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“Don’t worry, this chapter of my book will be awesome” SEAL tells dying teammate
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“Don’t worry, this chapter of my book will be awesome” SEAL tells dying teammate

Mar 29, 2019
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“Don’t worry, this chapter of my book will be awesome” SEAL tells dying teammate
www.duffelblog.com

A Navy SEAL reassured a teammate dying from multiple gunshot wounds that this portion of his book would be "awesome,” sources confirmed today.

"This is awesome. I'm talking about this on every stop of my book tour. No way I don't hit the bestseller lists after this," Chief Petty Officer Brian Costanza told his fellow SEAL, Petty Officer 3rd Class Chet Steel, who was gasping his last breaths.

As the MEDEVAC helicopter departed with his teammate's corpse, Costanza jotted down plot points and significant details about the incident to use in "Triumph of the Will: A Navy SEAL’s Journey Through Syria."

Costanza said he was thrilled to have a significant emotional hurdle to add to the main character arc in the yet-to-be published memoir, but he faced backlash from some of his surviving teammates for the way he handled the incident.

“Don’t get me wrong. Brick is a great guy,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Slade Paragon.“But I think it’s bullshit that he immediately claimed the incident for himself. Yeah, Chet died in his arms, but I was the one pulling security while he bled out. If anything, the trauma I suffered would make for a much more compelling chapter in my own book, 'This Noble Warrior’s Creed.' It’s just selfish.”

Petty Officer 2nd Class Chad Brogan, who outed himself on MSNBC shortly after receiving deployment orders to Syria, was also critical of Costanza’s decision.

“At the very least, he should have checked with the rest of the team so we could compare narratives," Brogan said. "How would it look if all our books had similar chapters detailing Chet’s horrific death and our emotional journeys of recovery? People would think we’re assholes.”

Brogan said he now has to figure out a new anecdote to lead into his monologue about the terrible cost of war during chapter 9 of his book "The Trident Bleeds in Valhalla."

Costanza was dismissive when asked about his teammates’ objections.

“These cherry fucks just like to complain," he said. "My first book, 'Uncommon Men-More Uncommon Valor,' was published when they were still in BUDS, so I think I know a little more about narrative and plot structure than they do. Besides, what better way to honor Chet’s death than to have the most experienced writer on the team profit immensely by describing it in visceral detail?”

The remaining members of the team eventually agreed to let Constanza use the “death sequence” for his upcoming book. In exchange, they all received co-author credit for helping complete Steel’s posthumous memoir "Unkillable: The Sweet Rush of Combat."

The SEALs chose to honor their fallen comrade’s memory by announcing that .5 percent of all book royalties will go to Steel's widow Rhonda and their three young daughters.

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