Johnny:
In this unforgettable memoir, the Navy SEALs’ most trusted translator—a man who is credited with saving countless American lives and became a legend in the special-ops community—tells his inspiring story for the first time.
As the insurgency in Iraq intensified following the American invasion, U.S. Navy SEALs were called upon to root terrorists from their lairs. Unsure of the local neighborhoods and unable to speak the local languages, they came to rely on one man to guide them and watch their backs. He was a "terp"—an interpreter—with a job so dangerous they couldn't even use his real name.
They named him Johnny Walker. They soon called him brother. Over the course of eight years, the Iraqi native traveled around the country with nearly every SEAL and special operations unit deployed there. He went on thousands of missions, saved dozens of SEAL and other American lives, and risked his own daily. Helped to the U.S. by the SEALs he protected, Johnny Walker's life is so remarkable that his tale reads like fiction. But every word of it is true.
For the first time ever, a "terp" tells what it was like in Iraq during the American invasion and the brutal insurgency that followed. With inside details on SEAL operations and a humane understanding of the tragic price paid by ordinary Iraqis, Code Name: Johnny Walker reveals a side of the war that has never been told before.
Jason:
Jason was born in Milwaukee, WI and graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in 1988. In October of 1990, he enlisted in the US Navy. In March of 1992, he successfully completed Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, CA and was assigned to SEAL Team THREE. After multiple deployments, he applied and was selected for assignment to Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where he served as an operator and later a leader for an 18-man assault force.
In December of 2001, he took an assignment as an instructor at the Naval Special Warfare Center and spent the next two years teaching tactics to future SEAL operators and leaders. Upon completion of that assignment, he transferred to SEAL Team SEVEN where he was the senior enlisted advisor for an 80-person task force responsible for leading the team through pre-deployment training and a follow-on deployment to Baghdad, Iraq. Upon return from that deployment, he was promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer and put in charge of First Phase at BUD/S.
After a successful tour at BUD/S, he spent the next decade in executive leadership positions throughout Naval Special Warfare. His career culminated at Naval Special Warfare Group ONE (NSWG-1) where he served as the Command Master Chief, responsible for 2000 personnel, four SEAL Teams and five ancillary commands focused on executing National Security Strategy in the Middle East, South East Asia, and the Korean Peninsula.
In January of 2018, Jason transitioned from a 27-year career in the military to the private sector. Along with retired SEAL Command Master Chief Jason Torey, they founded Randori INC in order to help develop the leaders and cultures of organizations ranging from start-up to well-established companies. Additionally, he is an advisor to the CEOs of tech start-ups RStor, Sylabs and HealthDom.
His crowning achievement over his career was to remain happily married for 20 years to his wife Marijo and raise two children: Shane 19 and Molly 16. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Administration and Management from Excelsior College and a Master of Science in Management from the American College of Financial Services in. He and his family currently reside in San Diego, CA.
Code Name: Johnny Walker: The Extraordinary Story of the Iraqi Who Risked Everything to Fight with the U.S. Navy SEALs - Johnny Walker and Jim DeFelice