THE FIRST CHAPTER
For the past 12 years I have been serving in the United States Navy as a Navy SEAL. As I sit here and reflect over my career in the military it brings a smile to my face and a sense of happiness and fulfillment. Ever since I was in high school I knew I wanted to serve my country in a capacity that would set me apart from the norm. As soon as I caught wind of what SEALs were and what their mission set was, I was immediately hooked, and from that point I made it my life goal to become a United States Navy SEAL. I joined the Navy in 2006 and ended going to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/s) training in the summer of 2007, and successfully became A SEAL in February of 2008. From there I went to SEAL Team Four where I served on two combat deployments to Afghanistan. I was then stationed at BUD/s where I was an instructor, here I had the honor to teach and mentor future Navy SEALs, It’s at this duty station where I learned the importance of what a good teacher and mentor could bring to the table, this duty station was one of the most fulfilling times in my career. After my time was done at that command, I went back to SEAL Team Four as the Leading Petty Officer of a platoon, there I had the honor to lead 16 other SEAL operators through a year and half long training work up into a 6 month long deployment to Colombia. After those two years I was then stationed at Naval Special Warfare Training Detachment Two, there I was the Leading Chief Petty Officer of Special Operations Urban Combat Training Division. Here I had the honor to lead and mentor 8 other SEAL instructors, where we all taught urban tactics, tactical shooting, direct action target assaults, and leadership development.
CREATING SOMETHING OF MY OWN
To put things into perspective, I am dreamer at heart and am always setting high goals for myself, I have had the desire to always have something I could call my own. At the close of my term as BUD/s instructor I began contemplating on separating from the Navy. I had this gut feeling I wanted change but at the time I just didn’t have the means or the vision to really run with that feeling at that time. So I ended up going back to the SEAL Team Four, then onto running the training division. through those four years I really honed in what exactly I was looking for and what i really wanted out of life because to me it’s about what makes you happy regardless of what you do. I finished my degree in Criminal Justice during that time and aligned all my finances so when it was time to separate I would be good to go. Fast forward to March 2019 I packed all of my belongings into a storage unit and moved out to Southern California. My ultimate goal was to create something of my own, my own business but before I moved I didn’t quite know exactly what type of business.
CREATE YOUR PURPOSE
As I got settled here in beautiful California I ended up taking some of my friends and my fathers friends out to the range and we shot and I taught them some skills and I began to think, I love to shoot, I love to teach and watch people grow and better themselves, this is what gives me happiness. So I began to brainstorm with my father and I created something, I created “Kennedy Defensive Shooting”. The moment this name came to light, it put a smile on my face and the fire ignited in me to really make something of this. Now here I am full steam ahead with this, I am going to make this happen, I’m going to work hard regardless if times get tough because I know they will, but that’s how we grow and learn.
If I could leave you with one piece of advice from this post is to pursue your goals no matter what, even if you have to make sacrifices because at the end of the day you will succeed if you work hard and stay focused. Don’t let your own fears or outside negative influences steer you on the wrong path.
Thanks
Travis Kennedy
#THINKINGSHOOTER