a high-risk operation for a high-value target deep in the Hindu Kush mountains on March 17, 2010. The mission was typical for Team 6, involving a 12-mile hike, carrying over 60 pounds of gear after fast roping from a helicopter to avoid detection.

The Special Forces community lost a legend, while Adam’s family lost a son, brother, husband and father. His kids had given him Batman underwear to wear on operations to protect him. True to his word, he was wearing them that fateful night.

We should all be grateful men like Adam Brown have lived. If you want to read a great book about a great American and catch a glimpse into the world of Special Operations, read “Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown” by Eric Blehm.

Subscribe To American Handgunner