On January 26, 2001, Adam and Kelley celebrated Nathan’s first birthday with their closest SEAL friends and families in Virginia Beach. For five months, the men had trained with their new platoons. Adam served as Gold Platoon’s 60-gunner, carrying the heavy M60 machine gun solo, while Christian was the radioman. Both took pride in their demanding roles.

Golf Platoon’s chief, Shane Harley, a 36-year-old DEVGRU veteran, was the only member who had seen combat. He lectured the platoon on the life-and-death stakes of their work. Adam asked Harley how to reach DEVGRU; Harley advised him to remain a top performer and absorb knowledge.

Adam balanced training deployments with devoted family time. He and Kelley attended church, looked after Nathan, read the Bible together nightly, and dreamed of eventually returning to Arkansas. During training in Mississippi, Adam accepted a dare to sit on a fire ant nest for 30 seconds in exchange for $600. He was bitten nearly 400 times but won, later using the money to buy Kelley a necklace.

On September 11, 2001, the SEALs watched the terrorist attacks with shock and resolve. Adam told Kelley he now understood why God had led him to become a SEAL. After passing their final evaluation, Harley informed the SEALs that their deployment was to South America, not the Middle East.