Former Navy SEAL to speak in Paris
Posted: February 25, 2015
Navy SEALs have gotten a lot of exposure recently, due to the blockbuster movie American Sniper. When added to the big news about the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden, people still have a great desire to learn about this clandestine special operations group of warriors.
SEAL stands for Sea, Air, and Land, because SEALs operate in all three areas. As a result, they go through what is the most difficult training anywhere. Their training program is called BUD/S, which stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL.
A surprisingly small number of people make it through the 21 week course, which is broken into three 7-week stages, not counting a 3 week prep course which is mostly physical. As the weeks go on, more and more people voluntarily drop out, with the total number of people dropping often exceeding 50% of the class. Of course, physical injuries also play a toll on each class.
It takes someone of amazing character and extreme stubbornness to make it through to the end of training and receive a prized assignment to one of the SEAL teams. Once placed with a team, they continue their training there, and work covertly around the world to protect our national security interests.
Former SEAL Commander (retired) Michael H. Imhof, rose through the ranks from Platoon Commander to Commanding Officer, leading other elite SEALs as they carried out operations around the world. His special skills came in handy when he successfully escaped from capture in Southern Lebanon back in 1981, while serving an assignment with the UN Truce Supervision Organization. The decorated officer has also recently been embedded with the U.S. Army as a civilian assisting in the training of Afghan soldiers.
When his military career came to an end, Michael started a new phase of his life as an evangelist and speaker for groups and churches throughout the Midwest. The headliner for First Baptist Church of Paris upcoming “Come Alive in 15” services has written five books, and will be telling his story and speaking about greater commitments. You can catch him on Sunday, March 8th at 6pm, and again on Monday or Tuesday, March 9th-10th at 7pm. I hope you’ll come and hear from this amazing former Navy SEAL!