Andy Haffele is an O2X Resilience Specialist and former U.S. Navy SEAL. He grew up in small-town southern Wisconsin enjoying the outdoors and playing football before attending the United States Naval Academy, where he studied Computer Science, competed in intercollegiate boxing, and graduated in 2001. He went on to complete SEAL training in San Diego and reported to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Only four months into training with his first SEAL platoon, Andy was critically wounded during a live-fire training accident on March 18, 2004, sustaining a close-range gunshot wound to the chest that caused severe and permanent nerve damage to his right arm and shoulder. Just six weeks later, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and required additional surgery and radiation treatments before achieving remission.

A little over a year after Andy’s accident, his former platoon deployed to Afghanistan and was involved in Operation Red Wings, where 19 American servicemen were killed in action, including five of his platoon-mates. The events of that mission were later chronicled in the book and film Lone Survivor.

After years of physical recovery and therapy, Andy was medically retired from the Navy. He later transitioned into the Information Technology field and now works for a law enforcement agency in the Rocky Mountain region, supporting technology, leadership, and peer support programs.

Andy believes he has been given a second chance at life. A husband and father of three boys, he speaks openly about resilience, faith, and overcoming adversity while helping military members, first responders, and others navigate life’s most difficult moments.