Navy SEAL visits Colville

By Liv Stecker

Chad Williams wasn’t the kind of guy you thought of when you thought Navy SEAL. Chad enjoyed being a California party dude and all that entailed. Whatever Chad decided to do he excelled at. When he approached his family stating that he wanted to become a Navy SEAL, he was met with very little surprise.

In an attempt to convince Chad otherwise his father got in touch with former Navy SEAL, Scott Halvenston. Chad’s father hired Halvenston to be Chad’s personal trainer for nine months; with the hopes that the grueling training would convince Chad otherwise. That tactic backfired and only seemed to cement Chad’s desire even further.

Chad continued to train under Scott Halvenston, who quickly became Chad’s close friend and mentor. Halvenston one day informed him, “I’ve never said this to anyone else I’ve trained, but you WILL become a Navy SEAL.”

Scott later reenlisted and went on to serve in Iraq. Only days before Chad was to report for military duty, he turned on the television to see the horrific images of his close friend and mentor, Scott Halvenston, being brutally murdered on the streets of Fallujah, Iraq.

Those images fresh in his mind, Chad Williams was even more certain he wanted to become a Navy SEAL; he was going to avenge Scott’s horrible death.

In case you didn’t know, a Navy SEAL isn’t a circus performing mammal with a jaunty sailor’s cap balancing a beach ball on his nose - he’s a highly trained special operations warrior who fights on SEA, Air and Land - hence the name.

Navy SEALs are the first line specialists in operations that require stealth, strategy and skill in armed and unarmed combat, as well as explosives. They are the best of the best in the Navy, the cream of the crop - tested beyond human endurance in BUD/S training for combat conditions that will exceed even those circumstances. BUD/S training has a 15% rate of successful completion. The other 85% percent wash out because they lack the either the physical acuity or, more often, the mental resilience required to persevere through unimaginable conditions.

Chad was one of the 15%, and shortly after his graduation from BUD/S, Chad served his country on the SEAL Teams for five years, completing tours of duty in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Iraq.

It wasn’t until his first deployment that Chad finally had to come to terms with the fact that no amount of training, combat or aggression against the enemy could settle the turmoil in his soul. He found himself honed to peak condition, capable of the most dangerous undertakings in the world, wreaking havoc on opposing forces, and still unable to quench the anger and restlessness.

Becoming a Navy SEAL did not change Chad’s lifestyle. The only difference was now when he partied and would get into brawls he would win. Chad’s life was out of control. Then one night, while he was on break between missions, his parents informed him that he could no longer stay at their house.  His reckless lifestyle was taking its toll on them and they could no longer tolerate it. This complicated Chad’s plans as he had a keg hidden in his parents’ garage. Chad thought quickly, he asked to remain with his parents in the house one more evening and the next day he would attend church with them. This gave Chad a chance to remove the keg.

His parents agreed to the request and the following day Chad attended church with them; it was that day that would change his life.

Chad Williams has become very well-known having been a featured guest on Fox News Channel, CNN News Room, Anderson Cooper 360 and more. Williams is now an author and a motivational speaker.

A recent wake of interest in military special operations: Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, triggered by real life events and heroes like Chris Kyle, Marcus Lutrell and blockbuster movies like American Sniper and Lone Survivor, made Grace Evangelical Free Church curious about tapping into that energy. After learning about Chad Williams and reading his book SEAL of God the staff at Grace Evangelical Free Church immediately started doing the footwork to get Chad booked for the Fall Kick Off.

Navy SEALs may travel the world over and back, but getting one to Colville truly took an act of God. It required a fair amount of persuasion and logistical engineering, not to mention some heartfelt fundraising, to get Chad booked, but luckily, he was available.

Chad will be speaking at the Grace Evangelical Free Church Fall Kick Off Event at 851 S Miner in Colville Washington, on September 7, 2016 at 6:30 pm. This is an all age’s event, there is no charge, and nursery is available. If you have any questions please contact Grace Evangelical Free Church at (509) 684-5936.