Even though Veterans’ Day ended on November 11, veterans’ appreciation is applicable to everyday, and to celebrate them, I have an exclusive interview with senior Charlie Mainwaring’s dad, Brian Mainwaring. An Army Veteran, he served for 11 years, starting out in infantry and later transitioning to Special Forces as an officer. During his time in the service, Mainwaring deployed to Afghanistan as well as Iraq. In fact, I was able to get an incredible story from his time in Afghanistan:
“One of the most intense experiences I had was as a Special Forces team leader at a remote outpost. During a combined meeting with our partnered Afghan special forces team, a rogue member of that unit attacked and fired on us at close range.
“Tragically, we lost SSG Andrew Britton-Mihalo, a fellow US soldier, and five other US team members were wounded. My teammate, Rob Rivera, managed to seize a weapon from one of the Afghan members and neutralized the attacker, which saved the rest of us.
“In the immediate aftermath, I had to negotiate with the Afghan team to hand over their weapons, as trust had been shattered. This led to a tense standoff with both teams pointing weapons at each other, but through calm negotiation, I successfully got them to disarm. We secured them and transported them to headquarters for interrogation the following day. Rob later expressed his disbelief that we managed to avoid further violence during that situation.”
Wow! The intelligence and poise of our servicemen is not to be understated. This story will definitely stay with me.
Although it is well known that the military can be challenging, those who have not experienced it do not fully grasp the weight that servicemen carry. During his time in the Army, Mainwaring said that his most difficult challenge was missing the birth and early development of his child, reduced simply to 10 minutes on a Facetime call every day. However, he said that through the difficulty, it made him appreciate his family even more.
Additionally, I asked Mr. Mainwaring for a lesson that he learned during his days in the military. He said simply that everyone fails and makes mistakes; the key is to learn and grow from these experiences, to keep pushing forward.
“There’s a powerful lesson in resilience: if you quit or let fear stop you, you’ll be left with regret. Continuing to strive for you goals is essential.”
Finally, Mr. Mainwaring added an additional portion to the questions from our interview, and I think it best to let him tell you in his own words:
“To close, I’ll add one question for you: For what? Or why do it? For some of us, joining the military is about seeking a test to find answers, to be part of something larger than ourselves, and to discover our limits. The excitement of asking, ‘Do you have what it takes?’ is what drove me. The Army provided that for me, and I’m satisfied with my journey so far.
“I encourage others to find that crazy, scary, exciting, ‘thing’ that speaks to them and pursue it. Damn the critics and comment section; avoid the safe and easy path; true growth comes from embracing challenges. Godspeed!”
