Me? Boring story.
- Brought up by a single mother that loved the outdoors and all things wilderness; could set up a tent by the time I could ride a bike.
- Entered in to a church group known as Royal Rangers, which is similar to the Boy Scouts, but with religious affiliation. The final graduation from the lifelong program - the Gold Medal of Achievement - is equal to the Eagle Scout honor.
Spent my entire youth in that program, with a recorded total of more than 513 nights away from home (overnight excursions), hiked an unverifiable-but-possible-to-guess 15,000+ miles on hundreds of trails around the country, including the entire A-T (in three total segments), the Florida Rim, parts of the MTS in NC, most of the peak approaches in the Smokies and the Appalachians, and several others of note.
Canoeing and kayaking were big too; Did the 10,000 islands for a week, did stints on the Peace, Mayakka, Rainbow, and Alafaya Rivers in either a kayak or canoe, and some lake out-and-backs, like Arbuckle.
Completed a total of 34 nights of survival training and solo survival (28 in one survival "final exam") for the program's various survival merits, awards, etc.
Graduated with the highest award possible in the program, 5th in my church's history, and also with almost three times the necessary merits earned.
- Left high school and joined the U.S. Air Force as a Special Operations Weather Team candidate, passed basic, initials, Hell Week, selection, and entered the pipeline shortly after the start of the 2004 New Year. Spent nearly 3.5 years in the SOWT (CWX) pipeline, came out with high marks in medium-range engagement and bladed combat (I HEART KNIVES), and passed SERE with flying colors, thanks in majority to my childhood.
Blah, blah, blah....
Was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 where I was dropped into the mountains (far NE of Kabul) not far from our FOB. Myself and our JTG's medic were both wounded on the touchdown, and within an hour of landfall, we were under small arms fire from above, seeing as we had moved to lower ground to attempt to find shelter...
Made it out just fine, was treated and shipped back to the coast, then home (because they weren't sure whither the femur had set correctly).
The Air Force decided to retrain me, and I chose Intelligence, wherein I finished my newest enlistment and then took a discharge option they gave me.
- I am now a civilian, but none the less prepared (if a little out of shape) for the rigors of life off the grid, even though most of my life revolves around the grid and it's power...
I am a volunteer at the local VA, and work with the Wounded Warrior's Foundation, as well as several charities and companies that teach survival and defense tactics to those that wish to learn and teach their families.
Also:
- Avid mountain biker and bike riding enthusiast; Big into downhill, freeride, trials, north shore, and all-mountain...
- Developed a great deal of that love (built on what I'd started to ride in FL) riding in Colorado, mainly around Denver and the resorts.
- Also made it a mission to climb as many fourteeners as I could. Bagged 21 of the 64 total while I lived there, but since I'll never give Colorado so much as a plug nickel of my money ever again, guess that's over...
- Big into hunting; used to hunt FL hogs with my uncles, and got my first taste of the piggy anger when I was very young. Took a Mule Deer my last year in Colorado, and since then have not hunted one minute. REALLY want to get back to it.
- Shoot a lot, but pregnant wife can't go shooting, so that cuts back on that, and she's pissed about it too. (She wants the baby out so she can do two things; Drink her wine and shoot her (my) AR!)
I can't tell my wife's story as well, but she's an avid equestrian enthusiast, albeit the country version. She loves horses, and loves mudding and shooting, and all of that.
Well, TL;DR, and sorry about that, but you asked.
Thanks,
J&M
. See you're hangin' your hat in Orlando, we escaped Orange County in 1973. Still lots of huntin' and fishin' in your area that I miss.
