For Al Kovach, the decision to join the military came when he was 23 years old, an athlete and finding his way through college.

“My dad had served in the military, my grandfather had served in the military, so I thought it was a good way to try something new,” he said nonchalantly, even though it led to him joining one of the Navy’s most elite fighting forces, SEAL Team 5.

“I loved the people that I worked with. We never talked about religion. We never talked about politics. We were always focused on the mission,” Kovach shared.

He first came to San Diego County to stay in Coronado in 1988 for basic underwater demolition/SEAL (BUDs) training after enlisting late in the prior year. Three years later, before a deployment, he and his platoon needed additional parachute training to prepare

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