My name is Michael Mauldwin, aka Crusty during my team days. I joined the Army at the ripe old age of 17 in 1981 and retired in 2009 from Special Forces. Most of my time was spent as an Operator on the teams in 2/7 Special Forces Group (Abn). I was fortunate enough to spend that time in the presence of some of the hardest, most trustworthy and honest men that serve our nation. I’m nearly 49 and I’ll be a month shy of 50 by the time I complete this. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been retired for three years.

I went through nine major surgical procedures in as many months just before I retired in October 2009. Those surgeries included Facial Reconstruction, five Septorhinoplasty procedures, right shoulder reconstruction, disc replacement, and a few others that were mandatory to keep me ticking. Ive been diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Brain Disorder, Post Traumatic Chronic Headache, a Higher Cognitive Learning Disorder, Short Term Memory Loss (Unless you ask my wife, then it’s long term)and a multitude of other closely related issues. The Veterans Administration ultimately rated me as 90% disabled.

I will be dedicating my participation to the friends that I have lost along with the countless other Operators who have been injured or killed in Afghanistan and / or Iraq, as well as to the families who have lost their husbands, fathers and sons.

If you are not familiar with an Ironman Triathlon, like all triathlons, itincludes three events: swimming, biking and running. These three events are conducted back to back with no rest or breaks in between. The Ironman is not only the hardest, it is the longest triathlon, a true endurance competition. You have only 17 hours to complete all three events while covering the required distances with no outside assistance:

Swim: 2.4 miles Bike: 112 miles Run: 26.2 miles

Beach2Battleship