Mr.
Gordon Thompson and Pauline Cyrenne my two WWWemailpals who are dissecting www.sealtwo.org
page by page.
Ralph Schmitz is my friend from Germany.
UDT SEAL Museum Capt Howard
Raleigh
Kraft and his Office's Warrior Wall
CAIRO: SEAL K-9
From: Loren Decker [mailto:oldfrog AT dekrtech
DOT net] Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011
Subject: My Type of Watch Dog - Seal Team 6 K-9 Detachment Reminds
me of the old days when ST-2 used K9's in Viet Nam. Who can forget
Prince?
From: Erasmo "Doc" Riojas [mailto:docrio45 AT
gmail DOT com]
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011
To: Walsh, Nicolas E
Subject: My Type of Watch Dog - Seal Team 6 K-9 Detachment
Were there TWO "Prince" SEAL canines? We had one on
the East Coast, I believe his handler's name was Wally Schwallenberg.
Wally died this year SCUBA diving in Mexico.
doc Riojas On Mon, Jul 11, 2011
To: Walsh, Nicolas E <WALSHN AT uthscsa DOT edu>
wrote: We had Prince at Solid Anchor with Team One and Mike Bailey. 105
lbs. of dog, not 10 lbs. of yap.
Nic Walsh
Doc,
Mike Bailey was from Team TWO but ended up as a point man in my
platoon (Oscar Team One) in 1971. He went out and recovered Prince who
had been left by Team Two with Army. He brought him to us – chain =
attack dog, blind harness = scout dog.
Mike is very ill with prostate cancer in Washington state
after career with Border Patrol.Nic
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Airborne SEAL-2
K-9 "Rinney"
From: "E. RIOJAS" To: chomi
<chomi AT adnc DOT com>
Rinny and his handler, Eugene Fraley (KIA) were trained at Fort Benning,
GA by the U.S.Army at "Attack School."
Our 90 lb German Shepard, Rinny, would command anyone's respect due to
his ferocious appearance. He did not harm any of us SEALs unless he was
given an order by Fraley to attack. There is such a strong bond between
the dog and his handler that Rinney did not eat from our hands for about
a week after Fraley died.
Rinny was Airborne qualified. He owned his personal harness that was
double clipped on to Fraley's reserve chute. These two clips are
released after the main is open. The dog is then lowered by a 20 ft.
line attached to his harness and his handler. Usually a muzzle is placed
on the dog because they often panic and turn against the his
paratrooper. Not even dogs like to jump out of perfectly good airplanes.
Since the dog descends 20 feet below the paratrooper, the dog lands
first. Seconds later his handler will hit the dirt. I think Rinney was
qualified to wear Gold Navy Jump Wings on his dress uniform.
SEAL
K-9 Hawkeye , guards his KIA handler Jon Tumilson at funeral service.
Jon
Tumilson and Hawkeye
Gabriel:
Steve Elson's grandson and His Dad Shane
Jan
janos sent me this broshure on the St. Anthony Falls and Lock in Minn. I
forgot if he told me that he worked there.
[Editor’s
note: I was asked by a small Louisiana newspaper to write an article on
the SEAL’S killing of bin Laden. It was actually published in two
papers there. Anyone wishing to use it for any purpose may do so.]
*****We
have all done our share of Monday morning quarterbacking, but with the
killing of bin Laden for me it is more I told you so. As an ex- U.S.
Navy SEAL I have been an advocate of use of Special Forces and an array
of surgical procedures instead of use of cumbersome full-scale military
assaults on multiple countries.
Islamic countries are a
hold-over from ancient times when they were ruled by a united church and
state; when leaders represented both entities. Perhaps America’s
greatest achievement was divorcing church and state. We were so
successful in that accomplishment that we hardly know how to deal with
an enemy that uses religion as the motivating force driving a war in
which terror is the mode of operation. We are so sensitive to the issues
involved between church and state that we cannot admit the wars we are
engaged in are with radical religionists; thus, in a real sense we are
in a religious war. We, therefore, prefer to fight the primarily
political element of, in this instance, Islamic countries.
Muslim extremist/terrorists
live all over the world--even in America. That is their main advantage
and we played into their hands by attacking countries rather than
individuals and organizations representing and acting on extreme
religious agendas. Surgical strikes are, in this instance, the
equivalent of fighting fire with fire. When one gives the situation
sober thought it is evident that as wars go the terrorists have killed
relatively few people in the west directly. What they have done is cause
us to kill more of them, spend trillions of dollars, change our
lifestyles, suffer inconveniences, and most important of all suffer
psychological and emotional stress. This stress is a result of the
uncertainty of when, where and on whom the next attack will fall and
anxiety about going bankrupt supporting large armies as they invade
countries and as we guard every vital asset in America. This bankrupting
a nation was no doubt bin Laden’s goal. He did it to the Soviet Union
and almost completed it for America.
Terrorist warfare can work
both ways. SEALS have long ago made great use of the art of being where
they arenotsupposed
to be. They are not supposed to be under a ship anchored out in the bay,
loading explosives underneath it, nor showing up in bin Laden’s
compound armed and ready. The surprise and the sudden deadly consequence
is something to be dreaded.(I
speak here of SEALs because ofmyexperience,
but now there are other Special Forces groups who are well trained and
capable who all cooperate with each other).
Shock and awe, as we saw in
Iraq, is no doubt terrorizing, but it is most expensive and a lot of
innocents are killed. Often it is not the number of people killed but
who they are and the manner in which the operation is carried out that
causes terror. In the Korean Conflict certain Turkish NATO soldiers
spread terror by slipping into a tent at night when all were asleep and
cutting one soldier’s throat. When the others woke the next morning
and saw their comrade dead and realized that they too could have been
killed, they were terrified and more importantly they spread their
terror among their comrades; it was contagious.
It would be advantageous
for America to not publicize the event of a Special Forces Team
killing radical Muslims or destroying their assets. When the pattern
becomes clear to them and they have difficulty identifying their
attackers their terror will grow. They will know they will never be safe
again.
By their nature armies
occupy countries and thereby cause as many problems as they solve. They
are highly visible and somewhat predictable. Americacould
at a small fraction of the cost in blood and treasure instill terror in
the hearts and minds of Islamic terrorists in any location in the world.
We could force them to be looking over their shoulders day and night.
They couldenjoythe
defense of their families, compounds and other assets. They could not
freely travel or use electronic communication equipment without risking
their lives and the safety of their families.
Had we not announced to the
world that we were sending two armies after Saddam Hussein and bin Laden
we could have take them much earlier and with much less cost in blood
and treasure.
The SEAL style is to use
stealth. They do not welcome the limelight, publication of their methods
or accomplishments. They do not want personal attention; they want good
intelligence, equipment and freedom to accomplish their mission. In the
Panama operation their style was cramped by orders to not fire until
fired upon. That order was counter to all their training and
orientation. Give them a mission, let them plan and execute the plan and
the enemy will not know what hit them or if they do it will likely be
too late to do anything about it.
We likely will never know
the names of the SEALs involved in the killing of bin Laden, the founder
of Al Qaeda, and that is not important to them. They are professionals
dedicated to taking out bad guys or destroying their assets.
SEALs and their counterparts
in the other branches of the military are so effective and efficient,
especially in this type of war, they may become our primary choice—our
First Responders so to speak—but tradition is a powerful, binding and
predictive force. Our tradition inclines us to use large military forces
to fight our enemies. The Muslim extremists count on us continuing in
our traditional ways. We are smarter than that. It is difficult to
predict when, where and on whom a small military team will fall and what
it may do. That should be something for Al Qaeda to figure out in the
next fifty years.
WEBMASTER NOTE: I
totally agree with Don on his opinions on the war on terror. The
terrorists are very aware that we are breaking our bank by killing one
or two of them with our EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE bombs/weapons.
It is my opinion that our
well intentioned agendas are NOT working but also the people in that
part of the world do NOT want us there. Because of their corrupt
system of government the people that need the resources we give them are
not benefiting from our well intentioned charity.
Doc Riojas
By T.R. Fehrenbach
/ Express-News columnist
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Loudmouth
politcians seek reflected glory
Updated 10:47 a.m., Friday, May 27,
2011
The recent SEALS deal in
Pakistan was a Special Ops mission, not a Black Ops affair.
(My language may be antiquated; I have no experience with
current nomenclature.)
But I kinda wish it had been
Black, for the welfare of the SEALS and the benefit of the
nation. The best operations are those where nobody knows
anything except the person who authorizes them and the people
who carry them out. The list of those who “need to know”
is very short, and in the old days it did not include
Congress-critters and politicians, and above all media types.
This was learned, painfully, in
WW II. Loose political lips
did
sink ships; there is a certain sort of elected official, who,
brought into the loop, just can't bear not to make his
constituency aware of his importance. Secrecy and surprise are
principles of war. A military person who breached secrecy
would be prosecuted, but I never heard of a big-mouth
congressman or White House type going to federal prison for such.
During the Korean War the
existence of line-crossers and paid non-American security
forces (to protect U.S. troops and exterminate indigenous
threats), as well as the use of Taiwanese officers as
interpreters and letting South Koreans handle interrogations
of POWs, never came out for years and even decades. Also, no
U.S. officer on the regular list was allowed near questionable
ops (and some who were apparently were not on any list), which
makes for restful retirement.
You and I know why there was
such an orchestrated burst of publicity about the removal of
bin
Laden. It was of great political benefit to the
administration. It presented a clear-cut American military
success, rare in the war against terror. And of course the
24/7 modern media, is always ravenous, and government likes to
stay on its good side. And so officials have been feeding them
tidbits, pictures, narratives, details, which, if I were in
the operation, would make me cringe.
Because of the nature of
counter-terror war, the identity of the SEALS involved should
be sealed so long as they live. This is one of the liabilities
to be endured. So much data has already been exposed that I
suspect security is already breached. This requires a modicum
of smarts on our part — for example, earned decorations must
also be concealed, never leaving a pawprint. This is what you
sign up for when you play the Ops game.
Media folk who say they are
“just doing their job” by ferreting out secret stuff (for
pay or glory) are dangerous to Americans who put their lives
at risk. As for the “right to know,” I do not think this
pertains to fat-bottomed viewers whose closest contact with
service or combat is their TV screen. Politicians who trade on
other people's valor are beneath contempt.
It doesn't matter whether we
know who the SEALs are or where they come from. It matters a
great deal that bin Laden jihadists do not. And I hope that
the next time we take out an enemy of the state, the civil
population does it with more secrecy, maturity and grace.
Old Orchard Beach in Maine on the 4th of July. Chris Gonczlik
and my little girl Sarah.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chris Gonczlik <cgonczlk [at] gmail DOT
com>
Date: Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 11:03 PM
Subject: Thanks for a great site Doc! To: docrio45 [at]
gmail. DOT com
Doc,
I have had the pleasure of being able to peruse your site, Erasmo
"Doc" Riojas: www.sealtwo.org,
over the past year or so. I am an ardent student of the UDT and Seal
community and have enjoyed reading the accounts of pretty much EVERY
Seal and UDT'r that has ever put "pen to paper" lol!
The names and pictures on your site read like a "who's who"
of authors I have read. From Rudy Boesch to "Patches" Watson
to the Eagle Gallagher, I have followed each one closely.
I must say that one of my favorite reads is Greg McPartlin's accounts
of his time as a SEAL Corpsman. However, as far as I know the one person
I am dying to read more of has never written a book, and that is you
Doc!
You are mentioned in so many books and have done so much! Have you
considered writing a boook Doc? If you have any doubts about reader
interest, you can lay them aside!
I find your life and your ability to tie the UDT and SEAL culture
together (on your site) amazing. Thanks for providing a more personal
and thorough insight into your world through your website. You provide a
history and in depth commraderie that is unmatched.
I hope all is well with you and your family and I hope you actually
get the chance to read this lol!
Best wishes,
Chris Gonczlik
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SEAL Canine parachuting
Do You Have What It Takes to Go Up
Against Navy SEALs?
The
military division that brought down Osama Bin Laden will hold a physical
challenge at Howard University.
By
Danielle Wright
Posted:
06/17/2011 08:44 AM EDTFiled
UnderHBCU
Senior
Chief and Navy SEAL Joe Jones has been in the Navy for 24
years and has served as a SEAL for the past 15 years.
“It’s
the greatest job that I’ve ever had in my life,” he says.
To
help spread awareness of the Navy SEALS among African-Americans,
Saturday, June 18, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET Jones and
his team will be putting local athletes’ endurance to the test
with a SEAL Fitness Challenge at Howard University. Those
brave enough to step up to the challenge will go through the same
drills as SEALs in their screening test.
Jones
who joined the SEALS in 1997 is one out of roughly 52
African-Americans in the entire Navy SEAL program. There are about
2,500 SEALs overall.
He
believes that the main reasons Blacks are not a part of the SEALs is
because many are not aware that the SEALs exist, and swimming.
“I’ve
spoken to African-American friends who weren’t in the SEAL teams
and the first thing they say to me is, ‘Man, I don’t want to
deal with that water,’ or ‘the water is intimidating,’ or that
they don’t know how to swim” he says.
They gave their lives unselfishly so that we
can enjoy life, liberty, happiness.
Arthur G. WilliamEugene T. FraleyClarence T. Risher
Joseph A. AlbrechtFrederick E. TraniRoberto
Ramos
Hary A. MattinglyCurtis M. AshtonJohn Brewton
My Teamates from
Navy SEAL Team ONE.
Billy W. MachenDonald E. BostonRobert K. Neal
Daniel M. MannLeslie H. FUnkFrank G. Anthone
Roy B. KeithWalter G. PopeDavid E. Devine
Donald H. ZillgittDonnie L. PatrickGordon
C. Brown
Robert K. WagnerEugene S. TinninJames K. Sanders
David A. WilsonKenneth E. Van HoyRonald
E. Pace
Lowell W. MeyerLin A. MahnerDavid I. Nicholas
Richard O. WolfeJames R. GoreRichard J. Solano
John S. DurlinJohn J. DonnellyToby A. Thomas
J. L. RiterJ. F. ThamesHarold E. Birky
Michael CollinsLester J. MoeMelvin S. Dry
Cdr Robert J. Fay of SOG
Douglas E. Hobbsof Det G.
UDTKILLED
IN ACTION IN VIETNAM
Robert E. CondonRobert L. WorthingtonDouglas
E. Hobbs
Luco W. PalmaL.C. Williams
NAVY SEAL MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
LT(JG)Joseph R. Kerrey14 Mar 1969Nha Trang
Harbor
LT Thomas R. Norris10-13 Apr 1972 Quang Tri Province
EN2 Michael E. Thornton31 Oct. 1972Quang
Tri Province
SEa,
Air, and Land (SEAL)
TEAMs
Drew their names from the
elements through which they infiltrate, operate, and melt away.Commisioned by Pres.JFK to operate up to twenty miles inland in
enemy territory, they would act as naval commandos whose functions were
to gather intelligence, raid, ambush, capture prisoners, and create
havoc in enemy territory.DOC RIOJAS
Here's to you, Band of Warriors
Brotherhood
Brother, life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right. Forgive the ones who don't, just
because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands,
those of you who served in combat know this. If it changes your life,
let it.
Take a few minutes to think before you act when you're mad.
A difficult one for many, Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy,
He just promised it would be worth it.
Today is Band of Warriors' Day;
send this to all your brothers, fathers, sons and fellow veterans you
know.
Happy Warriors' Day!
I LOVE ALL MY WARRIOR BROTHERS!
To the cool men that have touched my life.
Here's to you!
I was never a hero, but I am thankful I served among them.
A real warrior walks with you when the rest of the world walks on you.
Send to all your Band of Brothers, because the fake ones won't.
Semper Fi!
HooYah!
submitted by Ty Zellers
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When
we were tested for the National Certification Exam, all of us got
"4.0" and we had to be retested because they accused us of cheating.
I am still in touch with Robert "Bobby" Wiskera who we both worked
as Cardio-Thoracic PA's in Dallas TX. Marion Russell was
attending Medical School in Mexico when he died of an accident. Diana Turner and
David Casey married and went to work in a South Pacific Island. Bobby
Burland retired as a full Colonel from the U.S. Air Force
Vet, 92, Navy UDT member at D-Day, gets last wish
to visit UDT/SEAL Museum
By Joe Crankshaw
Originally published 05:50 p.m., April 1, 2011
Updated 07:51 p.m., April 1, 2011
From 1943 to 1945, the U.S. Navy Amphibious Training Station at Fort Pierce produced UDT teams, scouts and raiders, attack boat crews and those with other military skills.
The demolition teams eventually became today's elite Navy SEALs. The acronyms stands for Sea, Air, Land, where the SEALs fight.
The National U.S. Navy UDT/SEAL Museum is the only museum of its kind in the world and is the location of the official SEAL Memorial to the men who have died in SEAL activities.
BASTARD IN THE SAND"
"Goodbye, Al Qaeda's Rose
Your beard never seemed too clean to me
So I'm glad they washed you off
Before they dumped you in the sea.
In the afterlife
Six dozen virgins sure sounded swell
So it must've burned your ass
When you ended up in hell.
It seems to me you lived your life
Like a bastard in the sand
Never knowing when the U.S. Navy SEALs would land
They caught you by surprise inside your secret base
Could've shot you anywhere
But why not in the face?
Goodbye, Al Qaeda’s Rose
To the world you were mad
And to your kids and 22 wives
You were also a deadbeat dad.
Multi-million dollar bounty
Placed on your head
You were wanted 'dead or alive'
But in the end we went with 'dead'."
Rio
Good to hear from you brother. Steve Robinson and his wife
were just here for a visit.
Now to answer the questions:
Which BUDS class graduated nobody?
BUD/S Class 78 graduated not one person. When they got down below one
boat crew they rolled everyone back to class 79.
Which BUDS class graduated everyone?
If you mean from day one to day finish the answer is none. One class
completed Hell Week without losing anyone, I dont know the number.
RD
R. D. Russell Class 29wc
Co-Director
Naval Special Warfare Archives
South Korean SEALs
Ft. Benning GA. C-119 Jump School airplane
Which guy is Shawn Johnson ?
SNIPER
by Brandon Webb & Glen
Doherty SEAL Team ZERO Ft.
Pierce FL My favorite Vietnam Movie
Which
one is Chad Moorman (SEAL)
Navy SEAL monument to be dedicated Sunday
Stars and Stripes
The U.S. Navy SEAL memorial will be dedicated Sunday,
6 Nov 2010, at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Fla.
The memorial will include the inscribed names of 252
SEALs and Frogmen who died in combat or training since World War II.
It is the only memorial dedicated exclusively to the
SEALs and their predecessor groups, according to the museum’s website.
The memorial includes a bronze centerpiece set on a
pedestal in a small pool, and is meant to symbolize the sea, air and
land in which the SEALs operate.
Seal commander Adm. Eric Olson and former SEALs will
attend the 10 a.m. unveiling, which will be part of the museum’s 25th
annual Veterans Day program.
from: T Keith tk5327 [at]
yahoo DOT com
To: docrio45 [at] gmail DOT com
Check this out, our OP when I was in My Tho with the 10th platoon is in
here and it's in my book. Where we used a sampan to deliver booby
trapped ammo to the VC and how we did it. First time I've seen this in
print. It was questioned by the attorneys for Saint Martin's Press who
published my book SEAL Warrior. I had to
prove that it was no longer classified as secret, which I did prove this
fact in Volume 1 of Mac-V-SOG COMMAND HISTORY book.
Tom Keith
PROJECT
ELDEST SON: "Planting sabotaged 82 mm
mortar ammo proved more cumbersome because these were not transported as
loose rounds, but in three-round, wooden cases. Thus, you had to tote a
whole case, which must have weighed more than 25 lbs. Twice I recall
carrying such crates for insertion in enemy rear areas, and to our
surprise, my team once witnessed a platoon of NVA soldiers carry one
away. SOG's most clever insertion was accomplished by SOG SEALS
operating in the Mekong Delta, where they filled a captured sampan with
tainted cases of ammunition, shot it tastefully full of bullet holes,
then spilled chicken blood over it and set it adrift upstream from a
known Viet Cong village. Of course, the VC assumed the boat's Communist
crew had fallen overboard during an ambush. The Viet Cong took the
ammunition, hook, line and sinker."
On
October 10, 2010, Roger Lee Crossland (SEAL) , participated in the Bankoh
Moloka'i Hoe as the sole Connecticut paddler with New York Outrigger team. The
“Moloka’i” as it is known is the world's premier outrigger race and held
in Hawaii. This was its 59th running. The course runs from Hale O Lono on the
island of Moloka'i to Waikiki on the island of Oahu across the Kaiwi Channel.
These are very rough waters, very rough waters, indeed.
Source: Erasmo "Doc"
Riojas, attendee of the Anniversary Celebration in Portsmouth VA.
SEASTORY
about that celebration: MCPO Rudy Boesch was one of the
speakers. Near the end of his comical presentations, Rudy mentioned
the story of ST-2's monkey "Jocko". He told the audience
that one of our SEAL CPOs took Jocko to the CPO club and he went crazy
biting several Black Shoe Chiefs. He remembered that Doc Rio had to
go to the team and bring back Tetanus vaccine and the equipment to
immunize the guys that got bitten. Rudy asked me to stand
up. How embarrassing!
We were
circulating among the crowd when Roy Boehm came over to our table. He told
Captain Larry Bailey, Tom Hawkins, Dante Stephensen, De Croce and others
sitting at our table, "Doc Rio got recognition, Rudy asked him to
stand up, I was not even mentioned." Roy said it in a
very amusing way. He was not a bit bothered by that situation.
Roy
was acting Commanding Officer for a time in SEAL Team TWO. They
asked all the CO's to stand up, but Roy's name was never
called. A lot of the ST-2 plankowners were not too happy about
that.
This is the
airplane they used at Ft. Benning back in the 50's & 60's
;
;
;
;
;
;
click
to enlarge this photo
P.I. closing
;
;
;
;
;
Islam/ 9-11
Astroworld SEALs Rappallling This park in Houston is HISTORY! Gone!
SEAL
Op.Red Wing KIAs
SEAL
killed and burned in Iraq by
Terrorists
SEALs that captured the terrorist Court Martials
Matthew
McCabe SEAL and Parents
Jonathan Keefe
Erasmo
"Doc" Riojas USMC
Painted
by Durwood Hunter White just before he died.
A 45-year Navy career and two stints on ‘Survivor’
means name recognition for Boesch
By Erik Slavin, Stars and
Stripes Pacific edition, Sunday, April 4, 2010
Erik Slavin / S&S
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Several of the chief petty officers eating
lunch together on Wednesday already knew of Rudy Boesch, the retired Navy SEAL
and two-time alumnus of the TV reality show “Survivor.”
One recalled how Boesch drank unpurified water during “Survivor:
All-Stars” and then explained to a concerned competitor that what he drank
during two combat tours in Vietnam was a lot worse.
“If I’m not still standing at noon, don’t drink it,” Boesch told
the others on the show.
Boesch’s peers at the Chief Petty Officers’ Club on Wednesday said they
found his reality-show exploits in 2000 and again in 2004 interesting. But in
their eyes, his Navy career dwarfs anything he did on television. Boesch
stopped by Yokosuka last week to sign autographs and swap stories with
sailors.
Boesch, a retired master chief petty officer, was a special warfare
operator before the title existed. He served from 1945 until 1990.
To put that in perspective, Boesch enlisted one month before the World War
II Allied victory in Europe and retired the day before Saddam Hussein invaded
Kuwait.
“He’s a living part of our history,” said Chief Petty Officer Rory
Collins, of Santa Fe, N.M. “Forty-five years of service is something to look
up to, and I think it inspires the rest of us in this room.”
If Boesch had it his way, he’d still be wearing a uniform.
“I asked the Secretary of the Navy about it a few years back, and he just
smiled at me,” said Boesch, 82, in an interview with Stars and Stripes.
“Yeah, I wish was still doing it.”
Boesch went to boot camp as a 17-year-old and volunteered for what was
described to him only as “secret and hazardous” duty. He was sent to Fort
Pierce, Fla., to join the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders, a group organized to
assist Chinese fighters in a planned assault, that never materialized, on the
Japanese mainland.
In 1951, Boesch completed Underwater Demolition Teams training. That group
formed the building blocks of another elite unit that Boesch would be among
the first 50 to pioneer — the Navy SEALs.
Boesch went on to set physical and operational standards for the SEALs and
earned a Bronze Star while in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. He retired as the top
enlisted adviser to Special Operations Command.
He said the Navy has changed since he retired in two noticeable ways:
Everything is far more computerized, and there are a lot more women in
uniform.
“It’s just a matter of time until there are women SEALs,” Boesch
said. “There are a few women who could probably pass the test. Not many,
though.”
About 10 years after retiring, while reading a newspaper at home in
Virginia Beach, Va., Boesch saw an advertisement about a challenge.
He barely noticed the part about the money and certainly had no conception
of the spotlight he was about to enter following the rise of “Survivor” to
the top of the TV ratings in 2000.
After a lifetime spent under the shroud of special operations, everyone
suddenly knew who he was.
Shouts of “Hey, Rudy!” came from everywhere. He began hearing it while
on vacation in Wyoming. He’d continue hearing it at promotional appearances.
He even heard it on a New York City street from a sewer worker who popped out
of a manhole to greet him.
Around that time, while he was sitting on a bench in Central Park, a
stranger walked up to Boesch.
“ ‘I’ve just gotta shake your hand,’ ” Boesch
recalled the stranger saying. “My wife told me it was Donald Trump. I
didn’t know the guy.”
Boesch still gets recognized in public, but he said he doesn’t mind it at
all. He’d happily sign up for another show for another chance to better his
third-place finish during the first season of “Survivor.”
In the meantime, Boesch spends most of his time in Virginia Beach, where he
still works out regularly with SEALs at the nearby Little Creek Naval
Amphibious Base.
Occasionally, he travels abroad to places like Yokosuka, where his words
had an unexpected impact on at least one fellow chief Wednesday.
Chief Petty Officer Gonzales, of Kenedy, Texas, always figured he’d hang
up his khakis at the 20-year mark. After listening for a while to Boesch talk
about what the Navy meant to him — even after all that TV exposure —
Gonzales wasn’t so sure.
“It makes me rethink what I want to do,” Gonzales said. “He reminds
you of how good you have it here.”
Kirkus Reviews
An unsentimental personal account of the Vietnam War.
With the assistance of magazine writer Riebling, retired SEAL master chief
Keith chronicles a tale that's oddly refreshing in its clear-eyed
bluntness. The author and his tough-as-nails team had jobs to do, he
writes, carrying out missions protecting friendly villages from Viet Cong
attacks; they simply did not have time to let the brutal surroundings
affect them.
THE "DASH" BETWEEN the YEARS OF MY LIFE 11 Feb 2009
As I approach the end of my life; I hope that people that know
me will ask about the "dash" between my birth year: 1931
-"dash"- and my death: 20??
Will they believe that I did my best to fight laziness,
ignorance, and a negative attitude. Only God knows if I
achieved my full potential. I do not consider myself as being ordinary and/or
mediocre.
It is through God, sacrifice, risk, effort, creativity,
work, and the goals I set for myself that I will die feeling that I am a successful man. The
"dash" between 1931 - 20?? was full of ups, downs, and thorns
among the many roses. In leaps and bounds through pain, thirst, and hunger I
found the reward of milk and honey. God is Good!
My passion for excellence, honesty, patriotism and a
total dedication to my many professions were the stepping stones in becoming a
productive American. I have never looked back in my life and wished that I
would have done things differently.
I arrived, I achieved, and I will depart earth to go
thank my God that the life he gave me was fully lived and nothing was
wasted!
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas, an American Patriot!
"My HELL weeks were in Korea, not at BUD/S.
Doc Rio"
Rudy Boesch, the highly decorated former Navy SEAL who became
instantly famous on the first "Survivor" reality show six
years ago, says he is recuperating nicely after recent open-heart
surgery.
Boesch, 78, a fitness nut from Virginia Beach, feels strong enough
to do physical therapy. "I started real easy," Boesch said.
A doctor who was administering a routine stress test saw trouble
ahead for Boesch, whose friends and family considered to be pretty much
indestructible.
He served 45 years in the Navy, retiring in 1990 as a master chief
petty officer.
After the stress test, doctors hustled him into surgery for a
triple bypass procedure.
Before the test, Boesch experienced no symptoms of heart trouble.
He had been playing racquetball with no pain or strain just days before
the operation.
"After I took the stress test, the doctor said he found a
problem that I better take care of soon. When I asked how soon, he said
'right now,' " recalled Boesch, who finished third on
"Survivor: Borneo" to Richard Hatch and Kelly Wiglesworth.
Hatch, the milAlion-dollar winner, is in prison after being
convicted in May of income tax evasion. Boesch, who won $85,000 on
"Survivor," made certain that the U.S. Treasury got its share,
which he says was darn near half his winnings.
Reach Larry Bonko at (757) 446-2486 or larry.bonko@pilotonline.com.
According to reports, veteran Navy SEALS and Army Green Berets are being
offered up to $150,000 in bonuses to remain in uniform for a few extra years.
This story has made its way up the importance ladder because of the recent
Blackwater Security problems.
Recently Blackwater Security, who the US pays to protect diplomats in Iraq,
killed 17 Iraqis and have had their license suspended. After this story broke
most people were surprised to see that our soldiers were not the only ones
with boots on the ground in Iraq.
Blackwater security members get paid significantly more than US commandos.
According to Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations
Association, “Of the estimated 25,000 security personnel working in Iraq,
only about 2,000 are Americans and they earn between $350 to $500 a day.”
The word ‘Blackwater’ has since had a “Watergate” ring to it and
what they do is now under the microscope. Are Blackwater Security members
mercenaries? Is what they do unethical?
Is getting paid to protect someone unethical?
No it isn’t. They are simply heavily armed bodyguards. Just because they
tend to fire their weapons daily does not make what they do unethical. This
may be why we are viewing Blackwater different than typical security guards.
Typical security guards rarely draw their weapon, while Blackwater commandos
have to use their weapons almost daily.
Blackwater is not in Iraq to fight insurgents, they are there to protect
certain individuals. There is nothing wrong with that.
The thing that irks me a bit about this is the fact that Special Forces,
who carry out much more dangerous assignments than Blackwater, get paid so
little to do so. If you knew exactly what these guys do you wouldn’t be able
to sleep tonight! Everyday these heroes have to kiss their families goodbye
knowing that it may very well be the last time that they see them. And they do
it for me and you. These guys should be getting paid a million dollars a year.
They display more patriotism and courage than will ever come out of most
Americans.
If you ever watch “The Unit” you will begin to understand.
z
R.D.Russell
and Pam
Isabella
and R.D. Russell
Robert
Russell
Doc Rio
Good to hear from you brother. Steve Robinson and his
wife were just here for a visit.
Now to answer the questions: Which BUDS class graduated nobody?
BUD/S Class 78 graduated not one person. When they got down below
one boat crew they rolled everyone back to class 79.
Which BUDS class graduated everyone?
If you mean from day one to day finish the answer is none. One class
completed Hell Week without losing anyone, I dont know the number.
RD
R. D. Russell Class 29wc
Co-Director
Naval Special Warfare Archives
Class 33, Little Creek VA click on photo to
enlarge
Grease
Gun .45 cal with
silencer David Riojas Jr., My Nephew
Chris Pierre Tolentino
Daniel
Guzman, our Nephew
Leo Torres, Esq. My 1/2 Brother
Charlie Bump Bill Garnett Pierre Birtz
click to enlarge
Starlight
Scope used in
'nam
Saigon Street
SEALs
on Tan Dinh Island
Big
Al Ashton, Neidrauer, Tom Keith
Claymore Mine
Mike Strock
The
mighty Mekong
At 4,220km, the Mekong is one of the world’s longest rivers. Rising in Tibet,
it flows through Xizang and Yunnan in China,and constitutes the boundary between
Laos and Myanmar (Burma), and that between Laos and Thailand. Below Phnom Penh,
it divides into two, flowing through Cambodia and the Mekong basin to drain into
the South China Sea through ‘cuu long’ (nine mouths).
Heavy
sedimentation means that the river is navigable by shallow-draft seagoing craft
only as far as Kompong Cham in Cambodia. A tributary entering the river at Phnom
Penh drains the Tonle Sap, a shallow freshwater lake that acts as a natural
reservoir to stabilize the flow of water through the Mekong delta. When the
delta outlets are unable to carry off the high volume of floodwater, they back
up into Tonle Sap, inundating as much as 10,000 square kilometres. When the
flood subsides, the flow reverses and excess water drains to the sea, thus
alleviating the devastating floods that reach a height of one to two metres.
However,
climatic change and deforestation in Cambodia has increased the flow and
overwhelmed the capacity of the Tonle Sap. In recent years, the floods from
August to October have been noticeably higher and lasted longer, sometimes
leading to considerable loss of life amongst the Mekong’s residents.
The Mekong
Delta is a very large pancake-flat flood plain, no more than three metres above
sea level at any point and criss-crossed by a maze of canals and rivers. About a
billion cubic metres of silt is deposited annually, almost thirteen times that
laid down by the Red River, and advances the delta some sixty to eighty metres
further into the sea each year. The level of the water is, therefore, a major
concern for visitors to the area. About 10,000 square kilometres of the delta
are under rice cultivation, making the area one of the largest rice-growing
regions in the world. The southern tip, known as the Ca Mau Peninsula (Mui Bai
Bung), is covered by dense jungle and mangrove swamps.
SEAFLOAT AND
SOLID ANCHOR
Seafloat was a floating Mobile Advanced
Tactical Support Base (MATSB) on the Song Cau Lon in Ca Mau Province at the
extreme southern tip of Vietnam. Seafloat is short for Operation Sea Float.
The U Minh forest in Cam Mau Province was considered to be a VC stronghold.
THE RIVER
The Song Cau Lon (Song means river in Vietnamese)is a tidal river that had a
mouth on either side of the peninsula, so the river was always flowing up to 5
or 10 knots in one direction or the other depending on the tides. There were
only a couple of hours of slack water each day.
This made boat handling difficult in
tight situations, and sometimes it was actually difficult to make headway
against currents over five knots in speed. It was always muddy and turbid. The
mouth on the gulf of Thailand ran into a square bay that was too shallow and
had an unmarked channel.
The other deeper channel to the South
China Sea was 22 miles up the Song Cau Lon and down the dangerous Song Bo De.
Near the mouth of the Song Bo De the town of Tan An was a favorite landing for
Chinese junks running the US Naval blocade in the 60,s.
Scramble
Seawolves! Part 1
by Tom Phillips, Seawolf 98
Reprinted with permission
The Black Ponies, limited to runways, would operate from
a central base, similar to the Army, but would bring to the problem a much
faster aircraft and the ability to be dedicated to riverine support from
an alert status. They could get to the far reaches of the Delta three
times as fast as Army helicopters and almost as fast as the local
Seawolves. When they arrived, they brought with them welcomed firepower in
the form of 5-inch Zuni rockets and twenty-millimeter guns that was
unmatched by any Army aviation we ever saw in the Delta. Heavy artillery
for the really big jobs in our little war. They were far more effective
than any Air Force or carrier bombers (not that we ever saw any) because
of the Black Ponies well-respected pinpoint close air support. They knew
the boats, and the Seawolves. We complemented each other nicely.
Throughout the Delta, Seawolves and Black Ponies were considered by all
commanders to be their own FACs, an acknowledged and approved exception to
MACV policy existing at the time, which required FACs to control and
direct "gunships".
Brad Lynch (SEAL) was a technical advisor during this filming. His
father is Jack Lynch, Pres.UDT SEAL Assn.
I,
"LOL" on the skydiving scene when a SEAL tells another SEAL that was
about to jump out of the airplane "be careful out there!" and he
answers back, "If i wanted to be careful I would have joined the Coast
Guard!" That is SEAL talk!
Abstract:
One hundred thirty-nine U.S. Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL)
personnel completed
the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI). The average
profiles were compared to
adult male norms for five broadly defined domains.
SEALs scored lower in
neuroticism and agreeableness, average in openness, and
higher in
extraversion and conscientiousness compared to these
two populations.
High
extraversion and conscientiousness scores have been
shown to predict job
performance in other professions.
SEALs seek excitement and dangerous
environments, but are otherwise stable, calm, and
rarely reckless or impulsive.
Although this average profile may not characterize any
individual SEAL, we
believe this study provides the most comprehensive
personality profile of Navy
SEALs to date.
AD Number: A281-692
SEALs
Psychological
Profiles:
[ Doc Riojas told you that we, Navy SEALs, are not
suicical ]
I wanted to tell you that SEAL -2 and SEAL – 4 Command Master Chief (Retired) Johnny ‘Guntis’ “JJ” Jaunzems has a ton of photo’s from the old days… You should see if he would donate them to your collection…
I think it’s a great thing that you have put together an historical clearing house for all this memorable stuff. It is honorable that you have included the N.O.S.G. / N.S.W.G. - UDT / SEAL, BSU, MST, SEAL SUPPORT, BJU artifacts.
Thank you,
John R. Rapp - Marine Safety Deputy
Washtenaw County Sheriff
855 Augusta Drive
Rochester Hills, Mi. 48309
Webmaster's NOTE:
John, ask Jauzems to send me some. Riojas
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
FROGS, buy the VIETNAM
Magazine Dec. 2008 and read the article about Nguyen Van Kiet's &
Tom Norris' Amazing Rescue of Bat21 Bravo
----- Original Message ----- From: Kiet Nguyen To: Kiet Nguyen ; Jari Salo Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008
Subject: Vietnam Magazine
Dear Jari,
Here is the information that you have asked me. the Vietnam magazine December 2008
has not been issued now. Sorry, I can only share with you the copy attachments by this email until I can get
the Vietnam magazine from the newstand. You can access more information
if you look into www.HistoryNet.com.
You can search there and know more about the features that will
written in the Vietnam magazine that will be on the market in December
2008.
Best wishes,
Kiet Nguyen
Webmaster's NOTE: Kiet
Thank you for keeping me informed. I shall await the publication
of your article in the Vietnam Magazine this coming December 2008.
and here it is !
Unsung
Hero in the Amazing Rescue of
Bat 21 Bravo: Nguyen Van
Kiet's courage and courage .
Go to NAVY LOG: http://www.navylog.org/
to see if you can find any of your shipmates Bio's. Search mine:
Erasmo Riojas if you will.
Dick Jan
donated by Fred Miller
this is a REAL WWII bill
Doc Riojas saw Hank Williams Sr. Perform on a Moonlight cruise on the Potomac
River, D.C. when he was stationed at USNH Bethesda MD 1949. Hank boarded the
ship from a motorboat when our ship was in Maryland waters, Hank sang three songs using three different
guitars; his launch came alongside and he departed. I got my ten bucks worth!
Dr.
Riojas
Brian
Keith Family
ROBERT
PATTERSON CLARK
Rate / Rank HMCM
Service Branch USN
Service Dates 4/1954 -9/1986
Born 8/21/1935 ROCHESTER, NY
Go to the
Navy Memorial Web Page and search "Doc's" name in the Navy
Log
1973 when I was a LT at Underwater Demoltion Team Western Pacific
Detachment (UDT WESTPAC). We shot about a 50 tons of Vietnam
retrograde bombs in Subic Bay in 100 feet of water and about 2 miles from the
Officer's Club. We stood off about 500 yards in a boat and keeping the
Filipino fisherman at Bay.
When the blast occurred the result was about a 200 foot plume of water.
The water turned gray and very blurry with several sharks and other fish
floating on the surface. This evolution had been done the year earlier,
hence all the Filipino fishermen looking for some easy fishing. It looked
like a LeMans' race start!!
This was a larger shot than the previous year and the windows in the O Club
were pulsating from the resultant air shock. We did a similar shot later
and had them open the club doors before we detonated the shot.
As far as demo work goes it was the highlight of my Navy career.
Denny Baber
It was an EOD job in which our local frogs assisted CWO2 Woody
Woodward.
BY:
William Bill Rudledge – HAL-3
Vietnam
1969 - 1972
(a kidnapped VC soldier) or SEAL OPS. Oh yes those Navy Painted faces Called
SEALs ,they did make it exciting, I am proud to have known them and been part of
their operations.This is one of those YOU HAD TO OF BEEN THERE stories.
The SEALS had inserted into an area North West of Solid Anchor
at night and we stood by for the inevitable scramble while They did what they do
best, Scaring the shit out of the enemy. The VC/NVA were terrified of these
Painted Faces for the SEALs took the battle to them using Guerrilla tactics and
filled the enemies hearts with terror. We were scrambled just after sunrise, the
SEALs had Ambushed a superior number of VC, kicked their butts, had a man
wounded and needed a medivec.
[ Taken out of RAch Gia a Seal out on a prisioner capture. ]
We arrived on scene and put strikes in the triple canopied jungle where the
surviving enemy had escaped to. They were in small clearing but we couldn't drop
in for there were too many tall trees The SEALs used their M 60 and were
shooting into the trees about chest high cutting them down.The enemy had came
back and were sniping at them.
The Team was almost out of 60 ammo and we threw down what we
had, of which most hung up in the trees They also requested more ammo and to
bring out more of their team. We flew back to Solid Anchor and loaded up my bird
with 4 more SEALS,a 100 ft line and a couple of 2000 round containers of 60 ammo
and went back out.
We were overloaded and the outside air temp was high when we
got back to the area, the trail bird went in and dropped their load of ammo to
the Team, then went high to cover us as we came to a hover over the SEALs
position, who are again shooting it out with Victor Charles. We start taking
fire and hits.I was on the right door and dump the ammo and throw out the line
attached to our bird as the Seals exit the bird and rappel down my side through
the trees.
This all happened very quickly but our engine was over heating
and if we didn't get out of there soon we will crash down on top of the SEALs
position . I waited as long as I could yelling for them to jump off the line
into the trees, we start to go down and I cut the line with the last SEAL about
20 feet off the ground and we pulled up and got out of there cooling down the
engine, we came back around and the Door gunners stopped the enemies fire .
The SEALs finished cutting down the trees and we went in and
pulled the wounded man out The Team was extracted and knowing those crazy brave
Bastards they were back out again on another operation that afternoon or night.
A Navy Seal, Injured and Alone, Was Saved By Afghans' Embrace
and Comrades' Valor
14 service members helped rescue Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell
(LONE
SURVIVOR) in one
of the more remarkable accounts to emerge from Afghanistan. (Courtesy of Josh
Appel)
By: Laura
Blumenfeld
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 11, 2007; Page A01
The blood in his eyes almost blinded him, but the Navy Seal could
hear, clattering above the trees in northeast Afghanistan,
rescue helicopters.
Hey, he pleaded silently. I'm right here.
Marcus Luttrell, a fierce, 6-foot-5 rancher's son from Texas,
lay in the dirt. His face was shredded, his nose broken, three vertebrae cracked
from tumbling down a ravine. A Taliban
rocket-propelled grenade had ripped off his pants and riddled him with shrapnel.
As the helicopters approached, Luttrell, a petty officer first class, turned on
his radio. Dirt clogged his throat, leaving him unable to speak. He could hear a
pilot: "If you're out there, show yourself."
It was June 2005. The United
States had just suffered its worst loss of life in Afghanistan since
the invasion in 2001. Taliban forces had attacked Luttrell's four-man team on a
remote ridge shortly after 1 p.m. on June 28. By day's end, 19 Americans had
died. Now U.S. aircraft scoured the hills for survivors.
There would be only one. Luttrell's ordeal -- described in exclusive interviews
with him and 14 men who helped save him -- is among the more remarkable accounts
to emerge from Afghanistan. It has been a dim and distant war, where after 5 1/2
years about 26,000 U.S. troops remain locked in conflict.
Out of that darkness comes this spark of a story. It is a tale of moral choices
and of prejudices transcended. It is also a reminder of how challenging it is to
be a smart soldier, and how hard it is to be a good man.
Luttrell had come to Afghanistan "to kill every SOB we could find."
Now he lay bleeding and filthy at the bottom of a gulch, unable to stand.
"I could see hunks of metal and rocks sticking out of my legs," he
recalled.
He activated his emergency call beacon, which made a clicking sound. The pilots
in the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters overhead could hear him.
"Show yourself," one pilot urged. "We cannot stay much
longer." Their fuel was dwindling as morning light seeped into the sky,
making them targets for RPGs and small-arms fire. The helicopters turned back.
As the HH-60s flew to Bagram air base, 80 miles away, one pilot told himself,
"That guy's going to die."
Luttrell never felt so alone. His legs, numb and naked, reminded him of another
loss. He had kept a magazine photograph of a World
Trade Center victim in his pants pocket. Luttrell didn't know the man
but carried the picture on missions. He killed in the man's unknown name.
Now Luttrell's camouflage pants had been blasted off, and with them, the
victim's picture. Luttrell was feeling lightheaded. His muse for vengeance was
gone.
Hunting a Taliban Leader
Luttrell's mission had begun routinely. As darkness fell
on Monday, June 27, his Seal team fast-roped from a Chinook helicopter onto a
grassy ridge near the Pakistan
border. They were Navy Special Operations forces, among the most elite troops in
the military: Lt. Michael
P. Murphy
and three petty officers -- Matthew G. Axelson, Danny P.
Dietz and Luttrell. Their mission, code-named Operation Redwing, was to capture
or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban leader. U.S. intelligence officials believed Shah
was close to Osama
bin Laden.
Luttrell, 32, is a twin. His brother was also a Seal. Each
had half of a trident tattooed across his chest, so that standing together they
completed the Seal symbol. They were big, visceral, horse-farm boys raised by a
father Luttrell described admiringly as "a hard man."
"He made sure we knew the world is an unforgiving,
relentless place," Luttrell said. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is
totally naive."
Luttrell, who deployed to
Afghanistan in April 2005 after six years in the Navy, including two years in Iraq,
welcomed the moral clarity of Kunar province. He would fight in the mountains
that cradled bin Laden's men. It was, he said, "payback time for the World
Trade Center. My goal was to double the number of people they killed."
The four Seals zigzagged all night and through the morning until they reached a
wooded slope. An Afghan man wearing a turban suddenly appeared, then a farmer
and a teenage boy. Luttrell gave a PowerBar to the boy while the Seals debated
whether the Afghans would live or die.
If the Seals killed the unarmed civilians, they would violate military rules of
engagement; if they let them go, they risked alerting the Taliban. According to
Luttrell, one Seal voted to kill them, one voted to spare them and one
abstained. It was up to Luttrell.
Part of his calculus was practical. "I didn't want to go to jail."
Ultimately, the core of his decision was moral. "A frogman has two
personalities. The military guy in me wanted to kill them," he recalled.
And yet: "They just seemed like -- people. I'm not a murderer."
Luttrell, by his account, voted to let the Afghans go. "Not a day goes by
that I don't think about that decision," he said. "Not a second goes
by."
At 1:20 p.m., about an hour after the Seals released the Afghans, dozens of
Taliban members overwhelmed them. The civilians he had spared, Luttrell
believed, had betrayed them. At the end of a two-hour firefight, only he
remained alive. He has written about it in a book going on sale tomorrow,
"Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost
Heroes of Seal Team 10."
Daniel Murphy, whose son Michael was killed, said he was comforted when
"Mike's admiral said, 'Don't think these men went down easy. There were 35
Taliban strewn on the ground.' "
Before Murphy was shot, he radioed Bagram: "My guys are dying."
Help came thundering over the
ridgeline in a Chinook carrying 16 rescuers. But at 4:05 p.m., as the helicopter
approached, the Taliban fighters fired an RPG. No one survived.
"It was deathly quiet," Luttrell recalled. He crawled away, dragging
his legs, leaving a bloody trail. The country song "American Soldier"
looped through his mind. Round and round, in dizzying circles, whirled the words
"I'll bear that cross with honor."
News of a Crash
In southwestern Afghanistan, at the
Kandahar
air field, Maj. Jeff Peterson, 39, sat in the briefing room with his feet up on
the table, watching the puppet movie "Team America: World Police."
Peterson was a full-time Air Force reservist from
Arizona,
known as Spanky because he resembles the scamp from "The Little
Rascals." He was passing a six-week stint with other reservists he called
"old farts." In three days they would head home, leaving behind the
smell of burning sewage and the sound of giant camel spiders crunching mouse
bones.
Someone flipped on the television news. A Chinook had crashed up north.
Peterson flew an HH-60 for the 305th Rescue Squadron. Motto: "Anytime,
anywhere." Their rescues had been minor. "An Afghani kid with a
blown-up hand or a soldier with a blown-up knee," Peterson recalled in an
interview at
Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base in
Tucson.
That was okay with him. Twelve men, including Peterson's best friend, had died
during training in a midair collision in 1998. The accident, he said, "took
the wind out of my life sails." He just wanted to serve and get back to his
wife, Penny, and their four small boys.
Peterson is dimply, 5 feet 8, and describes himself with a smile as "an
idiot. A full-on, certified idiot." He almost flunked out of flight school
because he kept getting airsick. While the other pilots downed lasagna, he
nibbled saltines. He had trouble in survival training because they had to
slaughter rabbits: "I didn't want to kill the bunny."
Peterson dealt with stress by joking, singing "Mr. Rogers's
Neighborhood" songs on missions: It's a beautiful day in the
neighborhood.
Now, with the news of the Chinook crash, the tension in the Kandahar briefing
room amped up as a call came over the radio. Bagram needed them. Peterson
grabbed his helmet and a three-day pack. He asked himself, "What is this
about?"
Encounter With a Villager
The Seal wondered whether he was dying -- if not from the bullet that had
pierced his thigh, then surely of thirst. "I was licking sweat off my
arms," Luttrell recalled. "I tried to drink my urine."
Crawling through the night, as Spanky Peterson's HH-60 flew overhead with other
search helicopters, he made it to a pool of water. When he lifted his head, he
saw an Afghan. He reached for his rifle.
"American!" the villager said, flashing two thumbs-up. "Okay!
Okay!"
"You Taliban?" Luttrell asked.
"No Taliban!"
The villager's friends arrived, carrying AK-47s. They began to argue, apparently
determining Luttrell's fate. "I kept saying to myself, 'Quit being a little
bitch. Stand up and be a man.' "
But he couldn't stand. Three men lifted 240 pounds of dead weight and carried
Luttrell to the 15-hut village of Sabray. They took his rifle.
What happened next baffled him. Mohammed Gulab, 33, father of six, fed Luttrell
warm goat's milk, washed his wounds and clothed him in what Luttrell called
"man jammies."
"I didn't trust them," Luttrell said. "I was confused. They'd
reassure me, but hell, it wasn't in English."
Hours after his arrival, Taliban fighters appeared and demanded that the
villagers surrender the American. They threatened Gulab, Luttrell said, and
tried to bribe him. "I was waiting for a good deal to come along and for
Gulab to turn me over.
"I'd been in so many villages. I'd be like, 'Up against the wall, and shut
the hell up!' So I'm like, why would these people be kind to me?" Luttrell
said. "I probably killed one of their cousins. And now I'm shot up, and
they're using all the village medical supplies to help me."
What Luttrell did not understand, he said, was that the people of Sabray were
following their own rules of engagement -- tribal law. Once they had carried the
invalid Seal into their huts, they were committed to defend him. The Taliban
fighters seemed to respect that custom, even as they lurked in the hills nearby.
During the day, children would gather around Luttrell's cot. He touched their
noses and said "nose"; the children taught him words in Pashtun. At
prayer time, he kneeled as best he could, wincing from shrapnel wounds. A boy
said in Arabic, "There is no god but Allah." Marcus repeated: "La
ilaha illa Allah."
"Once you say that, you become a Muslim -- you're good to go," he
said.
Luttrell offered his own unspoken prayer to Jesus: "Get me out of
here."
On several occasions, he heard helicopters. In one of them was Peterson. Come
on, dude, show yourself, Peterson would silently say, looking down into the
trees. At dawn, as Peterson flew back from a search, he felt his stomach sink. We
failed.
On July 1, with Taliban threats intensifying, Gulab's father, the village elder,
decided to seek help at a Marine outpost five miles down in the valley. Luttrell
wrote a note: "This man gave me shelter and food, and must be helped."
The old man tramped down the mountain.
Preparing
a Rescue
At 1 a.m. on July 2, Staff Sgt. Chris Piercecchi, 32, an Air Force pararescue
jumper, picked up Gulab's father at the Marine outpost. He flew with him to
Bagram. "He was this wise, older person with a big, old beard,"
Piercecchi recalled. Gulab's father handed over Luttrell's note and described
the Seal's trident tattoo.
U.S. commanders drew up rescue plans. "It was one of the largest combat
search-and-rescue operations since
Vietnam,"
said Lt. Col. Steve Butow, who directed the air component from a classified
location in
Southwest
Asia.
Planners first considered sending a Chinook to get Luttrell, while Peterson's
HH-60 would wait five miles away to evacuate casualties. But the smaller HH-60,
the planners concluded, could navigate the turns approaching Sabray more easily
than a lumbering Chinook.
"Sixties, you got the pickup," the mission commander said to the HH-60
pilots.
"I was like, 'Holy cow, dude, how am I not going to screw this up?' "
Peterson recalled. His chest felt tight. He had never flown in combat. "You
want to do your mission, but once you're out, you're like, damn, I'd rather be
watching the American puppet movie."
At 10:05 p.m. -- five nights after Luttrell's four-man team had set out --
Peterson climbed aboard with his reservist crew: a college student, a doctor, a
Border Patrol pilot, a former firefighter and a hard-of-hearing Vietnam vet.
First Lt. Dave Gonzales, 41, Peterson's copilot, recalled that he felt for his
rosary beads. "If you guys are praying guys, make sure you're praying
now," Gonzales said. Master Sgt. Josh Appel, 39, the doctor, had never
asked for God's help before. His father was Jewish, and his mother was a German
Christian: "I don't even know what god I was talking to."
They flew for 40 minutes toward the dead-black mountains. Voices from pilots --
A-10 attack jets and AC-130 gunships flying cover -- droned over five
frequencies. Peterson's crew was quiet, breathing a greasy mix of JP-8 jet fuel
fumes and hot rubber.
As they climbed from 1,500 to 7,000 feet, Peterson asked about the engines:
"What's my power?" In thin air, extra weight can be deadly. He didn't
want to dump fuel; they were flying over a village. But he could sense the
engines straining through the vibrations in the pedals.
Peterson broke the safety wire on the fuel switch. "Sorry, guys," he
said, looking down at the roofs. He felt bad for the people below, but he needed
to lighten the aircraft if he wanted to survive. Five hundred pounds of fuel
gushed out. "That's for Penny and the boys."
Five minutes before the helicopter reached Sabray, U.S. warplanes -- guided by a
ground team that had hiked overland -- attacked the Taliban fighters ringing the
houses. "They started shwacking the bad guys," Peterson recalled. The
clouds lit up from the explosions. The radio warned, "Known enemy 100
meters south of your position." The back of Peterson's neck prickled.
At 11:38 p.m., they descended into the landing zone, a ledge on a terraced
cliff. The rotors spun up a blinding funnel of dirt. The aircraft wobbled,
drifting left toward a wall and then right toward a cliff.
Piercecchi lay down, bracing for a crash. Master Sgt. Mike Cusick, 57, the
flight engineer who had been a gunner in Vietnam, screamed, "Stop left!
Stop right!"
"I'm going to screw up," Peterson recalled thinking. He thought of his
best friend's wife, how she howled when he told her that her husband, a pilot,
had crashed. "Don't let this happen to Penny."
Then, suddenly, through the brown cloud, a bush appeared. An orientation point.
Luttrell was crouching with Gulab on the ground, watching them land. The static
electricity from the rotors glowed green. "That was the most nervous I'd
been," Luttrell said. "I was waiting for an RPG to blast the
helicopter."
Gulab helped Luttrell limp through the rotor wash. Piercecchi and Appel jumped
out and saw two men dressed in billowing Afghan robes.
Appel trained the laser dot of his M4 on Luttrell. "Bad guys or good
guys?" Appel recalled wondering. "I hope I don't have to shoot
them."
Someone shouted: "He's your precious cargo!"
Piercecchi performed an identity check, based on memorized data: "What's
your dog's name?"
Luttrell: "Emma!"
Piercecchi: "Favorite superhero?"
"Spiderman!"
Piercecchi shook his hand. "Welcome home."
Luttrell and Gulab climbed into the helicopter. During the flight, Gulab
"was latched onto my knee like a 3-year-old," Luttrell recalled. When
they landed and were separated, Gulab seemed confused. He had refused money and
Luttrell's offer of his watch.
"I put my arms around his neck," Luttrell recalled, "and said
into his ear, 'I love you, brother.' " He never saw Gulab again.
The Lessons
Two years have passed. Peterson, back in Tucson, realizes he may not be "a
big idiot" after all. "I feel like I could do anything," he said.
On a recent evening, he took his boys to a Cub Scout meeting. The theme: "Cub
Scouts in Shining Armor." The den leader said: "A knight of
the Round Table was someone who was very noble, who stood up for the right
things. Remember what it is to be a knight, okay?"
Peterson's boys nodded, wearing
Burger
King
crowns that Penny had spray-painted silver.
Peterson had never spoken to Luttrell, neither in the helicopter nor afterward.
Last month, the Seal phoned him.
"Hey, buddy," he said. "This is Marcus Luttrell. Thank you for
pulling me off that mountain."
Peterson whooped.
Such happy moments have been rare for Luttrell. After recuperating, he deployed
to Iraq, returning home this spring. His injuries from Afghanistan still require
a "narcotic regimen." He feels tormented by the death of his Seal
friends, and he avoids sleeping because they appear in his dreams, shrieking for
help.
Three weeks ago, while in
New
York, Luttrell visited Ground Zero. On an overcast afternoon, he
looked down into the pit. The World Trade Center is his touchstone as a warrior.
He had linked Sept. 11 to the people of Afghanistan: "I didn't go over
there with any respect for these people."
But the villagers of Sabray taught him something, he said.
"In the middle of everything evil, in an evil place, you can find goodness.
Goodness. I'd even call it godliness," he said.
As Luttrell talked, he walked the perimeter fence. His gait was hulking, if not
menacing, his voice angry, engorged with pain. "They protected me like a
child. They treated me like I was their eldest son."
Below Luttrell in the pit, earthmovers were digging; construction workers in
orange vests directed a beeping truck. Luttrell kept talking. "They brought
their cousins brandishing firearms . . . ." The cranes clanked. "And
they brought their uncles, to make sure no Taliban would kill me . . . "
Luttrell kept talking over the banging and the hammering of a place that would
rise again.
Graphic
Deadly Day in 2005
On June 28, 2005, four Navy Seals, pinned down in a firefight, radioed for
help. A Chinook helicopter, carrying 16 service members, responded but was shot
down. All members of the rescue team and three of four Seals on the ground died.
Marcus Luttrell alone survived.
NAVY SEALS KILLED ON THE GROUND Age Hometown
Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson 29 Cupertino, Calif.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz 25 Littleton, Colo.
Lt. Michael P. Murphy 29 Patchogue, N.Y.
RESCUERS KILLED ON CHINOOK HELICOPTER
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
Staff Sgt. Shamus O. Goare 29 Danville, Ohio.
Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature 35 Clarks Grove, Minn.
Sgt. Kip A. Jacoby 21 Pompano Beach, Fla.
Sgt. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles 33 Shelbyville, Ind.
Master Sgt. James W. Ponder III 36 Franklin, Tenn.
Maj. Stephen C. Reich 34 Washington Depot, Conn.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Russell 31 Stafford, Va.
Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach 40 Jacksonville, Fla.
Navy Seals
Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan 36 New Orleans
Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy 36 Exeter, N.H.
Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen 33 San Diego
Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffery A. Lucas 33 Corbett, Ore.
Lt. Michael M. McGreevy Jr. 30 Portville, N.Y.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric S. Patton 22 Boulder City, Nev.
Petty Officer 2nd Class James Suh 28 Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey S. Taylor 30 Midway, W.Va.
SOURCE: Department of Defense
snail mailed to me by my USMC, Korean War Homee, Henry "Gutz"
Gutierrez. We were in the same Marine Company in Korea, but
different platoons. He was assigned to us from his Weapons
company. He is alive and doing well considering he nearly lost a leg from
wounds received in Korea. Gutz lives in our hometown Laredo TX. with his
wife Marta.
This Poem was written by Clarence Ashby Presley, my best friend from Corpsman School until after the Korean War.
He died of the complicans of Alzheimer's Disease in Charlottesville, VA.
SEAL
Team Two sent in to Bay of Pigs some of it's men. The "Boys"
went back in to destroy Presidente Noriega's airplane and boat.
It's not just an aiplane. Here's a picture of the dash. This is
the third new one I'vehad over the past 10 years. All of them I've picked up at
the factory in Kansas. I took three days training and 15 flying hours at the
Cessna factory to learn the systems on this plane. This one sold for $410,000
and I have a total investment of $450,000 counting the taxes and other stuff I
bought for it. I fly it all over the country. It takes about 8 hours from
Missouri to Calif, and from Missouri to Florida about 5 hours.
----- Original Message -----
From: Franklin Anderson
To: doc rio
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009
Subject: Deceased SEAL members;
I sent an E-mail earlier and brought up the question of what qualifies
for KIA & KIT. I have reviewed the list and thought you might like
the article on Walsh and Samuelson.
As I said previously Doc's Hetherington and Cline were
on a Search mission for a buddy and were killed in a plane crash --I
have a clipping in my files to that effect. Richard Coats was in the
Phillipines and died of a Heart attack while training for CISM.
Fredrickson was TAD to the Army for training and died
in the Potomac river while on a training mission--their boat over turned
and Freddy made it closer to shore than anybody before dying. The
instructors had secured before the problem was over.
Jim Fox from TM 21 was being picked up by the Fulton
pickup system and the cable broke at the door of the plane, because
there was no emergency cut-off switch---There is film footage of the
whole incident. My question that I posed previously is what definition
are you; applying to KIA AND KIT.
I also mentioned Bill Robinson had retired and was
selling Real Estate when somebody cut his throat--still unsolved. Please
let me know what your parameters are?
Doc Rio is correct on his statements about Jerry
Waters dying in a Parachute Accident and Jerry "Indian" Sweezy
dying in ICU in a Shreveport LA Hospital. I strongly recommend
that before the final list is solidified, it be circulated again.
Franklin
WAIT, for the commercial to end for the
60 min video on Afganistan War
How long will euphoria over
Obama last?
"Barak the Magic Negro"
The SEABAG
There was a time when everything you owned had to fit in your seabag. Remember
those nasty rascals? Fully packed, one of those suckers weighed more than the
poor devil hauling it.
The damn things weighed a ton and some idiot with an off-center sense of humor
sewed a "carry" handle on it to help you haul it. Hell, you could bolt
a handle on a Greyhound bus but it wouldn't make the damn thing portable.
The Army, Marines and Air Force got footlockers and we got a big ole' canvas
bag.
After you warped your spine jackassing the goofy thing through a bus or train
station, sat on it waiting for connecting transportation and made folks mad
because it was too damn big to fit in any overhead rack on any bus, train and
airplane ever made, the contents looked like hell. All your gear appeared to
have come from bums who slept on park benches.
Traveling with a seabag was something left over from the "Yo-ho-ho and a
bottle of rum" sailing ship days. Sailors used to sleep in hammocks. So you
stowed your "issue" in a big canvas bag and lashed your hammock to it,
hoisted it on your shoulder and in effect moved your entire home and complete
inventory of earthly possessions from ship to ship. I wouldn't say you traveled
light because with one strap it was a one-shoulder load that could torque your
skeletal frame and bust your ankles. It was like hauling a dead linebacker.
They wasted a lot of time in boot camp telling you how to pack one of the
suckers. There was an officially sanctioned method of organization that you
forgot after ten minutes on the other side of the gate at Great Lakes or San
Diego. You got rid of a lot of issue gear when you went to the SHIP..Did you
ever know a tin-can sailor who had a raincoat? A flat hat? One of those nut
hugger knit swimsuits? How bout those roll your own neckerchiefs... The ones the
girls in a good Naval tailor shop would cut down and sew into a 'greasy snake'
for two bucks?
Within six months, every fleet sailor was down to one set of dress blues, port
and starboard undress blues and whites, a couple of white hats, boots, shoes,
assorted kivvies, a peacoat and three sets of bleached out dungarees. The rest
of your original issue was either in the pea coat locker, lucky bag or had been
reduced to wipedown rags in the engineroom. Underway ships were not ships that
allowed a vast accumulation of private gear. Hobos who lived in discarded
refrigerator crates could amass greater loads of pack rat crap than fleet
sailors. The confines of a canvas-back rack, side locker and a couple of bunk
bags did not allow one to live a Donald Trump existence. Space and the going pay
scale combined to make us envy the lifestyle of a mud hut Ethiopian. We were the
global equivalents of nomadic Mongols without ponies to haul our stuff.
And after the rigid routine of boot camp we learned the skill of random
compressed packing... Known by mothers world-wide as 'cramming'. It is amazing
what you can jam into a space no bigger than a breadbox if you pull a watch cap
over a boot and push it in with your foot. Of course it looks kinda weird when
you pull it out but they never hold fashion shows at sea and wrinkles added
character to a salty appearance. There was a four-hundred mile gap between the
images on recruiting posters and the actual appearance of sailors at sea. It was
not without justifiable reason that we were called the tin-can Navy.
We operated on the premise that if 'Cleanliness was next to Godliness', we must
be next to the other end of that spectrum... We looked like our clothing had
been pressed with a waffle iron and packed by a bulldozer.
But what the hell did they expect from a bunch of jerks who lived in the crew's
hole of a 2250 Gearing/Fletcher can. After a while you got used to it... You got
used to everything you owned picking up and retaining that
"distinctive" aroma... You got used to old ladies on busses taking a
couple of wrinkled nose sniffs of your peacoat then getting up and finding
another seat...
Do they still issue seabags? Can you still make five bucks sitting up half the
night drawing a ships picture on the side of one of the damn things with black
and white marking pens that drive old masters-at-arms into a 'rig for heart
attack' frenzy? Make their faces red... The veins on their neck bulge out... And
yell," What in God's name is that all over your seabag?"
"Artwork, Chief... It's like the work of Michelangelo... My ship... Great
huh?" "Looks like some damn comic book..."
Here was a man with cobras tattooed on his arms... A skull with a dagger through
one eye and a ribbon reading 'DEATH BEFORE SHORE DUTY' on his shoulder...
Crossed anchors with 'Subic Bay 1945' on the other shoulder... An eagle on his
chest and a full blown Chinese dragon peeking out between the cheeks of his
butt. If anyone was an authority on stuff that looked like a comic book, it had
to be this Chief.
Sometimes I look at all the crap stacked in my garage, close my eyes and smile,
remembering a time when everything I owned could be crammed into a canvas bag.
SEAMAN J. RUPPENTHAL Basic Underwater Demolition School (BUD/S)
There were times when I didn’t even want to move anymore, but
the other guys had the spark.
We held each other together. If somebody was losing his wind in the boat,
someone else would take care of him, and the other four would bring up the
stroke.
I’m getting it into my head that the limitations I used to carry were
needless. Anybody can make it through here if they want to do it.
Jim
"Patches" Watson in White shirt
AFTERBURNER: http://www.pjtv.com/v/2343 "MSNBC & The Great Liberal Narrative: The Truth About The
Tyranny of Political Correctness" was interesting and hope you do
too.
Hit "REFRESH" if you have problems with LINK
opening.
David
Goggins SEAL
Pure
USNavy Scuttlebutt
Me
and Willy were lollygagging by the scuttlebutt after being aloft to boy
butter up the antennas and were just perched on a bollard eyeballing a
couple of bilge rats and flangeheads using crescent hammers to pack
monkey shit around a fitting on a handybilly.
All
of a sudden the dicksmith started hard-assing one of the deck apes for
lifting his pogey bait. The pecker-checker was a sewer pipe sailor and
the deckape was a gator. Maybe being blackshoes on a bird farm
surrounded by a gaggle of cans didn't set right with either of those
gobs.
The
deck ape ran through the nearest hatch and dogged it tight because he
knew the penis machinist was going to lay below, catch him between decks
and punch him in the snot locker. He'd probably wind up on the binnacle
list but Doc would find a way to gundeck the paper or give it the deep
six to keep himself above board.
We
heard the skivvywaver announce over the bitch box that the breadburners
had creamed foreskins on toast and SOS ready on the mess decks so we cut
and run to avoid the clusterfuck when the twidgets and cannon cockers
knew chow was on.
We
were balls to the wall for the barn and everyone was preparing to hit
the beach as soon as we doubled-up and threw the brow over. I had a
ditty bag full of fufu juice and after a trip through the rain locker, I
was gonna spread on thick for the bar hogs with those sweet
bosnias
.
Sure
beats the hell out of brown bagging. Might even hit the acey-duecy club
and try to hook up with a westpac widow - they're always leaving snail
trails on the dance floor on amateur night.
author
unknown
A Question of : U.S. Navy Enlisted
Classification of HM-8492 "B"
----- Original Message -----
From: WGRather [at] aol.com
To: docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9:28 AM
Subject: I received an email with all these email addresses, are
you a SEAL?
Rio,
Thanks for double checking your database. However, I knew my name
would not be on the database list.
In 1969 the Navy established an alternative 8492 (SpecOpTech)
designation as 8492"B". This was originally for , Navy Beach
Jumpers, USMC recon, ANGLICO and Beach Master units. I had already
attended Jump school and Scuba school with 3rd Forced Recon in 1964.
In 1970 I was assigned to Qui Nhon, Naval Advisor Group with
Chief Ron Decker (EOD) but he was later reassigned to Danang and I
remained as the EOD advisor. I did go to a VN 'hell week' at Cam Ranh
Bay. The rational for that, I never knew, but just went as told.
My primary focus in Qui Nhon was laision with Nha Trang for
support. The job only lasted 7 months and I transferred to ANGLICO, at
MACV Hdqt, Saigon. Our base was inside the VN Special Forces Airborne
school where we were allowed as many jumps with the students as we
wanted. (great duty) I know this is long winded but wanted to let you
know the how and why I got my 8492"B" designation.
Thanks.
W.Grey Rather
Doc Riojas NOTE:
By your own admission you ARE NOT a SEAL Corpsman.
Your name is not on the UDT/SEAL Corpsmen database.
From: doc riojas
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 1:21 PM
To: Robert Russell
Cc: Steve Robinson
Subject: Have you any knowledge of SEAL HM's have an NEC HM-8492
"A" and "B"?
THis HM claims to have a Spec Ops HM-8492 "B"
i wonder if it is true, i never heard of us HM's being "A" and
"B"
I believe this Corpsman, who may have worked along side SEALs, believes
that he is a SEAL by proxy.
There is no such thing as SpecOpsHM "A" and
"B", case closed.
riojas
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Robinson
To: 'doc riojas' ; 'Robert Russell'
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:25 PM
Subject: Have you any knowledge of SEAL HM's have an NEC HM-8492
"A" and "B"?
Doc Riojas,
I’m passing this along to RD Russell to let him have a peek at it.
There have been several previous cases where “Beach Jumpers” have
tried very hard to cash in on the idea that they are/were “spec ops”
types… either the comm/et guys or the medicos attached to their unit.
They were NOT “spec ops” and the Navy’s NEC codes were adjusted to
correct that impression. One well known case was a Beach Jumper named
Silbergeld who had cobbled together a HUGE story of “spec ops” and
“liaison” work with ST-1… and managed to get it translated into
almost 20 years of full VA disability benefits from “combat wounds”.
When his case was turned over to the FBI and they decided to prosecute,
intending to obtain full repayment plus fines, Mr. Silbergeld sucked on
the business end of his 9mm pistol.
As you well know, during the Vietnam War, BUMED (USN Bureau of Medicine)
stipulated that US Navy Hospital Corpsmen were trained/tasked/required
to render medical aid, assistance, and comfort to the injured, and
further stipulated that US Navy Hospital Corpsmen were NOT permitted to
participate in the UDT/SEAL training which was intended/designed to
result in their tasking as aggressors in combat. As a result, medical
personnel were taken from the graduates of the Fleet Marine Force
training – Navy Hospital Corpsmen who were destined to serve with the
USMC – and they were assigned to various UDT/SEAL Teams where their
duties DID include going in harm’s way with SEALs in combat. Those
medical men ARE LISTED in the SEAL Database and specifically annotated
with the word “CORPSMAN”.
It was not until shortly AFTER the end of the Vietnam War that BUMED’s
official position on this matter began to change. It was decided that US
Navy Hospital Corpsmen who were to be assigned to the UDT/SEAL Teams
must attend and successfully complete at least a portion of the BUD/S
Training course. Thus the first group of FMF Hospital Corpsmen to also
complete the 3rd (last) Phase of BUD/S training graduated in April 1976.
Within FIVE (5) calendar years, however, ALL CORPSMEN being assigned to
the UDT/SEAL Teams were required to be legitimate graduates of the full
BUD/S Training course. From that point onward (roughly 1981) any Navy
Hospital Corpsman who was tasked/trained for duties as a SEAL Operator
(Combatant Swimmer, SEAL) was a full/complete graduate of BUD/S Training
and carried the Secondary NEC of 5326.
With all of this in mind, I am uncertain when the actual term “Special
Operations” and the related abbreviation “Spec Ops” came into
regular use. You and RD know far more than I about the details of the
MEDICAL portion of the NSW house, and I’d have to default to you two
for a pronouncement on this guy.
Description
of NEC: Provides medical services for personnel engaged in direct
support of Special Warfare (SEAL) Teams. Performs first aid and minor
surgery and renders routine and emergency medical care. Instructs and
advises regarding the prevention of illness or injuries and treatments
associated with swimming, SCUBA diving and airborne and amphibious
operations. Operates the pressure chamber to run pressure and oxygen
tolerance tests and treats diving medical disorders. Enters pressure
chamber to care for patients suffering from decompression sickness.
Performs underwater diving duties as required by military training and
operations.
Source
ratings:HM Paygrades
Authorized to Hold NEC: E3-E8 Training
Course: Course Mandatory Open to
Women: No SPECIAL
NOTES: 1. HM-8492 personnel serve with Special Warfare (SEAL) Teams
and receives familiarization in the recognition, handling and detonation
of demolitions.
2. Mandatory
training K-431-0021, Army Basic Airborne Training or Navy equivalent,
Joint Special Operations Forces (SOF) Medic Course. All members must be
SEAL qualified.
3. Personnel
must hold NEC 5320 or 5326 to be awarded this NEC.
Navy
Enlistment Classification Codes (NEC)
HM-8493
Medical Deep Sea Diving Technician
Description
of NEC: Assists medical officer in prevention and treatment of
illnesses associated with deep sea diving and high-pressure conditions.
Operates pressure chamber and submarine-rescue apparatus. Enters
pressure chamber to care for patients suffering from decompression
sickness. Performs diving and other duties related to underwater rescue. Source
ratings:HM Paygrades
Authorized to Hold NEC: E3-E7 Training
Course: Course Mandatory Open to
Women: Yes SPECIAL
NOTES: Must continuously maintain Dive qualifications to retain NEC.
Eric
F. Shellenberger
click on sign above to see video
Funeral
For " Hoot" Andrews
----- Original Message -----
From: marla and james andrews
To: wbruhmuller@comcast.net ;
VeriSEAL Group ; VeriSEAL Group ; Ty Zellers ; Tom
Tarbox ; Tara Andrews ; t.tysterz@verizon.net ; Shaun Chittick ; Sara E
Mosley ; Rudy Boesch ; Richard Craighead ; RD Russell ; Pete Carolan ;
Patrick Hoskins ; Patrick Hoskins ; Maggie ; Leg Martin ; Larry Bailey ;
Kevin Katsarelas ; KERRY CAIN ; Kathie Hoskins ; Jim Wallace ; Jim Cook ;
JanosRunner@aol.com ; Jake Rhinebolt ; Jack Saunders ; HStone6606@aol.com
; HERSHEL DAVIS ; Georg Doran ; Evan Hoskins ; Erasmo "Doc"
Riojas ; Eddie Otoole ; Drew Bisset ; Doc Martin ; 'Dee Clark' ; daug68@aol.com
; Dante Stephensen ; bruseal@comcast.net ; Bob Hightower ; bisset45@aol.com
; Ben Hoskins ; Barbara White ; Amanda Curtis
Subject: Funeral For Hoot Andrews
The time has come to fulfill Hoot's last and most
fervent wish, that to be buried at Arlington National Cemetary among the
honored dead.
A service will be held 16Jul2009 at 0900 at Old Post Chapel, Arlington
National Cemetary with ground interment immediately following. Arlington
asks all who attend to be present at least 1/2 hour prior to the service
and to provide their own transportation to the chapel and gravesite.
This date and time was chosen to accommodate those who may wish to attend
the SEAL Team 2 Reunion at Little Creek, VA and who may also wish to
attend Hoot's service.
Please pass this information to anyone I may have left out of this
sending.
Respectively,
Mrs. James H. "Hoot" Andrews
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free
from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
---- Original Message -----
From: Robert Russell
To: Doc Riojas
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007
In 2006 the Navy created the Special Warfare Operator rating, which
consists entirely of SEALs. The rating's specialty mark is identical to
the Underwater Demolition badge's original design but in silver. The
Navy Warrant Officer device for Special Warfare Technician is also this
same design in gold. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Badge"
Is BUD/S so easy a Caveman can DO it?We don't have this man's name. Mr. R.D.
Russell is still investigating his status. Does anyone know him?
Chris Haney, USNavy
SeaBee, 'Nam Seastory about SERE
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Teammates, I received the following email through the folks at the
POW Network (they get lots of weird stuff and pass it along to me
whenever possible )
Here it is, exactly as transmitted I hope maybe someone in
the VTC can help this guy. I'll ask Doc Riojas to post this on his
web site www.sealtwo.org
Hello all, I went thru SERE with 2 SEALs before we went to
Vietnam in 67 .
The SERE was at ; maybe China Lake ?? Somewhere in California . I
was a SeaBee but got paired up with 2 SEALs . We broke into a State
Prison Honor Farm together the 1st night of training. I have no idea
what their names were .
I have long since forgotten. But was wondering if there is a message
board for SEALs anywhere I could post the message about that
night....find out if they lived thru Vietnam or wherever they went. And
just in general have a laugh about that night. If you know of a website
like that I would appreciate any info you might have??
Thanks
Chris Haney
chrishaney [at] mindspring.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Erasmo Riojas
To: chrishaney [at] mindspring.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Subject: your sea story about SERE
your sea story about SERE will be posted on my web site and hopefully
somebody remembers these guys. I visited with the SeaBees up in ChuLi on
a trip to bum furniture for SpecWarGru Saigon. The CPO's had state
side commodes and a stateside bar. You men had it a lot better
than us SEALs.
Find me your origional message that went to the SEAL blog if you kept
it. I would like to see it.
Rio
From: chrishaney [at] mindspring.com
To: Doc Riojas , docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2009
Subject: your sea story about SERE
Doc,
Let me look for it....I think I sent it from a link on one of the web
pages I was reading about "Make Believe Seals & Special Forces
Guys" ...or the POW web site.
Yeah...we SeaBees didn't have it half bad...if we were anywhere we could
beg borrow or steal....especially steal from the Air Force......we had
pretty nice stuff. I was at 14 Gia Long in DaNang for my 2nd part &
didn't even carry a weapon. My cousin came to visit from Chu Lai &
thought he was stateside. I used to tell people it was so safe there
....in downtown DaNang .....because we were surrounded by Viet Cong
& NVA ....they didn't want to blow up or hurt any of their own guys
!!
Thanks, Chris
From: chrishaney [at] mindspring.com
To: Doc Riojas , docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Subject: your sea story about SERE
Doc,
Thanks for the reply
You have built a great web page. But there must be a mistake. These
guys are MUCH older than I am. ha.....Just kidding. It's amazing how
fast life goes by once you get past about 50 .
I had always wondered what happened to those 2 Seal's I went thru
SERE/POW training with at China Lake. When they let us lose on the range
they told us about the state prison I think either medium
security or honor farm. that was just off range. When they paired
me up with these 2 guys they told me 1st thing that was where we were
going.
I reminded them they said they would bust us if we got caught
anywhere near the place & if I remember right they said. "this
is what we'll be doing for a living, might as well get started now"
. We found the place right off. I stayed at the wire. The guard tower
& spot light were about 30 yards away . They broke into the galley
and stuffed their bloused trousers with food. I kept watch &
signaled them when it was clear to come out. They did, we were never
caught.
We evaded the people looking for us till the last day. Turned
ourselves in & went thru the POW part. I know as a SEAL that was
nothing compared to what those guys probably did afterwards. But as a
SeaBee it definitely made me think about how boring my time would be.
Ha.
I went to Adak after that then to NSA DaNang till discharged in 69 .
If you ever hear a story like this I'd love to hear what happened to
those 2 guys , if they made it . I know one of the other SEALs that was
with them had his foot burned when a "Guard", those guys with
the Big Red Star on their hats, came into our camp & kicked over the
big pot of hot water/food we were cooking. I thought the SEAL was going
to kill the Guard as he had to go for medical & got separated from
the other 2 Seals & was going to have to go thru the whole thing all
over again.
I Truly miss those days. Most exciting things I had ever done
up to that part of life.
Thanks for listening & God Bless You guys for everything you did.
If you ever run across this story please let me know. I'm sure
it wasn't anything compared to these guys lives afterward.
Take Care, Chris Haney CE2 US Navy SeaBees.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Bracken To:jimcat [at] consolidated.net;
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 9:11 PM
Subject: Fw: Farewell Luncheon for CAPT Wikul, USN
Damn . . . I really feel old now. Pete was in my BUD/S Class in 1971 . .
. and still hanging. 38 years on active duty. I was 20 and Pete was 17 .
. . he came to BUD/S right outta boot camp . . . an E-2 striker . . .
made it to O-6 . . . never would have made Admiral, though, because he
refused to leave the Teams . . . have to have "Diversity of
Command" to aspire to Admiral. Was Skipper of SDV 2 (SEAL Delivery
Vehicle - 2) for a few years.
For all you "Black Shoes", "Legs",
"Jar-heads", "Chair-Force" and "Civvie"
types, the "Bull Frog" is the current, longest-serving SEAL on
active duty. His name is added to the BULL FROG trophy, which he holds
until his retirement, at which time he passes it on to new next BULL
FROG.
Congrats, Peter Igor Wikul . . . but, I'll be sleeping with one eye open
for a while.
bracken Class 52 ec
Chuck Pfarrer's
Family Devastated by Katrina
I
am writing to you to ask for donations of household effects and clothing.
Look around in your attic and closets and see if you have some
"extra stuff" there is nothing too trivial-everything is
needed. Plates, cups, glasess, silverware, toasters, pots and pans,
utensils, sheets, blankets, towels, coat hangers -you name it.
Got extras? We need 'em.
Email from Paul and Sylvia Vaughn (Doc Riojas daughter) in Plano TX
Dad,
we took a gift card over today to Mrs. Chuck
Pfarrar. Paul gave it to Colleen Gammon; she was ecstatic!
Colleen said to thank our Dad VERY MUCH for the gift card. She
was very surprised and happy. She said Chuck is in Michigan getting
treatment for colon cancer.
The kids were playing tackle football in
the front yard when we drove up. Two cars with Mississippi plates
were parked out front. One of the little girls told Paul she was
from Biloxi but that her house isn't there anymore.
Colleen said everyday she gets at least one phone
call from a SEAL or former SEAL asking what they can do to help. I
noticed she was carrying around a school supply list from the school
district. Paul said she's tired. All the women staying there
are bunking in one bedroom.
Paul & Sylvia D. Riojas (Doc Riojas daughter)
Second Email from Paul Vaugh (my son
in law):
Her eyes had tears in them. She looked
exhausted and gave us hugs. I told her to call me if they need anything.
Later, we will drop some Lubys gift certs by. Tons of kids running around.
Or maybe McDonalds.
Paul Vaughn
----- Original Message -----
From:Kiet Nguyen, LDNN
(Vietnamese SEAL) American War Hero, recepient of the U.S. Navy Cross
To: Doc Rio, HMC (SEAL) USN Ret.
Cc: Larry Bailey, Capt (SEAL) USN Ret.
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2005 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: Thank you very much for all your emails and phone
calls about our situation with Rita and to wish us well
Hi Doc,
We just received a "Thanking Card with
Chuck's family picture." (Attached picture)
Thuy and I have moved very much about his kind
words and picture with whole bunch of little kids make us so emotional.
We only want to "Thanks God" for what
we have heard and response by your voice.
Doc, You are the man of our Frog's community.
God bless you and Lou as well as our brother
Chuch and his family.
Kiet & Thuy Nguyen
CHUCK
Pfarrer (SEAL) and Family is a Katrina Survivor but lost his home and
everything!
Rio
We have a Team Mate & family in trouble. If you can help please do so.
Rio Chuck Pfarrer came through BUD/S class 114 in 1981. He served with
the East Coast Teams and was in Beirut when the Marine barracks blew up.
He is a member of the UDT/SEAL Association. Pam and I are sending a check
made out to "Charles Pfarrer" and let him figure out where it
should go. Chuck originaly wrote to Maynard Weyers and Maynard sent it to
us to fan out.
Hoo Yah!!!!
RD Russell and Pam
below is his email to Maynard Weyers.
Second Email from RD Russell:
Chuck Pfarrer is also in a battle with Stage three
colorectal cancer that had spread into his lymphatic system, millions of
cancer cells had metastasized throughout his body. The doctors have
removed the main tumor, lymph nodes and 12 inches of his large intestine.
He got a secondary infection in the surgical wound and spent 3 weeks in
the hospital with a tube in his nose. He has also indured 6 months of
Chemo with the side effects of skin lesions, chronic nausea, mental
confusion,fatigue, and ulcerating mouth sores.
to: R.D. Russell,
I have a direct action request, and I wonder if you'd pass it
along. My family's home town is (was) Biloxi. We've lost
three houses and all possessions, but thankfully, we're all fine.
If you could pass this email along to the frog family, I'd appreciate
it. It's a chance to contribute DIRECTLY to three refugee
families.
Friends are the riches of the world.
Thanks, Chuck Pfarrer.
================================================================================
From Chuck Pfarrer to Maynard Weyers
:
Friends-
Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and the kind offers of
help since Katrina destroyed our three family homes in and around Biloxi.
I can update the situation a little now.
The flooding of New Orleans has been getting the lion's share of the
publicity and the relief efforts, but the damage is much wider. In
Mississippi the cities of Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and
Pascagoula are destroyed. Totally destroyed. The damage is
worse than Camille (1969) which was previously regarded as the first
"super hurricane" of the 20th century.
Katrina was no lady. The Gulf Coast of Mississippi is a wasteland of
debris and tragedy.
I can tell you with great thankfulness that we lost no one in the family.
Others were not so lucky-- several of our neighbors in Langley Point
and Pass Christian tried to shelter in place and were killed.
The family rode out the landfall 15 miles north of I-10 in the home of a
friend. The home was in the lee of a small ridge in the pine
woods. This little bit of shelter certainly saved them.
There was some damage to that house as well, but the structure held.
All came through.
Pat and Joni, Sean and Babs, Katie and James lost their houses and all
their possessions. Mom and Dad's and Sean's homes were
destroyed down to the foundations on Langley Point in Biloxi. Katie
and James' place in Pass Christian was also a total loss. The
families got out with little more than the clothing on their backs.
Brother Sean is an officer serving on a research ship of the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA); his ship was docked in
Pascagoula. Following the storm, our family was able to get to the
ship and get out the message that they'd survived. The ship was an
oaisis for them--- it was the only place for a hundred miles with water
and electricity.
All have now evacuated to Dallas and are staying with my sister Colleen.
Six adults and six kids-hard to believe it, but our families join more
than 250,000 refugees in the Dallas area alone. Many hundreds of
thousands more people were made homeless.
Needless to say, all of our families are starting over, from scratch.
Pat said to Joni, that after 49 years of marriage she's starting out as a
June Bride.
I am writing to you to ask for donations of household effects and
clothing. Look around in your attic and closets and see if
you have some "extra stuff" there is nothing too
trivial-everything is needed. Plates, cups, glasess, silverware,
toasters, pots and pans, utensils, sheets, blankets, towels, coat hangers
-you name it. Got extras? We need 'em.
Second hand clothing is also needed. Anything that doesn't
fit us will be passed along to other needy families. The kids are
1 boy, aged 11, 1 girl age 9, 1 girl age 4, 1 boy aged 6, and 1
boy aged 3. You name it. Shoes, socks, shorts, pants
and dresses, winter coats to t-shirts--- we need it all.
Box up your stuff and send it to:
Pfarrer Family
% Colleen Gammon (she
is Chuck's sister)
8013 Mineral Springs Ct.
Plano, TX 75025
(469) 633 0405
(972) 335 7225
Thank you so much. I promise, the time you spend looking in
closets will be greatly appreciated by us. Again, no item is too
"odd"-- we've lost three households worth of stuff.
Friends are the riches of the world. Thank you for helping
us.
FITH!
Chuck Pfarrer
There is a time when doing the talk is not enough!
Pam
and I are sending a check made out to "Charles Pfarrer" and let
him figure out where it should go.
Pam and RD Russell in Colorado
to my SEAL Email list:
Hopefully you will also send it to all your
friends and teamates.
I have also sent this info to my civilian friends and my
relatives with instructions that any donation, no matter how small will be
significant to Chuck and his family. I have also asked
them to buy Chuck's book.
Our prayers for the Pfarrer's and all of the Katrina
survivors. We sent a Walmart Gift Card.
"Doc" Riojas
Pearland TX
Doc
I sent
50# clothing Friday and have another box with children's cloths, games,
& appliances going tomorrow or Tuesday. Our son in Memphis is
working on a box as well. Will also send gift card so they can buy
something special for themselves.
BIll Daugherty and Cindy in Okahoma
Thanks Doc!
It is very good advise of your to help
Chuck Pfarrer.
I have discuss with my LDNN members to send help
for Chuck's family. I have mentioned one other email is: Chuck is
in cancer treatment at Michigan hospital. That is more
worried some for his wife and the kids too.
May God bless Chuck and his family.
Kiet Nguyen LDNN in California
Warrior Soul : The Memoir of a Navy SEAL
(Hardcover) by Chuck Pfarrer "IT
WAS A FRIDAY NIGHT, and Gate 14 at Norfolk International was not
crowded..."
Bellaire author and former Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer. By
TOM CARR
Record-Eagle staff writer
http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/jan/25npeopl.htm
BELLAIRE — Don’t let the Rambo-like picture on the
front of Chuck Pfarrer’s book “Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy
SEAL” fool you.
Sure, the book — 332 pages, Random House — is a
real-life adventure of one man’s experience as an elite fighter for the
military.
It includes his harrowing mission in Beirut, Lebanon
in 1983 during seven months of street fighting and the bombing of the U.S.
Marine headquarters there. It also includes his part in surrounding an
Egyptian airliner carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille
Lauro in 1985.
One part he hopes will set it apart from other
military memoirs is the tale of his inner struggle. He tells how being
emotionally distant served him in his career, but it also wrecked a series
of relationships.
“Now, there’s a whole shelf at Border’s with
this kind of book,” said Pfarrer, 46, from his Bellaire home, where he
lives with his wife, Stacey Truesdell, who had summered here all her life.
“The difference is the emotional candor that I
think sets this one apart, or at least I hope it does,” he added.
Still, there is plenty of action in the book.
“People read this kind of book for sort of an
adventure and the life is somewhat of an adventure,” he said.
Pfarrer was attending California State University at
Northridge and studying to be a psychologist when a devastating break-up
with a girlfriend made him reassess his life.
“I would spend the rest of my life trying to
convince rich white ladies not to be afraid of spiders,” he wrote.
“There has to be more to living,” he continued,
and thought of his father’s seven stars on his Vietnam service ribbon.
After grueling training, he embarked on a terrifying mission in Lebanon
and a moral dilemma when one of his men wanted to remain aboard a ship
rather than go ashore where the danger was, saying he didn’t want to
orphan his children.
Pfarrer was torn.
“Cowardice disgusted me because I feared it in
myself,” Pfarrer wrote.
Yet it wasn’t that simple.
“We both knew he was simply meat, cannon food, a
walking bull’s eye,” he wrote. “I knew that I could have been more
forgiving to a man who had simply been broken. But I was not because I was
slowly being broken myself.”
He also writes of the day-to-day concerns of standing
out in Central America or other places where not everyone welcomes
American soldiers.
“To be obviously a ‘norteamericano’ was to be a
target,” he wrote.
When going to a restaurant in Central America, he
would give a kid three cigarettes to watch his car, with the promise of
the rest of the pack when he returned. He’d also give the same to a
second kid as payment to watch the first kid.
“I’m pretty sure this works, because I have never
been car-bombed or ambushed as I returned to my vehicle,” he wrote.
Pfarrer said it takes some special traits to become a
Navy SEAL, and they don’t need to be a “national caliber athlete.”
“It’s more mental and spiritual than anything,”
he said. “If you’ve just won an iron-man triathlon, it doesn’t
matter. They’ll push you beyond what you can normally do.”
He also said the Hollywood version of the elite
forces focuses more on the physical than anything else.
“The profession tends to be more intellectual than
people think,” he said.
Pfarrer is proud of his service as he looks back,
though he realizes that what made him a good soldier did not necessarily
make him a good mate.
Some of Pfarrer’s inner struggles have been
resolved. He said he is finally in a good and lasting relationship.
But because of the struggle to get there, he would
also have mixed feelings about his son taking the same path.
“These are the smartest, bravest, best men I’ve
ever worked with,” he said. “That said, I have a 5-year-old son. Would
I want him to be a SEAL? I’m not sure.
This
Lifeboat is on display at the UDT-SEAL
Museum in Ft. Pierce Fl.
Former Navy SEAL swims across bay for
MDA
By SONJA BARISIC Associated Press Writer 5/30/97 6:14 PM
VIRGINIA BEACH (AP) -- As a kid delivering newspapers in Norfolk's Ocean
View section, Michael Bond
would look out over the Chesapeake Bay and dream of swimming
across it.
On Friday, the 40-year-old former Navy SEAL fulfilled that dream and
raised money for children with muscular dystrophy, various diseases that
progressively destroy the muscles.
''It's a good day for a swim,'' he told reporters as he waded into calm
but chilly 62-degree water off Fisherman's Island at 8:22 a.m. ''See you
on the other side.''
Eight hours and 30 minutes later, Bond waded ashore at Lynnhaven Inlet
in Virginia Beach as 150 onlookers cheered. His fiance, Lynda LaLonge,
ran into the water and gave him a hug and kiss.
''I'm a little wobbly and disoriented,'' said Bond, who added that his
ears hurt and his tongue was swollen from salt water.
Bond said he stopped only to eat two bananas and sip Gatorade while
treading water. About eight miles into the swim, a tanker had to be
diverted so Bond could cross a shipping channel.
June Plymate, 36, of Newport News, sat on a wheelchair waiting for Bond
to arrive. She and her 16-year-old daughter Becky both have muscular
dystrophy.
''I want to let him know someone gives thanks for what he is doing for
us,'' Ms. Plymate said.
The former Navy commando wore a black and blue insulated wetsuit to
retain heat, a yellow swimmer's cap and goggles. He swam freestyle the
entire way.
Bond figured it would take him eight hours to swim the 15 miles from the
island on the southern tip of Virginia's Eastern Shore to Virginia
Beach.
Bond prepared for the swim by training intensively six days a week since
October, lifting weights, running and swimming. His longest swim prior
to Friday was six miles.
Another swimmer, Ruben Quezada of Virginia Beach, joined Bond in the
water Friday to help him set a pace. Quezada, 28, also swam most of the
way. Bond also was accompanied by some SEAL buddies in three boats.
Bond asked people to pledge money for every mile he swims or donate a
lump sum. Quantrex, the Virginia Beach computer software company he
owns, also set up an Internet site to accept pledges.
About $5,000 in pledges had been received by Friday, but pledges were
still coming in. The money will go to the Hampton Roads Muscular
Dystrophy Association, which funds research, patient services, support
groups and a summer camp in Wakefield.
Bond said he was moved to help the MDA when he began designing software
for a children's hospital in Norfolk. Seeing children with muscular
dystrophy sitting in wheelchairs made him think of a friend's brother,
who died of MD, and of the kids he coaches in Little League.
Bond spent 13 years as a SEAL until devoting himself full time to his
computer business in 1993.
Bond isn't the first to swim the bay for a good cause. In the early
1980s, Eastville resident Inothe Roads did it to benefit the American
Red Cross.
AP-ES-05-30-97 1811EDT
Dave
Castro SEAL Trainer
Dana de Coster
Chris Cassidy SEAL astronauat
FIVE Navy Crosses !
Pres. Nixon at VN Embassy
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas Roots, Dolores Texas
Nic Walsh was in Seal Team One
He made 2 tours to RVN. One as as Platoon XO and one as Platoon CO. I
believe he was a grad from West Point and requested inter-service
transfer in order to attend BUDS. He received a head wound in RVN and
was medically retired. Nic decided to become a Doctor but due to his
injury, had to obtain a special waiver to attend medical school. He was
allowed the waiver but could not specialize in a field that had any
surgery requirements.
Nic became a bone and mussel specialist. He is considered one of the top
in his field in the world and is on a long term International Council
for that specialty. He is a Professor and Chairman of the Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation department of one of the top medical schools
and hospitals in the US (UTHSC) and has served as chair of the American
Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He also is responsible
for the Pain Clinic, Physical Medicine and Rehab portion for the Audy
Murphy VA hospital and is heading up the implementation of the new Poly
Trauma Center at that facility.
As a note, he has taken a personal interest in our wounded teammates who
end up at any of the facilities in this area over the last many years.
Nic was an excellent SEAL operator and OIC in RVN and has carried that
same spirit onto the medical profession.
I am never surprised at the accomplishments in both the Military and
civilian careers of our Teammates. No matter what the challenge, given
the opportunity, the majority of our Teammates will rise far above the
norm.
"I still remember the last World War I veteran I interviewed —
104-year-old Everett McKenney of Waterville and Farmingdale.
Lewis K. Ellis, the son of Benjamin and Frances (Sanborn) Ellis of
Brewer, trained to be a pilot, but with several others was demoted for
flying “out of range” during training.
Consequently, Ellis was assigned to underwater demolition team No.
30, a duty he loved. Now he is recognized as one of the founding members
of the Navy SEALS."
R.D.says: "He is on the list as
being in UDT-30 as an officer."
Ho
Chi Minh
----- Original Message -----
From: Harry Humphries hhgsgi [@]
hotmail.com
To: American Contractors; Erasmo
"Doc" Riojas docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009
Professor
Butler D. Shaffer teaches at Southwestern University School of Law,
LA, California. For the past two years he has been presenting his
students with a much-needed voting exercise, one that ought to be
performed in every campus across our nations. These days, students do
their share to undermine intellectual and other freedoms. Students—especially
those on the Left, who are the cloned majority—like
to think of themselves as gritty revolutionaries. With their fealty to
politically correct repressive speech codes, and campus-based, Kenneth
Starr-like inquisitions, our youngsters promote rather than quell
institutionalized violence.
On
the first day of class, and without any introductory ado, Prof.
Shaffer proceeds to hand each of his students the following ballot. It
reads: "It's time to elect the leader of a great nation, and you
have been presented with the following candidates:
CANDIDATE
"A": A well known critic of government, this man has
been involved in tax protest movements, and has openly advocated
secession, armed rebellion against the existing national government,
and even the overthrow of that government. He is a known member of a
militia group that was involved in a shootout with law enforcement
authorities. He opposes the gun control efforts of the present
government as well as the restrictions it imposes on open immigration
into this country. He is a businessman who has earned his fortune from
such businesses as alcohol, tobacco, retailing and smuggling.
CANDIDATE
"B": A decorated army war veteran, this man is an
avowed nonsmoker and dedicated public health advocate. His public
health interests include the fostering of medical research and his
dedication to eliminating cancer. He opposes the use of animals in
conducting such research. He has supported restrictions on the use of
asbestos, pesticides, and radiation, and favours government determined
occupational health and safety standards, as well as the promotion of
such foods as whole-grain bread and soybeans. He is an advocate of
government gun-control measures. An ardent opponent of tobacco, he has
supported increased restrictions on both the use of and advertising of
tobacco products. Such advertising restrictions include: [1] not
allowing tobacco use to be portrayed as harmless or a sign of
masculinity; [2] not allowing such advertising to be directed at
women; [3] not drawing attention to the low nicotine content of
tobacco products; and [4] limitations as to where such advertisements
may be made. This man is a champion of environmental and
conservationist programs, and believes in the importance of sending
troops into foreign countries in order to maintain order therein.
After
introducing the candidates, Prof. Shaffer asks the students to select
the candidate for whom they would vote. For two years in a row,
members of four classes gave Candidate "A" 47 votes.
Candidate "B" got a whopping 141 votes. Put proportionally:
Candidate "B" received 75 percent of the student-vote, while
candidate "A" got 25 percent of their ballots.
After
collecting the ballots, our Professor informs the students that Candidate
"A" is a composite of the American Founding Fathers,
among whom were Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Sam Adams, John
Hancock, and Patrick Henry.
Candidate
"B" is Adolph Hitler.
There
is an interesting postscript to one of these classes.
While
delivering a lecture in constitutional law, Professor Shaffer was
expounding on the Schechter case, where the Supreme Court struck down
the New Deal's National Industrial Recovery Act. The New Deal was
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to replace traditional American
laissez faire with a government-regulated economy, inspired to a large
degree by the socialist countries of Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany
(yes, both were principally socialist. But, as Ludwig von Mises
pointed out, Hitler demoted his entrepreneurs, while Stalin liquidated
them).
Roosevelt
had unconstitutionally arrogated to himself the unfettered right to
enact laws for governing trade and industry throughout the country.
Like his contemporaries in governmental anti-trust departments,
Roosevelt deployed codes for "fair competition" in order to
seize the property of citizens, often bankrupting them.
Prof.
Shaffer also informs the students how popular state collectivism was
throughout the world: Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Roosevelt
being the better-known examples, and how—hush,
hush—Hitler and Mussolini had been revered by
renowned people the world over, including Gandhi and Churchill.
At
this point, one of the students pipes up: "I don't see how you
can say that," he intones, "How could a man like Adolph
Hitler have been popular with so many people?"
"You
tell me," Professor Shaffer responded, leaning over the podium
for impact. "Just two weeks ago 75 percent of you in this class
voted for him".
The
lecture hall grows dead silent as the professor pauses to let the
point sink in.
Harry Humphries,
President, Global Studies Group www.gsgi.biz
click on
photo to enlarge it
----- Original Message -----
From: Thomas Blais
To: doc rio Cc: Newlhaus [at] aol.com ; James Cook
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 5:41 PM
Subject: Navy SEAL Invents Revolutionary
Healthcare Device
Dear Rio,
Thank you for sending this information to me. Of what
I know regarding Anatomy & Physiology this tells me that
much of what I have read concerning, " The Answer . "
http://www.theanswer2009.com/site.php
makes
sense. As you advise I will forward this information to ,
Dr. Stewart M. Kerr SEAL, current stationed at PNH Orthopedics. Hopefully,
it will be of value concerning the enhancement of my current
rehabilitation, and perhaps help other SEALs in the future as well. I
certainly hope so.
Did you know Chet Langworthy, Chief Hospital Corpsman,
First Class Diver of UDT 21? He saved my life at the afore mentioned
fall. Much later, Chet worked along side Doctor Lambertson in the
development of the Pure Oxygen based " Hyperbaric Chamber
" concept.
Take care brother. You, Lou Lou and family stay well, be
happy.
In
the early 80's, when Norm Ott was commanding officer of the East
Coast’s Naval Special Warfare reserve unit, groups of us could find our
way down to Det Caribe (Roosevelt Roads). He
known for inspiring initiative among his subordinates and in that unit, it
took very little to transform initiative into action
In one
instance, Tom Iwaszczuk (a
New Jersey
resident, a forgivable failing as failings go) and Mike Shortell (who had
such a heightened sense of OpSec that he refused to maintain a telephone
number), two fine reservists from a fine unit constituted one of these
groups. The
high point
was the time off in between, the weekend. Policy was you could check out a
Sea Fox or Special Warfare Craft, Light (SWCL) and
go to
St. Thomas
. They brought with them a Sea Fox coxswain whose identity is lost to
history.This was good because as lower level petty officers they could not
afford to get a room in
St. Thomas
. They simply tied up at the sea wall and slept on the boat.
During this one trip
they tied up behind a Coast Guard cutter, not a full sized cutter like the
Gallatin
, just a 30' to 40' boat, cutter CG41302 to be exact. At the end of the
day the Coast Guard just went ashore and DID NOT leave a watch on their
boat.
This seemed remiss,
but the Coast Guard is after all only the Coast Guard.
In the earliest hours
of Sunday morning, Mike Shortell or perhaps Tom Iwaszczuk, woke up.
Something was not right. Whoever it was shuffled around the Sea Fox and
then looked forward.
The
Coast Guard cutter was being towed away by a local in a fishing skiff with
an outboard. At
some distance out, was a larger boat with its engine running.
This gentlemen, was
what reserves were all about. They went to general quarters, cast off all
lines, whipped the covers of the guns, and executed a very fancy
buttonhook manuever and the local found himself looking down the barrel of
a .50 cal.
"Mon, don't mean
nothin'. Don't shoot, mon."
In the
end, the cutter was recovered, the local was turned over to the
authorities, and all reservists were awarded
NAM
's. As
commanding officer of reserve SEAL Team Two, I had the privilege of
presenting one of these awards three years later.
I always envied Tom
Iwaszczuk. I could see him in uniform some day, dandling his grandson on
his knee...
"What's that one
for Grandpa?"
"Arrr,
pirates. Pirates in the
Caribbean
."
To my knowledge those
were the first medals awarded to SEALs for action against pirates. Johnny
Depp’s Jack Sparrow hadn't even been invented yet.
And so there is
nothing quite new under the sun.
John Wayne Marcum Scholarship Fund
Make donations out to: Flushing Moose Lodge 7044 N. Elms Rd. Flushing, MI 48433 Please include "JWM Scholarship" on the memo line if writing a check
Robert
W. Shouse Jr.
This is what Gene Fraley was constructing. It went BOOM! in his hand.
KVH
USN SEAL Team TWO , Det Alpha , 7th Platoon .
1968-1972 Vypadá to dobře!
Members of our club are interested in the military history, mainly
era of the Vietnam War.
Our unit attending local SEAL Vietnam re-enactment events.
We have decided to portray members of the Navy SEAL 2, respectively
Detachment Alpha , 7th Platoon. We are all friends which form
our Vietnam Reenacting Community.
we are very pleasure that Mr. Erasmo "DOC" Riojas former
Navy SEAL 2 is our friend.
for info write
Michael: widowmakers502pir [at] yahoo.com in Czechoslovakia
Abortion
and Two Historic Parallels
(Some thoughts about Right and Wrong)
Hart Bezner, Ph.D.
Doc Riojas' question:
A lesson from the past, Will Obama demand what
the Reich Commissar asked Holland's Medical Professionals to report?
"To show that the medical profession cannot be forced to kill we
only need to recall an event in occupied Holland. On December 19,
1941, the Reich Commissar of the Netherlands Territories issued an order
requiring all doctors to report incurably ill patients. The
physicians of Holland rejected this order unanimously. When the
Reich Commissar threatened to withdraw their licenses, they returned
their licenses and removed their shingles, but continued to see their
patients secretly. They refused, however, to issue birth or death
certificates. The commissar, Seiss-Inquart, retraced his steps and
attempted to gain their cooperation in a more friendly manner, but the
Dutch physicians still refused. He then arrested 100 of the
doctors and shipped them off to the concentration camps, but the
remaining ones remained more adamant than ever, and quietly provided for
the widows and orphans. Thus it came about that not a single
euthanasia nor non-therapeutic sterilization was participated in by any
Dutch physician. They were truly outstanding in not taking even
the smallest step to compromise their ethical foundation. They
acted unanimously and they won out in the end. They should be a
model to our own physicians who feel they can’t refuse when requested
to kill. Since the war, however, things have also degenerated
badly in the Netherlands and the memory of the heroic Dutch physicians
who resisted so valiantly is now dishonored by their successors."
----- Original Message -----
From: info [at] udtseal.org
To: doc rio
Sent: Sunday, October 11, 2009 5:10 AM
Subject: LCDR Alford J. Ashton
LCDR
(SEAL/EOD) Alford J. Ashton USN (Ret) Class 35 (East Coast)
It is with great sadness that the UDT-SEAL Association informs the
membership of the passing LCDR Alford J. Ashton -
Class 35, US Navy Retired
LCDR Al Ashton passed away Saturday October
10, 2009 at 1513 after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by
his loving wife Faye and his family at the time of his death. He will be
fondly remembered by his many friends and teammates from his career in
the Navy with UDT-21, SEAL Team 1, SEAL Team 2, and the EOD Community.
He was born and grew up in Pittsburgh PA where he
graduated from Allegheny High School in 1963. Through his Navy career Al
received his Bachelor of Science degree from New York State University
in Albany NY.
He graduated from BUD/S training in 1965
(Class 35) and went on to serve in various assignments under Naval
Special Warfare including duties with UDT-21, SEAL Team 1, SEAL Team 2,
Inshore Undersea Warfare Group Two, and various assignments within the
EOD Group 2. Other assignments were OINC of EOD DET's (including Beirut
Lebanon); awarded the "Battle E" for efficiency at EODGRU 2,
Cecil Field FL. He was lead inspector on the inspection team for both
SEAL/EOD MINEWARCOM based out of Charleston Naval Station, Charleston
SC. His last military command was at JUSMAGTHAI in Bangkok, Thailand
where he retired from active duty. After retirement Al was ready to take
on new challenges in the EOD civilian community. His first civilian
employment was with EODT Inc., where he contributed significantly
through his work ethics which was instrumental in helping establish one
of the most respected and successful companies in the Explosive Ordnance
Disposal arena. These new responsibilities took him to the Middle East
numerous times and all over the United States as needed.
He was one of the most decorated SEAL's in
the teams during the Vietnam era having completed three tours. He was
wounded twice during those tours one of which was very serious. Some
thought he would never recover fully....as we all know he proved them
wrong! He was awarded 2 purple hearts. Al repeatedly demonstrated
bravery and heroism, receiving 35 awards and citations. The highest
award he received was the Navy Marine Corps Medal. He was cited for
having saved the life of the pilot of a helo in which he was a passenger
that crashed in the Gulf Of Thailand. He received a total of 5 Bronze
Stars with Combat V's along with numerous other awards. He is among the
few SPECWAR Officers to receive certification as SURFACE Warfare
Qualified. Al also attained Navy Diving Salvage Officer designation
after being commissioned and assigned to the USS Hoist.
Al Ashton's reputation as an exceptional and
accomplished athlete was widely known throughout the Navy and in both
SEAL/EOD communities. He participated in a host of athletic events
ranging from world competition (US Olympic Bobsled Team 1980; All Navy
(football, volleyball & softball) to having won Athlete of the Year
at the Naval Amphibious Base, Norfolk, Va. (1977,'78,'79).
Al Ashton is survived by his wife Alice Faye
Ashton, (Hartselle, Al), four children: David Ashton Pensacola FL; Kim
Ashton Wise (Larry) Smithfield RI; Michelle Ashton Fetzer (Stan)
Pittsburgh PA; and Keri Ashton Fike (Caleb) Hartselle AL; two sisters
Patti Ashton Stelter Tampa FL; Nancy Ashton Hilliard Pittsburgh PA, and
six grandchildren. Al was a lifetime member of the UDT/SEAL
Association Inc. and the National Navy UDT/SEAL Museum. A
Military Honors funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church,
Decatur AL and arrangements in will be made with Shelton Funeral Home,
Beltline Road in Decatur Alabama. Final information, times, and dates on
all services will be available and sent out by us later this week. We
will provide this as soon as we receive the information. An "At
Sea" Memorial Service will be held at the National Navy UDT/SEAL
Museum Muster at Ft Pierce FL on Sunday November 8, 2009.
DETAILS
Time:
1100 (11:00 AM) Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at First Baptist
Church Location: First Baptist Church; 123 Church Street;
PO Box 1667 - NE; Decatur, AL 35602; Phone:
256-353-0423; Fax: 256-353-0469 Funeral Home:
Shelton Funeral Home; 2105 Beltline Road;
Decatur, AL 35602; Phone: 256-353-1620 Flowers: Send to: Shelton Funeral Home Cards or Notes of concern: Faye Ashton; 288 Bolds Bridge Road;
Hartselle, AL 35640 Closest Airport: Huntsville Airport (HSV)
A Burial at Sea Service: will
be held at the UDT/SEAL Muster in Fort Pierce, FL on November 8,
2009.
----- Original Message -----
From: Bull Devine
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 1:00 PM
Subject: The "Frog" Community has lost a great one
Thanksgiving 2009: John
F. Callahan Jr. UDT/R (West) Class#19, UDT-11,
UDT-21, ST-2( Plank owning first CO), Chart House Restaurants
executive, ("The Callahan Cut"), Passed
away this morning from complications of liver failure in Peru Vermont
where he had been staying with his daughter, son in law and grand sons
since his wife Michelle passed away December of last year.
In January of this year John underwent surgery for cancer of the
liver. His health had been up and down since but he was well enough
that it allowed John to spend time with both his children (Chad and
Monica Callahan NY, Colleen and Mike Bunker VT) and their families.
Services are pending..
We will miss the Big Guy...Team Mate and Pal........Tad Devine, Class
20
----- Original Message -----
From: Franklin Anderson
To: Doc Rio
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 8:02 PM
Subject: RE: First ST-2 CO dies
Doc - Thanks for putting the info on John Callahan
out---One small mistake---He never was in Team 21. I was XO
of Team Eleven, and Cdr Thede was on leave to go to Vietnam,
and recommended me to be the CO of Team 2. I said-- I have
just been married a week and only XO since I relieved Bob
Terry in August. I recommended John Callahan and Mack
Boynton bought off on it. When John Left SEAL TEAM TWO, He
came back and relieved me as XO of Team Eleven and I went to
Vietnam and replace Roy Boehm. John, then got out of the
Navy and went into business with Buzz Bent in the Chart
House. Have a Happy Thanksgiving - Franklin
-----Original Message-----
From: Doc Riojas
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 7:53 PM
To: Franklin Anderson
Subject: May I share this information with the
men?
Thank you, may I tell all the guys , mi Capitan?
Rio
----- Original Message -----
From: Franklin Anderson
To: Doc Rio Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 11:41 PM
Subject: Re: May I share this information with the
men?
I think it would be appropriate --- John and I worked
very close. He was my assistance Platoon CDR and on another
WEST PAC DET of which I was the OIC, John was my second. Not
only was John a Good Officer, he was a loving Husband and
Father --- A Great Loss -
Franklin
----- Original
Message ----- from: Dennis
McCormack Class 23
From: DKMSEAL [at] aol.com
To: BullDevine [at] aol.com ; Sent: Saturday,
November 28, 2009 1:17 PM
Subject: Re: The "Frog" Community has
lost a great one
Tad & Friends,
I came across this quote in the Parade section of
the Sunday paper years ago, and used it when
talking about another friend of ours who preceded
us in that last leg of our life's journey, and
believe it is equally applicable when defining the
life of our friend and teammate John Callahan. I
was most fortunate to have spoken to John several
times a few months back, and he definitely was
determined to live his life to the full each and
every moment.
" It takes so much to be a full human
being, that there are very few who have the
enlightenment or courage to pay the price --- One
has to abandon altogether the search for security
and reach out to the risk of living and loving
with both arms. One has to embrace the world like
a lover. One has to accept pain as a condition of
existence. One has to court doubt and darkness as
the cost of knowing. One needs a will stubborn in
conflict, but apt always to total acceptance of
every consequence of living and dying—Anonymous. "
How more appropriate would it be than to include a
prayer for John written by our honorary SEAL, Navy
chaplain, Father McMahon, a man known to many of
us:
" Dear Father in Heaven, if I may
respectfully say so, sometimes you are a strange
God. Though You love all mankind, it seems You
have special preferences, too. You seem to love
those men who can stand alone, who face impossible
odds, who challenge every bully and every tyrant
-- those men who know the heat of loneliness of a
Calvary. Possibly You cherish men of this stamp
because You recognize the marks of your only Son
in them. Since this unique group of men known as
SEALS know Calvary and suffering, teach them now
the mystery of the Resurrection - that they are
indestructible, that they will live forever
because of their deep faith in You. And when they
do come to Heaven, may I respectfully warm You,
dear Father, they also know how to celebrate. So
please be ready for them (John) when they (he)
insert(s) under your pearly gates. "
HOOYAH to a fantastic true gentleman who now lives
forever,
Dennis McCormack Class 23
Doc Riojas,
Thought you would enjoy this:
Just remembered another John Callahan story, as
well as other SEALs I’ll talk about in a minute,
who were present on that 1962 European trip I told
you about when several members of Seal Team ONE
joined forces with members of Seal Team TWO. Rusty
Campbell, Lloyd Cobb and I were from ST-1. Maybe a
few others from the West coast, but can't
remember. We received a Special Forces brief at an
air force base intelligence building outside of
Paris, France, then on to Bergen, Norway, and I
was with a group who parachuted into Greece for
combined op with Greek commandoes.
Some of the team went
into Turkey, if I remember correctly. We were
joined in Bergen by John Callahan, and we operated
with the Norwegian Frogman, which required
swimming in the fjords, where the water was damn
near freezing. I would have worn 2 wet suits if I
had them. Guess who just dived in with no wet
suit? You guessed it, the big guy himself,
barrel-chested John Callahan and, being the
excellent swimmer that he was, left most of us in
his wake, freezing our balls off and John
seemingly to not notice the cold water. John was
indeed a man for the proverbial all seasons and
impressed all of us, Norwegians and Americans
alike, as he definitely stood in a class
physically all by himself.
Our trip to Greece was an
interesting one to say the least. We left from
France on an Air Force C-130, with a Special
Forces jumpmaster, who asked if I was going to
carry the radio equipment? He also asked if I had
night jump experience, which I told him I had,
which was not quite accurate, but figured since I
closed my eyes on all jumps, that was no different
from jumping at night. Well, there I was all
loaded up with radio equipment and I am at the end
of the jump stick. Green light comes on and
jumpers are moving rapidly towards the side door,
and swish, out goes the stick, but I have not yet
tried to move and, when I did, discovered that I
could not walk right with all of the equipment
tied around my legs. So, there I am hopping like a
rabbit to the door, with the jumpmaster laughing
his ass off, shaking his head that I was not going
to make it, but I did, and talk about a quick
opening!!
Great time, not! But then, any
time you land in one piece it is a great jump,
right? Well, not always. We were jumping into a
dry lake bed, which we did, but what we were not
told was that there were huge boulders on the
outskirts of the lake where I was to land,
twisting my knee for a 2nd time since I was
introduced to the fine art of parachuting, the 1st
being at Ft. Benning. As I recall, the chutes we
were using then were quite antiquated compared to
what we have today, and the term “steerable”
chute was a misnomer at best, at least that was my
experience. By the way, this was our 2nd attempt
at jumping, as we flew in the night before and DZ
was not lighted properly so we were taken to a
German military base to spend the night before
jumping the following night. German guards with
machine guns escorted us to our quarters. Just
like something out of a James Bond movie.
On our Greece trip I was the
crypto guy and had to check in with a carrier off
the coast of Greece, and Rusty Campbell was senior
to me, but had the duty of cranking the generator
so I could send Morse Code using the Diana
One-time pads, remember those? Well, the longer I
would hold down on the key, Rusty had to crank all
the more harder. He would get angry and could not
figure out why he was the one doing all the work
and all I did was push the key. Rusty and I see
each other at Old Frogs meetings and reunions, and
he still remembers that in great detail. We laugh
about that to this day. I told you about Swede
being there and remembered others from ST-2 as
well: As I recall, some of the others on that trip
include: Ens. Petersen, Benschwall (sp),
Awalzachuck (sp), who we affectionately called
“alphabet” because we could not spell his
name, and obviously still can't, Jim Tipton, Swede
Thornblom, Ron Fox, Stan Janecka (sp), and several
others, who definitely knew the meaning of party,
And party we did wherever we went.
Ron Fox had just broken
up with his girlfriend and we were in a cabaret in
Paris, and fixed him up with a singer and a few
cocktails to drown his sorrows. Believe she had a
wooden leg. Really, not joking. She could drink
all of us under the table; must have used that
wooden leg. Ha-Ha! I had told you in another
e-mail that I received orders to report to Little
Creek, while I was on leave in Pittsburgh before
heading back to Coronado, and when I landed in
Norfolk I was met by Swede and friends at the
airport and they took me to a home where a weekend
party was going on. Wish I could remember more,
but do remember having a great time. They picked
me up in a jeep much like the SEALs were portrayed
in some scenes in the movie Navy Seals.
Roy Bohem decided that he
liked me and wanted me transferred to ST-2 from
ST-1, which was not to happen, as within a few
days the entire Seal Team ONE, minus our
detachment working with ST-2 in Vietnam, was at
Little Creek as we joined forces with Seal Team
TWO and plans were made to counter the Cuban
Missile Crisis. Everything was compartmentalized
and we were not to know the entire war plan, but
after a few beers together we were able to
identify who was going in on the submarine, who
was with part of the main attack force, and who
was going in to blow up bridges as a diversionary
force, an obviously expendable team, at least that
is how we interpreted it, as I was one of those
folks on that demolition team. As you know, JFK
called off everything, and our asses were saved
for another day.
Many of the CIA folks who
were involved with the Bay of Pigs, as well as the
Cuban Missile Crisis were later to come to work
with us in Coronado, helping us outfit the Swift
boats, and then met up with many of them in
Vietnam in 1964, when they were involved with us
operationally on OP34A, but that's another story
for another time. I would ask that all readers of
this please excuse any of the embellishing
liberties I have taken, as they were made to
protect the innocent. Ha-Ha! Actually, I left out
the really good stuff!
Dennis McCormack, RM1(DV)
UDT-12 1959-62 ST-1 1962-65 Plankowner
TAD ST-2 1962
Letter to Admiral
Eric T. Olson USN
From: Richard Fradenburgh [mailto:froggsr12 [at]
yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 12:33 PM
To: Joe Rodregious &; TIP AMMEN; RICK ANDERSON; John C; BOB
CHANDLER; PETE COOPER; HOMER EDMONSON; Fradenburgh Family; Katie A
Fradenburgh; JUDY GAFFNEY; GARY JANNEY; KAITLIN LAMB; DON LUDLOW; Sean
Lynch; JACK MEAD; PAT MITOLO; Katie Shay; JOHNNY STAMPS; RANDY STUBBS;
DALE WOLF; WONDA WSTOLARSKI; FRED; Rob and Sherry
Subject: Three Heros who are getting the governments shaft
I thought you might like to see what I sent to USSOCOM on Thanksgiving
morning. This really has me up in arms, please forward this to anyone
you think might also be a little hot over how out great government is
treating our troops.
Doc Rio and John Roat, please pass this on your huge e-mail list see
that everyone gets this one.
A tribute to Dave Laconte: a
husband, father, son, friend and Patriot. He died in Afganistan fighting for his
country. I will miss you buddy.
I’m
cooking and ready to serve the New Year dishes.
How and where
are you going to spend the New year?
Tomoko Mimori. My NOTE:Tomokosan was our
interpreter at the inba-gun, Chiba, Medical Center in Japan. She helped us
a lot with Roy Dean Matthews admission to the hospital.
Doc Riojas webmaster
----- Original Message -----
From: "Extreme SEAL Experience" info [at]
extremesealexperience.com
To: "Doc Rio" <docrio [@ ] gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: Senior Chief Don Shipley
Doc Riojas,
In addition to EVERYTHING else I'm into, I've started a new
"Web-cast" show on Mon, Wed, and Friday. Turning BIG fast, I
spend a couple hours running my yap and answering SEAL questions to an
audience of young hopefuls.
Better than that... I call and interview by speaker phone BUD/S
Instructors, Snipers, Officers and SEALs young and old as EVERYONE has a
story and tips to pass along to the young guys...
Steve Robinson has been on a few times about his days in the Teams and
we entertain guys with phony SEAL stories.
Ken Garrett, Class Zero, CAPTIVATED the guys for an hour about Korea and
one guys sent a link to your site with Kens picture so everyone could
see who was talking.
Last night, I spent an hour on the site speaking with Bill Bruhmuller
and he BLEW THEM AWAY. I spoke with Bill before the show and asked if
that was his picture I remembered so well at Team TWO of him and a dog
at an award ceremony... Yep... Bill and Prince receiving Purple Hearts.
I found that picture on our site before the show, printed it and held it
up to the camera so everyone could see who was speaking.
In the end, Doc... Guys POUND your site during the show and I'd like to
get you on one night... Perhaps Wednesday at 1915 EST if you'd be up for
it.
Outside of that, Doc; I'd be happy to include
your link on my site and you can add anything I wrote on VTC on yours.
Most exciting for me, Doc... Is that I have the Largest and Only
"ALL SEAL" Channel on You Tube. I've made all the videos
myself except for a few like "Someone Special" and "Men
with Green Faces" that I put up.
Videos that help guys by answering SEAL questions; I make a video of
each course I do, and SEAL videos from all my Team pictures and all my
friends Team pictures they lend me...
82 videos in all, I average 4000+ views a day and 1,300,000 views total
and growing each day. That traffic gets funneled to my site and YouTube
is the number 1 reason I've done so well.
I'll include a few videos and a link to my channel... Have a look, Doc.
If you'd consider it, Doc... I would use your pictures on sealtwo.org
and link those videos to our sites.
Too much history, those pictures are incredible, and I'd do a great job
for the Teams with them.
I have written Doc Riojas
that I'd be happy to include
www.sealtwo.org link on my site. I also gave him my permission to add
anything I wrote on the VTC on his pages. Most all that information
is given on my web site.
What About me?: My first Commanding Officer on a Frigate in Japan
suggested I become a SEAL at Captains Mast if I liked fighting so
much... If the number of "Captains Mast's" for Bar Fights are
an indicator of how great a SEAL I was, then I was probably the finest
SEAL to ever wear a Trident...
I met my wife on my second ship, the USS McKee (Love Boat) at Point Loma
while I was teaching a deck seamanship class. We married and I
transferred to ACU-1 in Coronado, saw the guys going through BUD/S, and
the rest is history...
BUD/S Class 131, SEAL Team ONE, SEAL Team TWO, I retired in 2003 as an
E-8 with 24-years and deployed with Blackwater a few times...
My wife picked me up after Hell Week and told me she was pregnant. My
Son entered BUD/S at 17-years old, and turned 19, 22, and recently
24-years old on Combat Tours in Iraq as a SEAL.
He's also a much better SEAL than I ever was and he's never had a
Mast...
I used the Blackwater money to invest in Real Estate and have done very
well, but it's boring painting, putting in carpet, and evicting old
ladies, so I fell back on my SEAL days and created EXTREME SEAL
EXPERIENCE.
Ohhh, I can hear some of you guys cringe at that one, but I would have
been one of the NICE BUD/S Instructors that the Classes look forward to
seeing each day and not the NASTY Instructors the classes dreaded seeing
come over the berm...
I HATE seeing guys fail in any form and for any reason, but I do
understand that not everybody can become a SEAL... That being said
though, being encouraging and trying to find the best in each man is
what I do, and I'll let someone else crush the life out of them at BUD/S
if they choose to go that route.
I was asked to run the first SEA Cadet SEAL Training Course in 1992. Boy
Scouts in the Navy, they came to Little Creek for a couple weeks for an
ass-beating and some cool training... Very successful program, many guys
did well in BUD/S after attending and the Navy made it a regular program
each year until a few years ago.
I ran the program 6 times when I wasn't deployed.
Much of that training was conducted on my property in Chesapeake, VA
during those years and I loved doing it.
EXTREME SEAL is pretty simple stuff in concept. I take a pile of
charming SEALs as Instructors and run the guys through a couple weeks of
Training during the spring, summer and fall months...
I met a bit of resistance early from a few SEALs for what they
considered as my "Pimping the Trident" by running these
courses. I guess some guys feel that retired SEALs should just fade away
and work at a small town Police Force somewhere and never again mention
they were ever SEALs.
That attitude didn't last long when guys saw I was serious and that the
Training we were providing was BAD-ASS and extremely helpful...
The classes are a 50/50 mix of young aspiring SEALs and older guys
looking for some adrenaline. Guys have attended from Russia, South
Africa, Europe and all 50 States.
Guys start with "Hell Night," a 24-hour simulation of Hell
Week, but it's really not... I don't remember doing a cool operation in
Hell Week, learning some Hand 2 Hand, or casting out of a Helo, but we
do it here.
Guys start with the PRT Test at 0800 and get a team-building beating
until lunch. An hour to eat a great homemade lunch and we break them in
two groups for OTB Training and Hand 2 Hand for the afternoon. Finishing
at 1700, we break out the logs and WAKE THEM UP for a hour before
supper...
Camouflage and concealment, stealth and stalking practical, they plan a
night mission "Prisoner Snatch,"
and launch the Zodiacs at sunset.
A mile paddle up the Northwest River to their target, they assault
before midnight and after the debrief we POUND them until 0430 and they
paddle back and secure from Hell Night with a Helo Cast at sunrise.
A small taste of Hell Week, it's enough to slowly teach them to
"not quit" as the day gets progressively harder. Very tough
running it as a SEAL; make it too hard and guys fail; make it too easy
and no justice is done. The biggest hurdle is to NOT hurt anyone, as
wrecking someone's chances of going to BUD/S by blowing a guys knee or
shoulder is a BAD THING and I don't want WARCOM calling me...
We've taught them about SEAL attitudes and mentality by them watching us
conduct training, and shown them a bit of what they can expect at BUD/S.
The rest of the course is TOUGH as we teach them Survival, Rappelling,
and Shooting to name a few skills. They conduct endless operations and
night patrols while assaulting the finest training targets, with the
best OPFOR that few SEALs have ever seen.
The typical response from new instructors seeing the targets for the
first time is "DAMN... most of the targets we hit in training were
manned by the chicks in Admin."
The training is conducted with Airsoft Weapons, and they REALLY hurt
when guys get hit...
"All SEALs, All the Time," I'm VERY particular about who
instructs at my course, and we dispel myths, we answer questions, and we
give each man an inside look and a small taste into BUD/S and SEAL Team
that they can get nowhere else.
In the end... Guys can make a more informed decision to attend BUD/S in
the first place and are better prepared for the rigors...
Just like all of us though, it's up to the individual man to keep the
boat up during Hell Week and not quit. Some will, most won't...
I'm the owner, I'm the secretary, I answer all the phone calls, all the
emails, run the ranges, take all the pictures, make all the videos. My
wife and daughter do all the cooking, all the laundry, and all the
nursing.
A small family business, guys who attend are a face and a name to us,
and not a number...
Expanding faster than I can handle it sometimes, we will never put more
than 20 guys through a course at a time, but the expansion is coming
from incredible sponsorships and ever increasing training areas.
Zodiac Boats hooked us up with a half dozen F-470's for 1500 bucks
total. SOG Knives sent a few thousand bucks worth of multi-tools and
fixed blade knives. Weapons get donated, Nike sent a truck load of
stuff, and the list goes on...
We also spend a huge amount of time sponsoring young men with Cancer
during the courses and others with major health problems and severe
injuries. I WILL NEVER tell anyone that they can't do my course; If they
say they can do it, I'll make sure they succeed.
Very hard explaining what I do and why I do it, to the audience of men
on this site that I respect so highly. I don't take criticism very well
and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I do these courses to better men no
matter their background and no matter what they want to do in life.
We better them through adversity and guys have a great time here.
An enormous responsibility to SPECWAR and all you guys for the
reputation you've carved, it's not one I take lightly and I've seen
other courses that use the word "SEAL" that are little more
than a mindless-beating that make us all look stupid.
This ain't BUD/S Training... It's a confidence-building course and I
invite any of you guys to stop by and see what we do here anytime...
You take a group of veteran SEALs as Instructors, throw in a few
thousand acres of rivers and swamps, find a couple Helo pilots who will
allow you to live-fire shoot from their Birds, build a huge rappel
tower, and let things happen...
That's all I do, and every cent goes into building better training,
paying leases, instructors, and sponsoring a few young men who are down
on their luck...
One thing's for sure... I ain't buying vacation property in Aruba with
what's left over...
No matter who you are, or what
you did as a SEAL, being a member of this group of Bad-Asses of the VTC
is humbling. Always a new guy to someone, I kinda feel like I'm Day-One,
Week-One of BUD/S again being around so much SPECWAR experience.
Perhaps Steve should put me on Probation for six-months before I earn my
Cyber SEALs Trident...
----- Original Message -----
From: Joe DeFloria
To: Alan Routh ; Bruce Russell ; Bruce Dyer ; Dan Potts ; Dante ; David
Del Giudice ; Doc Rio ; Don Tyson ; Frank Anderson ; Frank Toms ; Gary
Parrott ; John Roberts ; mike Baumgart ; Ron Bell ; 'Terry Fowler' ; Tom
Marshall
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 8:16 PM
Subject: Navy SEALs
By Bubba on Dec 8, 2009 | In American Patriots, Troop Support, Our
Fallen Heroes, Tea Party
It would be interesting to create a poll with these two photos and have
people guess what's happening. I suspect that most would never assume
anything close to the real story. It appears to be a joyous homecoming,
a reuniting of mother and son.
The truth is not so heart warming.
The lady in the picture is the mother of an American that was ambushed
in Fallujah, Iraq. Her son was murdered. His body was dragged around in
the streets of the city, then burned and hung from the upper trusses of
a bridge. The murderers gathered to celebrate and have their photos
taken with the trophy.
The young sailor in the picture is one of the Navy SEALs that later
captured the leader of the band of terrorist butchers and brought him to
justice.
If the story ended there, it would still be an acceptable feel-good,
good-guys-win story. Unfortunately, that's not the case - this Navy SEAL
is facing criminal charges. Because, somewhere along the timeline of his
capture, the terrorist murderer suffered a school-yard fat lip, his
captors are now being charged with nothing short of war crimes and
facing discharge and imprisonment.
So, instead of celebration of justice served and heroes honored, these
photos record betrayal, compounded mourning and the effects of a
corrupting sickness.
NORFOLK, Va. - "It's been very stressful," said Navy SEAL
Mathew McCabe, 24, moments after his arraignment in military court at
Naval Station Norfolk Monday on charges that he allegedly mistreated an
Iraqi detainee.
The mother of slain Blackwater guard Jerry Zovko drove from Ohio to give
each of the accused SEALs a blessed rosary and lend them her support.
"These young SEALs are in this situation because they caught the
mastermind behind the death of my son, and not only my son and his
co-workers but also the marines who went into Fallujah after their
death," said Donna Zovko. "I am very proud of these young
SEALs and thankful to them. They did not do anything wrong."
May I ramble a bit? Think out loud, so to speak? I'm trying to make some
sense of this.
What title can I give to the mentality of a people that send their best
to defend the whole and then betray them? To what shall I attribute the
attitude of a people that habitually prosecute their heroes while
defending their enemies? What creates a culture that allows people to
vilify and isolate their most noble and deify their most corrupt?
I perceive more symptoms of a sickness, a corruption of the nation's
heart and soul. I am tempted to label it 'liberalism' or
'progressivism', but those too are just symptoms of the infection. But
this is nothing new, I recognized these symptoms four decades ago in the
shameful treatment of our warriors returning from Vietnam, in the
acceptance of Marines bombed in Beirut, in the ho-hum yawn of media
coverage of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down), in the return to mental
numbness after 9/11, prosecution of the Marines of Hadith, assault of
recruiters across the country, anti-war protesters at the gates of
Walter Reed Army Hospital ....
This sickness, this infection has gone untreated for far too long.
Americans are a tolerant bunch. We've patiently waited for the ingrates
among us to grow up and develop a sense of pride and awe in the
greatness of America. It's not happening.
I'm tired of waiting. I'm fresh out of tolerance. There comes a time
when the treatment for an infection cannot be postponed any longer, lest
the patient die.
Through history how many nations have habitually betrayed their
defenders and survived?
Donna and I left our home at 4:00am, Monday morning and drove to
Norfolk. We were in the company of four other patriots from the Raleigh
area: Don Gray of Military Appreciation Day and NC Gathering of Eagles.
Patrick Holbrook, NC Gathering of Eagles. Russell Pope, NCFreedom.us and
Randy Dye, Randy's Right Blog and NCFreedom.us
We joined a hundred or more others at Gate 5 of the Norfolk Naval Base
to demonstrate support for Navy SEAL Mathew McCabe.
Above: I met the SEAL's father, Marty McCabe.
After the arraignment hearings, McCabe came out to meet his supporters.
Here are my photos. Thanks to Pat, Don, Randy and Russ for
riding with us. Thanks to Russ and Randy for photos. And Thank You
Mathew McCabe for your service to our country.
The mother of slain Blackwater guard Jerry Zovko drove from
Ohio
to give each of the accused SEALs a blessed rosary and lend them her
support. "These young SEALs are in this situation because they
caught the mastermind behind the death of my son, and not only my son
and his co-workers but also the marines who went into Fallujah after
their death," said Donna Zovko. "I am very proud of these
young SEALs and thankful to them. They did not do anything wrong."
Above: McCabe and Jim Deihl, Gathering of Eagles
MSGT
Roy Benavidez, MOH , from El Campo Texas
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate
(PETN, also known as corpent, pentrite, or rarely
and primarily in German as nitropenta or pentrit)is one of the most
powerful high explosives known, with a relative effectiveness factor (R.E.
factor) of 1.66.
Relative effectiveness factor or R.E.
factor is a measurement of an explosive's power for military demolitions
purposes. It is used to compare an explosive's effectiveness relative to
TNT by weight only. This enables engineers to substitute one explosive
for another when they are calculating blasting equations that are
designed for TNT. For example, if a timber cutting charge requires 1 kg
of TNT to work, it would take 0.6 kg of PETN or 1.25 kg of
AN/FO (or AN/FO, for ammonium nitrate / fuel oil) to have the same
effect.
An explosive material, also called
an explosive, is a substance that contains a great amount of stored
energy that can produce an explosion, a sudden expansion of the material
after initiation, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat,
and pressure.
Explosive materials may be
categorized by the speed at which they expand. Materials that detonate
(explode faster than the speed of sound) are said to be high explosives
and materials that deflagrate are said to be low explosives. Explosives
may also be categorized by their sensitivity. Sensitive materials that
can be initiated by a relatively small amount of heat or pressure are
primary explosives and materials that are relatively insensitive are
secondary explosives.
In December 2001, PETN was the explosive used by
Richard Reid in his unsuccessful attempt to blow up American Airlines
Flight 63 from Paris to Miami.He had intended to use the solid triacetone triperoxide (TATP)
as a detonator.
On 28 August 2009, PETN was used in an attempt to
murder the Saudi Arabian Deputy Minister of Interior Prince Muhammad bin
Nayef by a Saudi suicide-bomber (Abdullah Hassan al Asiri) linked to an
Al Qaeda cell based in Yemen. The target survived and the bomber died in
the blast. The PETN was hidden in his anal cavity.
On 25 December 2009, PETN was found in the possession
of Abdulfarouk Umar Muttalab, a 23-year-old Nigerian with Al Qaeda
links. According to US law enforcement officials,he had attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253,
while approaching Detroit from Amsterdam. Muttalab had apparently
tried to detonate PETN sewn into his underwear, by adding a liquid from
a syringe. However his attempt failed and resulted in him catching
on fire.
The USS BEGOR—UDT Connection
By Barry McCabe, Ensign, UDT-21, 1945
A platoon of UDT-21 aboard USS BEGOR, August
1945. Sea story author, Ensign Barry McCabe is at right with camera
strap over his shoulder.
As World War II closed, I was aboard USS BEGOR with Underwater
Demolition Team (UDT) 21. My team was tasked with locating and
destroying Japanese armament, suicide boats and miniature submarines in
the area around Yokosuka, the main Japanese naval base on Tokyo Bay, in
September 1945.
The suicide boats were about 20-feet long, with wooden hulls, and
powered by gasoline engines, many by American-made Gray Marine
six-cylinder engines of about 70-80 horsepower. The boats did not
have a reverse gear (for obvious reasons)!
Dozens of the boats were stored in caves on top of dollies that ran
on railroad-type tracks, to enable the Japanese to quickly run them into
the water. We found none that were loaded with explosives, but, if
the US invasion became imminent, explosives would have been loaded
quickly. Each boat would have carried two depth charges, 260 pounds
apiece, which were released by hand or on impact with their targets.
The boats were usually painted green. See
related photos on the Photo Gallery page.
I and other UDT 21 officers were involved with supervising the teams in
the destruction of these suicide weapons. We tried burning the boats in
the caves, but they were so damp they wouldn't burn, even with gasoline
being poured on them. Obviously, we tried to blow them up close to where
we found them, but after doing it once, we decided it presented too much
danger to the villages, because the boats were right where the people
lived. We finally towed them out into the water and sometimes cut holes
in their hulls with axes to sink them.
As for the midget subs, they had to be towed out and sunk. As with
the suicide boats, Japanese laborers provided most of the muscle for
moving the boats from storage to the water, with UDT members
supervising. I can't recall the subs’ length, but they were extremely
small, as you can see from the related
photos on the Photo Gallery page. They were perhaps about 4'
in diameter.
When people question the use of the atomic Bombs, which ended the war, I
tell them even though it was catastrophic, I along with a million
American troops probably wouldn't be alive today [had the war been
fought to its conclusion through invasion and conventional warfare].
I was amazed that, once the Emperor told the people the war was over,
they immediately gave up their arms and were remarkably friendly.
Otherwise, men, women and children would have fought to their deaths.
(Barry McCabe lives in Westport, CT)
Comment on Barry McCabe's sea story by the
BEGOR website team
We thank Barry for his story and the accompanying
photos on the Photo Gallery page, all of which were taken by him. USS
BEGOR’s crewmembers are honored and privileged to have worked
with the effective and courageous men of the Underwater Demolition Teams
over the years. For more information on the history of UDT and that
program's evolution into the Navy SEAL program, go to http://www.seal.navy.mil.
Barry is not resting on his laurels. Here is a Spring 2005 email
communication from him:
"FYI, for the past 10 years I've been working closely with a
Captain in the SEAL Reserves in a very successful program physically
testing and mentoring young SEAL candidates at the Merchant Marine
Academy in NY. That's the primary reason my attention these days is more
focused on the SEALs. To give you an idea of our program's success, of
all the men across the country who enter the demanding 6-month program
in Coronado, called BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition SEALs), about 80%
fail. Of all the men we have tested and recommended for BUD/S, 70% make
it and only 30% fail. It's truly rewarding working with these young
men."
That is dedication! Our BEGOR ballcaps are off to you, Barry!
This video of the two fighters, one
dancing around doing all his Karate stuff reminds me of an incident
that happened when I had a detachment at Kwajalein Islands.
We were laying Nike Zeus
Missile range cables. There was a short based Black Shoe
individual who was pestering Ted Mathison (SN at the time.)
He would say Frogs aren't tough, I'm a black belt and dancing around
shadow boxing and also doing Karate moves.
Finally TED got fed up, got up and
and punched that guy once and that was the end of it. K.O., one
punch! We never had any more problems with that idiot for the rest
of the deployment.
Seastory by: Franklin Anderson
Email from a Marine
in Iraq
Rio, You may enjoy this.
Good reading and good information............. FITH Bill Garnett
24 Feb 2010
This email from a Marine in Iraq . No politics here; just a grunt with a
bird's eye view opinion:
US Weapons:
1) The M-16 rifle:
Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sand
over there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan says you feel filthy 2
minutes after coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more
popular because it's lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems
also. They lack the ability to mount the various optical gun sights and
weapons lights on the pica tinny rails, but the weapon itself is not
great in a desert environment. They all hate the 5.56mm (.223) round.
Poor penetration on the cinderblock structure common over there and even
torso hits can't be reliably counted on to put the enemy down.
Fun fact: Random
autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level of opiate
use.
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon):
.223 cal. Drum fed light machine gun. Big thumbs down. Universally
considered a piece of shit. Chronic jamming problems, most of which
require partial disassembly (that's fun in the middle of a firefight).
3) The M9 Beretta 9mm:
Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but they all
hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually
fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times
and still in the fight.
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun:
Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect.
5) The M240 Machine Gun:
7.62 NATO (.308) cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to replace the old
M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!) Thumbs up. Accurate, reliable,
and the 7.62 round puts 'em down.
Originally developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and more are
being dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7..62 round
chews up the structure over there.
6) The M2 50 cal heavy machine gun:
Thumbs way, way up. "Ma Deuce" is still worth her considerable
weight in gold. The ultimate fight stopper - puts their dicks in the
dirt very time. The most coveted weapon in-theater.
7) The .45 pistol:
Thumbs up. Still the best pistol around out there. Everybody authorized
to carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few
exceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em down with a torso hit.
The special ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK
military model
and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's are being
re-issued en masse.
8) The M-14:
Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modified
version to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar
stocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandy
environment, and they love the 7.62 round.
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle:
Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like a freight
train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers (we actually
stop a lot of them) and barricaded enemy. It is definitely here to stay.
10) The M24 sniper rifle:
Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300 win mag. Heavily modified
Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been used heavily to
great effect. Rumor has it a marine sniper on his third tour in Anbar
province has actually exceeded Carlos Hathcock's record for confirmed
kills with OVER 100.
11) The new body armor:
Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs. and can reliably be
expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round.
The bad news: Hot as shit to wear, almost unbearable in the summer heat
(which averages over 120 degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head
shots whenever possible. All the bullshit about the "old" body
armor making our guys vulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED
explosions are enormous and body armor doesn't make any difference at
all in most cases.
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment:
Thumbs way up. Spectacular performance. Our guys see in the dark and own
the night, period. Very little enemy action after evening prayers. More
and more enemy being whacked at night during movement by our
hunter-killer teams. We've all seen the videos.
13) Lights:
Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights are Sure
fire's, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban operations.
Jordan carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and loved it. I cant
help but notice that most of the good fighting weapons and ordnance are
50 or more years old!! With all our technology, it's the WWII and
Vietnam era weapons that everybody wants!! The infantry fighting is
frequent, up close and brutal. No quarter is given or shown.
Bad guy weapons:
1) Mostly AK47's. The entire
country is an arsenal. Works better in the desert than the M16 and the
.308 Russian round kills reliably. PKM belt fed light machine guns are
also common and effective. Luckily, the enemy mostly shoots like shit.
Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However, they are
seeing more and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles. (
Iran, again)
2) The RPG:
Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple, reliable
and as common as dogs shit. The enemy responded to our up-armored
Humvees by aiming at the windshields, often at point blank range. Still
killing a lot of our guys.
3) The IED:
The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet anti-armor
mines to jury rigged artillery shells. A lot found in Jordan 's area
were in abandoned cars. The enemy would take 2 or 3 155 mm artillery
shells and wire them together. Most were detonated by cell phone and the
explosions are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M1
tank. Driving is by far the most dangerous thing our guys do over there.
Lately, they are much more sophisticated "shape charges"
(Iranian) specifically designed to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the
ready made IED's are supplied by Iran, who is also providing terrorists
(Hezbollah types) to train the insurgents in their use and tactics.
That's why the attacks have been so deadly lately. Their concealment
methods are ingenious, the latest being shape charges, in Styrofoam
containers spray painted to look like the cinderblocks that litter all
Iraqi roads. We find about 40% before they detonate, and the bomb
disposal guys are unsung heroes of this war.
4) Mortars and rockets:
Very prevalent. The soviet era 122mm rockets (with an 18km range) are
becoming more prevalent. One of Jordan 's NCO's lost a leg to one. These
weapons cause a lot of damage "inside the wire". Jordan 's
base was hit almost daily his entire time there by mortar and rocket
fire, often at night to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It
did). More of a psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy
mortar teams would jump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then
haul ass in a matter of seconds.
Fun fact:
Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guys
and how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school that
the Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten in
close quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say they
know better now.
Bad guy technology:
Simple yet effective. Most communication is by cell and satellite phones
and also by email on laptops. They use handheld GPS units for navigation
and "Google Earth" for overhead views of our positions. Their
weapons are good, if not fancy, and prevalent. Their explosives and bomb
technology is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are very
careless with their equipment and the captured GPS units and laptops are
treasure troves of Intel when captured.
Who are the bad guys? Most of the carnage is caused by the
Zarqawi Al Qaeda group. They operate mostly in Anbar province (Fallujah
and Ramadi). These are mostly "foreigners", non-Iraqi Sunni
Arab Jihadists from all over the Muslim world (and Europe ). Most enter
Iraq through Syria (with, of course, the knowledge and complicity of the
Syrian govt.), and then travel down the "rat line" which is
the trail of towns along the Euphrates River that we've been hitting
hard for the last few months.
Some are virtually untrained young Jihadists that often end up as
suicide bombers or in various "sacrifice squads". Most,
however, are hard core terrorists from all the usual suspects (Al Qaeda,
Hezbollah, Hamas etc.). These are the guys running around murdering
civilians an masse and cutting heads off.
The Chechens (many of whom are Caucasian) are supposedly the most
ruthless and the best fighters. They have been fighting the Russians for
years. In the Baghdad area and south, most of the insurgents are Iranian
inspired (and led) Iraqi Shiites. The Iranian Shiia have been very adept
at infiltrating the Iraqi local govt.'s, the police forces and the Army.
They have had a massive spy and agitator network there since the
Iran-Iraq war in the early 80's. Most of the Saddam loyalists were
killed, captured, or gave up long ago.
Bad Guy Tactics: When they are engaged on
an infantry level they get their asses kicked every time! Brave, but
stupid. Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very common earlier in the war
and still occur. They will literally sacrifice 8-10 man teams in suicide
squads by sending them screaming and firing AK's and RPG's directly at
our bases just to probe the defenses. They get mowed down like grass
every time (see the M2 and M240 above). Jordan 's base was hit like this
often.
When engaged, they have a tendency to flee to the same building,
probably for what they think will be a glorious last stand. Instead, we
call in air and that's the end of that more often than not. These
hole-ups are referred to as Alpha Whiskey Romeo's (Allah's Waiting
Room). We have the laser guided ground-air thing down to a science. The
fast mover's, mostly Marine F-18's, are taking an ever increasing toll
on the enemy. When caught out in the open, the helicopter gunships and
AC-130 Spectre Gunships cut them to ribbons with cannon and rocket fire,
especially at night. Interestingly, artillery is hardly used at all.
Fun facts:
The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That is why
we're seeing less and less infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber
shit. The new strategy is just simple: attrition.
The insurgent tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian
non-combatants as cover. They know we do all we can to avoid civilian
casualties and therefore schools, hospitals and especially Mosques are
locations where they meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons, and ammo
and flee to when engaged. They have absolutely no regard whatsoever for
inflicting civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals and murder
without hesitation anyone believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or
the new Iraqi govt. Kidnapping of family members, especially children,
is common to influence people they are trying to influence but can't
reach, such as local govt. officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc..
The first thing our guys are told is "don't get captured".
They know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the
internet. Zarqawi openly offers bounties for anyone who brings him a
live American serviceman. This motivates the criminal element who
otherwise don't give a shit about the war. A lot of the beheading
victims were actually kidnapped by common criminals and sold to Zarqawi.
As such, for our guys, every fight is to the death. Surrender is not an
option. The Iraqi's are a mixed bag.. Some fight well; others aren't
worth a damn. Most do okay with American support. Finding leaders is
hard, but they are getting better.
It is widely viewed that Zarqawi's use of suicide bombers, en masse,
against the civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many
Iraqi's were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the
police forces went right up, along with their motivation. It also led to
an exponential increase in good intel because the Iraqi's are sick of
the insurgent attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly
pro-American and fearless fighters.
Morale:
According to Jordan , morale among our guys is very high. They not only
believe that they are winning, but that they are winning decisively.
They are stunned and dismayed by what they see in the American press,
whom they almost universally view as against them. The embedded
reporters are despised and distrusted. They are inflicting casualties at
a rate of 20-1 and then see shit like "Are we losing in Iraq "
on TV and the print media.
For the most part, they are satisfied with their equipment, food, and
leadership. Bottom line though, and they all say this, is that there are
not enough guys there to drive the final stake through the heart of the
insurgency, primarily because there aren't enough troops in-theater to
shut down the borders with Iran and Syria. The Iranians and the Syrians
just can't stand the thought of Iraq being an American ally (with, of
course, permanent US bases there).
Anyway, that's it, hope you found it interesting.
FITH Bill Garnett
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for
free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
Adm Mullen at BUD/s
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
Silver Strand Training Map
GOOD TO GO the book
from:
Sterling Skeoch-Allison <sseoallis [at] gmail.com> to:
docrio45 [at] gmail.com
date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 9:59 PM subject: Information the book
"Good to Go "
Dear Doctor Riojas,
I am a high school student in Canada. I am reading the book "Good to Go" for a novel study. While I was
searching for information on it I came across and website saying that every thing about Charles Watson was untrue.
Then I came across your website and I knew you were also in the story and that you were in 7th platoon with Harry and Charles. I was wondering if you could verify that everything in the story was true?
Sincerly ,
Sterling Skeoch-Allison
On: Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 11:10 AM, Erasmo Riojas wrote to: Mr. Sterling,
As you probably know, because Harry Constance called Charlie Watson "Chicken Charlie", the publisher was sued.
Mr. Watson retired from the US Navy and became a lawyer. FYI, they settled out of court and the publisher paid off
less than they were asking in compensation.
Sterling, there is so much good stuff in that book about our Navy Adventure that concentrating on something negative is not worth the ink you will use to write it.
Go here http://www.sealtwo.org/chocolates.htm
and read the reviews on the book written by Tom Keith SEAL WARRIOR, Death in the Dark
Vietnam. It contains a lot of true life history of
US Navy SEALs, and may be a better reference book for you to present to
your teacher at your school.
About the book "Good to Go", as I remember 40 years ago, it is probably 99% true about our adventure in the war games Vietnam with the "Less than magnificent" 7th SEAL platoon , Team TWO. The human brain is so complex that each person sees events from a different perspective. I can vouch for Harry that most of what he wrote is true, except the part about calling
Mr. Watson "Chicken Charlie." I personally never called him that.
I hope I have been of some help to you and I want to wish you the very best in your pursuit of knowledge and your talent as a writer. God help you accomplish all your dreams and keep you at peace with everyone, especially God.
Please feel free to write me. I am turning 79 this year and my brain is
not as sharp as it once was.
Thank you very much, Take Care,
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas aka: Doc Rio
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
FYI:
Alan Paganelli , a blind friend who does beautiful music
and is free to download on his web site. Please click on:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/
There, you'll find files of his arrangements and performances played on
the Yamaha Tyros keyboard. I often add files so check back regularly!
The albums in Technics format formerly on his website are still
available upon request.
Thank you Very Much; Doc Riojas
----- Original Message -----
From: Alan Paganelli
To: Richard Marcinko
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2010 7:56 PM
Subject: 2011 Contract
2011 Contract:
After serious & cautious consideration... Your contract of
friendship has been renewed
for the New Year 2011
It was a very hard decision to make... So try not to screw it up!!!
My Wish for You in 2011
May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your
lips!
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy
May the problems you had, forget your home address!
In simple words ...........
May 2011 be the best year of your life!!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and a Happy New-year too! And many
thanks for being my friend. Your still my hero!
Tim Bradley admits he is NOT U.S. Navy SEAL. Bradley now has his own TV show, and tours with Tom Knapp exhibition shooting.
read his email: You are so correct and I get a lot of e-mails asking
the same
question. "Am a a Navy SEAL." I don't know how this stuff gets
started, I received a
phone call just yesterday from a friend of mine stating I must be holding info
from him,
I don't even know how to stop it either, but thank you for bringing it
to my attention. Not only am I not an ex-navy SEAL but I've never
worked as a police officer or anything close. I was only a bounty
hunter for about 8 years.
Mr. M. C. Kruse,U.S.
Navy SEAL wrote on a "SEAL Blog" that www.sealtwo.org may be another security risk
for the active duty U.S. Navy SEALs. He asked me to remove all his
pictures.
sealtwo.orgis
notfunded
by al-Qaida or other
Eastern Mideastern supporters.
Convey your questions to : Doc
Riojasabout this
issue.
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SEaAirLand
= SEAL;
U.S. Navy
By LARRY BONKO, The Virginian-Pilot
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click to enlarge
Go to NAVY LOG: http://www.navylog.org/
to see if you can find any of your shipmates Bio's. Search mine:
Erasmo Riojas if you will.
(a kidnapped VC soldier) or SEAL OPS. Oh yes those Navy Painted faces Called
SEALs ,they did make it exciting, I am proud to have known them and been part of
their operations.This is one of those YOU HAD TO OF BEEN THERE stories.
SEAL
Team Two sent in to Bay of Pigs some of it's men. The "Boys"
went back in to destroy Presidente Noriega's airplane and boat.
Taken from the 
)
