![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_17293682949259.jpg.jpg\")
FINDING PURPOSE<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
During testimony, Hatch spoke stoically about his own wound during a July 2009 search mission and the 18 surgeries he\u2019s had. But he cried when discussing the military dog, Remco, who died in the same barrage of gunfire. Hatch credits the dog\u2019s handler, another member of his team, with helping to save his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew going into that line of work that was a possibility. That dog didn\u2019t have a clue,\u201d he told AP, explaining his strong emotions. \u201cIt is incumbent upon us to protect them. They provide us with their senses and their courage, but they don\u2019t understand bullets. We failed. I, in particular, I failed to protect that dog.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another military dog, Spike, is the namesake of a nonprofit group Hatch started to support military and law enforcement canines. Hatch was Spike\u2019s handler when that dog died on a mission in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hatch, now 50, said the inspiration for Spike\u2019s K9 Fund came out of a dark time in the months after he returned wounded from the 2009 mission to find Bergdahl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just was washing down my pain meds with booze,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to be a zombie and I didn\u2019t want to be alive anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police in Norfolk, Virginia were called to his house because he was suicidal and \u201cacting a fool with a gun,\u201d he said. Officers called men Hatch had served with, who helped get him treated for depression. As a thank you, he helped raise money for the care of a police dog. Now, his charity \u2014 which he refers to as \u201cmy purpose\u201d\u2014 also helps with medical expenses for families who take in retired military dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Writing a book about his life, due out in 2018, with a longtime friend has also been therapeutic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to go to a psychologist or a social worker and talk to them about things that are troubling you right now,\u201d said Hatch, who grew up in Utah. \u201cIt\u2019s another thing entirely when you\u2019re doing it with someone who\u2019s known you for 15 years through many of the big trials, so that you have a backstop about where those emotions may have come from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Navy SEAL James Hatch, whose career as a commando ended when he was shot while searching for Bowe Bergdahl, said his feelings toward the Army sergeant have gone from \u201cI would like to kill him\u201d to thanking the soldier\u2019s lead attorney for working so hard to defend him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":60782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[810],"class_list":["post-31640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"J2N5XCECONCVZAHFA2JPRO2MKQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/27\/seal-wants-bowe-bergdahl-dishonorably-discharged\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n