This weekend I joined some amazing people to support the Navy SEALs Fund-Brotherhood Beyond Battlefield®’s project. The project is to help rebuild the home of a former Navy SEAL which was destroyed by Hurricane Michael.
The 2.5 hour drive out to the location in Panama City was a great opportunity a few of us to rest up before the task ahead. It was also an opportunity for me to get to know a buddy I work with better during that drive. Our party was comprised of a few members and spouses from the various squadrons within our flying training group.
Once we arrived, we met one of the board director’s of the Navy SEALs fund in charge of the project, some of the Dickey family members, and the contractors who also volunteered their time to help out.
Our first task was to clean up the area and immediately demolish a large portion of the old deck to make way for a new one.
Afterwards, we staged a few of the windows and started taking out the old ones that were destroyed by the storm. We ran into some challenges as we realized the shipment of the windows from the supplier did not fit. We did not let that stop us as we immediately re-prioritized our tasks to modifying the window frames and working on protecting exposed parts of the house.
We all had limited experience with a lot of the work that was required. Luckily, we had the contractors on-site to walk us through every step.
Despite minor setbacks and the Florida summer heat, we all were able to put in some meaningful work into the rebuild project and had a load of fun doing it.
The Project is a testament to the compassionate nature of the men and women who serve as well as their families. It was a humbling learning experience, an exercise in team building, and a great way to get involved in the community.
If you would like to learn how you can help support this project visit: https://navy-seals-fund.networkforgood.com/projects/69249-help-navy-seal-rodney-dickey
The Owl & Glaive 