Introduce Yourself

From an early age growing up in rural east and north Texas, me and my two brothers were tough. We stuck together through an abusive childhood at the hands of a drunk father with mental health issues passed down from his abusive father. His father had killed his 2nd wife and himself in front of my then 18-year-old father, before I was born. Thank God, my strong mother was able to escape with us in tow in time we did not follow in his footsteps. He died in a car accident when I was 17, after having not seen him for many years. Although we attended his funeral, he was not missed.

As soon as we were able, we all joined the U.S. Army at 17, with Mom's blessing and signature, to give back to a country we all deeply loved. For a period, we were all on active duty at the same time because we are so close in age. Each of us were honorably discharged after an enlistment and went on with our lives in the civilian world. But, I had not had enough of military service and went back after graduation from the University of North Texas. This time to the U.S. Navy with dreams of becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL.

However, two months into BUD/S Class 224, during a portion of training called Hell Week, a moment of weakness caused me to make a decision I have ever since regretted. I quit. Even with an offer to return in 1-year and try again, my self-loathing and embarrassment prevented me from a second attempt. Probably more of a regret than quitting the first time.

Not wanting to remain in the Navy and do mundane things, I chose an assignment to NSA Bahrain as base security (Law Enforcement Specialist) and was able to then serve as one of VADM Charles W. Moore's Protective Services Detail (PSD) for three years. Toward the end of this time, I was again thinking I wanted to try BUD/S, but was denied my request to go back since I didn't take advantage of the 1-year offer. Instead, I went on to serve in assignments which would keep me off of a Navy ship and as close to Special Operations as possible.

As I reached the point where I had enough years of combined service to retire with a pension, I decided to hang up my uniform, buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and explore the U.S.A. Throughout 2013, I rode 22,000 miles and left tread marks on all 48 contiguous states, crossing the entire country three times. During this ride, I was also able to see friends I had not seen in a long time, visit many of our national parks, and reach out to and interview World War II veterans all over the country. I called my project the G.I. Generation Project. https://bit.ly/3dQ7Ya7

Through a good friend, I was then given another opportunity to work with Special Operations Command as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan and Kuwait for 2 1/2 years. This was a rewarding job both in personal satisfaction and financial gain. With the money I earned, I was able to pay off a lot of debt, help my family, and live a few years overseas in Vietnam, Italy, and Colombia as well as visit other places like Cambodia and western Europe.

With the growing desire to complete my G.I. Generation Project and learn more about documentary filmmaking, I completed a program with the best film school in the world for documentary filmmaking, the New York Film Academy in lower Manhattan. My time there was one of the biggest blessings in my life because the faculty and students are some of the most talented filmmakers in the world and I grew to appreciate all people even more. Since then I have been working as a filmmaker with a few projects currently in pre- and post-production.