EXTREME TRAINING
Flights and pick up went off without a hitch. All the guys are more than comfortable in the new bunkhouse and the ole Cabin while Diane has ensured the guys eat like fat men at every meal.
Hell Night started at 0800 and the first noises of anguish began at 0801 as the pool (lake) was a little colder than expected for the PRT but the guys got it done. The entire Cadre agreed it wasn?t all that cold as the guy?s lips only turned a deep blue and not a dark purple indicating really cold water.
I?d call it kinda chilly?
We were fortunate as April is a great month for mud and much team building and Gladiator matches were successfully held to the delight of all attending.
The morning highlight was certainly the tar pit.
The tar pit holds creatures never seen by man and the guy?s enjoyed an archeological dig in the stagnant pool that resulted in the discovery of several new species of leaches and some long fat slug thing with one large eye.
The Instructors questioned ? You?re not putting them in that shit are you??
My response was ? F**K YEA I AM.?
A major beat down until a great lunch and afterwards the trainees learned to KICK MAJOR ASS with Instructor Mario, Matty and DJ in a SEALAPALOSSA of hand to hand and combat knives lasting the afternoon. Strikes, kicks, chokes, stabs and slashes all taught by pipe swinging combat decorated SEAL badasses.
I?m sure the guy?s wondered why Matty taught but was not as blinding speed fast as DJ and Mario until they realized much of his bicep and calf was missing from three bullet wounds received on a recent combat tour. Role models for the young guys attending and serious BADASSES?
Camouflage and concealment, stealth and stalking classes after supper led into an exercise in which the class ?Took Out? the instructors with training knives on a dark night and they did a fine job.
Around midnight, the guys inserted on an ?Around the World? Zodiac paddle through the dark Virginia swamps. Using a map, the guys knew the distance and I asked ?How long will it take you to get from point A to point B.
I scoffed at the answer they gave and estimated it would take them twice as long to do the long paddle.
I was wrong?
They arrived at the time they estimated and as a reward for proving me wrong they enjoyed a ?Beat Down? session that almost had some of the Instructors quitting it was so bad. Cold water, dump boat drills, relay races, What is Wang, and a swimmer scout exercise through some of the worst swamp canal?s Virginia offers.
The only break came as they exited the water and I noticed a snake swimming by and decided I should snatch the serpent and give a class.
Releasing the snake unharmed, we inserted the swimmers where the snake was last seen heading.
All part of being a SEAL?
Surviving a final long shivering cramping Surf Torture and realizing that no one was going to quit, no matter how long they stayed in the water I proposed a final challenge.
I asked ? Do you turds think you can paddle the boats back faster than you got them here??
They answered, ?YES.?
After the beating and cold water they endured; after going non-stop all day long; all the push-ups, all the log PT, all the pounding they took during hand to hand and countless other ass kicking, muscle pumping, vomit producing evolutions they had done, I was sure they would not be able to beat the time and boldly I replied ? If you beat you?re time I?ll secure Hell Night.
As they prepared the boats in the dark and helped each other secure lifejackets of the guys who?s hands were too cold to function, I knew I had a ringer and they would not beat the time.
As the boats entered the water I plotted with the other Cadre of the extra beating we?d give until sunrise when they failed, demonstrating ?That?s what you get for being Cocky!?
The Pricks beat the F***ing time?
Being a man of my word, I secured Hell Night for the most motivated and organized class of badasses I?ve ever done?
At 0630 the Helo arrived and the guys enjoyed a wild ride down the River they earned through so much hard work, grit and determination.
Well Done Boys, very well done?
The guys slept until 1500 on Sunday after Hell Night and we rousted them up for a stretch PT and off to a great classroom at a nearby State park for Land Nav training. The class consisted of map and compass problems and was challenging to say the least and the guys excelled and grasped navigation quickly but the real test would be Monday morning.
Up early on Monday, Maddog ran them to Bob?s Fishing Hole for PT with Master Chief Matto by 0630. Matto has a diverse background in SPECWAR and a wealth of knowledge but what he?s best known for is PT.
What BUDS is best known for is PT with trainee?s being wet and sandy and the Platoon and Advanced guys started PT with Flight Quarters as we launched them off the Aircraft Carrier Flight Deck for a wet chilly start.
LAUNCH AIRCRAFT. Splash. LAUNCH AIRCRAFT. Splash. LAUNCH AIRCRAFT. Splash?
After recovering Aircraft, Matto held up a piece of paper and explained that the PT written on that paper was older than anyone in the class and dated back to the Frogmen from WWII and still a standard BUDS and Team PT today.
Chiseled and built like a Greek statue, Matto explained that was the PT he did to prepare for BUDS and still does every single day.
Getting the class organized, Matto ensured all the guy?s did the exercises correctly and that their form was perfect. While no attempt was made by Matto to pound the guys just to pound them, it happened all by itself with and eye opening walk through the BUDS compound and what they could expect once there.
Sweat, spit, blood red and contorted faces, the guys realized quickly that no one was very close to being prepared for BUDS and the lesson was learned that ?I?ve got some work to do.?
All part of it here, we show you what it takes to become Navy SEALs.
Demanding but encouraging, Matto got them through and answered questions being a very approachable and friendly guy who only wants guys to succeed and the guy?s would see more of Matto through the week for morning PT.
Cleaned up and back at the Cabin compass points were plotted and the Nav course from Hell began as the Rain God smiled on the guys just as he does SEALs and unleashed four inches of rain that tested the guys to extremes trying to find the points by themselves in a thick Virginia Forest.
Along for the ride on every evolution, Maddog and I squared away the guys quickly and they kicked major ass knocking out the points by noon.
After lunch we issued assault vests, rucks, knives, fins, weapons and a host of other gear for the upcoming mission and did the patrolling class and practical work. After dinner the guys experienced their first eye-opening night patrol and realized it aint nothing like the movies.
Wiped out from a long day it was free time in the pool as the guys prepped some gear and watched a movie before some well deserved sleep knowing the next day would start with Matto and the world would become a harder place as they were about to be tested in the field for a few tough days and nights?
Maddog began the survival training after Matto punched the life out of the guys and guys were moved to different stations for the fire starting, snares, deadfalls and shelters. Tasked with building a shelter as groups Maddog and I blew down the road to get dinner for the guys while they worked.
Arriving back a short time later I explained to the guys that around the world, at this very minute, more goat was being eaten than any other animal on the planet and that on escape and evasion in Iraq or Afghanistan they would not find much else that could be used for survival.
I cleanly killed the animal and gave a class on butchering as the guys got dirty preparing the meal and passed the meat off to Diane as we prepared for the missions that night.
The targets they would hit that night are tough ones and the guys would have to reach deep and work together to kick ass.
We all pulled up a seat for a rockin Middle Eastern meal as Diane said a somber form of grace about SEALs overseas preparing for and on missions as we were eating in the safety of the Cabin. Wearing two Tridents on her necklace for my Son and me she Mothered the guys all week and kept the chow flowing in a tireless effort to keep strength up but that was about to change as we?d not be seeing her for a few days and the guys were about to see the rigors of SEAL Team first hand and be tested like nothing else they had ever done.
At sunset we pulled the engines to life and motored the Zodiacs up the twisting Northwest River toward our targets miles away and even through the camouflage face paint I could easily see a game face on each man and the adrenalin began to pump.
The River here and the Swamps that surround it are STRAIGHT out of some Vietnam War movie and seems out of place in America. Very slow moving, brown water, strange creatures that emit noises most of suburbia has never heard, it brings an absolute sense of what SEAL Team is like as the guys reflected on their lives growing up, their future, and the thousand things they needed to remember about the plan and how we would execute it on target.
Killing the engines as we approached the target we began to silently paddle and used the shadow of the moss-covered trees that lined the banks to conceal us stopping often to use bino?s and identify enemy positions, patrols and routines and we weren?t disappointed as the target was alive with booger eaters prepared to make the assault as hard on us as they could.
A quick going over of the plan was given in hush whispers and two swimmer scouts quietly slid into the water and were handed their weapons while we watched them swim out of sight and hoped they would be able to get to their objective without being busted and open up in exactly 20 minutes as we would fire up the engines and plow into the target launching the assault force and catch the bad guys on two sides.
Maddog pulled the engine to life at the exact briefed second and we hauled ass to the target and began the assault.
Seeing the bad guys clustered at the primary landing site we quickly adjusted and went to the secondary and all Hell broke loose. With everyone together we began using cover and moving through the target firing rapidly at the easily identifiable bad guys. Safely crossing open ground and all together behind a building we made our move toward the next available cover in an attempt to push the booger eaters to the South end. As I made my move I took three powerful, painful shots to the forehead and we realized it was going to be a long night as the bad guys had us pinned down and the fight was on.
With much blood spilled on both sides we all re-set and the Platoon joined the bad guys with much camaraderie and laughing as all showed swelled wounds from the powerful Airsoft weapons and some rival joking was had between the two groups. Teamed up for a few games of capture the flag and maneuver drills with the bad guys, Maddog and I prep for the next target.
Launching the boats at midnight we left the target and began the long dark transit to the next HOOYAA.
Arriving at the survival area in the wee hours of Wednesday morning we began our long foot patrol to our next target in the hopes of raiding it for food. Flooded from much rain it was a wet slippery hump from Hell and a few hundred meters out from the target we were busted by screaming peacocks who knew something unfamiliar was in their area. Loud and long they screamed alerting everyone within ear shot that something was afoul while I quietly explained that many countries use geese and other birds as cheap sentries and early warning devises to protect targets.
If you think it?s hard to sneak past a dog you should try it with a peacock?
Within 100 meters and watching the target for movement we weren?t surprised to see a figure checking things out and having a walk around the area while we quietly waited for things to settle down.
Moving awhile later we came in behind and could see someone watching TV in the house and as tired as they were, a whole new set of game faces came out as without finding any food to take off the place we?d go hungry that night and empty bellies would just get emptier as we ensured the guys began the mission without so much as a jelly bean in their pockets.
We had nothing for food.
Reconing the area the guys found some vegetables we could steal and a pen full of chickens. A plan was made to provide security on the farmer?s house by a couple guys while the others would try to quietly grab a few chickens and we?d leave no trace we?d been there.
30 feet away, I watched the point man quietly opening the gate to the pen and then heard him make a painful noise and he fell over. 10 seconds later I watched the Patrol Leader fall to the ground after making a painful noise as well and realized they had been shocked by an electric fence. Being socking wet enhanced the shock and to make matters worse, the Patrol Leader hit the wire with his forehead and was knocked stupid silly.
Spending too much time on the target and the chickens not about to go quietly, three were quickly killed and we beat feet to the ?Safe Area? with breakfast.
We arrived close to sunrise at the Safe Area after a long tough night and strung hammocks in the dark while Great Horned Owls and other creatures of the night came to life as tired, wet Frogmen spent a few shivering hours trying to sleep as the temperatures dropped with their weapons by their sides.
Daylight brought the hard looking faces I?d seen a thousand times as a SEAL. Camouflage streaked and swollen faces accompanied with distant stares showed the look of badasses who had endured a tough mission both mentally and physically and we were just getting started?
They were about to be tested again?
Warming fires were started and many socks and boots were burned trying to dry them out. The chickens were cleaned and entrails would be used for fishing and snares after they made breakfast. The class tried a chicken soup of vegetables and rice that a possum would have ran away from.
Tasting like complete ass, the guys forced themselves to eat the gruel or go hungry and Maddog and I did the same as we go for the ride with you.
Trotlines were set for fish and snares made for an afternoon trapping session in the hopes of getting some food for the rest of the day and the next. Checking the lines shortly after setting them, we delighted in catching our first fish as the South African who had never fished before threw it in the boat excitedly and the day began looking brighter.
We found some great areas and baited different snares for raccoon and possum and set a bunch for squirrels that were plentiful.
Returning to the trotlines we had a couple more fish and gleefully cleaned them as the guys realized we just might make it out of this thing in one piece and an hour later the words ?HOLY SHIT? rang out loud and clear and excited cheering began of DON?T LET THAT MOTHER F**KER GET AWAY, GRAB THAT BITCH, THROW THE THING IN THE BOAT and HOLD ON DUDE??
One of the guys had caught a snapping turtle and he wasn?t happy being invited to dinner?
Apparently one of the lines appeared tangled and the youngest guy in the class reached under a submerged log while lying in the Zodiac boat to untangle it. He felt what he thought was a rock and pulled up the turtle and the battle began. A city boy from New England he meant to hang on when his mind must have been saying ?Let go of the nasty thing before it bites off my fingers? when the line broke and the turtle swam for freedom.
Not so fast?
Back in the water again he latched on and brought it back up as the powerful jaws snapped at anything close and again it got away. The third try was a charm and this young badass grabbed him for keeps this time on the turtles home field and threw him in the boat as guys scrambled to get out of the way and he ran in circles biting and trying to get some payback.
A young pipe swinging STUD and hero of the day.
With all the snares set and darkness falling we lit a big fire and shot the shit like SEALs telling stories for a while and endured another cold night with little sleep.
Advanced training would begin the next day and much more adrenalin would flow as guys got a first hand look at life in SEAL Team and every minute of every day was spent pondering the question ?Do I have what it takes to be a Navy SEAL??
We awoke the next morning at sunrise for the start of Advanced Training and I prepared to take a Zodiac to pick up "Rick the Gun Nut" for a day of shooting. I told the guys to clear the fishing lines from around my boat and it started again with HOLY SHIT? GRAB THAT MOTHER F**KER as a badass from New York wrestled a monster catfish into the boat.
Rick showed up early and we loaded the boat with all his weapons and proceeded back to the guys. "Rick the Gun Nut" as we call him, is the only guy you?ll see down here that?s not a SEAL. Rick lives in Ohio and brings down a collection of assault rifles and pistols and allows us to CUT THE F**K LOOSE with them all day. With many being suppressed, Rick has to be there by law and outside of that he?s a badass. Talking with the soft spoken guy you?ll find out quickly what "True Inner Strength" is as Rick has been unfortunately plagued with terrible health issues throughout his life and has endured some of the most God awful treatments and surgeries that anyone ever has. Far from feeble, he gets around fine but I think most people in his shoes would have ended it a long time ago.
Rick however put a smile on his face each day and is a really inspiring guy.
We un-assed the survival area and moved a few hundred meters to the shooting area in the deep woods. As the guys carried gear, weapons and ammo they began talking about hearing a woman?s voice in the swamp earlier. I explained how far from anyone we were and there was no woman anywhere close by and I could tell lack of food and sleep were taking it?s toll and a bit of hallucinating was going on.
It happens?
We began with a safety brief and started the guys in close with .22 pistols working on marksmanship. When Maddog was satisfied and the groups could be covered with a quarter, we moved to 9mm and .45 pistols and ramped up the training while the woods became pretty warm and the guys stayed hydrated purifying River water.
With all going well, I began the point man course in another area. The course consisted of ten targets and different distances, some static and some that popped up. There were also hard to see things scattered around the trail and hanging in trees of a military nature and the guys would point them out as they saw them to me. Canteen, flashlight, knife?
The guys were briefed to engage the targets with two rapid shots we call "Double Taps" when they saw them and they carried an AR-15 with a high-speed laser sight and suppressor.
They kicked ass and I decided to ramp it up a bit.
We pulled all the targets up to a standing position and telling the guys to remember where the targets were from the first run. We gave them an 870 shotgun and after briefing they did a fast jog up the trail and engaged the targets a second time and had a major hoot doing it.
With all of us having shot till our heads hurt, Rick broke out the final weapon and his baby, a gooched-out 5.56 sniper rifle with a scope from the future and the guys enjoyed shooting potatoes from a distance and watching them explode.
The guys shot .22?s, .25?s, .32?s, 9mm, .40 cal, .45 cal, the 870, three rifles and we ended a kick ass day and headed for home.
No rest for the weary, we cleaned the boats, stuffed the first real food in a couple days down our necks and headed to the drop zone for jump training.
Four and a half hours of training to keep guys from killing themselves the next day jumping, they got a shower and slept like babies.
Up early, we arrived at the drop zone at 0800 on the last day of training and the guys powered up on Red Bulls and tried to maintain their composure knowing they would soon face the sky demons and put their "Knee?s in the Breeze" at 13,500 feet above the earth.
I loaded the bird and sat next to the pilot to film the guy?s exits from the aircraft. A fast climb to altitude, the guys nervously laughed with their instructors until one of them opened the door and the aircraft filled with a cold blast of air and they moved into position in the open door. With the green light on and signaling them to go, they followed procedures and looked at their first instructor and yelled "Check One" at the second instructor they yelled "Check Two" and they disappeared from sight and the plane lurched upward after losing all the extra weight.
The pilot nosed the plane straight down racing for the deck to pick up the second load of jumpers. Mike has been flying for 48 years and flew SEALs in Vietnam. Announcing by radio to the tower he was landing, another plane came over the radio and said he?d go around again to give Mike time to land. Mike?s reply was "You?re fine, I don?t need much time to land this thing."
As he nosed over and swung in fast in the wildest landing I?ve ever been on, a recorded woman?s voice came loudly over the computer saying PULL UP? PULL UP? PULL UP?
Each time she said it Mike would reply with "Shut up Bitch"?
A beautiful day and all the jumps went well. High fives all around we returned, cleaned gear and the guys got a few hours of sleep. At 1800 all the weeks? instructors came for the grad party and we burned steaks and had some cold barley soup (Beer) and laughed about the weeks events.
The only guy left was the South African, Mike, who was staying in Norfolk for a few extra days. Maddog?s wife had gone out of town for a few days and Maddog invited Mike to stay with him. We all had a kick ass breakfast and Maddog discovered Mike had never seen or eaten at a "Hooters" and lunch was planned. As they were leaving, Maddog told Mike "Dude, we gotta get some ink." Without any resistance from Mike whatsoever Maddog made the call and scheduled appointments at the tattoo parlor for both of them as the two slapped backs and headed out on another adventure?
Good Luck Mike? Remember, the waiver you signed here doesn?t include anything that happens with Maddog while you two run amuck in Virginia Beach?
We all had a long week that went by the numbers and a great, tough time for everyone. The critiques and reviews were all super strong and positive as we showed the guys how to become SEALs and what it?s like to be one.
This course is not a beat down session offered by others. This course is, what it is, and it?s a course designed by me to show guys how to survive the Toughest Military Training in the World. While guys can?t show up down here with pie smeared all over their faces they don?t have to be at the other end of the spectrum either being physical freaks of nature.
This course is about HEART and you?ll find it here.
The course is to let guys know if they could have been or can become Navy SEALs and nothing more. Everyone can do the course and are proud they did, but some will not pursue careers in SPECWAR after coming here. It?s an eye-opener and many guys don?t want to do all the things necessary to become SEALs as it?s a tough F**kin life and if it was easy, everyone could do it.
Two things will happen here to guys coming. They get piles of information and all their questions answered, they eat this place up and they go to BUDS and F**king crush the place or they shake my hand and say I saved them a trip to the quitters line in BUDS thanking me and saying "I had no idea what SEALs did."
You?ll learn what it takes and many guys just don?t have it as it?s a cold nasty World and it takes a lot to wear cammie paint and carry a machine gun in SEAL Team.
A final word for all the guys attending in April? Well done boys, very well done?
I don?t normally single guys out for an extra well done but I have to say the class leader Doug, at 49 years old, crushed the course, inspired the guys and pulled a ragged bunch together. We were all impressed. Well-done Doug and I hope you?ll get down again?
On the other end of the spectrum was young Steve who earned the nickname Napoleon Dynamite from his keen resemblance. He showed up goofy and clumsy and we worried he would have major problems here.
We were wrong.
Steve pulled out a "Game Face" few others did and fought tooth and nail to finish strong and he did. Well-liked and constant entertainment for the class and Cadre, it was my complete pleasure to present his graduation certificate and shake his hand.
When BUD/S starts, everyone looks around the room filled with shaved heads wondering who will be there 6 months later. In most cases the guys you think will be there won?t be, and the guys you expect to never make it "do" and survive SEAL Training?
It's all heart?
Kick Some Ass?