Ex-SEAL set for river race
By Ashley Shah
Mike Charbonnet, a resident of Scripps Ranch and former Navy SEAL, will be participating in the MR340 with five other former Navy veterans and a shore crew on July 28.
“The MR340 is a race that starts in Kansas City and ends in St. Charles. You paddle through the Missouri River. The race is non-stop. You have an 85-hour time limit, but we are trying to do it in 48 hours. Our goal is to raise around $100,000,” Charbonnet said.
Charbonnet and his five other teammates got involved with this race as a way to raise money for Camp-David, a clinic in St. Louis that is run by a former Navy SEAL, Walt Disney (the famous Walt Disney’s grandson).
Charbonnet and Disney are friends. They are both a part of the organization Beyond the Teams.
“Beyond the Teams is a nonprofit organization designed to take risks and challenge to improve the human condition,” Charbonnet said. “Anyone is able to join the organization who is willing to serve others.”
Beyond the Teams began in 2019 through the efforts of Charbonnet and his fellow former Navy SEALS.
“My son, David, served as a SEAL for about a year and a half before he was in an accident while training that paralyzed him. The accident happened in 2011,” Charbonnet said. “The transition from being someone so active to confined to a wheelchair was very challenging.”
The Navy connected David to VIP NeuroRehabiliation, a clinic where he would be able to work on regaining function in San Diego, where David was stationed.
“It just so happened that a few years into David’s time at the clinic, the physician who was running the practice had to leave. By some turn of events, David and his wife, Janet ended up taking over the clinic,” Charbonnet said.
For about 13 years, David and Janet have been keeping the clinic afloat through donors, their pension from the Navy and fundraisers.
In 2018, Charbonnet decided to raise money for the clinic.
“I rode my bike from San Francisco to San Diego. I raised $17,000 by doing that ride,” he said.
The following year, Charbonnet attended the 40 year reunion of his SEAL team.
“My bike ride fundraiser came up at the reunion. Some of the other guys decided they wanted to do something similar to help raise money,” he said. “The clinic, at the time, was trying to buy a Lokomat, which is a specialized machine to teach people to walk again. The machine was around $200,000. There was a family who said they would pitch in $100,000, if the clinic could raise the rest of the money.”
The SEALS rode their bikes from Virginia to Florida. They raised $100,000 from that bike ride to pitch in for the Lokomat.
“As we were preparing for that bike ride, that is when we realized we wanted to make something out of this. Some sort of organization in which I could help those in need, physically and mentally in need,” Charbonnet said.
The organization hosts about one major fundraiser per year.
“This paddling race we are doing has taken months of preparation, so it is hard for us to do more than one fundraiser per year. Our paddlers are from all over the nation,” he said.
Charbonnet served on active duty for 12 years in total, and on the reserves for 10 years. He is currently retired.
For more information, visit beyondtheteams.com.