By Stacey Duke
“The Navy diver is not a fighting man.
He is a salvage expert.
If it’s lost underwater, he finds it.
If it’s sunk, he brings it up.
If it’s in the way, he moves it.
If he’s lucky, he dies young two hundred feet beneath the waves.
Cause that is the closest he will ever get to being a hero.
I don’t know why anybody would want to be a Navy diver.”
– Billy Sunday, Master Chief Navy Diver
The movie, Men of Honor, is inspired by the life of Carl Brashear, the first African-American Master Diver. Brashear’s inspiring achievements impressed director George Tillman, Jr. Tillman describes Brashear as a man who “comes from a solid loving family, but he had goals outside their lives. Determined to succeed against all odds, he stayed focused, overcame setbacks, and even lost track of those supporting him because of this tenacious tunnel vision. I believe audiences will find a part of themselves in Carl — the best part of themselves — perhaps the part they haven’t used lately.”
Cuba Gooding portrays Brashear’s struggle to join the unique corps of Navy deep-sea divers and achieve its highest rank. According to Brashear’s biographical information, he was born in 1931 to a sharecropper family in Kentucky and only completed a seventh grade education. In spite of this, he had his sights set on a worldly vocation. Brashear joined the Navy at age 17 in 1948 — the same year President Truman desegregated the U.S. military. Instead of the wonderful career he had envisioned, Brashear found himself assigned to the galley. But, once he observed the danger and excitement of deep-sea diving, he committed himself to making that his profession.
Brashear spent two years writing a hundred letters before the military accepted his application for its Dive School Program. Unfortunately, despite this triumph, Brashear’s superiors and trainers wanted no part of his ambitions. They taunted and challenged him relentlessly. His main tormentor was Master Chief Navy Diver Billy Sunday, portrayed by Robert DeNiro. Sunday was actually a fictional character added to the movie to represent a composite of various Navy men Brashear dealt with during his career.
Brashear’s goal was clear, and he was determined to overcome the prejudices of Sunday and the other divers. He persevered alone until his ability and skill earned him the equal standing he had fought to achieve. Throughout his career, those who knew him noticed his indomitable spirit and humble personality. His father always told him, “Never quit…be the best,” and that is what Brashear did. His answer to the obstacles he faced was untiring hard work.
Brashear went on to a notable career as a Navy Diver. Even after losing half his leg during the recovery of a nuclear warhead in the Mediterranean in 1966, Brashear’s determination saw him through. He convinced his superiors that he could continue active duty as an amputee. He continued to dive and earned master diver certification. In 1998, he became one of only seven enlisted men in history to be enshrined in naval archives, with a 164-page volume describing his life and career.
Men of Honor can be used to examine goal setting in Unit Three of Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Development Studies. According to the article, “Goal Setting — Developing a Program and Making it Work,” Gregory Petrosky and A. Craig Fisher point out that in order for goal setting to be successful, you must believe in what you are doing, and you must be patient. Brashear’s fight to attain honor in the Navy reflects these principles.
The authors also state that “it is better to fail and subsequently learn from one’s mistakes than it is to attempt nothing for fear of failure.” Brashear had every right to be afraid of failure. After all, most of his superiors seemed determined to ensure his failure. However, Brashear shows that through hard work and determination you can overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving goals.
Commitment to your goals is also a must. Commitment can serve as the driving force that will carry you when the going gets rough. As Petrosky and Fisher explain, “Winners are winners because they do the things that losers don’t like to do.”
Through the years of adversity and resistance, Brashear kept his eyes focused on his goals. He was willing to do whatever it took to be a winner. “I never referred to myself as a hero,” he says. “I had a job to do and a goal to reach.”
