John B. Owen - Into the Fire: A Season of Navy Football, Fortitude, and Faith

Into the
FIRE

A Season of Navy Football,
Fortitude, and Faith

JOHN B. OWEN

Copyright 2013 John E. Bishop.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Cover photo: AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS

Firefighter photo: John Labriola

All other photos: Phil Hoffmann

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4624-0529-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4624-0530-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013902138

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 2/22/2013

Contents

Into the fire [Daniel 3]

We stand or we falltogether [1 Corinthians 12:12-27]

The man in the arena [Genesis 32]

I choose to bel i eve! [Joshua 24]

All in [Deuteronomy 6:1-6, Matthew 5:15-16]

Suffering, endurance, character, and hope [Romans 5:2-5]

Life without risk: the Big Lie [Matthew 25:14-30]

You are writing your own story [2 Samuel 11-12]

A personal prayer

Remembering Goliath [1 Samuel 17]

Learn, adapt, and overcome [Jonah 2]

Be strong and courageous [Joshua 1-2]

The opinions and viewpoints expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the policies or opinions of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, United States Navy Chaplain Corps, or the United States Naval Academy.

To the 2007 Navy football team, and your teammates over the past 128 years.

You inspire us all.

BEAT ARMY!

This is not a story about me.

When I sat down in early 2008 and began to recall the words I had shared with the Navy football team the previous fall, it was not with the intent of writing a book. As a preacher, I am always looking for ways to incorporate biblical truths into everyday life, and telling stories, I have found, is perhaps the most effective way to do this. A couple of the players had asked if they could have copies of my words to them, and since I had not written them down, I figured Id make a personal writing project out of it.

Coincidentally (if there really is any such thing as coincidence), an article appeared in the August, 2008 issue of Proceedings magazine, the unofficial journal of the sea services. Written by Admiral Jim Stavridis, who is a well-respected Navy leader and also a published author, the article enthusiastically encouraged men and women on active duty to write about and publish their experiences in the service of their country. There are so many great stories to be told and people, Admiral Stavridis argued, are eager to hear them. In fact, he insisted, we active duty folks have an obligation to share the stories about the amazing things our men and women in uniform are doing. I found the article to be exciting and inspiring, and it provided the final bit of motivation I needed. I had the perfect opportunity to tell a terrific story that reflected well on the Naval Academy, on Navy football, and on the Navya story that would inspire readers, and make them justifiably proud of these remarkable young future Navy and Marine Corps officers. It was, as far as I could tell, a win-win situation for everybody involved. And so, inspired by the players and Admiral Stavridiss article, I decided to try my hand at writing for publication.

Unfortunately, the Navy lawyers dont see eye to eye with Admiral Stavridis on this issue, and shortly after my book was published, I received an order from the Superintendent of the Naval Academy to cease and desist in its publication. In a biting bit of irony, the Navy insisted that my book had been published in violation of Federal Ethics regulations. Convinced that there was some kind of misunderstanding, I pled my case as long and hard as I could, but when the order finally came, I was obligated to comply, and within a few months of launching it, I reluctantly pulled the plug on my first publishing venture.

The reason I tell this story is because of what happened next. Over the next year or so, while I licked my wounds and alternated between feeling resentful and feeling sorry for myself, I unexpectedly received a number of letters and emails from people who had read my book. It wasnt a torrent or anything, but they came often enough that I realized that people I didnt know, and who didnt know me, were actually reading my book and finding it meaningful. This may sound funny coming from a pastor, but it always surprises and humbles me when something I say impacts somebody in a positive way, particularly somebody I dont know. I suppose real authors get used to that, but I havent.

Two letters in particular stand out. One was from a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army (that is not a misprintthe Army!) who wrote to me from Iraq to tell me that she had passed around a copy of my book to a few people, some of whom asked her how they could get a copy. She subsequently had me send her fifty copies to give to the soldiers and others she worked with. She sent me a list of the names of the people she wanted to give them to, and it was gratifying beyond words for me to sign each one for those men and women serving in harms way in Iraq.

The second letter came a few months later, from a woman who told me that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She had read my book, and had drawn inspiration and hope from the courage and determination of the Navy football players. Reading that letter convinced me that whatever hassles I had faced with the book had been worth it. And it also convinced me that maybe it was time to give the book another shot.

I wasnt sure, however, that I wanted to face off with the Navy again over the issue. What ensued (in my head) was a monumental battle between two voices. One, the voice of caution, warned that I had escaped from my first encounter with the Navy legal system with a bruised ego, but little other apparent damage. Did I really want to open myself up to the pain and frustration of going up against the Navy JAG juggernaut all over again?

The other voice was more subtle and, to be honest, I had a hard time discerning whether it was the Holy Spirit, or my own ego that was its source. But I could not disregard the feedback from the people who had found the story of the Navy football players to be inspiring and engaging. I thought back to how much I admired and respected the players, how much I loved being around them, and I became increasingly convinced that their story deserved to be told. If there was a way to do it in compliance with the regulations, I owed it to them to at least give it a shot. Besides, whats the worst the Navy could do to me for asking the questionsentence me to spend the summer in the Persian Gulf? I was already there, and if the Sailors with me aboard USS Enterprise could endure the one-hundred-forty degree temperatures in the propulsion plants or on the flight deck, then I could put up with a little heat from the Navy.