Posted on Oct 11, 2016
LT Brad Snyder here, what questions do you have for me?
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*RP Staff will be monitoring this Discussion*
From "Fire In My Eyes":
In Afghanistan, Lieutenant Brad Snyder had one of the world's most dangerous jobs: to find and destroy enemy bombs, as an elite US Navy Special Operations warrior. On September 7, 2011, the former Naval Academy captain of the swim team stepped on an IED while helping save the lives of his patrol's Afghan counterparts. The subsequent explosion left Snyder permanently blind.
On September 7, 2012, Snyder won a gold medal in men's swimming for Team USA. He currently holds the world record for the 100m amongst blind swimmers.
From RP Team:
We're honored to welcome Lt Snyder to RallyPoint for a live Q&A this afternoon, 10/11/2016 at 4:00pm EST. Post your questions below!
To learn more about Lt Snyder's story, grab a copy of his book "Fire In My Eyes" here:
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-My-Eyes-Warrior%C2%92s-Battlefield/dp/ [login to see] /ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=8-1&keywords=fire+in+my+eyes
From "Fire In My Eyes":
In Afghanistan, Lieutenant Brad Snyder had one of the world's most dangerous jobs: to find and destroy enemy bombs, as an elite US Navy Special Operations warrior. On September 7, 2011, the former Naval Academy captain of the swim team stepped on an IED while helping save the lives of his patrol's Afghan counterparts. The subsequent explosion left Snyder permanently blind.
On September 7, 2012, Snyder won a gold medal in men's swimming for Team USA. He currently holds the world record for the 100m amongst blind swimmers.
From RP Team:
We're honored to welcome Lt Snyder to RallyPoint for a live Q&A this afternoon, 10/11/2016 at 4:00pm EST. Post your questions below!
To learn more about Lt Snyder's story, grab a copy of his book "Fire In My Eyes" here:
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-My-Eyes-Warrior%C2%92s-Battlefield/dp/ [login to see] /ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=8-1&keywords=fire+in+my+eyes
USNA
Olympics
89D: Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist
Q&A
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 25
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First of all, I salute you LT Brad Snyder and offer a heartfelt Thank You Sir! Thanks for serving our country and thank you for continuing to give back to our nation and its service men and women by giving us all an opportunity to interact with you. I truly believe this is an opportunity to help many currently serving or reach Veterans as well. Congratulations on competing for and winning the Gold medal and also congratulations on setting the world record!
My question: After your injury, did you ever find yourself going into the dark hole of depression? Was swimming more than competing for you, is the physical aspect therapeutic in a sense and giving you balance and continued purpose to live as close to a normal life after your service? Sir, once again, Thank You!
My question: After your injury, did you ever find yourself going into the dark hole of depression? Was swimming more than competing for you, is the physical aspect therapeutic in a sense and giving you balance and continued purpose to live as close to a normal life after your service? Sir, once again, Thank You!
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LT Brad Snyder
Service was my privilege! Swimming was a welcome respite from dealing with my blindness. Through competition and training, I was able to accept and reconcile my blindness bit by bit as opposed to all at once. I dive deeper into this transition in my book, and it's my hope my story will serve as comfort and inspiration for others. Thank you for your service, and thank you for your support.
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Hi, thanks for joining us. I'm friends with Scott Smiley, who I'm guessing you may know. My question is... how do you think the military should handle those that have been permanently injured but wish to continue serving in some capacity? We did that in WWII, but obviously a different era. Still, there are many who are injured today but can still contribute and wish to do so. What are your thoughts on this?
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LT Brad Snyder
I actually think the military is doing an adequate job on evaluating case by case. After injury, our capabilities and limitations are of course different. In my experience, the military does a good job of evaluating these capabilities and limitations and offering many the opportunity to stay in the service. Major Smiley remained in the service for many years, and I was offered the option to. I elected to pursue medical retirement instead.
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What was the training regiment like? How did you make it from injury to Olympic Gold level inside of one year?
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LT Brad Snyder
What made 2012 so remarkable was that training wasn't my primary focus. I was still very much trying to figure out what life as a blind person would look like. I was still very dedicated to my pursuit of athletics, but I was also working as an intern and building a life in a new city. I trained ten hours a week at Loyola University under the tutelage of coach Brian Loeffler, and I believe my success is in large part due to his guidance!
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