When I first decided to lead an expedition of this kind, I was doubtful that anyone would take me seriously. After all, who would want to join such an undertaking, I thought. Still, I believed there was a relevance to what people back home would be facing: uncertain times and hardship. The economy would be as tough -or tougher- on many people as the conditions on the mountain would be on us. And in some sense, I thought that people following our progress would be able to take their minds off the economic woes. My first call was to Ranulph Fiennes. We had a long and good history of pursuing adventure together, and so naturally I wanted him on my team. Ran was enthusiastic as a little schoolboy and immediately said he would be on board so long as I promised him that we would keep his own ambitions for the summit under wraps. “In case I don’t reach the summit for the third time, I don’t want any publicity,” he said. Ran was the first and the major professional explorer to join the expedition; with his support, getting others on board would be easy. This would also be Ran’s first “secret” expedition, during which he would pose as a mere television program host producing a segment for the BBC. Next, we needed the media on our side. A team from the BBC would be embedded with us at Base Camp, but the expedition’s main goal was to raise money and awareness for the Navy SEAL Warrior Fund. An American media outlet needed to come on board. My first call in this regard was to Virginia Linn, an editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Did she think someone from the paper could come to Nepal and cover the expedition, much like a reporter for the Times of London had on Ran’s previous Everest attempts. With the recession unfolding, it was decided that a blog, written by me, would be more economical. With the Post-Gazette on board, it was easy to persuade Jay Fielden, editor of Men’s Vogue magazine, to get me a stint as contributor to either GQ or Vanity Fair magazines (part of the same publishing group) once the expedition would finish. Two other friends, Sally Wiggin of WTAE in Pittsburgh and FOX News’ Glenn Beck helped put our message of “Support the SEALs” on television and radio. James Gandolfini happily offered to help us get product sponsorship from big, national corporations and subsequently my eager fingers were all over his Rolodex during a visit to New York. Thereafter, it was relatively easy to persuade other sponsors, such as Hershey’s and Continental Airlines, to help us out. But when two corporate sponsors pulled out due to the worsening economic conditions only four weeks before the expedition was set to depart for Nepal, we suddenly were left scrambling for a new sponsor. Not even Ran’s contacts to such benevolent individuals as Richard Branson or Ratan Tata (the Indian industrialist) or my own family were willing to help. In comes Dr. Richard Fuisz, the pharmaceutical tycoon and former intelligence officer with a soft spot for mechanical watches and a spirit for adventure. Within only 24 hours, Fuisz Technologies signed on as a sponsor and made the expedition possible. All in the name of wounded and lost Navy SEALs. By the time we descended on Kathmandu, the expedition looked utterly professional. This did nothing in the way of lowering the pressure we felt to perform well once we were on the mountain. We took all measures to ensure that our mission would be successful. Our Base Camp manager, Henry Todd, strictly forbade us to entertain strangers in our camp, or to be entertained outside of it. “No contact with strangers, keep them at bay!” he growled at us on the first day; Ran and I carefully stuck to our chocolate rations in order not to contract some incurable stomach bug courtesy of the hygienic conditions at Base Camp; I wore extra layers at all times just to make sure I didn’t get a cold. All these precautions ended up being helpful when the weather window arrived for our summit push. Seemingly in no time, we were up in the high camps, preparing to conquer Mt. Everest. Which is why we were all stunned when I came down with a bad case of the stomach flu (from which I am still recovering even as I write these lines). Still, Navy SEALs don’t stop killing bad guys because of a case of the stomach bug, and so we carried on, as a team, all the way to the summit. Now that we’re off the mountain safely, it has finally sunk in: we did it! Not as individuals, but as a team -supported by a much larger team who ensured that the execution of our mission would be possible. Thank you to all who have made this expedition possible.