Real American Heroes

It says a lot that the armed forces in this country produce soldiers with the courage and desire to do this for a living. I'm constantly amazed by the bravery and resiliency shown by the men and women of our military.

Aside from the valor shown by these heroes, one thing that struck me about this article was the training they must have to go through to be able to be proficient in so many environments and situations. Just look at the list of equipment these guys brought to the Middle East:

PJs head into war zones with an array of equipment: rafts, snowmobiles, scuba gear, 4-wheelers, mountain-rappelling equipment, souped-up jet skis, medical equipment, off-road motorcycles, parachutes and oxygen masks for high-altitude jumps from aircraft. They also carry a variety of weapons, from combat machine guns to sniper rifles. This is what the PJs call "traveling light."

"I remember laughing because PJs, before we deployed, they said, 'Sir, we need to bring our water gear,' and I said, 'You've got to be kidding me. We're going to the desert.' And they said, 'You never know, we've got be ready.' I'll be damned if I didn't have to eat crow," helicopter pilot TC said.

After doing water rescues and helping recover downed aircraft, humvees and other U.S. military vehicles in lakes and canals in Iraq, TC changed his tune.

"I was like, 'OK, you guys won, if you want to bring snowmobiles to the desert, I'm gonna let you, because who knows, it might be snowing that day.'"

This is as close to G.I. Joe as I've ever seen. These guys are real American heroes.