From SOFREP:  https://sofrep.com/71499/a-tribute-to-fallen-navy-seal-richard-mack-machowicz/

By Frumentarius
01.03.2017

(The following tribute was co-authored with Frumentarius by semi-regular contributor to this space, John Martin, with contribution also from Brandon Webb.  John is the Republican county clerk of Crawford County, Missouri, and a historian who has specialized in Naval Special Warfare (NSW) history for over 15 years.)

At the end of his book, Unleash the Warrior Within (2002), Richard “Mack” Machowicz pointedly wrote that, “In the end, we will all die. There is no way to get around that fact.”  Some might consider such words trite, but they are true all the same.

It seemed that by the time 2016 had come to an end we were collectively lamenting the passing of too many of our heroes and celebrities.  For the Navy SEAL community, 2017 granted only a single day’s reprieve before hitting us with the passing of another brother.  On January 2, 2017, Mack passed from this life after nearly fifty-two years of living by example, and after a valiant fight against brain cancer.

The co-author of this tribute, John Martin, had the pleasure of meeting Mack and his lovely wife, Mandy, several years ago at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida.  Mack had just published the second edition of the aforementioned book, and he had been asked to be the keynote speaker at the museum’s “Muster” that year.

Mack spent several hours graciously signing copies of his book for event attendees, he and John spent just as much time together that afternoon talking about his history with the SEAL Teams, and his life’s work thereafter.  John happened to be sitting between Mack and Mandy at a table, and as Mack opened up to John, the latter could tell that Mandy was also learning some new information about her husband.  Mack was entertaining and educational that way, always.  He was a FutureWeapons episode in the flesh.

In his quest to become a Navy SEAL, Mack toiled through SEAL training (BUD/S) alongside the other tadpoles of Class 136.  Upon finally earning his SEAL Trident, he served with SEAL Team One and SEAL Team Two, qualified as a Naval Special Warfare Scout/Sniper, and became a certified instructor at the Naval Special Warfare Combat Fighting Instructor Course.  His naval career lasted a decade, but his service to others did not stop there.

Mack was what one might call an avid practitioner of martial arts, having studied no fewer than eight disciplines and achieving numerous black belts.  His interest in those disciplines and their accompanying philosophies led him to found his own school, which he called “Bukido.”

Broken down in the simplest of terms, Mack used Bukido to teach others to look at life’s obstacles as targets to be knocked down.  Targets, he posited, could be conquered by creating a proper combat mindset, using the right weapons for the task, and putting everything into action.  Mack wrapped his whole philosophy into one basic tenet, which he stated as “Not Dead, Can’t Quit.”  He abbreviated it simply to “NDCQ.”

A person can only be truly beaten when he decides to quit, otherwise, there is still work to be done.  This philosophy was the central focus of Unleash the Warrior Within, and, later, Mack’s website NDCQ.com.

Continue reading at:  https://sofrep.com/71499/a-tribute-to-fallen-navy-seal-richard-mack-machowicz/