Best of TNQ - Will Chesney: Retired Navy SEAL K9 Handler who helped take down Bin Laden, Author of Best Selling Book “No Ordinary Dog”

In this week’s podcast, you will hear the incredible story of the mission to locate and kill Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade center by one of two dozen Navy SEALs, Will Chesney, who was a K9 handler in that operation. Will’s dog, “Cairo”, was instrumental in helping to successfully accomplish the mission. After that mission, only one name was made public: Cairo’s.

 

Will’s story is one of an irrevocable tie to his dog, as well as straightforward talk about his personal struggles with depression, migraines, chronic pain, and memory loss.

 

In this episode you will hear:

 

• On SEAL Team 4, I got the trifecta: Com, Sniper, and Gen Tech. I loved it.
• Being part of that mission was like being part of a movie.
• When you’re going through a tough time, don’t quit. Reach out to somebody.
• There’s so many good people out there. There’s so many modalities for help.
• Try something – give it a good shot – if that doesn’t work, try something else.
• Get on your knees and pray to God every day.
• Try to do good things. Help people out.
• How many times do you get to go home? How many minutes do you get to spend with family? Don’t live to regret not reaching out to your family more.
• You can go away at any time. If you don’t keep up – if you don’t perform. If you’re not an asset, but a liability – you’re fired.
• When I got to the point that I was a liability, after so many great guys and years of my life - to walk away from that - that was amazing. This is my family.
• The biggest thing I got from all my experiences is my connection with God.
• I love dogs, and I’ll take on that [dog handling] responsibility to save a friend.
• Everybody that had something to do with that mission: from the intel to almost dying in a helicopter crash, was incredible. Even with all that, the way things flowed was incredible.