Robert Guzzo was a football star and Navy SEAL. There are a lot of different personalities in the SEAL platoon, and I think that it brings a SEAL platoon to what it is. Rob Guzzo was a guy who you would never forget if you met him once.
Early life
Robert Bryan Guzzo, born on March 1, 1979, in San Diego, CA, was an extraordinary man who dedicated himself to his family, friends, Seal Team 5, and country. He graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1997 and was a star linebacker on the football team. Before football, Rob played several varsity sports. True to form, he drove his coaches crazy because his natural talent was far more potent than his patience for enduring hot summer practices. Rob just wanted to be in the game; he wanted the action.
Rob Guzzo went on to the State University of New York College at Cortland, where he majored in political science and minored in entrepreneurial studies, figuring out ways to get help writing his papers and scoring the most sought-after social invitations.
He was a brother in the Beta Phi Epsilon fraternity. Rob was constantly in action, never short on ideas, and passionate about pursuing a good time.
Navy SEALs
Upon graduation in 2000, Rob followed his destiny: Becoming a Navy SEAL. His dream came true in the form of Navy SEAL Team 5, where he was deployed upon graduation. He trained in Coronado, CA, and deployed to Iraq in 2006, serving as a communications specialist. The brotherhood he found there, the missions, the sense of accomplishment – all shaped who he was to his core. Rob was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor for his combat action in Iraq.
Post-military life and death
Immediately upon return from Iraq, he experienced insomnia, night sweats, flashbacks, anxiety attacks, social withdrawal, and alcohol abuse. The stigma associated with PTSD/TBI prevented him from seeking evaluation/treatment while assigned to the SEAL teams. Rob Guzzo ended his life in November 2012 with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. He took his life the day after Veterans Day.
He believed in what he fought for and died trying to overcome the losses he encountered there. Join us today as we Honor and Remember Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Robert Bryan Guzzo, Jr., who passed away on November 12, 2012.
I found this article because I was looking for a person who was mentioned in season 5 episode 4 of the CBS program “Seal Team” titled “Need to Know”. I wasn’t sure if it was the name of a character that was killed in an earlier season, so I performed a search for Guzo, which was how it was spelled in closed captioning. I don’t know if this is the same person mentioned int the show because of the spelling difference, but it’s sad that our young men join the military to fight for their country, an they go wherever their respective leaders send them, and a lot of them come back with problems they may never overcome. I’ sure there are people that say they knew what they were signing up for, but I believe that’s what people say who have never been in the military, or any other occupation where there is even the remotest chance of danger. Not everyone is suited for a “safe” job, so those people follow their gut, heart, or whatever and join the military, get a job in law enforcement, become a firefighter, etc. Even the occupation that I spent my life doing, automotive technician), has it’s dangers. There were many times I was replacing, or helping someone replace the body mounts on a full size truck, and it shifted on the rack because of the way it had to be done with the equipment. The feeling we would get in the pit of our stomachs when it shifted is what I would guess that everyone in the military and aforementioned occupations would get when they come upon a dangerous situation, although the feeling they get I would think is much greater than what we had.
Now imagine having that same feeling when you think your life is in danger all of the time, never going away. That is what PTSD is like.
I saw warfighters s.1 episode 6. Which was about Rob Guzzo. His character and energy put out reminded me much Of myself in my younger years of owning life and having it by the balls. I bailed early on my military commitment with the air force mad basically over 6 years of commitment and no promises Or promise present to obtain my MOS i was hellbent on Which was working with JSOC as a CCT. I had a friend who was a graduate of norwich university as a cadet who coached me on how to leave that commitment without honor or dishonor and go with him into a more lucrative field venture more oriented to what i was driven for. I lost family in the twin towers i watched the tvs get rolled into my 7th grade gym class and we were locked down there and saw the planes hit the twin towers where my cousin and pregnant wife were working. There has never been a time in my life i havent been hell bent on causing real damage however possible to those responsible for those events, but i was ten years ahead of my age and about ten years too young to be involved when that happened so things got dull with operations Shifting to transferring them to the Afghanistan national forces when i was of age, and wish i could have been part of the joint special forces operations that did such making a difference more so. Im big into combat operations/ war history/ tactical development, training, excersizes/ equiptment/ science/ and soldiering generally.. Its my daily wake up/ coffee tv and before bed. The first time when i watched this episode of war fighters about rob I felt a connection with his person like it was the better part of myself before life and kids and divorce happened and went from ups to downs. That free spirit of making people laugh and brightening their days in dark places, boosting morale, being a dedicated team player and to ones craft; selflessness and courage with a bit of crazy… all were what sucked me in. You have years of living life with a family in robs case seal team 5; every day your training your operating theres no room for bullshit and drama everyone has eachothers backs- then its over and your all of a sudden in a different place and feel alone and everything is different over night. I hate to say with recent turns of events in my life the last several years The end of robs show and story were the most relevant. To see his parents and children left without rob. It was a kick in my ass to you know, snap the fuck out of it a bit and motivated me into a new level of thinking. I wasn’t contemplating anything but i kinda was like what the fuck man everythings so different after this covid bullshit era my business is dragging on rock bottom i cant sleep i am a shadow of my former self and let all this shit over the years beat me up so bad im like fuck it. Worst case something happens who cares the suffering is over and the joke is up. Then When i saw rob had two kids, i have two kids. I Immediately had this revelation to revert back to a more proactive attitude and realized however shitty and dark things get, tell a knock knock joke instead of letting it consume you one way or another that consumption will Eat anyone up and his mother had mentioned she hoped if this story could save or change one person’s Life: it did in an instant for me. i suffer from some of the same conditions mentioned mainly anxiety and ptsd and it affects everyone different and varying levels. I hope Mrs. Guzo will one day read this comment and smile because surely i am not the only person- but i never met your son, i wasnt a seal, but i had immediate respect love and connection with your son, his breakdown of character and story i felt like i knew him closely he was like a great friend of mine Who passed away recently in a motorcycle accident who was rob minus any discipline. Thanks for sharing that and god bless your family and his kids but that story helped me profoundly immediately
God bless