A Sense of Duty: A Former Navy SEAL Falls in Love and Begins a New Journey with his Private Consulting Company: Dark Horse Guardians Read Online Free PDF Page A

the mileage on his body was much higher than a typical thirty-one year old.
    When alone like this, his mind would wander to his SEAL brothers, Sam, Javier, Gus, Nate, Elvis, Tom, and Jake. He missed them so much his heart ached. Even though five were still with him as operatives, it wasn't the same. The devotion he felt toward them took the place of a romantic relationship for most of his life. They were more than brothers; they were warriors bound together by the same philosophy. They slept, ate, and lived together in the smoke-filled air of Iraq and Afghanistan for six years. They laughed and suffered together and saved one another's lives on more than one occasion. The reality was ever present: each day lived with them could be the last day. This was a life lesson that would never leave him. Ben lived every day with deliberation, fixated on the smallest details, noticing things that ordinary people overlooked: the sun glistening on the water, the stillness when the wind stopped, the sound of bird song, the beauty of the beginning of a rain shower. He had become extremely grateful for things that most people took for granted.
    In solitude, Ben's thoughts drifted back to the men he so admired in his unit. Gus, a six-foot four football player with his blonde hair shaved close to his head. He was a gentle giant, a highly skilled sniper from Tennessee. He also was an accomplished medic. Ben thought of Nate who joked he was Ben's twin from another mother. Nate was so similar to Ben it was uncanny. Irish with black hair and blue eyes, Ben called him mini-me, and never let Nate forget he was smaller. Nate stood at five nine and had trouble maintaining a weight of 160. He somehow got tagged with the name "Shrimp". He didn't care what anyone called him because he was the cool one under pressure. Nate's specialties were linguistics and communications and he had the uncanny ability to keep his head when all about him were losing theirs. The world could be coming to an end, but Nate would analyze the situation and deliver the best case scenario, then plan B, plan C, and could roll with it like no other soldier he knew. Ben knew all of his childhood stories and came to the conclusion that it was Nate's sense of humor and joining the Navy that saved him. Nate grew up in San Diego California in difficult circumstances; his mother died when he was ten and his father raised him and five other siblings doing the best he could. Ben was convinced if Nate had not joined the Navy when he did, his life would have been very different. The Navy gave him the sense of belonging he needed.
    The opposite of Nate was Elvis. Ben owed him his life. He physically carried Ben out during a rescue mission. Elvis was a brilliant and talented mechanic, second lieutenant. A tall dark SEAL, he was six-foot-six and referred to himself as "Ninja". His jet black hair was longer than the others and he slicked it straight back. He actually bore resemblance to Elvis Presley, right down to the blue eyes. Ben enjoyed watching his excursions with the ladies. With Elvis in the room you could be assured there would be a lot of fun. He was the joker in the group, always setting up pranks and his imagination had no limits. Elvis was known for his entertaining imitations of SEAL instructors that would send the whole unit into side-splitting laughter. He was the heavy weapons operator and air operations master. His I.Q. was the highest in the group, although you might not think so if you listened to his low-country Southern drawl. Elvis was a story teller and knew just how to weave a tale to suck you in for the punch line. He delighted in telling tall tales, then watching your face when he told you it was all make believe.
    Ben reflected on the crazy fun he always had in the company of Tom, a big loud wise cracking Leprechaun who was the unit's expert breacher. A six-foot-four red headed guy, when Tom grew a beard Ben teased him saying he looked like a giant Leprechaun, even