Tough Sledding
A Navy SEAL Sets His Sights On The Iditarod
Mushing toward the Midnight Sun. What a way to train!
Happy Hour in Jeff’s Alaskan dog yard
Frank The Tank
During his first deployment, Jeff rescued a pup he named Frank. Like most rescues, the dogs “rescue the rescuer” as well. Frank was given official status, allowing him to fly to those places where Jeff was deployed, as well as being allowed to live on base as the squad mascot.
During deployments, Frank provided needed comfort, stability and relief to Jeff and his teammates between ops. “Just knowing he’d be there when I got back from an op was reassuring,” Jeff told me.
Ties between men and dogs have always run deep. Frank was no different. He’s Jeff’s inspiration for life after the team. A SEAL is a goal-orientated individual, but with goals a lot higher than most of us. And Jeff eventually came up with a doozy!
Somewhere in a faraway land, in full battle gear…
Breaking Away
SEAL units are called “teams” for a reason. You prepare yourself for the good of your team and teammates. It’s that simple. Leaving is a tough, bittersweet moment, full of conflicting emotions.
Think about what this entails for a bunch of highly trained Type A individuals who are key components to keeping each other alive? The bond of trust, respect and love for each other is immense.
For his last few years on duty, Jeff is stationed in Alaska as an instructor, training fellow SEALS for Land Warfare. Combining a love for dogs with a love of Alaska made it natural for him to become a dog musher. Which is how his new goal came to life.
Jeff with puppy “Frank the Tank” while training on deployment.
Iditarod Inclinations
Jeff’s new dream is to complete the Alaskan Iditarod. Now his teammates are sled dogs. He’s completed a few 100-mile races as he prepares for the Super Bowl of mushers.
The Iditarod is over 1,000 miles of frozen tundra. It pits man against the elements, requiring a knowledge of dog teams, diet, cold weather conditions, survival and navigational skills, just to name a few.
Jeff told me it’s not uncommon to have total “white-out” conditions during this grueling race, where the dogs follow the trail by scent as the musher gives total trust to his well-trained team to stay the course.
Jeff has a team of 16 dogs, and it’s still growing. Besides keeping them in the dog yard, he brings them in everyday, usually in groups of four, for some individual loving, coffee time, or watching movies. He observes their idiosyncrasies, learning their habits for the trail.
I’m excited for Jeff, as he and his team gobble up miles of trail towards their latest goal. I have no doubts they’ll complete their mission, all while taking care of each other, like any great team does.
You can follow Jeff’s exploits on Instagram @Frozentrident where you’ll see Jeff train himself and his dogs and show you the beauty of Alaska while chasing adventure. I’m excited and pumped up for Jeff as he takes on this new challenge.
GUNS December 2018 Cover
