Transformed by Remi Adeleke

Author:Remi Adeleke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2019-04-01T04:00:00+00:00

Three weeks later I started all over with Class 251. And I was crushing everything again—except for the ocean swims. I passed drownproofing, which consisted of swimming, bobbing, and floating with my hands tied behind my back and my feet tied together, but I failed week one’s swim. I passed the fifty-meter underwater swim on one breath, along with the fifteen-foot underwater knot-tying tests, but I failed week two’s swim. I passed all my four-mile timed runs and timed obstacle courses, but I failed week three’s swim. I endured surf tortures, boats on heads, and became a master at the grinder and log PTs and uniform/room inspections, but I failed week four’s swim. Again, I was one of three African Americans in the class, and between that and my well-known history, I stuck out to my instructors like a fly on a wedding cake. I couldn’t get away with anything, so I had to be near-perfect when it came to everything outside of swims.

Just like my previous class, more than two hundred guys started the First Phase of 251, but by the time we got to pre–Hell Week med checks, we were down to double digits.

I was still standing.

“How are you doing, Adeleke?” Dr. Ryan asked as he started his exam.

“I am good to go! Really. This time I . . . am . . . ready!” I replied confidently.

He replied, “All right. Let me check those lungs of steel. Deep breath. Deep breath.” I could tell he wasn’t taking any chances. He spent more time listening to my lungs than he did during the first pre–Hell Week exam. It was as though he was on an excavation. “Again,” Dr. Ryan said. I took a few more deep breaths.

“Everything sounds good. Look, Adeleke: I know we all said it a lot, but . . . we’re sorry for what happened. We’ve changed some things around here, and it’s not going to happen to you or anyone else again.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” I replied. I never confessed to him that I knew about my condition before the last pre–Hell Week med check. The way I look at it, if it hadn’t happened as it did, it would have probably happened to someone else, and the outcome could have been worse. So I kept my mouth shut.

After his full exam he said, “Everyone here at medical is rooting for you. You’re gonna do just fine.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m ready,” I replied.

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