Citizen Soldier: SEAL The Unspoken Sacrifice

Retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward discusses the SEAL experience with documentary photographer Stephanie Freid-Perenchio and SEAL Mike Martin in celebration of the Museum & Library's newest exhibit, SEAL The Unspoken Sacrifice. Sponsored by Stone Porch by the Lake.

From the Maritime Unit, Scouts & Raiders, and UDT divers of World War II to the modern-day SEALs—whose unrivaled combat skills on sea, air, and land make them ideally suited for accomplishing our nation’s most dangerous and covert operations—America’s Naval Special Warfare units have served and sacrificed for decades in the name of protecting our way of life. 

But who are these warriors, who are their families, and what is it that separates them from all others?

Civilian photographer Stephanie Freid-Perenchio set out to answer those questions in 1999, inspired by a conversation with Vice Admiral Robert Harward about the realities of daily life within the tight-knit SEAL community. Then, in the aftermath of 9/11, she was granted an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at the unparalleled service and sacrifices made by these men and their families. 

After gaining the trust of veteran SEALs like Mike Martin, then a Platoon Commander in Afghanistan and Iraq, Stephanie embarked on a multi-year project fully embraced by the secretive SEAL community that culminated in the publication of a book and unveiling of an exhibit at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, titled SEAL The Unspoken Sacrifice.

Although their missions have often been glamorized in books and film, Navy SEALs are guided by an ethos that deemphasizes individual accomplishments—instead focusing on the importance of teamwork, brotherhood, loyalty, and responsibility. SEALS are known for innovation and unconventional problem solving. They view military service as a privilege, taking great pride in their sworn oath to serve as guardians to their fellow Americans.

It is a select few who earn the right to wear the Trident—tough men who come from tough families. They work hard…they play hard…and they endure multiple deployments and long stretches apart from one another, never knowing which might be their last. 

VADM ROBERT S. HARWARD (RET.) is a Navy SEAL (BUD/S class 128) and former Deputy Commander of the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM). As part of the Naval Special Warfare community, he served many tours tours of duty, including as commander, SEAL Team Three; Assault Team leader and operations officer at Naval Special Warfare Development Group; Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) deputy commander in Bosnia; deputy commander Special Operations Command, Pacific; commander, Naval Special Warfare Group One; and, deputy commanding general, Joint Special Operations Command. He served as commander of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force (CJIATF) 435 from 2009 to 2011 in Afghanistan. Harward commanded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq for more than six years beginning in September 2001.

STEPHANIE FREID-PERENCHIO is a documentary photographer who began a seven-year project photographing U.S. Navy SEALs and their families for an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the SEAL community for her book SEAL The Unspoken Sacrifice, published in 2009. Since then, Freid-Perenchio has stayed involved with the SEAL community and has advocated on behalf of SEALs and their families as an ambassador for the Navy SEAL Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping the families of fallen SEALs. During the course of her career, she has traveled to Africa, Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia and many places in between.

MIKE MARTIN is a former SEAL whose long career included several leadership combat deployments to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He deployed to Afghanistan as a SEAL assault commander after 9/11, to the Philippines as a lead adviser to that country’s SEALs, and twice to Iraq. His awards include the Bronze Star and the Navy Commendation Medal, both with Combat Valor. A former member of the board of directors for the Navy SEAL Foundation, Martin has a successful second career in finance and is currently the head of syndicate and distribution for USB O’Connor in New York City.

KENNETH CLARKE, President & CEO of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, is the host and moderator of this discussion.