Leap of Faith

Few moments in a career are as sharply recalled as when you are called upon to step off of an otherwise perfectly structurally sound building that is five or six stories above ground. I recently had the honor to attend rappel day during a Basic SWAT School that the Tallahassee Police Department was conducting and had the opportunity to see these Basic SWAT students demonstrate their commitment to their craft, their faith in their teammates (and future teammates) as well as their equipment and their absolute trust in the instructors as they took the step over the edge.

Those who have not jumped tend to view this activity from two different camps. One is the “Hell NO” camp and the other is “I don’t get it” camp. The “Hell no” folks see the height of the tower and process it with their own fears and anxieties and rapidly land in the camp that they are in. The second camp tends to look on with passing curiosity and just not understand why someone would take the risk, why they climb the tower in the first place, why it is a skill required in Basic SWAT school, and maybe even wonder if they have anyone in their life whom they could trust enough to rig them prior to taking that first step. I’ve always understood the first group as I was never fan of rappelling, but never understood the “I don’t get it” camp.

Committing yourself to a cause, an ideal, a team, something greater than you are is noble. True commitment requires dedication and bravery. As many before me have said, bravery is not the absence of fear, but the continuance of the mission in spite of the fear. Climb that tower with your gut in knots. Put the harness on with an elevated heart rate. Look your teammate in the eye with mutual understanding that your life is quite literally in the hands of the rappel master. Hook up. Be inspected.

Shout “On rappel!” and hear the response “On belay!” Your heart pounds. No matter the temperature, beads of sweat pop out on your forehead. You look at the rappel master one last time and get a confident look of encouragement in response. Then you step and descend.

The best I can say for me and rappelling is that during the time I was training for SWAT Roundup, I was forced to rappel so many times, that I became less uncomfortable. Some lose all fear of it. Some remain petrified. But everybody on the team does it. Rappelling is just one of many intense experiences that forges trust between teammates, builds requisite skills to protect the community and builds the lifelong bonds between friends.

Unfortunately those “Hell no” and “I don’t get it” folks will likely never know the joy and exhilaration of overcoming an abject fear. Or the creation of a lifelong friendship forged on the top of the tower built with a hand shake and placement of your life in another’s hands. That kind of commitment, that kind of trust and faith is rare these days. I deeply admire these men for taking those steps, and I’m grateful to the team leadership for allowing an old fellow like me amongst you/them this week.

Confronting my fears while dangling on a rappel rope was just one of many profound experiences on the team. Those folks have turned out to be some of the most amazing people in my life…then and now.

Challenge yourself mightily and do so with friends. You will likely not regret doing so.