Charles Patrick "Chuck" Pfarrer, III (born April 13, 1957,
Boston, Massachusetts) is an American
novelist,
screenwriter, and former
U.S. Navy SEAL.
Biography
Pfarrer is the son of Charles Patrick Pfarrer, Jr., a career
naval officer, and Joan Marie (née Hoyle) Pfarrer, a registered nurse. Born in Boston, Pfarrer considers
Biloxi, Mississippi to now be his hometown. The Pfarrers share with many other old Biloxi families the distinction of losing homes in both
Hurricane Camille (1969) and
Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Pfarrer is a graduate of the
Staunton Military Academy, and studied Clinical Psychology at
California State University at Northridge and the
University of Bath in the United Kingdom. Pfarrer went through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) in 1981 and spent 8 years as a
Navy SEAL. He served as a military advisor in
Central America, trained NATO forces in Europe and the Mediterranean, undertook duties in the Middle East, notably in
Lebanon during the
Lebanese Civil War. As executive officer of the SEAL Team assigned to the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force, he witnessed the
1983 Marine barracks bombing in
Beirut. Pfarrer was one of the SEAL Team leaders responsible for the apprehension of
Abu Abbas and the hijackers of the cruise ship
Achille Lauro. Pfarrer ended his service as Assault Element Commander at the
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6.
After leaving the military, Pfarrer...
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