Dateline: 20 October 2008
South Camp – Multinational Forces & Observers
We see him at the MDF chatting at lunch. We see him on the beach preparing for his morning swim. We see him counseling soldiers at his office, and we see him steering the missions of the lifeguards and the gym assistants. We see him making his way around South Camp, but do we really see the man that is HERB. Herb’s Gym, Herb’s Beach, and all the motivational scrawling that is found all over the camp bulletin boards, are all in honor of this man who has motivated so many soldiers before us. Here you will meet the man who made all this happen. Come on in for a soak in the tub, and a fresh fruit health drink!
We showed up on South Camp in the early hours of the morning in January. Carrying heavy bags and heavier eyelids, we were shuffled into a gym, whose fluorescent glow was hard to miss in the near blackness of the desert mountain backdrop. We were welcomed to our new home by our leadership, and finally greeted by this man. He has meant more to the soldiers that have passed through the gates of MFO, than any other single person in the history of the mission. Herb Brav was not always the quiet man he seems to be. As a boxer, in his past, he fought in the heavyweight division and once weighed in at over 330-pounds. He was a bull of a man, one who brought to his opponents a fearless and devastating attack. He learned this attack from his many years of service to the United States of America. He was only able to shed the weight through personal discipline, diet, fasting, and exercise.
Following in the footsteps of his father, a Colonel in a US Ranger Battalion, Herb enlisted in the Army in 1947. As an infantry soldier and later as a member of the elite US Special Forces, Herb served proudly in both the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. He rose through the enlisted ranks to ultimately hold the rank of Command Sergeant Major. He was a personal advisor to John F Kennedy, and later in his career he became a military advisor to the Prince of Saudi Arabia. He served in this posting from 1980 to 1982. In July of 1982 he was one of the first military advisors to the Multinational Forces & Observers. Since then, he has personally briefed every soldier in the MFO on safety, welfare, and motivation. One of the best things about my job here, is the fact that “some of the soldiers stationed here in past rotations, had fathers that served with me in other parts of the world”. Herb still receives over 50 letters and emails per week from people he has known or influenced. He claims that around the holiday season, he receives hundreds of cards and packages from all over the world.
Herb is happily married to Gisela Brav, whom he met in Europe in 1958. They have two children, a son and daughter, and they also have two grandchildren. Gisela also visits regularly to make sure that the troops here know her and her sacrifice to the mission. At 76 years of age, Herb still swims the reef at his beach every morning at 6 am to clear it. He has done this every day except vacations since he started here. The word “work” is not a nice word to Herb. He believes it drains energy from people assigned to complete a task. Herb said that he could not remember when he started using the term “Believing and Liking”, but that he has used it his entire life to motivate himself first, and then others. Believing is the energy to do the job, and liking is the key to the successful completion of it. Without both, a person will eventually lose heart and can fail easily.
His personal motivation has led to his free swim to Tiran Island. He completed a free swim in the San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz. Herb was also a member of a free dive team up until four years ago. His deepest descent was to 125 feet and he was able to hold his breath for four and a half minutes. He is personal friends with many celebrities and military figures, as evidenced by his stunning collection of pictures and memoirs. One of his personal heroes and friend’s is Jack Lalane, the famous bodybuilder and health enthusiast.
Herb enjoys his time here on South Camp. He is not even “sick” of the food in the dining hall after 21 years of eating it. His favorite vegetables are beets. Herb believes that the services provided on base are excellent, and is very happy with the continuity of all the soldiers, service and support elements that are part of our force. In his own words, Herb related, that the “Pennsylvania soldiers are excellent”! He is honored to be a part of our team, and he plans to be here protecting the “safety and enjoyment” of the MFO soldiers for as long as he lives. He has seen first-hand that a “soldier’s leadership changes the people that follow them”. Herb is proud to be that leader!!
