This story is a follow up to the January 23, 2014 post, SEAL Tryouts. The event I'm about to recount actually predates the previous post by about three years.
Before, I took my shot at making the Teams at Great Lakes, I had an earlier brush with joining the SEALs. But not as a SEAL. I'll explain...
I was two years into my tour with the Naval Security Group Detachment at Atsugi, Japan when a notice came in over the secure, message line. It was from SEAL Command in Virginia Beach. The SEALs were requesting two operators from the NSG to augment SEAL Teams in the field. The idea was to attach/imbed an individual with our unit's unique talents directly into a squad of SEALs. The operator would provide direct support for missions which took them close to countries that were, ah shall we say, less than friendly to the U.S.
[A short side story: The Naval Security Group is not the same thing as Naval Security. Naval Security are the guys and gals that provide the physical security on the base. We'd often get calls from people on base trying to fix traffic tickets. For awhile the guys answering the phone would try to explain, hey that's not what we do. But eventually we got tired of repeating ourselves over and over. So whenever anyone called to fix a ticket, the routine response became, "Yah, no problem. We'll take care of it." Click]
The secure transmission went out to the NSG Aircrew Detachments. The theory being Aircrew members would be fitter than their surface and sub-surface counterparts. And therefore better able to keep up with the super-fit SEALs.
Our Senior Chief, 'Skip', the Command Operations Chief at Atsugi, called an all hands meeting at the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, also sometimes referred to as the SeCure Intelligence Facility). With all hands present, he outlined the jist of the communique and asked for volunteers.
I raised my hand. Along with several other of my shipmates.
Senior Chief made an on the spot call and picked myself and another Aircrewman. The other volunteer/selectee was a junior petty officer with about a year under his belt at Atsugi. A stocky blond kid (for the life of me I cannot remember his name) whose idea of fun was to load up a backpack with rocks, then run the five miles from the Atsugi Naval Air Facility over to Army Camp Zama, grab a quick bite, then run back.
For the next week or two, he and I started conditioning and honing up our professional skills. Then Senior Chief called us in and told us the operation was off. So what happened?
Apparently, in typical SEAL fashion, the SEAL High Command decided they needed our support and sent out the request. ... Without asking or clearing it through anyone at the NSG Command.
The Admiral in charge of the Naval Security Group naturally got wind of the request and called over to Virginia Beach. The word for word conversation has never been relayed to me directly but this is what I gathered...I'm going to take a little creative license at this point but the storyline is true to what was relayed to me.
Admiral NSG: Ah Admiral, we've received word that you sent out a request for several of our
operators to be re-assigned to the SEALs.
Admiral SEAL: Yes that's right, is there a problem?
Admiral NSG: Well, a little communication would have been nice. And yes we do have some
concerns about what your proposing with our sailors. Our guys have a large
amount top-secret information stuffed into their brains. If they were to be captured
it could cause serious damage to the country's national security. We're not so sure
this is a good idea.
Admiral SEAL: Not a problem Admiral. We've already thought of that. If it looks like
our guys are in danger of capture, a SEAL will shoot your man in the head
before that can happen. We've got it all worked out.
I KID YOU NOT!!!
Shoot us in the head while we're not looking? Wow. I'm certain that if you'd ordered a SEAL to shoot another SEAL in the back of the head, he'd tell you where you could go. And maybe punch your ticket for good measure. But apparently we were expendable.
The Admirals' conversation turned rather frosty at that point and ended quite abruptly! As did my assignment/selection. ... needless to say, the SEALs did not get their way.
Post Script:
Another short SEAL vignette.
When I was training at Goodfellow Airforce Base in Texas, one of the guys a couple weeks ahead of me decided to take the SEAL PST entrance test. A SEAL grader was coming through recruiting and was going to administer the test at the base.
The advanced student and my two roommates all decided to all go and give it a shot. My roommates, Dave and Ed, were just going along for the fun of it and to encourage their buddy. However, their buddy, the advanced student, was actively trying to get into the SEALs.
But Ed was a stud. He was an East Coast kid whose hero was Bruce Lee. He worshiped Bruce Lee. And tried to live his life by Lee's code. And one of Bruce Lee's codes was, "I forge my body in the fire of my will".
And Ed had a lot of will.
He ran marathons as warm ups. Then after he was done running, he'd do hundreds of calisthenics. He was also blessed with the body type where running didn't make him skinny. It built him up. He had legs like tree trunks and a total body fat of about 2%.
Ed wasn't a swimmer though. But his conditioning was good enough to score him a passing grade on the swim portion. After the swim, he blew the test away. The SEAL grader came over to Ed with drool running down the side of his mouth.
He told Ed he'd put up the highest score (outside the swim) the grader had ever seen by a non SEAL. He then started hard selling Ed on the Teams. That's when Ed told him he was color blind. The recruiter paused, then said. "No problem". You just can't go into explosives but you can still be in the Teams.
That's when Ed told him about his food allergy. Ed had an allergy to certain nuts that was potentially fatal.
The SEAL grader walked over with drool on his mouth and walked away with tears in his eyes.
....Ed was my roommate for almost two months at Texas. And he had some of the most unusual eating habits. Habits that had nothing to do with his allergy. He ate Gerber's Baby food out of the jar.
Because he liked it.
He drank Pepto Bismol straight out of the bottle like it was Pepsi.
Because he liked it.
And man could he eat. Once, after a mid-shift training session on base, I watched him and Dave polish off two dinner entrees at Denny's (that's two entrees for each of them). After finishing their dinners they then ordered the entire dessert menu. Yes, the ENTIRE dessert menu.
The waitress was staring at them like they were crazy and then sarcastically asked, "And what would you like to drink with that?" Without a seconds pause, Ed answered, "A diet Pepsi".
Yah, a DIET Pepsi to wash down the entire dessert menu.
The waitress then gave him the "Ok, now I know your NUTS" stare, while her mouth hung open.
Ed shot back, "Hey, I like the taste of the Diet".
They ate it all too.
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