Episode 63: Eddie Penney ”UNAFRAID”

Eddie Penney spent 20 years in the U.S. military, first as a Marine and later as a Navy SEAL assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), better known as SEAL Team Six. A high school athlete from the Cincinnati, Ohio suburbs, Eddie was drawn to the challenge and potential for adventure that the military could deliver. When the Marine Corps couldn’t provide the level of action that he sought, he made his way to the navy. During the grueling six-month SEAL training and selection program known as Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Training, Eddie and his fellow trainees watched the 9/11 attacks live as the images streamed worldwide. Knowing that he and his classmates would soon be in harm’s way, the training took on a sobering importance. Suddenly, it was real. After two combat deployments with SEAL Team Two, Eddie tried out and was selected for DEVGRU, the elite of the elite and the tip of the nation’s spear in the fight against terrorist threats worldwide. Terrified of missing the action, Eddie became a breacher, the first man to the door on a target and one of the most dangerous jobs imaginable. Eddie endured five more deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa in his role, relishing in taking the fight to the enemy as he engaged in countless examples of extreme close-range combat.