Army Special Forces Officer Climbs Mt. Everest for Children of Fallen Troops

Online, March 10, 2010 (Newswire.com) - (Tampa, FL) Military Special Operators from all the services seem to have at least one thing in common: they all love to test their physical and mental abilities to the limit. Some compete in ultra marathons (50 miles or more at a time), others take on triathlons where they and other competitors challenge themselves over extreme distances on foot, on bicycles and swimming. Army Special Forces Lt. Col. Bryan Chapman satisfies his need to challenge himself in a different way. He climbs mountains. Big mountains.

Right now he's getting ready to climb the biggest of them all: Mt. Everest. Chapman is dedicating his attempt to climb Mt. Everest to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a top-rated nonprofit organization that supports the families of fallen and wounded Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel.

He says his support for SOWF comes from the personal experience of losing friends in combat. "I know they had families and having a family of my own caused me to realize the enormous losses those families must experience after losing their Dad." Bryan compares what SOWF does by providing college educations to the children of fallen special operators to the support special operators give each other in the field. "SOWF says when it comes to the family you leave behind 'we've got your back.' That peace of mind makes venturing into dangerous places much more palatable."

Chapman traces his assault on the world's tallest mountain back to 1993. That's when he took up rock climbing during a tour in Korea. He graduated to mountaineering in 1996 when he climbed the formidable Mt. Rainier while stationed at Ft. Lewis in Washington state. Bryan says there are definite similarities between his training as a Green Beret and his mountaineering hobby.

"I believe both mountaineering and Special Forces attract mentally and physically driven people. I spent many years doing triathlons and adventure races as well as climbing and find that those sports are complementary to the Special Forces profession."

Chapman's wife Melissa supports both her husband's profession and his hobby. She says there's no desire on her part for her husband to tone things down. "It is a natural instinct to wish that your husband would be safe and close to home. But the man I fell in love with is incredibly driven and tough as nails. He would lose a piece of himself if he gave up his sense of adventure, which means I would lose part of him too."

Despite the risks that go along with high level mountaineering, Chapman says he's never had any close calls and dismisses any notion that he is a thrill seeker. "Safety and remaining mentally 'switched on' are key in the mountains. I climb for the physical challenge and reward of accomplishing a goal I have set for myself, not for an adrenaline rush."

If ambition and preparation come together as planned, sometime in May Chapman and a Sherpa guide will go where "never lark or even eagle flew" and look out over Nepal, India and Tibet. A place where the Buddhist Sherpa guides often hang their prayer flags in the belief that each snap in the wind sends a prayer directly to heaven.

Most of us will never know the thrill of looking down from the highest place on earth, but we can show Chapman we appreciate his spirit and willingness to support the Special Operations Warrior Foundation by logging on to www.firstgiving.com/summitforsoldiers.