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“Anyone, on Any Given Day, Can Be a Hero”: A Q&A With Rorke Denver

By Colleen Beaty | Sep 30, 2024
Rorke Denver. A balding man wearing jeans, a light blue collared shirt, and a navy blue blazer sits on a stool
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Ahead of his presentation at NECA 2024 San Diego, Denver spoke with our staff about his time with the Navy SEALs, everyday heroes and what makes training truly successful.

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Commander Rorke T. Denver has run every phase of training for the U.S. Navy SEALs and led special-forces missions in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other international locations. For his service in the SEALs, Denver earned the Bronze Star with “V” for valorous action in combat. When he retired from the SEALs, Denver founded Ever Onward, a cutting-edge training program that takes Navy SEAL principles and applies them to civilian life.

He is also the author of New York Times bestseller, “Damn Few: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior,” which takes the reader inside his personal story and the fascinating, demanding SEAL training program, as well as “Worth Dying For: A Navy SEAL’s Call to a Nation,” in which he tackles questions about what makes a hero to why we fight and what it does to us. Denver also starred in the hit film “Act of Valor,” which is based on true SEAL adventures.

Ahead of his presentation at NECA 2024 San Diego, Denver spoke with our staff about his time with the Navy SEALs, everyday heroes and what makes training truly successful.

1. In your time with the U.S. military, you were heavily involved with the Navy SEAL training program. Training may not be quite as intense for electrical contractors, but it is still an extremely important part of the job. Can you speak as to what you see as the aspects of a training program that make it successful?

Training is one of the topics I like to talk about the most. It is the one thing we utterly control. You can’t control the cards you were dealt across a wide array of topics, but you can control how much work you put in to be ready for the fight. I can hardly name a profession or skill where training is not critically important. The training programs I have seen that have the greatest results over time are those that are constantly refining the needs of the trainee, as well as maintaining a ruthlessly high standard. If you make your training challenging, bordering on impossible, then when you are hit sideways on the job with a real issue, you will be ready. 

2. What inspired you to become involved, and stay involved, in Navy SEAL training?

One of the unique aspects of the SEAL training pipeline is that SEALs run the training program, so everyone goes through the same crucible. Instructors that run the course went through it as they entered the culture and have now returned to continue the line of excellence. It was very rewarding to return to the program as a leader after years of real-world combat and deployments. The instructor staff I ran was one of the most professional and experienced the community has ever enjoyed. When an instructor shared knowledge with the new candidates, you could tell they were intently listening as they knew these lessons were born out of real-world combat engagements.

3. You also wrote a book, “Worth Dying For: A Navy SEAL’s Call to a Nation” that explores the themes of being a hero. What lessons can electrical contractors take from your book about being an everyday hero in their communities?

I highlight in my book, very sincerely, that I believe anyone, on any given day, can be a hero. It is easy to paint warriors and first responders as heroes, and they certainly are. But a young Boy or Girl Scout helping an elderly person with their groceries to the car...a hero. A teacher that lights a spark in a young mind that changes the trajectory of that kid’s life path...a hero. Supporting a friend in a time of need, or even just offering a kind gesture of hello to a stranger, whose story you know nothing about, truly, is a hero. 

4. Many electrical workers come from a military background. What advice do you have for those transitioning from the military to electrical contracting? What about for their team members?

I sometimes talk with veterans who don’t believe their life in the military will translate well to a new job in the civilian sector. It usually has to do with specific skill transition, i.e., I was a sniper, what will I do in this new “normal” job? I always try to highlight in that situation, they might be focusing on the wrong specific thing. What they really are, as a veteran, is someone who knows discipline, teamwork, struggle, leadership, followership and is the type of person who does not know how to give up and fail. Every organization is looking for that. I think sharing those principals with their team will only make the team more cohesive and functional. 

5. What do you hope electrical contractors can take from your talk at NECA 2024 San Diego?

My hope for the NECA 2024 event is for each participant to find something in the topics I share that they can immediately apply to their jobs and lives. I will share stories about leadership, teamwork, training and culture. Any and all of these topics are important to the NECA mission. It is always the most satisfying when someone circles back with me after an event and shares how something I talked about resonated and was applied in ways I didn’t even predict. I can’t wait—it is going to be a great event. 

About The Author

Colleen Beaty

Senior Editor

Colleen Beaty is senior editor at ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR Magazine, where she has worked since 2020. She has been writing about topics such as outside line work, wildlife and habitat conservation for more than 18 years. In her role with ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, she primarily works with the editorial team to fine-tune stories for the magazines and curate content for ECmag.com. She can also be found hosting ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR's webinars. She holds a BS in wildlife conservation from the University of Delaware.

Colleen is fueled by tea (especially chai), and can often be found cross-stitching or birding in her spare time (but not both at once).

Reach her on LinkedIn or at [email protected].

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