My friend Jason Mullaney

Jason Mullaney is a friend of mine.  He's been in the news as "The Navy SEAL who swindled his brothers" and has been accused of stealing $1 million dollars from other SEALs and a family friend, but from the reporting I've seen no one has presented the other side of a man who has helped, encouraged, and supported hundreds of people as he catapulted to the top of a very unstable structure. First, how do I know Jason?  We served together in the Teams, and I've been friends with him ever since we met in 1999.  He provided a tremendous example for me both physically and mentally, and served as a model character for me in that community. [caption id="attachment_408" align="aligncenter" width="875"] Jason Mullaney (left) & the author on deployment in the Phillippines, circa 2000. This photo is copyrighted and may not be used without permission.[/caption] Jason was the quintessential squared away Team guy.  Physically strong and mentally sharp, he planned ahead for everything, was meticulous with his gear, followed the "2 is 1, 1 is none" rule, and was the guy you turned to if you needed to know how to do anything. He's quick to smile, and quicker to lend a helping hand the instant he sees you need it. He isn't your average one dimensional overly muscled knucklehead; behind the tattooed exterior he has one of the sharpest minds you'll encounter, and he gleefully puts that mind to humor and pranks as quickly and easily as he put together polished ops in the Teams and solid deals in real estate. Whether as a SEAL operator, instructor, or later on in the world of real estate and investing, Jason maintained those qualities.  His paperwork was always in order, he worked exceptionally hard both for himself and others, he was ready with a joke or his unique barking laugh, and always had a ready solution for everything that came up. When he was on top, when the real estate market was booming, damn near every SEAL on the West Coast seemed to turn to him for help with their real estate deals.  He constantly guided his friends, helped them avoid the many pitfalls of buying a house, and helped more SEALs buy houses than anyone else I know. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that Jason Mullaney created far more wealth for the men of the SEAL Teams than he's ever been accused of scamming anyone out of. Jason was also a model of the motto "Do the right thing always".  Let me give you an example. We had swam in "over the beach" in the middle of winter on a training exercise.  "Over the beach" is the classic frogman entrance; you roll off a boat in the dead of night a half mile off shore with your ruck & rifle and swim in.  It's not complicated, just cold and hard. Usually when you go over the beach, you swim in wearing a wetsuit (or drysuit) and then change somewhere on land into the appropriate attire for patrolling; wetsuits are not designed to hike in.  Once you've changed into your patrolling gear you stay as warm and dry as you can, something that is critically important if, like we were, you are going to hole up in a "hide site" and observe the enemy while remaining undetected. A hide site is the smallest possible space you can fit yourself into and not be noticed by folks looking for you.  You don't want to move around too much in it since the human eye is attracted by movement.  Hide sites are, as the name suggests, incredibly effective at hiding what you're doing from people trying to find you, and usually incredibly uncomfortable.  You sleep, eat, watch, and shit from the same little spot for 3 days straight. Jason, myself, and a third team member had come over the beach, changed out of our wetsuits and were patrolling along the ocean's edge up to the spot where we would penetrate inland.  We were patrolling along the water for a good reason; no one would ever think to look there for us. It was 200 feet of steep rip-rap from the waterline up to a busy highway. Rip-rap is loose stone used to armor a breakwater or shoreline from pounding surf, and aside from sunny days in the middle of summer, rip-rap is the one of the worst possible places to walk; the rocks are slippery, the gaps between them can be big & deep, and in the dark of night it's awfully tough to keep your footing. We slowly made our way along the rip-rap in the dark with Jason leading.  We were being very careful to simultaneously stay far enough away from the crashing ocean to remain dry, but not get pushed up the slope sSo Marvel, a small and loveable dog, was so frightened that he signed his own death warrant without anyone explaining it to him, and it was only through dumb luck and the efforts of a few special and caring people that he made it out of the shelter system alive. Carla Naden from Animal Synergy (a non-profit devoted to finding and re-homing special needs & geriatric dogs who have been abandoned by their owners) heard about Marvel through her work with the shelter system in San Diego. She spent 40 minutes sitting with him in his cage, (he was "Tee the Terrier" at the time) letting him know through body language, our best form of communication with dogs, that she was not a threat and that he was safe when she was around. Using the twin gifts of love and time, within less than an hour Carla moved Marvel from cowering & growling in fear to letting Carla pet him. Less than an hour.  Not a month.  Not a week.  Not even a day.  Only the same time, in fact, than the average American spends daily on Facebook: 40 minutes. If, like me, you experience sorrow that a dog like Marvel only needed 40 minutes to be saved from a certain and needled death, if, like me, you are indignant about this wickedness in our midst, if you feel, like I do, that it is not society's fault that these animals are killed but our own, then do something. What can you do?  Devote 4 days of Facebook time (that's 160 minutes or 2 hours and 40 minutes) a month to helping these animals. Work with kennel enrichment programs, walk a shelter dog, foster a shelter dog, donate not just your money or your "stuff", but that far more precious commodity, your time. What will you get for this time?  Why, you'll have the opportunity to participate in a monumental life change.  You'll live the experience of rescuing from the very jaws of death an animal that had no hope left.  You don't have to be a soldier or a cop or a fireman to be a hero, you just have to be willing to give a little time and a lot of love. Perhaps, with your forty minutes you will not worry so much about the "get" but will relish in the "give". As it will for you, this monumental life change for Marvel carried over to us, bringing into our lives a dog who went in one day from no hope to the almost certainty of a long and happy life full of love, caring, and happiness. If you're looking for a dog who is small, sweet, incredibly loving, and who will fundamentally change you (as all dogs can), please think about bringing a Marvel into your life. uy."  Quick with a joke, always prepared, always generous, always willing to do the right thing, that's Jason Mullaney. So what, you're saying?  Those are nothing, those are tiny acts.  A SEAL is supposed to be able to handle the cold, and you're stupid for forgetting your gloves.  That doesn't make Jason a hero. It doesn't, but every soldier knows it's the small things a man does that show you how he'll behave when everything is on the line. I could tell you more Mullaney stories; about how the time my car broke down and went into the shop for a week.  I was a mobile notary and my livelihood depended on being able to drive all over Southern California at a moment's notice. I didn't have a lot at the time; I was busting my butt, slowly salting away money, but I didn't have anywhere near enough to rent a car for two weeks. The first guy I called was Jason.  He lent me his car without hesitation, without thought for the few thousand miles he knew I'd have to put on it, and without asking when I'd have it back to him. Anyone who ever worked with Jason has at least a few stories like that; Jason doing the right thing no matter what, Jason being ultra prepared, Jason being instantly generous.  Small stories or big, helping warm up chilly hands or helping someone keep their job or buy their first house, Jason was known for his generosity and for doing the right thing. It's a potent combination, and one that allowed him to help hundreds of people as his business grew. Hopefully, you're one of those many people he helped.  Hopefully, you're as grateful as I am to have had the good fortune of meeting and working with Jason Mullaney.  Hopefully, you'll reach out in support. I'm not asking you to pass judgement on his case; that's what the legal system is for, as slow, inefficient, and frustratingly uncaring as it may sometimes seem to be. I'm asking you to tip the balance of stories told about a man just slightly in his favor. For every time you slept on his couch, borrowed a few bucks from him, drove his car, had him help you with a real estate deal, had him toss you a spare mag when you were dry, or heard his exceptionally loud voice greeting you in his happy bulldog fashion, I ask that you repay him below with a few quick words of encouragement. For every story written about him by someone who never met Jason, I ask that you write just a few words in support below in the comments section. Thank you. NFH Update, May 6th 2015:  In an emotionally charged court session with supportive statements from a wide cross section of his life including his sister, co-workers in the mortgage industry, former SEALs including investor/victims, Jason Mullaney was sentenced today to 6 years and 8 months.  He should be out on parole in late 2015. Update, May 24th, 2017: Jason is out after serving his time and is working hard in San Diego.  One of his goals is to repay everyone he owed and I'm pretty sure he'll achieve it.