Readjust and Reattack [NQM029]

This NQM post is shorter than usual, but no less impactful or important. It is meant to highlight the incredible life and legacy of Ryan “Biggles” Job. While in an overlook position on a rooftop in Ramadi Iraq in 2006, he was hit in the face by fragments from a sniper rifle bullet that had rebounded off of his Mk48 machine gun. The fragments were scattered across his face and into his brain, destroyed his right eye and damaging the nerve endings to his left eye. The first thing he did after getting shot was to keep his composure and tell his teammates he would be ok. Johnny Kim, former Seal and now emergency physician and NASA Astronaut, was the medic in Ryan’s platoon and details what happened that day in 2006.

Ryan overcame his wounds and complete blindness in ruthless fashion. Just two years later, he had finished his Masters in Business Administration (MBA), got married, gotten a job at a major defense contractor, had successfully hunted a trophy Elk, was training for his first triathlon, and summited Mount Rainier, the most technical mountain climb in the lower 48 states. Over 400 people have died climbing the mountain in the past century. Rock and ice falls, crevasses, and avalanches are a constant danger, and Ryan accomplished the feat on his first attempt without being able to see. These and many other incredible feats were chronicled by Robert Vera’s biography of Ryan titled: A Warrior’s Faith.

Jocko, his commanding officer in Iraq, offers a great summary on Ryan Job’s background and experience. When Jocko called Ryan after he got out of his coma, he was dreading having to console him on a potentially bleak future. Instead, Ryan was light hearted and joking. He was bragging about how cool of a glass eye he could get, and telling him he would be back to Ramadi, Iraq as soon as he was able to stating “I may not be able to see the enemy, but I can smell them, and I will know where to shoot”. Jason Redman, a fellow wounded Sea, recounts the following of Ryan: “The prospect of living the rest of his life blind had to be terrifying, though he never showed it. Instead he announced that if we had to be blind, he would be the best damn blind man there was.”

Tragically in 2009, while recovering from a major, eight-hour face reconstruction surgery two days prior, he passed away. He succumbed to a lethal drug cocktail that was administered to him after the surgery, with investigations later revealing that this was a completely preventable error by the hospital personnel. Him and his wife were expecting their first child. In 2013, Chris Kyle published his autobiography, American Sniper, in large part to memorialize and honor his fallen comrades, particularly Ryan Job. It was turned into a major movie two years later.

In 2018 I organized a memorial workout at LA AFB in honor or Ryan’s memory. Though it was tough and brought many people together in glorious suffering, this was before I found out what the real Ryan Job workout is: find it here and get it done! The Sentinels of Freedom organization helped the Job’s tremendously after Ryan returned from Iraq, check out their hard work in action below. Ryan set yet another example that no matter how bad your situation is, there are always people that have accomplished more with a lot less. Continue to get after it regardless of your situation. Hooyah.