From Special Forces Warrior to Successful Businessman

I wanted adventure, so I joined the US Special Forces - Little Did I Know it would Train me for an Adventure in Business 

By William Nobrega

Managing Partner of DTNVenture Partners and Former Green Beret Medical Sergeant  

From the age of ten years of age I had a desire to become a ‘Green Beret’ watching the John Wayne movie of the same name over and over again. My uncle who I adored also had served as one in Vietnam being wounded on two separate occasions. So during my senior year in high School I signed up to join a Special Forces reserve unit in my home State of Ohio. At the time the only slot available was ‘Parachute Rigger’ I didn’t care I was in!

That summer I attended basic training after which I began my freshman year at Ohio University. I was scheduled to attend Airborne School over winter break and that fall I trained with a vengeance. I was also pledging Beta Theta Pi which added another element of excitement to that fall quarter. Airborne School was the adventure of a lifetime. I loved the long runs, the adrenalin and the Esprit that I was first beginning to see and understand. After graduating that winter class I headed back to school and over the course of several years I attended as many schools as I could to include Rigger, Jumpmaster, SERE and finally Special Forces Medical Sergeant 18 Delta Q course. Oddly it was Rigger school where I first had my interaction with other members of SOCOM as there were SEAL team and Force Recon members in attendance and we created a common bond.

At the time I was really checking the boxes as I had plans, post-college and in 1990 there was not much going on i.e. globally. That summer I was accepted to Graduate School in Belgium. I had just started school when I received orders that were actually faxed to me for Desert shield/Desert Storm. For me it was the adventure of a lifetime, so I boarded a train and headed for Germany and 10^th Special Forces Group. Our mission was to support the Kurds and I loved every minute of it.  The war and mission were over in six short months and to be honest I have never seen the intensity or made the sacrifices that my brothers have made.

That being said the entire experience taught some very important concepts vis-à-vis business.

• ·       Keep focused on the mission/summit, you may need to alter the route and approach but do not lose sight of the summit
• ·       The right team is critical, my biggest mistake was believing that all individuals had the drive and passion of those in Special Forces, they do not!
• ·       Failure is part of life, the question is what do we learn from failure and how quickly do we get back up
• ·       Creating a new venture is not a sprint, it is a long hard slog and anyone that tells you otherwise is full of BS
• ·       Quitting is not an option, and that there is a big difference between quitting and failing!