OPINION:
Anyone with a friend or family in the military lives with a perpetual fear. It could be a phone call that will come on a random Wednesday, or the black SUV that rolls up to your driveway. You know what it means. On, Sept. 12, 2012 I got that call. Nothing can ever prepare you for that moment. On Sept.12, 2012, I lost my best friend.
Memorial Day is a day to take time to pause, reflect, and honor those who have paid the ultimate price to serve this great nation. It is also a day that I want to call attention to a great injustice being done in our country. There are some enormous deficits in our care of those who have died in service of their country. We have to fix this. I hope that Glen’s story and our campaign are just the beginning.
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Glen Doherty was my best friend. Full of life, BUB was his call sign in the Navy. We were brothers in everything but blood. If you’re lucky- you’ll have one friend like this in your lifetime – someone who knows you almost as well as you know yourself.
Glen loved adventure and seeing what he was capable of. He challenged himself in all aspects of his life. From wrestling in high school to chasing his dream of becoming a professional skier and ultimately by serving his country at the highest level. He joined the Navy, became a SEAL, and had a storied career. He was part of the first wave charging into Iraq after Sept. 11, protected the USS Cole, and was a part of the famous rescue mission of Jessica Lynch (though I’m told that’s still classified). When he retired, like so many of his brothers-in-arms, he went into contract work. It was the quickest (and most dangerous) way to make ends meet while he figured out what was next in life. He worked GRS branch at the CIA.
In what would prove to be his final deployment, Glen was part of the first wave of U.S. personnel going into Libya after the fall of Ghadaffi.
Glen flew into Tripoli to join the CIA base station to provide security and secure weapons in an unstable area from falling into the wrong hands. He had been in Tripoli for just a few days when on the night of Sept. 12, 2012 the coordinated attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi occurred.
While the famous fight immortalized in the movie “13 Hours” ensued in Benghazi, first at the State Department Consulate and later at the CIA annex also in Benghazi, Glen was feverishly trying to join the fight. His journey to rally a small team, secure a private aircraft, fly the few hours down to Benghazi and ultimately join the fight is the stuff of legend. And it was pure Glen. He moved mountains to get to his brothers and help them out. In the end, Glen laid down his life and in the process saved American lives allowing them safe passage out of Benghazi in the morning hours on Sept. 12, 2012. Three other Americans died that night.
While grappling with the grief and the loss of my best friend, I was told that Glen was denied his death benefit because he wasn’t married with dependents or an active military member at the time of his death. I was livid.
How could this country turn its back on someone who died in the line of fire, solely because of their employment or marriage status? Not relegated merely to the CIA, I discovered it was a pervasive trend. And it all stemmed from an archaic piece of legislation known as the Defense Base Act. This act specifically prevented the payment of death benefits to contractors of the United States serving their country overseas if they are not married with dependents. I had to do something in Glen’s name.
I was angry and grieving, so I picked a fight with Uncle Sam.I sued the federal government. I lost, like everyone who sues them does. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
I took Glen’s fight to the CIA. There was a pivotal moment when I met with then-CIA Director John Brennan. My attorney, Amy Carnivale, advised me to temper any expectations and “be cool.” But the bureaucratic injustice was too much to bear, and I made it clear to Mr. Brennan that I wouldn’t back down. I would find the biggest, loudest pulpit to shout from to ensure justice was done and that the CIA honor the fallen.
Persistence as it often does, paid off. Over the next year, Mr. Brennan and his team looked into the matter. The CIA revised its policy, ensuring would contractors killed overseas receive death benefits retroactively (going all the way back to the Beirut bombing of 1984) and that all those killed overseas in the future would receive them as well. Glen’s family finally received the benefits they deserved, and so did many other families who had been wronged by this antiquated system. It took years but in the end the CIA recognized they had a moral obligation to provide benefits to the families of those killed in action abroad, regardless of their marital status or dependents. It is my hope that other agencies will follow their example.
But the journey didn’t end there. Glen Doherty was more than a name on a list; he was a hero, and heroes deserve to be remembered. At the suggestion of Amy and the very helpful legal team at KnL Gates, we began the quest to secure Glen and the other Americans killed in Benghazi the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest civilian honors in the United States. It was another uphill battle, but this year he will finally receive it.
As you remember the fallen this Memorial Day, let Glen’s story inspire you to take action in your own life where you can. There is a lot of work to be done in caring for our veterans today. There is lots of work in our legal system to take care of the families of those who have died in service. Know that your efforts can make a difference. It’s not easy. Hell, It took us over a decade. But change can happen.
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Sean Lake is an entrepreneur, husband and father. He founded BUBS Naturals, which he named after Glen, to help people live their lives to the fullest with clean nutrition, the way Glen would have and they live by the motto “Die Young as Late as Possible.”
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