Nov. 14, 2011

By Justin Kischefsky
Assistant Sports Information Director
U.S. Naval Academy

Just one split second. The time it takes to do something as simple as snap your fingers, light a match or click a ballpoint pen. But a single split second also can dramatically change a life. Such was the case for Lt. Brad Snyder when, on September 7, an Improvised Explosive Device was triggered near him. Though the injuries he sustained in the accident changed everything for the 2006 graduate of the Naval Academy who served as the captain of the swimming team, they also changed nothing for him. He refuses to allow what happened to him in that sliver of time in a farmland in Afghanistan change who he is, his outlook on life or what his hopes and dreams for the future are.

To understand how a life-altering event hasn't become life shattering for him, one needs to know Brad.

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