SEAL Training - When You Say BUD/S, You've Said It All

Hell week--the week of training that becomes the ultimate test, 120 hours of continuous training on less than four hours of sleep. It searches out and exposes those who possess the qualities that SEALs must have in their guts before being able to continue the next four phases of training.

Their bodies will be pushed to extremes, being worked harder than they ever dreamed possible.  Sleep deprivation and moving constantly forces the trainees to reach deep inside themselves to find the will to continue.  The "team mentality" that makes SEALs the best commandos in the world will be instilled in each of them.  

Eventually, they’ll find the strength to embrace the prize, the 'Holy Grail' of BUD/S....the ability to understand the word TEAM.

Class 290 Completes Hell Week

Navy SEAL - - JUMP!

U.S. Military Code of Conduct

The U.S. Military Code of Conduct 

When in Uncertain or Hostile Environments.

Code of Conduct

~ I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

~ I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

~ If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

~ If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.

~ When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability, I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

~ I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

SEAL Qualifications

Qualifications

By law, only men are eligible to apply for the SEAL program. Upon joining the Navy, you must:

• Meet specific eyesight requirements: 20/40 best eye; 20/70 worst eye; correctable to 20/25 with no color blindness
• Meet the minimum Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) score: GS+MC+EI=165 or VE+MK+MC+CS=220
• Be 28 years old or younger
• Be a U.S. citizen
• Pass a physical examination required for divers

The chart below highlights the current minimum Navy Physical Screening Test (PST) requirements for Navy Challenge Programs – for aspiring members who are in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), in Boot Camp or already serving in the Navy.

NOTE: If you're pursuing an NSW/NSO position, much better PST scoring is expected. 

Minimum PST Physical Screening Test	SEAL	SWCC	EOD	Diver	AIRR
Swim 500 yards (450 M) – breaststroke or sidestroke [in minutes]	12:30	13:00	14:00	14:00	12:00*
REST: 10 MINUTES
Push-ups [in 2 minutes]	42	42	42	42	42
REST: 2 MINUTES
Sit-ups [in 2 minutes]	50	50	50	50	50
REST: 2 MINUTES
Pull-ups [in 2 minutes]	6	6	6	6	4
REST: 10 MINUTES
Run 1.5 miles [in minutes]	11:00	12:30	12:45	12:45	12:00

*AIRR may use sidestroke or breaststroke and utilize American crawl/freestyle or a combination of all.

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

A Change of Command Ceremony

 Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, commander of Combined Joint Task Force (CTF) 435, walks through sideboys during the SEAL Team 5 change of command ceremony. Harward was the guest speaker at the event. SEAL Team 5 is a special operations component responsible for the training and deployment of personnel in support of U.S. and allied forces missions throughout the Asian and Pacific theaters of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marc Rockwell-Pate/Released)

ADM Walter F. Doran is piped aboard USS
Missouri (BB 63) for the Pacific Fleet Change of Command 

Cmdr. Gary Martin is piped ashore after being relieved as commanding officer 
Naval Magazine Indian Island (NMII) at a change of command ceremony aboard the
 dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4). 

Trawler

In MISSION CRITICAL, there is an annoying trawler "dogging" the fleet. These pictures (1975) show one off the stern and port side of the carrier JFK.

Photos are property and copyright of author.

SR-71 Blackbird

Designed by Kelly Johnson and manufactured by Lockheed Skunk Works and classified as a 'black project', the SR-71 was, and still is, the fastest manned, highest flying reconnaissance plane, equipped only with a sophisticated camera and radar and infrared systems. Missiles or guns for self-defense were a mute issue because this 'Bird' was designed specifically to fly extremely high and with blinding speed. It feared no one; it feared nothing.

The outer shell of the Blackbird was made of titanium, and, therefore, it expanded under extremely high temperatures during flight.  The fuel tanks were designed so they would leak until the aircraft was airborne, and then they would continue to expand until completely sealed.  Because of this, the fuel was nearly expended by the time the aircraft was airborne. 

NOTE: Thanks to one of my visitors for noticing that this is actually an A-12, the forerunner to the SR-71.  It isn't too noticeable in the photo, but the A-12 has only one seat, while the SR-71 has two.  Also found out that the A-12 was faster than the SR-71.  Hard to believe! JF

SR-71 during an air show:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/70Ikj1hZDnw

The following site has great photos of A-12 and SR-71 (over 850):

http://www.palmdalecam.com/blckbird.htm

Here's a site listing current locations of the A-12 and SR-71:

http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/srloc~1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-71_Blackbird

Navy SEALs

Here's a website with good photos of SEALs during different phases of practice and training, i.e., locking out of subs, CQB, combat swimmers, etc.  Many of these were described in Mission Critical and Warning Order.

http://www.americanspecialops.com/photos/seals-gallery.php

Diving With A Draeger Rig

The LAR V Draeger rebreather is a closed circuit underwater breathing apparatus. Running on 100% oxygen, all expelled breath is recycled into the closed circuit where it is filtered for carbon-dioxide. The result is a complete elimination of expelled bubbles which makes the Draeger ideal for clandestine amphibious operations. The LAR V Draeger rebreather cannot operate as deep as SCUBA systems. The unit's relatively small size and front-worn configuration makes them suitable for shallow water operation. Dive duration is affected by depth, water temperature and oxygen consumption rate. Unlike bulky SCUBA systems which have large tanks worn on the diver's back, the Draeger fits over the diver's front and is considerably smaller.


(Use of Draeger described in novel "Mission Critical.")

http://www.americanspecialops.com/equipment/SEAL-diving-gear/

Navy SEALs Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE)

"Pooch" is along for the ride!

Navy SEALs demonstrate the Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE)
 rig during a capabilities exercise at Joint Expeditionary Base
Little Creek-Fort Story. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 2nd Class Anthony Harding/Released)

Ribbons Order of Precedence & Devices

There are a few more for 'Marksmenship'
worn below these (ran out of room!)
See "Pages" for identification of ribbons.

Operational Chain of Command

The operational chain of command for Navy operating forces:

• President of the United States
• Secretary of Defense
• Joint Chiefs of Staff (The JCS are in operational C.O.C. to provide strategic guidance and direction to the unified and specified commanders, but do not exercise operational command or control of forces.
• Commander Unified (strategic force missile submarines, when on patrol, are under the direct operational command/control of the commander of a unified command. In some situations this operational control may be further delegated.)
• Naval Component Commander (Fleet Commanders in Chief), i.e., CinCLantFlt, CinCPacFlt, CinCUSNavEur
• Numbered Fleet Commander (2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th)
• Task Force Commander
• Task Group Commander
• Task Unit Commander
• Task Element Commander
• Individual unit commanding officer

Navy Ranks - E1 - O11

• E1 Seaman Recruit
• E2 Seaman Apprentice
• E3 Seaman
• E4 Petty Officer 3rd Class
• E5 Petty Officer 2nd Class
• E6 Petty Officer 1st Class
• E7 Chief Petty Officer
• E8 Senior Chief Petty Officer
• E9 Master Chief Petty Officer
• W2 - W5 Chief Warrant Officer
• OF 1 Ensign
• OF 2 Lieutenant(j.g.) 
• OF 3 Lieutenant
• OF 4 Lieutenant Commander
• OF 5 Commander
• OF 6 Captain
• OF 7 Rear Admiral, Lower Half
• OF 8 Rear Admiral
• OF 9 Vice Admiral
• OF10 Admiral
• OF11 Fleet Admiral

Note:  Usually when referring to an officer's rank, it's commonly referred to as "01" or "06", etc.

Officer and Enlisted Uniforms

 (SEALs' uniforms are no different than the ones in the pictures, except for wearing the Trident on the left side, above ribbons or medals).  (Also see heading "Burials at Sea" for more pictures with uniforms.)

NOTE:  On uniforms of Line Officers (shoulder boards and sleeves), the star always has one point pointing toward the stripe(s).  

All Navy dress blues are labeled with the following: Name, Service No., Contract No., Name of Supplier, and Manufacturer.  (See additional photo at bottom of post for uniforms in 1914.)

(Appears to be 1st Class Diver Insignia)

Command Master Chief Paulette Brock inspects the
back of Sailors' uniforms during a dress blues inspection aboard
the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103)

(Nov. 5, 2010) Master-At-Arms 2nd Class Aaron Gregory,
assigned to Naval Station Mayport, salutes the colors as
part of the passing of the flag ceremony while wearing the uniform
that was worn by U.S. Navy chiefs during World War I.

Left is Summer Dress Whites for Officers.
Right is enlisted Winter Dress Blues.

Enlisted Dress Whites

Standing at Parade Rest -
Enlisted Dress Whites (background);
Officer Dress Whites (foreground)
(Same Uniforms for SEALs)

Inspection - Service Dress Blues -
Officers and Enlisted Uniforms
(Officer is a Lieutenant)

Placing Ribbons on Dress Blues
(Trident would be placed above ribbons.)

Chief Petty Officers at Parade Rest

Summer Service Khakis 

(Same uniforms for SEALs)
Notice same position of hands on weapons.

Officer - Summer Service Whites
(Uniform nicknamed "Good Humor")

Officer - Summer Service Khakis;

Same uniform for CPOs

(Sept. 19, 2007) - A Sailor shows off the prototype 
uniform for service dress khaki, a throwback to the traditional
 WWII style uniform. It allows for chiefs and officers to shift from
 service khaki to service dress khaki by adding a black tie 
and jacket. 

________________

Three Sailors show off the prototype uniforms for
service dress white and service dress khaki. The prototype
service dress khaki uniform is a throwback to the traditional
WWII style. The uniform allows for chiefs and officers to
shift from service khaki to service
dress khaki by adding a black tie and jacket.

_____________________________________

Dungarees

Dungarees were the working uniform worn from 1913 through the 1990s. Unlike the utility uniform, dungarees were not allowed to be worn outside of military installations. Service members were allowed to wear the uniform to and from the installation in a vehicle, but were not authorized to make any stops between while in the dungarees.

Dungarees consisted of a short or long-sleeve blue chambray shirt, white t-shirt, and boot-cut denim jeans (the jeans in question had heptagonal "patch" pockets sewn on the front of the pant-legs rather than the traditional "slash" pockets often seen on civilian-worn jeans). Head gear was the white "dixie cup" cover for men and an early form of the black garrison cap or a black beret for women. During cold weather a black watch cap was allowed. The command ball cap was optional. Names were hand-stenciled and the rating badge was "iron on." Only petty officers wore a rating badge on this uniform, on the left arm. The sailor's last name was affixed in white on the pants just above the back pocket on the right side. The name was also affixed in black on the shirt just above the right breast pocket. An iron-on surface warfare or submarine warfare insignia iron-on was authorized to be placed over the left breast pocket.

Low black leather boots called "boondockers" were worn with the dungaree uniform. Flight deck personnel were issued a type of taller cap-toe boot similar in design to paratrooper jump boots boots known colloquially as "wing walkers". These types of boots had zig-zag patterned out-soles to avoid gathering FOD (Foreign Object Debris) between the ridges that could litter the flight deck and cause potential damage to aircraft. "Dealer/Chelsea" style ankle boots (known colloquially as Lox boots) with elastic-sides were issued to personnel working with liquid oxygen for easier removal in case the boots would freeze upon contact.

____________________

Flight Deck Personnel:

• Purple – Aviation Fuel Handlers (also known as "grapes")
• Blue – Plane Handlers, Tractor Drivers, Elevator Operators
• Yellow – Flight Deck Officers and Plane Directors
• Green – Operations Personnel, Catapult and Arresting Gear Personnel, Ground Support Equipment Maintenance Personnel, Squadron Maintenance Personnel, Cargo handling personnel, Hook runners, Landing Signalmen Enlisted (LSE), and Photographers
• White – Safety Observers, Squadron Final Checkers (F/C), Landing Signal Officers (LSO), Corpsmen, LOX Handlers, Air Transfer Officers, and visitors
• Red – Ordnance Handlers, EOD Personnel, Crash and Salvage Crews
• Brown – Plane Captains (Crew Chiefs and Mechanics)

___________________
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The chief of naval operations approved Navy Uniform Board recommendations Jan. 25, 2011.

The recommendations include a new cutlass for chiefs, an overblouse for female officers and chiefs, updated rules for portable communication devices and clarification on the manner of wear for flight suits.

"Whether addressing new proposals or updating old regulations to the current operating environment, the Uniform Board has taken input from the fleet and provided the best recommendations and proposed solutions for CNO's approval," said Capt. William Park, head, Officer Personnel Plans and Policy, who also oversees the Uniform Matters Office. "The result is a set of adaptive uniform regulations that maintains the professional appearance of our Sailors."

Designed to be worn by members of an official party during ceremonies requiring officers to wear swords, the chief petty officer (CPO) cutlass may be the most visible of the announced uniform changes. With a twenty-six inch stainless steel blade and four laser engraved CPO anchors (CPO, SCPO, MCPO and MCPON) on the base, the new cutlass is expected to be available for purchase in August. As an optional uniform item, the Uniform Board sought to ensure uniformity in appearance by directing the cutlass to be worn only when all members of an official party are wearing swords.

The next change was the approval of an overblouse option for female officers and chiefs when wearing the poly/wool service khaki uniform. Since the roll-out of the service uniform for junior enlisted, the Office of Women's Policy had received regular feedback from the fleet, requesting a similar overblouse option for female officers and CPOs to wear with their service khaki uniform. When this change takes effect in sixty days, female officers and CPOs will be able to wear the overblouse with slacks or skirts.

Portable electronic devices were another topic of concern for Sailors, which prompted the Uniform Board to make several noteworthy changes. Effective 60 days from the announcement, Sailors will be authorized to use these devices while in their service or working uniform, to include when walking. Although authorized, the device must be conservative in color and design, cannot distract from the appearance of the uniform, must be worn on the belt aft of the elbow and cannot interfere with the rendering of military courtesies and honors.

The final set of changes announced in the update were regarding the manner of wear for the aircrew flight suit. While in the continental United States, the green flight suit will be worn with a black undershirt, while overseas, aircrew may wear tan flight suits with brown undershirts as determined by the Navy component commander.

To support the Centennial of Naval Aviation, CNO is allowing flight suits to be worn at designated events in calendar year 2011. A list of these approved Centennial of Naval Aviation events will be released quarterly by Commander, Naval Air Forces.

1914 Uniforms:

NIS/NCIS - A Brief History

The main character in my novels is Grant Stevens, assigned to the Naval Investigative Service in Washington, D.C.  In 1992 the name NIS was changed to NCIS.  Here is a brief overview of the organization:

The major buildup of civilian special agents began with the Korean War in 1950, and continued through the Cold War years. In 1966 the name Naval Investigative Service (NIS) was adopted to distinguish the organization from the rest of ONI, and in 1969 NIS special agents were reclassified from contract employees and became Excepted Civil Service.

The early 1970s saw an NIS special agent stationed on the USS Intrepid (CVS-11) for six months which was the beginning of the "Deployment Afloat" program, (now called the Special Agent Afloat program). In 1972, background investigations were transferred from NIS to the newly formed Defense Investigative Service (DIS), allowing NIS to give more attention to criminal investigations and counter-intelligence. The first female agent was stationed at Naval Air Station, Miramar, CA in 1975.

In 1982, NIS assumed responsibility for managing the Navy's Law Enforcement and Physical Security Program and the Navy's Information and Personnel Security Program. Additionally, in 1982 two classes of NIS Special Agents were trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Glynco, GA, in an assessment of FLETC's capability to train military investigators. Prior to this and subsequently until 1984 NIS Special Agent Training was in ONI Headquarters, Suitland, MD.

----Courtesy Wikipedia

for further information go to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Investigative_Service

EOD Memorial

EOD Lt. Christopher Mosko

EOD Memorial, Eglin Air Force Base
As of 5/12/2012, 287 Names

SERE Training

James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe (February 8, 1938 – April 21, 1989) was a United States Army officer and one of only thirty-four American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War.  Colonel Rowe was credited with developing the rigorous Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program taught to high-risk military personnel (such as Special Forces and aircrews) and the U.S. military doctrine which institutionalizes these techniques and principles to be followed by captured personnel.  In 1989, Rowe was killed by a street gang in the Philippines called the Alex Boncavao Brigade.

SERE training takes place at four levels:

• Level A: Entry level training. These are the Code of Conduct mandatory classes taken by all at induction (recruit training and OCS). All service personnel get this basic training annually.

Level B: For those operating or expected to operate forward of the division rear boundary and up to the forward line of own troops (FLOT). Normally limited to aircrew of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Level B focuses on survival and evasion, with resistance in terms of initial capture.

• Level C: For troops at a high risk of capture and whose position, rank or seniority make them vulnerable to greater than average exploitation efforts by any captor. Level C focuses on resistance in terms of prison camps.

Navy/Marine Corps

Level A is taught to recruits and candidates in Officer Candidate School and the Recruit Depots, or under professional military education.

Level B at the Marine Corps Mountain Warefare Training Center, Bridgeport, CA, and the North Training Area, Camp Consalves, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

Level C is held at Portwmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine at the Navy Remote Training Site, Rangley, and at NAS North Island, CA, at the Navy Remote Training Site, Warner Springs. This installation provides 'Code of Conduct' that is necessary for Recon Marines, MARSOC Marines, Navy SEALS, enlisted Navy and Marine Aircrewman, Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, Naval Flight Surgeons, and Navy SWCC. As the "eyes" and "ears" of the commander, they carry knowledge of sensitive battlefield information.

The training encompasses those basic skills necessary for worldwide survival, facilitating search and rescue efforts, evading capture by hostile forces. It is based on and reinforces the values expressed in the Code of Conduct while maintaining an appropriate balance of sound educational methodology and realistic/stressful training scenarios.

Additional survival training in Level C Code of Conduct may include the five-day Peacetime Detention and Hostage Survival (PDAHS) course. This training provides the skills to survive captivity by a hostile government or terrorist cell during peacetime.

SERE insignia - West Coast Navy