In 2003 Rolling Stone coined us “generation kill” & while that magazine might be a rag, they got that part correct. War is the ultimate sport. It has deadly consequences, but it’s the original competition, as old as humanity itself. Every human sport is one way or another based on it. Football, MMA, boxing, even Polo. Tactics and physical contact. It’s the ultimate test of manhood. We often focus on loss and injuries (understandably), but allow me to highlight why warriors also love it. I was an introvert before my first gunfight, it broke me out of my shell. I can walk out in front of a crowd and present anything. I watched 18 and 20 year olds who were shy come back with a level of confidence that had them laughing off the number of women who tried to hand them phone numbers. There’s no rush as exciting as a gunfight. Seconds feel like minutes, time slows, senses heighten, primal instinct elevates and combines with ingrained training. Vision becomes brighter, adrenaline courses through your body in a way that only driving fast can even begin to mimic. You discover what really matters in life. Pain is more tolerable. The trivial things people complain about seem pathetic. The contrast between experience and common “tragedies” elevated. Your French fries have too much ketchup? What a tragedy!🤣 Combat allows the warrior to discover and push self-imposed limitations in ways that only SERE school can begin to emulate. Cold and heat, lack of sleep, little food, you can go so much further than your mental barrier tells you that you can, harden up! You can cross icy waters, go 10 more miles, react calmly & level-headed in a moment of crisis. I honor and remember my lost friends, I feel concern and obligation to my friends that have permanent injuries; I still wouldn’t have opted for any other way to spend my 20’s and 30’s. You can never feel more alive than when death is the agenda of the day.