2018 NJ State PBA
Main Convention
Never out of the Fight
Navy SEAL J.J. Parma gives members words to live by
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
Lunchtime loomed as the final pre-
sentation of the NJ State PBA convention
began. What was being presented could
have turned the stomach of even the
most seasoned law enforcement officer,
but the intel coming from Naval Special
Warfare SEAL J.J. Parma was too appetiz-
ing and too essential for any PBA mem-
ber to crave departing early.
After an hour of fervent preaching,
Parma culminated his sermon by pre-
senting a token of appreciation to the
PBA: a Naval Special Warfare paddle in-
scribed with an emboldening message
that is a traditional gift at Parma’s Navy
SEAL team reunions. The words to live
by inscribed in immaculately varnished
wood included:
“…a reminder of the paramount need
to always believe, act and execute that
you are part of something much bigger
than yourself, because you are.”
And:
“Let your integrity, character and loy-
alty be steadfast and the rewards be ev-
erlasting. Always remember that even in
the worst of times, you are never out of
the fight.”
Parma, a retired Navy lieutenant com-
mander who has more than 21 years of
Special Operations duty experience and
has earned two Bronze Stars, began his
remarks by relating how he was humbled
to be in a room full of warriors. And his
PowerPoint presentation opened with
a slide of the PBA shield adorned with
a black band that he teased would have
significance at the culmination of his ad-
dress.
He spent much of the hour reinforc-
ing the need for those charged with their
nation’s and their community’s security
to embrace the warrior mentality and
accept the standards, responsibilities,
trials and tribulations that come with
doing so. And then Parma detailed his
experiences of being in the fight. Much
of the information is classified, but Par-
ma’s extensive moments in the fray car-
ried an authority that fed the curiosity of
PBA convention attendees.
The inventory of Parma’s deep cover
deployments included his initial foray
Retired Navy Lieutenant Commander J.J. Parma (center) presents a Naval Special Warfare Paddle to NJ
State PBA President Pat Colligan (left) and Executive Vice President Marc Kovar (right).
into Kosovo 17 hours before the NATO
bombings began to defend the Muslims
against the Serbs. He was also part of an-
other SEAL team in 2000 sent in to take
down Iraqi oil ships.
Parma then paused to solemnly re-
count being involved in the response to
9/11. He was training with a SEAL team
in Virginia Beach when the attacks oc-
curred.
“The day it happened, we had a SEAL
team that was just about to go out the
door,” Parma recalled. “We were like
frothing dogs.”
They went in and took down a “falcon
hunting” compound in the southern re-
gion of Afghanistan. The op needed less
than five minutes to execute and capture
13 individuals who were either Al-Qaeda
or members of the Taliban.
“Vengeance was had,” he exclaimed to
a greeting of cheers from members.
Parma then recounted the scariest
moment of his life, when his unit was
caught in friendly fire during a mission
in Afghanistan.
“A rocket exploded near us and the
only thing that saved us was the sand in
Afghanistan being so thin that when it
kicked up, they couldn’t get a good look
at us,” he detailed. “It was one of the qui-
etest moments I’ve had in my career. We
were doing a headcount, and all heads
popped up. It was a miracle from God we
weren’t destroyed.”
Parma brought some levity to the pre-
sentation by telling of a deployment to
CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
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■ OCTOBER 2018 43