(THREAD)

1/ Thirteen years ago, the Class of 2006 graduated from the United States @NavalAcademy

Soon after, we were scattered around the globe in the name of America.

We fought, and we killed. Four of us gave our lives.

2/ We left behind limbs in far away lands and came home with life-changing injuries.

Despite the challenges, toil, and suffering, the Class of 2006 continues to be the most impressive group of men and women I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

3/ Thanks to the Naval Academy, my time in the military became the most remarkable of my life, so far.

I drove warships around the world with some of the hardest working people you'll ever meet.

4/ I jumped out of planes above three different continents, sometimes in the middle of the night and from 20,000 feet. That's an experience.

I dangled from helicopters over the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, sometimes while the Chinese Navy was watching!

5/ They actually PAID my friends and me to travel to more countries than we could count, and we got to play with bombs while we were at it, too.

6/ Not only that, they sent us diving in some amazing tropical locations... FOR WORK.

We had some fun and memorable dives along the way.

7/ Most importantly, I had the opportunity to live and work with some of the most remarkable human beings this country has ever produced.

I could not be more grateful.

8/ We could be goofballs, too.

(I kept the pictures tame to protect the guilty)

9/ Today, not only are we leaders in the Naval Service… We are physicians, attorneys, executives, media figures, authors, artists, scholars, professional athletes, entrepreneurs, and gold medalists.

I have no doubt we will continue to lead our nation in the years to come.

10/ Happy 13th Anniversary, "Aught-Six!"

I am so incredibly grateful and humbled to count myself among you.

And to the US Naval Academy Class of 2019...

Congratulations, and BUCKLE UP!

Since this received some attention, I'd like to share my Memorial Day with you.

Reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, both living and dead, is good for the soul.

Most of those at @ArlingtonNatl Cemetery lost in recent years are in Section 60.

We'll start there.

This is Senior Chief Scott Dayton, USN.

While deployed with 5th Special Forces Group in northern Syria, Scotty was killed by an IED during a raid against ISIS.

Scotty was our first KIA in Syria. He died on Thanksgiving Day 2016.

I didn't know Scotty well. But my little brother, also a Navy EOD Officer, really looked up to him while he was at EOD Mobile Unit Two.

We were at our parents' house, with Thanksgiving dinner on the table, when we got the call.

It was a kick in the gut for so many of us.

Scotty's memorial service filled the seats at @wavechurch in Virginia Beach, and included more than a few of the guys from 5th Group, who came all the way out from Ft Campbell.

We had one helluva wake at @ChicksOysterBar.

Obviously.

A few feet away from Scotty's grave, Steve Florich and his wife were visiting their son.

What a small world... SSG Tom Florich was the crew chief on my classmate Ford Shaw's helicopter when it went down.

Tom's wife was pregnant at the time. He never met his son.

Meet Tyler Parten, West Point '07. Despite school rivalry, we were buddies at DC Debutante Balls with other cadets and midshipmen, drinking for free and chasing girls. The usual.

I bet he'd yell at me for allowing my USNA ring to touch his headstone.

Whatever dude, Beat Army

Tyler was killed in an ambush on 10 September 2009 in the Saw Valley of Kunar Province, Afghanistan. He was 24.

Tyler wanted to marry Meg when he came home, where they'd travel to Africa and she'd become a minister to some of the world's poorest children.

Lieutenant Chris Reed was only recently laid to rest here, so he doesn't have a headstone just yet.

Chris was one of the first friends I made when I checked in to EOD Mobile Unit Five on Guam back in 2011. He and his family could not have been more welcoming.

Chris was with SEAL Team 10 in 2005 during Operation Red Wings, of #LoneSurvivor fame.

These pictures were taken a week before Mike Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matt Axelson were killed, as depicted in the movie.

@MarcusLuttrell was the "Lone Survivor" from the initial team.

After more than a few combat deployments, and years of cheating death on the regular, we lost Chris to leukemia last year. Didn't see that one coming.

He died in peace with his wife and kids by his side. Something to be said for that.

A few yards away from Chris, a group of friends and family were visiting Ryan Coyer, an Army Ranger who died in 2012 from complications of injuries sustained in Afghanistan. He was 26.

Ryan's dad offered me a shot of *root beer* they brought with them for a toast to Ryan. My drinking days are behind me, but I appreciated the offer and enjoyed the company.

Ryan's mom gave the toast.

After saying "see you later" to everyone one last time, I headed to my Naval Academy classmate Jason Bowers' house for his Memorial Day party. He and his wife had an exceptionally impressive feast.

I ate no less than four pounds of brisket.

Pretty incredible.

I first met Jason twenty years ago at Marine Corps Boot Camp.

Writing that made me feel old. 20 years?!

After going our separate ways, we both found our way to the Academy, reuniting as classmates. Been friends ever since.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

"I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."

- A. Lincoln