While at Tufts , he joined the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and was commissioned in the U.S. Navy after his graduation . He served in the Navy SEALs for ten years , including five tours of duty , reaching the rank of lieutenant commander . His first deployment was to Fallujah , Iraq , where he joined SEAL Team Three . He was based out of Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Coronado , California . While serving in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2012 , during his third deployment , he was injured by the detonation of an improvised explosive device ; he lost his right eye and required surgery to save the vision in his left eye . After the injury , he was deployed to his fourth and fifth tours of duty in Bahrain and South Korea . As a Navy SEAL , he earned two Bronze Star Medals , the Purple Heart , and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with valor . He medically retired from military service in 2016 as a Lieutenant Commander
valor
"V" device
Dan Crenshaw