People who dedicated their lives defending the USA

To help the folks who dedicated their time and energy taking care of others... now it's their time to dedicate to themselves. Learn personal health and fitness to enhance their lives and enjoy life!

This is Tom Mixon's story:

In early 1982, I decided to join the Navy to train to become a Navy SEAL. This decision was based on a “dare” issued to me by a former frogman. In 1982, there was no internet and the special forces communities in the US military were shrouded in secrecy. I had no idea what BUD/s (Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL training) training would be like. I was ill-prepared for the monumental physical onslaught.

I gained entrance into BUD/s in August 1982. The next six months was easily the hardest most difficult physical training I had ever encountered. C121 started with 140 students. On Feb 28th, 1983, C121 graduated 32 students. Graduation day was the most spectacular day I can remember. I had endured and succeeded in joining a very elite and exclusive club of warriors.

I went on to serve in SEAL Team 5 for 3 years. I re-enlisted in March 1986, and promptly joined a very small secret team called Red Cell. The training was incredibly difficult. I exited the Navy in 1990 to pursue civilian security employment.

There is nothing that quite matches the incredible awesomeness of serving your country by pledging to defend it against any enemy foreign or domestic. Working alongside other similarly trained elite soldiers only embellishes the honor you feel, and the sense of pride associated with knowing that these fine men all have pledged to fight till their last collective breath.

I spent the next 13 years working in the civilian security industry while managing to complete a BS in exercise physiology. I toiled as a personal trainer helping the layman learn how to maximize their personal fitness routines. It was satisfying work.... but I began to yearn for something missing that I had while in the military. I missed the bonds formed between the men. I missed the camaraderie that one cannot find in civilian life. Little did I know that I would soon rediscover all those feelings in early 2004.

From 2004 to 2016, I spent 12 glorious years working overseas in private security in every capacity from ECP gate guard to country manager. Moreover, I found the exhilaration associated with working with men who were similarly trained. Once again, I was in the field.... working with world class ex-special forces soldiers.... defending the US and her assets from the bad guys. It was the “wild west”, and we were perfectly suited to operate in these remote hostile environments in Iraq and other such places.

I have alluded to the “glory” of working in these places, but unknown to me, there was a hard downside that most of us experienced. All people experience and process events as they unfold each according to their own gifts. I did not know that at that time I was beginning to suffer from PTSD. When a person works in an environment rife with personal danger whose witness to acts of barbarism is so brutal that it violates one's moral compass, it leaves an indelible mental mark on the psyche of that person.

By 2016, I was in pursuit of attaining security work that would effectively remove me from the field. At this same time, I was slowly sinking into a pit of low esteem bolstered by excessive abuse of alcohol and drugs. There were the associated nightmares along with anxiety issues that began really manifesting themselves. If I could just win this one contract........I would be able to pull myself together and “right my sinking ship”.

I was informed that I had been awarded the contract, only to be told 24 hours later that I had summarily been lied to and another company, an inferior company, won the contract...was too much of a gut blow.

I dove headfirst into a pit of rage that ultimately turned me into an utterly uncaring person who did not give a shit about anything. Let me be the first to tell you, you cannot live like that.

When a person literally doesn't care, supported by substance abuse and bolstered by nightmares, this effectively opens the preverbal door to really bad actions.

Earlier this year, I was released back into the world. I was released with next to nothing. With all due respect and humility, I'm hoping someone out there would be kind enough to help me back onto my feet.

I have a goal: take the experiences I suffered thru and turn that into a device to help other people (vets) in their times of need.

With your help, I can make this happen. I thank you in advance for your kindness.

My goal is to re-establish, a fitness service, that specializes in providing health and fitness planning for people over 40 years old who have succeeded in other avenues in life and now wish to apply success towards health and well-being so they can enjoy fruits of their labor.