Sam and K-9 Lilah

I grew up in Nebraska in a very patriotic family. My dad was a Navy Seal during Vietnam and he served four tours in Vietnam. My brother was in the Army, my sister the Marines, and my other sister married an Air Force man. I enlisted in the Coast Guard and went to boot camp just weeks after my 18th birthday. I served on buoy tenders, search and rescue stations, patrol boats, and research vessels during my 23 year stint. I married my wife in 1993 and we have three daughters. Over the years we lived in Minnesota, Michigan, Washington, and Alaska. I ended my career where it started - in Duluth, Minnesota. After my retirement from the military, I worked for a shipping company for eight years as the manager of safety and compliance. During my active duty time, I assisted on many search and rescue missions and also several recovery incidents. I also did law enforcement as well as regulatory and safety compliance inspections on ships. Once I got out of the military, I found it very difficult to adapt to civilian life. I was used to helping my shipmates but didn't realize I also needed help. I am very excited to have been accepted into the Soldier's 6 program and look forward to the training for me and for Lilah.