Special Operations

Adam Brown: A SEAL’s Life of Courage and Redemption

An Odd Question

A while back, I was asked a somewhat unusual question on Quora, the quasi-social media question-and-answer site. It was, “Have any former crack addicts ever been on SEAL Team Six?” There was just one that I’m aware of, and his story is nothing short of amazing. When you hear this man’s story, at some points, you are proud of him, and at other times you are in disbelief at how self-destructive he once was and how much it hurt those who loved him. You’re in awe of the enormous obstacles he overcame to be one of the most elite warriors in the world when 99.9999% of others would have quit and felt sorry for themselves. You hear his story, and you laugh because he was a funny man, a big goofy kid at heart who wasn’t afraid to be himself in front of anyone. But, on the other hand, you feel pathos mixed with anger when you learn what happened when his demons would get the better part of him. Waves of sentimentality sweep over you as you read the heartfelt journal he wrote to his young children during his deployment to war zones.

Had I not known that he was a true story, I never would have believed it. I probably would have laughed at the implausibility of all of it. But the story is accurate, and so is the pain and pride people feel when they remember the life of a man named Adam Brown.

Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Adam Brown. Image courtesy of Facebook

I never had the honor of meeting Adam Brown, but after learning about what kind of a man he was, I feel that this photograph conveys a good image of what he was like. There were many images to choose from, but I kept returning to this one. Adam Brown was a walking contradiction: an incredibly loving husband and father who used to help teach his kids Sunday school class by pretending to be animals from Noah’s Ark, a battle-hardened Navy DEVGRU (aka SEAL Team Six) warrior and veteran of multiple deployments…and he was also a recovering crack cocaine addict.

It was Adam’s wish that someone would share his story with the world if he were killed in action. He wanted to be sure that his story would include (along with his heroic actions and successes) his multiple failures and his battle with addiction.

Adam was a pleasant young man who always respected his elders and would go out of his way to help other kids his age who were being bullied, even though he was on the small side. He was a nearly straight-A student in high school and a star player on his Hot Springs, Arkansas, champion football team. As one of his coaches said, “Brown wasn’t the biggest player, but he always had the most heart.”

He was a “please and thank you, yes sir, no sir” kind of adolescent that his parents could trust not to get too out of control while others his age were out doing stupid things that could have gotten them hurt or in trouble the law. That’s not to say Adam was quiet and reserved. His peers said he could be a “madman.” The climax of his daredevil days as a youth in Hot Springs was when he jumped out of the back of a moving truck as it sped across a bridge. Adam fell about 50 feet until he hit the dark river below. He mimicked a scene from the Charlie Sheen movie, “Navy SEALs.” Adam Brown, much unlike the rest of us, had no fear.

Down the Wrong Path

Sometime after beginning college, he became re-acquainted with an old girlfriend, Cindy, who had since gone on to develop an unfortunate drug habit. Adam, who up until that time counted southern whiskey as his strongest inebriant, through the prodding of his girlfriend, agreed to try crack cocaine. He later recounted that one time was all it took to get him hooked. Before long, it was all he wanted and all he could think about. He dropped out of college and spent all his time hanging out in crack houses with his newfound loves.

After a while of being high all day, every day, he switched from smoking the drug to injecting it directly into his veins. He began to add meth to the mix. When he attempted to quit, he would tell those trying to help him that the drug “called to him.” For the longest time, he could not, or would not, resist the call.

Rock Bottom

Then, as all addicts eventually do, he hits bottom. Cindy, his constant companion, left him. He became so discouraged that one New Year’s Eve, high out of his mind on crack, he began repeatedly stabbing himself in the neck with a knife. Finally, a friend found him passed out in a pool of his own blood and called 911. The police arrived along with emergency personnel and discovered that Adam had active felony warrants for his arrest due to drug-related charges. Before long, he was in jail, facing 11 felony charges. One was for the theft of a handgun.

Previously his father would bail him out and pay hefty fines when Adam wound up in jail. Not this time. He was left to face up to what he had become. During his hearing, the judge must have seen something positive in young Adam because he let him choose between a jail sentence or a year-long stint in drug rehab at a highly regimented Christian-based drug treatment program by the name of Teen Challenge. Adam decided against going to jail. At the program, he had a spiritual awakening that would last the remainder of his days. He turned his life over to God and asked Him to point to the path he was supposed to take.

After he finished his year at Teen Challenge (despite the name Adam was now in his early 20s), he met a beautiful young woman who would eventually become his wife. Her name was Kelley Trippy. Kelley shared Adam’s strong Christian beliefs, and their time together was bliss for a while. However, she had known about his past and always kept it in the back of her mind. One day it was moved to the front when Adam didn’t show up for a date. Adam had never been late before. Kelley began looking for Adam and found him, foul smelling and disheveled, sitting on the floor in a local crack house.

Adam and Kelley. Image courtesy of Pinterest.

Adam promised never to do it again….but he did…over and over. Finally, Brown needed direction, and it was fast, or Kelley vowed to leave him for good. His search for direction led him to a US Navy recruiting office. The father of one of Brown’s very best friends growing up was a high-ranking Naval officer. His buddy was going into the Navy as an aviator, so Adam thought he might also give the Navy a shot.

A Fortunate Navy Connection

Everything at the recruiter’s office went well until they got to the part of the interview where Adam was asked if he ever did drugs and if he had ever been arrested. Brown was very candid with the recruiter, who was taken aback and asked him if this was some joke. Surely a recovering crack addict who had been arrested on 11 felony charges didn’t think the Navy would accept him.

The story would have ended there, but Adam noticed a photo of his childhood friend’s father hanging in the office. It turns out he was the highest-ranking officer in that recruiting district. Brown pointed to the picture, “Give him a call; he’ll vouch for me.” After a lot of convincing, the recruiter grudgingly made the call. The officer, remembering the well-mannered, level-headed Brown of his youth, said he would vouch for him. “Treat him as if he were my own son,” he said. The required waivers were signed, and Adam Brown was in the Navy.

Adam and Kelley were secretly married in a civil ceremony before he left for boot camp. He was allowed to report with only the clothes on his back and five dollars cash. Kelley wouldn’t let him take the cash because she felt he might be tempted to look for drugs if he had money.

Not being the kind to want to be stuck on a ship out to sea for months at a time, Brown looked for a more adventurous assignment. He thought about a movie he watched in high school, Navy SEALs, and said, “I’ll do that.” From then on, Adam Brown achieved almost everything he put his mind to. He was one of the few to remain in the SEAL candidate training that ran concurrently with his boot camp.

He was accepted into BUD/S and completed the tortuous training and Hell Week with no trouble. In the dive phase of his SEAL training, he found problems he couldn’t immediately overcome, so he was recycled into the next class. He made it past the dive phase with no issues on the second go around.

Always Cut Away From Yourself

He was assigned to SEAL Team FOUR at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, right outside Virginia Beach. This is where he earned the nickname “Blade.” Immediately before a training mission, he used his knife to cut away a zip tie binding some gear together. He pulled towards himself with all his might; the zip tie gave way, and the blade stuck him right between the eyes. Bleeding profusely and most definitely in need of medical attention, the new SEAL covered his wound with a cloth and insisted he was fine and that there was no need to hold up the mission. Hours later, after participating fully in the successful training mission, Brown was taken to the Emergency Room due to his lost blood volume. He received a few stitches. Adam Brown never was one to put his own needs before that of the mission. Ever. His superiors realized this, and he was always considered to be at the top of the heap when evaluations of new SEALs were performed.

Brown certainly had his share of obstacles to overcome. One of them was just plain bad luck. During a room-clearing exercise when his Team was using simulation rounds tipped with red paint, one of the rounds impacted Adam’s face and caught him right in the corner of the eye just as he turned his head. Unfortunately, it completely missed his safety glasses. Despite numerous surgeries, his mangled eye eventually had to be removed.

This might be tough for some of you to look at, but buck up; it wasn’t you that was shot in the eye. Look closely, and you’ll see that on the prosthetic is the mascot of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Adam’s favorite football team. The man even handled the loss of an eye with a smile on his face—an image courtesy of Twitter.

With this type of injury, he could have chosen to ask for a medical discharge, where he would have received money from the government for the rest of his life. Did he choose that road? Hell no, Adam Brown instead applied to SEAL sniper school. Keep in mind this was his dominant eye that he lost. He now had to retrain himself to shoot left-handed using his off-eye. In a school where everyone else has two eyes and half still washed out, one-eyed Adam Brown not only passed but ended up second in his class.

Some of the instructors for the East coast based SEAL Teams were members of DEVGRU, better known as SEAL Team Six (or just STS). One of these elite Operators was to become Adam’s mentor. Always wanting to push himself further, Adam decided that he too wanted to be a DEVGRU Operator. Why? Because they are the best of the best, joining their ranks would be a huge challenge.

Adam applied for and was eventually granted a training spot at Green Team (the DEVGRU selection process). However, there was one issue; at this point, Brown was still undergoing procedures on his eye to regain some vision. Because of this, his superiors wanted him to wait a year before joining Green Team. In the meantime, Adam was deployed to Afghanistan.

While in Afghanistan, he was involved in a freak accident when two US military convoys, traveling in different directions at a high rate of speed on a narrow road, collided with one another. There was a ton of dust being kicked up in both directions. This disoriented one of the drivers who accidentally clipped the front end of the Humvee in which Adam was riding. Brown had his right hand on the window frame at the time, and as his vehicle rolled over three times, it smashed his fingers, leaving them hanging on by only a few tendons. Ignoring his injuries, he helped tend to others injured more seriously than he was. His fingers, now wrapped in a lump of bloody gauze, insisted on pulling security until every other man was aboard the CASEVAC helicopter.

He called Kelley and casually told her he had an accident and would be coming home a bit early. After a flight to Germany for emergency surgery, he was on his way back to Little Creek. When it came time for more surgery, Adam insisted on a local anesthetic so he could remain awake and watch the entire procedure.

During the healing process. Image courtesy of Quora.

This was in December 2006, and Green Team was scheduled to begin in June. Now both his dominant eye and his dominant hand were messed up. A month after surgery, Adam started to retrain himself to fire both his carbine and his pistol with his left hand. Adam’s biggest concern at this point was how he would handle CQB (Close Quarters Battle) drills, where lightning-fast reactions are needed to successfully clear rooms and react to threats.

The Green Team instructors understandably had great skepticism about whether a man with one eye and recently surgically reattached fingers (on his dominant hand, no less) could pass a course where only the top 2% of SEALs were accepted and half of them failed. In addition, there was concern that Brown might pose a safety hazard because so much live ammunition was used in training. Still, after reviewing his exemplary record once more, the leaders of DEVGRU decided to give him a chance.

To compensate for his diminished peripheral vision due to his missing right eye, Adam had to “keep his head on a swivel” and constantly move it from side to side. Even though his right hand had been crushed and his fingers reattached only months earlier, Brown shot flawlessly.

Adam Brown had accomplished what nearly everyone thought was impossible; he passed Green Team and became a DEVGRU Operator. He was shortly after that assigned to the Gold Squadron (one of DEVGRU’s four assault squadrons), nicknamed the Knights.

Members of the Gold Squadron display their unit flag. Their military working dog, front and center, also made it to the top of the mountain—an image courtesy of Quora.

On February 5th, 2010, Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Brown celebrated his 36th birthday at home with his wife and two elementary school-aged kids (Nathan and Savannah), enjoying his favorite birthday cake flavor, cookies and cream. The children were excited to give their daddy his present, and Adam unwrapped it carefully. He smiled broadly when he opened the box to see an adult-sized pair of Batman underwear. Their dad was their superhero, and this was their way of proving that to him. “I love them!” he exclaimed. Then, he took a knee so he could get down to their level, and he made a promise to his children.

“I promise these are going to be my undercover underwear. I’m going to wear them on every op I go on”.

He lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper and continued, “Nobody will ever know of my superhero capabilities.” Overhearing this, Kelley called him a dork, and the kids cracked up laughing.

February 26th was Adam’s day to report for his deployment to Afghanistan. Early that evening, the family shared dinner at Chili’s. Immediately after dinner, it was off to the base, where they would say their goodbyes. Leaving your wife and children, knowing there is a fair chance you will never see them again, is an unspeakable mixture of sadness and pain. The kids tried to be brave, but inevitably the tears started streaming down their little faces. Finally, Adam turned to his 10-year-old son and told him, “This is the last time, buddy, last time.” He picked up his daughter, gave her a big hug, and told her, “Bye, little baby; it’s all fine.” Then, putting Savannah down, he turned to Kelley, “You come home,” she said. “I promise,” Adam replied. They shared a final kiss, and Kelley felt strongly compelled to have the gate guard snap a quick family photo. It is shown below.

The final Brown family photo. Image from Pinterest

Late in the afternoon of March 17th, Chief Brown attended that evening’s mission briefing. It was a typical DEVGRU mission, a high-value target in an extremely dangerous remote environment. The mission aimed to kill or capture a high-ranking Taliban leader code-named Objective Lake James. James and his men had been responsible for the deaths of several American soldiers who manned a nearby Forward Operating Base.

While in the meeting, Kelley tried to contact Adam via Skype. “Hi, Sweetie,” she wrote. She waited for a while for a reply, but there was none. Unfortunately, this was not uncommon, as Adam and his Team remained quite busy. So Kelley went about her business.

When night fell, Adam and his fellow SEALs boarded MH-47 Chinook helicopters operated by the Army’s 160th SOAR for their commute to work. The mountains of the Hindu Kush can be pretty treacherous, and it wasn’t a surprise to the Operators when they heard the choppers would not be able to land. Instead, the SEALs would have to fast rope in and walk a few kilometers to their accurate intel told them they were holed up in a small village.

After reaching the village, everything went according to the book until a Taliban sentry must have heard a noise that caused him to raise his weapon and place his finger on the trigger. Feeling he was about to be fired upon, a SEAL only thirty feet away from the enemy soldier took him out with a suppressed weapon. Then, seeing the man next to him suddenly drop dead, another Taliban sentry began spraying bullets into the darkness. The fight was on.

Before long, the SEALs found the building that recent intel told them housed Objective Lake James. Shots were coming from one of the structure’s windows, but no one could tell immediately precisely where they were coming from. Adam caught a glimpse of the shooter and relayed that info back to his Team. Wanting to eliminate the threat as soon as possible, a fellow SEAL asked over the radio, “Can anyone get a grenade in there?”. “I got it,” came the reply from Adam Brown. Adam could always be counted on to step up and take care of business. The window was beyond throwing distance, so Adam decided a 40 mm grenade launcher was in order.

Unfortunately, positioning himself to get the grenade to its intended target meant he would have to leave his cover position. Only 10 minutes had passed since the assault began. As he moved forward to get a good angle, shots rang out from his left flank. Adam cried out in pain. He had been shot through both legs. Adam gestured to where he heard the images and told his teammates, “They’re over there.” Again, he winced in pain, pointing towards a barn. “In there.” Realizing they were spotted, the men in the barn rained down bullets in Adam’s direction. He was hit several times on his left side. Some rounds made their way between the plates of Adam’s body armor. Only then he conveyed to his Team the code word signifying that an American was down. Two of Adam’s brothers rushed to his aid, one being shot through the wrist. Once they got to his position, they lifted their badly wounded Teammate, all 250 pounds of him, including his gear and weapons, and dragged him to safety.

A Corpsman was summoned, and he found Adam bleeding profusely. He had been shot multiple times under his left arm and through his abdomen. Surveying him for other possible wounds, the Corpsman cut off Adam’s pants. His Teammates stopped in their tracks for a second; there they were, the Batman underwear his kids had bought him for his birthday, in place just as promised. By this time, two fellow SEALs were keeping pressure on Adam’s wounds the best they could. “Hang in there, buddy!” they implored. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” Adam replied as he closed his eyes. Adam Brown had died.

Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Lee Brown was buried in Cunningham Cemetery in Garland County in his beloved Arkansas. Kelley and the children moved back to Hot Springs, and the kids were enrolled in Lake Hamilton Elementary School, walking the same hallways Adam did when he was a child, according to his final wishes.

A few weeks after settling into their new home in Hot Springs, Kelley was up at night unable to sleep. So she began looking through a box of old papers when she spotted something she had never seen before. It had been handwritten by Adam at least nine years earlier.

He wrote:

I’m lying here about to sleep, and all I can think about is how awesome my life is with you and Nathan, and I was thinking, what if something happened to me this week and you never really knew how much I love you, and how I love being married to you, how much I love my life and how awesome it is to be NaNa’s father. You are the greatest, purest, sweetest, and most beautiful woman I have ever met, much less I get to be your husband…Nathan holds a place in my heart that is unexplainable and that I did not know existed until he came into our lives…May he always know that the greatest man on Earth is Jesus Christ, may we always show him that. I am so blessed; it makes my blood burn with a completeness and happiness I have never had. You are so precious. Although I miss you so deeply, the Word says, ‘This is the day the Lord made; let us rejoice and be glad’…
With Love Through Eternity,
Adam

A final farewell to an American hero. Image courtesy of Quora.

Postscript

This is Adam and Kelley’s daughter, Savannah, at her 2020 graduation. With the help of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, she’s attending the University of Arkansas. He would be so proud.

Savannah Brown in 2020. Image courtesy of Twitter and Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

In other news, Jason Hall, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of American Sniper, has signed on to write the screenplay for a film based on Adam Brown’s life. It will be an adaptation of Eric Blehm’s bestselling book, Fearless. Andrew Erwin is set to direct.

Navy SEAL Training Pipeline Pathways

Special operations forces attract a special breed of soldier. The true SOF hopeful is precisely focused, tirelessly motivated, and fully committed to their goal. Whether trying to secure Navy SEAL Hell Week, make it through Army Q Course, or push through the lengthy Air Force “Superman School,” the SOF candidate is defined by an urge to join the ranks of America’s most elite fighting forces. The relatively small number of officer billets in these communities makes the pool of applicants vying for them all the more competitive. Especially for special operations communities that can be directly entered without years of military service, like the Navy SEALS, the melee for an officer spot is fierce. This accessibility makes their selection all the more ruthless and raises concerns about which qualified SEAL candidates get the nod for a shot at BUD/s. Excluding the unicorn lateral transfer, SEAL officer candidates come from three main pools: the US Naval Academy, Officer Candidate School (OCS), and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs at conventional colleges.

The Academy is expectedly to be a powerhouse for producing qualified candidates. It’s no secret that most of the Navy water polo team has their sights set on becoming SEALS, or they very often reach that goal. At an institution organized around creating model naval officers, it’s not a surprise that the students (especially the student-athletes) at the Academy are strong contenders for limited SEAL officer spots at BUDS. USNA gives them all the support they can, from SEAL-specific workout groups to special warfare-specific mentorship. When the Academy guys show up at SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection (SOAS), the final two-week “boot camp” filter before officially entering the SEAL training program, they often excel among their peers from other commissioning pathways.

A high school wrestler challenges a member of the special warfare community to a race up the cargo net at the Navy SEAL Accelerator during the National High School Wrestling Championships at the Virginia Beach Convention center. The accelerator offered high school wrestlers from around the country the opportunity to see some of the career choices the Navy has to offer. (Source: US Navy)

That’s not to say that becoming a SEAL officer is hopeless if you’re not coming from the Academy. Pathways to the commission, like OCS or ROTC, offer advantages and a unique group of qualified candidates. For one, not everyone can get into the Academy. The application process is complicated, requiring high school applicants to earn an elusive congressional nomination, sit for an interview, and complete a lengthy online form. For another, only some people who hope to be a SEAL want to attend the Academy. Four years at a military school is not for everyone. The intense 12-week OCS course attracts candidates with college degrees who want to enter the NSW pipeline as soon as possible. ROTC provides the option for a traditional college education and experience as a candidate prepares to join the Navy. The flexibility of OCS or ROTC appeals to those unable to attend the Academy or those uninterested in attending a service academy (think of the Ivy League rower-turned-SEAL trope). There’s a case to be made for the diverse perspectives developed in experiences outside of the structured USNA system, be they from a “normal” college experience or civilian OCS candidates. SOF prides itself on creativity and adaptive problem-solving. The Academy produces qualified, even overqualified, candidates but can impress upon them a rigid, uniform approach to being a naval officer.

San Diego-area high school students participate in log physical training during the third annual Navy SEAL Invitational hosted by the Navy SEAL & SWCC Scout Team. The Scout Team provides mental and physical training for different athletic teams with the goal of creating awareness for careers in Naval Special Warfare. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Conor Minto/Released)

Regardless of the commissioning pathway, all future SEAL officers must make it through SOAS and, more importantly, BUDS. Anecdotally, a similar number of Naval Academy, ROTC, and OCS prospects are invited to SOAS to earn their spot in a future BUDS class. Naval Academy candidates, however, are usually the largest group. This makes sense if you acknowledge that these individuals have spent four years with a singular focus on becoming the best naval officer, and SEAL candidate, as possible at an institution designed to help them fulfill this vision. But it risks underemphasizing the advantages of the other candidate pools. ROTC candidates, if they lack quite as scrupulous a military bearing as their Academy peers, benefit from the creativity of a diversely spread education, especially those candidates from our country’s prestigious universities. An applicant motivated and competitive enough to gain admission to an ROTC program at a top university clearly has the ambition and talent needed in NSW. OCS candidates come from countlessly varied backgrounds, with professional expertise and real-world experience that can improve their decision-making as naval officers. Think of the Olympic athlete who turns to the military. Candidates commissioning from sources outside the Naval Academy should, of course, be assessed relative to their qualified Academy peers, but not in a way that dismisses or marginalizes their mismatched makeup.

Diverse thought benefits NSW and SOF in general. Reevaluating NSW’s criteria for selection and what candidates these criteria favor ensures NSW keeps talent on the table when developing its leaders. The Naval Academy can and should be relied upon for model NSW candidates, but not at the expense of alternative commissioning routes.

***

Author Bio

Cole Black grew up in San Diego, CA, and is currently attending Yale University. He is a sophomore pursuing a History major with a focus on War and Society. Cole grew up with three brothers. His father is a former Navy SEAL. Cole hopes to pursue a commission as a naval officer after college.

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The Changing Role of Special Operations Forces

Current National Defense Strategy

Back in April 2022, General Richard Clark, commander of US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and Christopher Maier, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, announced the release of a sixteen-page document outlining the “Vision and Strategy” of US Special Operations Forces (SOF). This came on the heels of the Department of Defense (DOD) release of the 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS); a factsheet outlining the highlights can be found here.

To fully understand the role SOF plays in national defense, we must first understand the broader picture of the National Defense Strategy. According to the factsheet, the US has four defense priorities, these are:

Defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the PRC (People’s Republic of China)
Deterring strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners
Deterring aggression while being prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary, prioritizing the PRC challenge in the Indo-Pacific, then the Russia challenge in Europe.
Building a resident Joint Force and defense ecosystem.

A joint special forces team moves together out of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey aircraft during Emerald Warrior, our largest joint and combined special operations exercise. Photo by Air Force Senior Airman Clayton Cupit.

Take note that counterterrorism activities are no longer listed as a top defense priority. As a matter of fact, the word “terrorism” does not appear once on the non-classified NDS fact sheet.

The document continues:

“The Department will act urgently to sustain and strengthen deterrence, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as our most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the Department.”

They keep spelling it out for us; China is our biggest threat. That is something we must keep in mind and not get too bogged down with involvement in the war in Ukraine. It’s a primary tenet of special operations training; never take your eyes off the bad guy.

Russia is mentioned next:

“Russia poses acute threats, as illustrated by its brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We will collaborate with our NATO Allies and partners to reinforce robust deterrence in the face of Russian aggression.”

This further puts matters into perspective. Russia is the number two bad guy. So we need to keep a close eye on them, but the PRC is our number one concern.

Tertiary threats are addressed:

“The Department will remain capable of managing other persistent threats, including those from NorthKorea, Iran, and violent extremist organizations.”

These are the “also-rans.” Important to keep an eye on, but not the main focus at this time. That said, in the special operations community, focus can shift instantly, and we must be prepared to address any threat anytime, anywhere. I misled you earlier; while it is true that the word “terrorism” does not appear in the NDS fact sheet, it does mention “violent extremist organizations” as a persistent threat. If you want to learn more about what the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) has to say about violent extremism, click here for access to the 2021 edition of US Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators. It’s your tax dollars at work.

If you want to track the activities of current terrorist groups, click here and check out the Counter Terrorism Guide webpage maintained by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. As you’ll quickly see, terrorism is still alive and well worldwide. However, it steals a line from Tom Clancy; it does not present the same “clear and present danger” to our nation as it once did.

The Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin—commonly known as al-Shabaab, is still alive and well in the region. Image from the National Counterterrorism Center

The Future of SOF

The cover page of the SOCOM document outlines the future of the American SOF. Image from the United States Special Operations command

Starting with the attacks of 9/11 over two decades ago, US special operations forces have concentrated primarily on counterterrorism efforts. While this mission remains on their radar, the focus of the national defense of the United States has shifted to keeping tabs on the activities of the People’s Republic of China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. As a result, operators who may have spent their entire careers fighting the war on terror may wonder how they fit in.

Assistant Secretary Maier spoke at the National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict Symposium last Friday, November 18th. Speaking of the future of SOF, he said,

“Where I think there is going to be tremendous transition and change — and I would say we’re already along that path — is really applying the capabilities and the thinking — and in many respects the talent that is unique to SOF — to the rest of the National Defense Strategy challenges.”

I read that and thought, “Ok, great. The only constant in change, but how are we going to change?”

Fortunately, Mr. Maeir addressed that issue a bit. He continued,

“There’s not a lot of institutional knowledge that goes back, frankly, to the pre-2001 era,” Maier said. “So there’s a significant amount of … education but also advocacy required in these conversations, in some cases just to get a seat at the table. And then being able to apply in those conversations … whether it’s planning or policy discussions the role SOF can play and where there’s key roles SOF can help to provide options for senior decision makers.”

Here, he is being quite frank and realistic. Times have changed, areas of interest have changed, and SOF has to change along with it. If not, they might not get what he calls “a seat at the table.” So they need to define their role in a changing global environment. And that is what the Special Operations Forces Vision and Strategy document does.

I’ll cover the document’s highlights in an attempt to bring you up to speed on the future of American SOF in 2022 and beyond.

Who We Are

If I had to sum it up in three words, I’d say that SOF is an innovative problem solver. These extraordinarily dedicated and talented individuals devote their lives to taking on the most complex of challenges. The more challenging, the better. As the SEALs say, “The only easy day was yesterday.” SOF is a community, and you don’t have to wear a tab or a trident to be part of that community. There are several other SOF professionals for every operator: military support personnel, contractors, DOD civilians, and family members pulling together to ensure operational readiness. It takes a village and a fairly big one at that.

What We Do

The document explains that SOF “respond swiftly to crises worldwide and accomplish high-risk, politically-sensitive missions with a low signature and small footprint.” In addition, they “cultivate strong relationships with our global network -allies, partners, joint, interagency, multinational, industry, and academia.” Like it or not, SOF troops are ambassadors for the US and the rest of our armed forces. They are widely looked up to and emulated.

I love the next bullet point in the document. Part of it reads that SOF “…create dilemmas for our adversaries”. Classic. If the Rangers, SEALs, or Delta are coming for you, it will not be your best day.

Where We Are Going

SOF remains balanced and ready to take on any conflict asked of them. The vision and strategy document mentions that they will utilize “sustainable counterterrorism to safeguard the Nation.” While for the rest of the foreseeable future, this will be part of their mission, even if it doesn’t align neatly with the main objectives of the National Defense Strategy. Asymmetric warfare is a big part of what SOF does, and they are damn good at it. Small units will always be needed to go in the middle of the night to places with names you can’t pronounce to fix problems you didn’t know existed. That’s just the nature of the beast.

SOCOM, however, realizes that the force must evolve. “Evolve into what?” you may ask. According to them, “current and future threats demand SOF evolves into a force capable of creating strategic, asymmetric advantages for the nation as a key contributor of integrated deterrence.”

Special Forces soldiers on their way to work. Image from US Army War College

Integrated Deterrence

In a piece published online by the US Army War College, Scott Harr discusses integrated deterrence, which he calls a “new concept.” He quotes Colin Kahl, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, in his attempts to define the phrase. Mr. Kahl says, “In terms of integrated … we mean, integrated across domains, so conventional, nuclear, cyber, space, informational. [It is also] integrated across theaters of competition and potential conflict [and] integrated across the spectrum of conflict from high-intensity warfare to the gray zone.”

Ok, I think I understand. In broad terms, this is SOF being involved and non-compartmentalized.

Jim Garamone quotes Kahl in a 2021 piece he wrote for the DOD news. He notes, “The concept in this case also means integration of all instruments of national power.” Those instruments are government and military. He quotes Kahl as saying, “Most importantly, it means being “integrated across our allies and partners, which are the real asymmetric advantage that the United States has over any other competitor or potential adversary.”

We’re starting to dig deep down the rabbit hole on this one, but that is necessary to understand the vision and future strategy of SOCOM for SOF. For example, you might wonder what Kahl means by “asymmetric advantage.” The best definition of the term I could find is from a company aptly named Asymmetry Observations.

They tell us,

“Asymmetric advantage is based on knowing something that creates value or has an edge that others don’t. An asymmetric advantage is protected and maintained through the distinctions between knowledge of a concept vs. actually being able to do it.”

We know or gain knowledge of the true capabilities of our adversaries that gives us the edge over them. While knowledge is power, it isn’t necessarily deterrence. Garamone reminds us that deterrence “has been at the heart of US policy since the Cold War.” I would argue that the idea of American deterrence goes back to Teddy Roosevelt’s “speak softly and carry a big stick” philosophy of foreign policy.

Kahl tells us that the traditional definition of deterrence does not necessarily hold today. He says, “We need to think about deterrence differently given the existing security environment and the potential scenarios for conflict that we’re trying to deter. We at [the] Department of Defense need to have the capabilities and the concepts to deny the type of rapid fait accompli scenarios that we know potential adversaries are contemplating, so they can’t make a rapid lunge at our partners and allies before they believe the United States can show up.”

Prevention. He’s talking about using SOF as a prophylactic force rather than just a reactive force. Being given actionable intelligence and acting on that to deter what is euphemistically called “negative outcomes.” Sure we already do that to some extent, and those missions almost always remain classified. We don’t want to alarm the American people with “what could have happened,” At the same time, we don’t want to encourage bad actors to develop destructive plans knowing it will gain them recognition.

Kahl ponders some more on the subject,

“We also have to make ourselves more resilient because, frankly, we know that our adversaries have developed theories of victory, cognizant that they wouldn’t do particularly well in a protracted conflict with the United States,” he said. “So they don’t intend to fight a protracted conflict. Instead, they intend to blind us and deafen us and slow us down.”

Twenty years we spent in Afghanistan. Two long, painful, bloody, expensive decades…and the Taliban knew we’d leave in the end, and they’d still be there. It reminds me of the Bruce Springsteen anti-war song, Born in the USA (and no, it is not a patriotic tune, read the lyrics and think about them). The singer says he “Had a brother at Khe Sahn, fighting off the Viet Cong. They’re still there; he’s all gone.” Meaning, of course, his brother (either biological or military) was killed in the fighting, yet the VC remained. So what was it all for? A lot of people ask that same question about Afghanistan…and Iraq.

There is much more to the SOCOM vision and strategy for the future of SOF in the United States military. Unfortunately, time, space, and attention span preclude addressing all of it here. However, it is quite a lot to digest. But a plan exists, and it seems like a good plan. Special operations forces, by their nature, have always been dynamic and adaptable. These qualities will keep them relevant and at the tip of the spear for years to come.

SOFREP Remembers the Benghazi Attack on 9/11, 2012

Ten years ago, on September 12th, 2012, SOFREP shared its initial reports on the attack on 9/11 on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. It hit very close to home here at SOFREP as one of the casualties was former navy SEAL and CIA contractor Glen Doherty who was the best friend of SOFREP publisher Brandon Webb. Just a few months before Glen had contributed two articles for the site, one about Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen and another about SOF medics using live goats to train on in order to save human lives.

In the aftermath of the attack that killed Glen, US Ambassador Chris Stevens, State Department employee Sean Smith and, former navy SEAL and CIA contractor Ty Woods, SOFREP reported extensively on the government foul-ups that led to the attack wrote the “Benghazi; The Definitive Report,” which became a New York Times Best Seller.

As Global Threat Analyst Sarah Adams wrote to today, some 12 years after the Benghazi attack, the planners and perpetrators are mostly still at large and operating out of Libya as ISIS and Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists. This should be unacceptable to the American People which fought our longest war at great expense in blood and treasure to avenge the lives taken by terrorists during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

What appears below is our first piece of coverage on the Benghazi attack published on September 12th, 2012 when the attack was only hours old. We reported the death of Ambassador Stevens because it was reported on the news, but refrained from publishing the names of Smith, Woods and Glen Doherty pending official notifications to their families.

Friends of Glen set up a memorial foundation in his memory to assist SOF veterans with the transition from military to civilian life. So far they have awarded 81 scholarships amounting to $590,000. If you can spare a couple of bucks, please visit and donate to them here at the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation.

“This was a coordinated attack, more of a commando-style event. It had both coordinated fire — direct fire and indirect fire. There appeared to be military maneuvers approaching the facility.” – House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. to CBS News

Experts believe the attack in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others and left three more wounded in Benghazi was a planned and coordinated para-military operation. The timing coincided with the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. The mob violence seems to have been used as a distraction.

The shooting started about 10 pm local time Tuesday night. There were about 30 Americans in the consulate compound guarded by Libyan security.

The attack was conducted in two phases, the assault group of about 20 men breached the compound using rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. They then precisely struck a secure facility where the Ambassador was located. The fight lasted some four and half hours.

Extremists have recently threatened revenge for the killings of al Qaeda’s latest dead number two guys, Saeed al-Shihri in Yemen and Abu Yahya al-Libi in Pakistan. I am sure the noisy campaign season celebration of the death of Osama Bin Laden has also irritated Islamists.

CNN reports that U.S. surveillance drones are being deployed to eastern Libya to locate jihadi camps and targets linked to the attack. Expect Libyan forces to conduct a series of raids in the next two weeks. As more details are discovered, we will fill in the blanks.

So, You Want to Be a SEAL (Or SWCC). Here’s How to Get Started

If you are reading this, I’m about 99+% sure that you know what a Navy SEAL is, so I don’t have to go into that. But you might not be so sure about the acronym SWCC.

There, that pretty much covers the acronym, Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC). Image Credit: The United States Navy

According to Navy. com, the official US Navy website, “SWCC are extensively trained to execute high-risk warfare and reconnaissance missions in river and coastline settings.” Operators may be deployed anywhere on the face of the Earth, in any type of environment. Most operations, however, take place in a river or coastal area.

Before I go any further, I’d like to make it clear that all of the source material for this piece comes from the Department of the Navy. If you want the most accurate and up-to-date information, you must go right to the source.

In their (the Navy’s) own words:

“Navy SWCC support and perform maritime special operations in open ocean, littoral and riverine environments. Their professional occupation in the Navy is known as Special Warfare Boat Operator (SB). SBs are experts in maritime special operations tactics and missions; foreign cultural awareness; advanced weapons tactics; tactical communications; tactical air control; tactical ground mobility; small arms and crew-served weapons; fast roping and rappelling; advanced craft operations; long-range, over the horizon, and riverine navigation; tactical combat medicine and trauma care; intelligence operations; and chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear defense measures; among others.”

I thought I had a pretty good vocabulary until I read the SWCC definition above. I could figure out what “riverine” was. It must have something to do with rivers, right? It does. But what about “littoral”? As an Army ground pounder, I had no clue. Not even many words rhyme with it, so I looked it up. It turns out that “littoral,” according to Oxford Languages (and anyone who already knows), means “related to or situated on the shore or the sea or a lake.” Ok, my Navy friends can stop laughing at me now.

What it takes to be an SWCC. Video courtesy of YouTube and the United States Navy.

Now that you have an idea of what being an SWCC is all about, let’s find out how you, as a civilian or prior service enlisted individual, can try to become one. I’ll assume you are up for a challenge of epic proportions.

Any journey begins with taking the first step. In this instance, that involves visiting your local Navy recruiter. Tell them you want to be a SEAL or SWCC (whichever applies to you) and that you wish to make a Warrior Challenge contract. Then, as you might imagine, they’ll ask you a bunch of screening-type questions, mostly about your age, citizenship, educational background, legal and medical history…stuff like that.

You are going to want to be prepared to take some documents with you on that initial visit. Be sure to bring your birth certificate, high school and/or college diploma, social security card, the names and addresses of past employers, a list of the addresses where you’ve lived in the past ten years and, if you are prior service, a copy of your DD214 Statement of Service.

Pro tip: Do not lie about anything. If you do, it will be found out and later come back to bite you in the ass. If you’ve had minor legal issues (speeding tickets, misdemeanor charges, and the like) or medical issues, tell the recruiter about them. They will do their best to get you a waiver if possible. They don’t expect everyone that comes through their door has a 100% spotless record.

Pre-COVID photo from a MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) waiting room. Army photo from Sgt. Richard W. Hoppe/123rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

If there are no issues, your recruiter will send you to a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). Here you will receive a thorough medical evaluation and take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. It can make for quite an interesting and long day, but you should only have to do it once. It’s like taking a really in-depth football physical and the SATs on the same day. If you get the thumbs up from the MEPS screeners, you’ll be given the opportunity to enter the Navy Delayed Entry Program (DEP). You may also be offered an enlistment contract for a job not involved in special operations.

Why the non-special warfare offer? You may have already heard that Naval Special Warfare (NSW) schools tend to have a high attrition rate. It varies from class to class and according to the time of year, but roughly 75% or more of SWCC and SEAL candidates fail to make it through the pipeline for one reason or another. That’s why you have to have a plan B. The fact is, most guys are going to need it. It’s good to remember that you can choose to opt-out of joining the Navy at any point before you leave for training.

Now that you’ve passed MEPS, you have to go out and earn yourself an NSW contract. To do that, you have to have passed at least three Physical Screening Tests (PST). These involve a 500-yard swim, timed 2:00 pushups, 2:00 curl-ups, 2:00 pull-ups, and a one-and-a-half mile run. If you are wondering how your numbers on those events stack up, check out the SEAL PST calculator here.

Getting wet and sandy, aka surf torture. In the front right corner is future Medal of Honor recipient Michael Monsoor. Image Credit: Photographer’s mate 1st class Shane T. McCoy/US Navy

When it’s ready, your recruiter will send your application package to Naval Recruiting Command (NRC). If you are fortunate and are selected to become an NSW candidate, you’ll receive an offer for either an SWCC or SEAL contract. Don’t think you can slack off, though. In order to keep that contract, you’ll have to pass another PST within 14 days of beginning Naval recruit training.

Oh, and what if you are female and want to try to become a SEAL or SWCC? No problem; the opportunity is open to anyone who can meet the challenge.

New York Times Slams SEAL Training; “A Culture of Brutality, Cheating and Drugs”

The New York Times headline on August 30th was certainly attention-getting,

“Death in Navy SEAL Training Exposes a Culture of Brutality, Cheating and Drugs”

The hook they hung these sensational charges on was the death of Seaman Kyle Mullen who died of a particularly virulent strain of pneumonia after he completed the portion of Basic Underwater Demolition School known as Hell Week. Mullin was back in his room and was discovered by another BUD/S student to be unresponsive and medical personnel were called. As it would turn out, it was too late. In investigating the “mishap” a term used by the navy to describe events that occur outside of planned expectations, they found syringes and performance-enhancing drugs(PEDs) in his car. The captain in charge of BUD/S found during his investigation that about 40 candidates had either tested positive or had admitted to using steroids or other drugs in violation of clearly stated and acknowledged Navy regulations against their use. Regulations that exist for three reasons,

They can be dangerous to use while undergoing the intense physical training that BUD/S entails,
The SEALs want trainees on a level playing field when it comes to physical condition, natural stamina, and abilities
They don’t want people who cheat on the rules because it becomes a pattern of behavior later on.

Over the last 10 years, SOFREP has covered the navy SEALs and other units of our Special Operations Forces extensively. We don’t shy away from stories when SEALs are caught up in criminal activity like SEAL Team 6 member, SO1 Aaron Howard who was convicted of blackmailing women for nude photos in 2020.

We also reported on the case of navy SEAL, SOC Eddie Gallagher who was accused of murdering a wounded Iraqi insurgent in 2017. We followed the case extensively and when it looked to us like the prosecution was way out of bounds in the way the case was handled we broke with the head still calling for his head and pointed to the problems with the case we thought suggested undue command influence and mismanagement of the case itself. Gallagher was acquitted of the charges after a witness given immunity testified on the stand that he was he and not Gallagher who ended the prisoner’s life.

So we were not afraid to look into this story to either confirm or deny the claims that a culture of drug use and cheating existed in BUD/S. Let the chips fall where they may.

The Times story goes on to make some pretty sensational claims, not the least of which was the accusation of Kyle Mullens own mother Regina, who accused the SEALs of inflicting unneeded brutality on her son, saying to the Times, “They say it’s training, but it’s torture. And then they didn’t even give them the proper medical care. They treat these guys worse than they are allowed to treat prisoners of war.”

“They killed him,” she told the Times reporter.

The New York Times writer, Dave Philipps, states he interviewed, “17 active-duty Navy personnel, including senior leaders, active-duty SEALs and current and former trainees and instructors.”

Well, we spoke to some too. We also spoke to Naval Special Warfare Command. In their piece, the New York Times says the navy declined to comment on the story because of the pending investigation.

NSWC was willing however to answer all our questions and was very forthcoming with information. We also spoke to navy SEALs both serving and retired, both instructors and non-instructors. We also spoke to medical professionals who have treated members of Special Forces units like the SEALs, including SEALs themselves, who are intimately aware of the medical problems that go with this kind of training.

Rather than confirm that the SEAL teams tolerate a ‘culture of brutality, drugs and cheating” they claimed that the Department of the Navy, the Naval Special Warfare Command, and the instructors themselves are actively working to prevent a culture like that from taking hold. Not that it doesn’t come easily.

A retired SEAL Chief Petty Officer who spent two years(a standard tour) at BUD/S explained it this way, “These are smart, competitive, and resourceful guys coming into the program and they are always looking for ways to gain some kind of edge on the training program. When they enter training they all read and sign various acknowledgments about what they are allowed to do and not do in terms of conduct during and after training hours including very specific stuff on drugs, supplements, and performance-enhancing drugs. There is zero tolerance for anyone who gets caught.” These signed acknowledgments are also known as “Hang-Me” sheets in the navy because they form an evidentiary basis for charges that can result in Bad Conduct and Dishonorable Discharges for offenders.

When asked about the syringes found in Seaman Mullens’s car, the Chief had this to say, “It could be a number of things from vitamin B12 to HGH(human growth hormone) to testosterone, but the fact that it was hidden in his car strongly suggests he was using something he knew was against rules and regs.”

SOFREP asked if cars were ever searched, “Sure, I’ve been called in when I was off duty with other instructors to go through every car in the parking lot belonging to trainees on just a rumor that someone was using something against regulations. We didn’t find anything though.”

The easy availability of performance-enhancing drugs like HGH and testosterone in Mexico resulted in a decades-long regulation that said those in BUD/S training were specifically forbidden from crossing the border into Mexico for any reason for the duration of their training, which runs some two years. The Naval Special Warfare Center where SEALS are trained is located in Imperial Beach, Californian which is less than 5 miles from the border with Tijuana Mexico.

We spoke to a working physician and career veteran who served in the Army Medical Corps and a former Navy SEAL himself who remains actively involved in the medical issues encountered by SEALs in training along with the unauthorized use of supplements. His statement is repeated here without edits.

“A friend and Naval Academy friend and classmate of mine was the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California from 1999 until August 2002. Then, in March 2001, a 29-year-old BUD/S trainee died during a Hell Week swimming event. He was coughing up frothy red sputum at the time – as were others in his class. His death was the first BUD/S Hell Week death ever, which surprised all due to the incredible and capable medical team that monitors Hell Week activities 24 hours a day.

I was invited to have dinner with my classmate soon after that while visiting BUD/S to lecture on the dangers of certain supplements that were killing soldiers in the Army at Ft. Bragg, NC. I was the Commander of the clinic that cared for the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division and their families at the time and was witness to five or more deaths a year during routine training. These Army soldiers were taking creatine and ephedrine as supplements for improved physical performance as advertised heavily in sports magazines. These supplements prevent sweating and cause muscles to hold water and swell. That includes the muscles of the heart and lungs.

The result is heart failure, and commonly a sudden body temperature elevation (from not sweating) resulting in heat stroke and death.

Used correctly these supplements can aid weight lifting training, but they should never be used during aerobic activities like running or swimming and they have been banned by high school and college sports teams due to their dangers.

When I heard of the 1999 SEAL officer’s death I saw the similarity of his presenting symptoms, and (as an ex-SEAL and now doctor) was asked to come to present my findings to the BUD/S staff. My classmate and Special Warfare commander invited me to dinner at his home. We discussed the autopsy findings and the physical symptoms of coughing up blood-tinged frothy sputum. I noted that this was what I was seeing at Ft Bragg and suggested that perhaps the LT was taking creatine or ephedrine or both.

Supplements were found in his locker.

I noted that others in the class were also likely taking it, and it was noted that others in training were also coughing up similar sputum which had the medical teams concerned. We discussed this at length and what could be done to prevent further adverse events.

Soon after this discussion, the Commander issued an order that banned all supplements permanently, restricted trainees from crossing the border to Mexico, and implemented regular inspections to assure compliance. His immediate and well-thought-out actions clearly saved lives for the next two decades.

The recent death in February of this year of one SEAL, and the near-death of another during the day of rest after completing Hell Week raises my concerns that supplements may have been involved again. Creatine and ephedrine are easily purchased online and in health food stores.

Another risk factor that should be considered is the recent use of Covid shots administered to Navy personnel. There are multiple medical reports of large and microscopic blood clots caused by both the Covid infection and the Covid shots. I personally experienced blood clots and lung damage during my last (fully immunized) bout with Covid (proven by blood tests and CT scan).

The autopsy and sputum cultures of both recent Hell Week-related casualties found that they had bacterial pneumonia caused by a very dangerous pathogen that is difficult to treat in the best of cases.

The article in the Times mentioned “needles” and tried to imply drug use. This is extremely unlikely given the oversight and active monitoring programs currently in place.

One possibility for needle use by fitness-focused athletes is steroids, but this is not likely in a SEAL candidate due to aggressive and effective oversight and lack of perceived benefit. A possibility might be vitamin B-12 which is commonly given by doctors to patients by injection for low B-12 levels.

There will be additional upgrades to the already robust training and medical monitoring efforts at BUD/S. The Navy has the most capable military and medical teams in charge of the most difficult military training in the world today.”

The autopsy performed on Seaman Mullen found that he had contracted acute pneumonia due to Streptococcus pyogenes. This is known as a Group A strep bacteria, which the report said: “is capable of causing multiorgan failure and cardiovascular collapse via toxic shock.” This strain of streptococcus can result in mild symptoms with little effect on the body but can balloon into a serious infection that can include a very rare incidence of Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome in which the patient rapidly experiences a drop in blood pressure, organ failure, and in some cases, death. It can also develop into necrotizing fasciitis which we know as Flesh Eating Bacteria

In September 2000, the Naval Health Research Center released a study that found that the intense psychological and physical stressors of training often led to respiratory infection. Between 1998-2000, 477 Naval Special Warfare trainees were used in a double-blind trial of oral azithromycin plus a placebo, and it was compared with using benzathine penicillin G plus a placebo. Of the 464 subjects, 44 developed acute respiratory infections with 20 developing pneumonia during the two weeks of the most intense training. 12 subjects were found to have a Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and just 7 had indications of a Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. They recommended administering azithromycin to trainees to help them ward off infection. The treatment for the more dangerous but more rare Streptococcus pyogenes is known to be oral penicillin for 10 days or intramuscular injection of benzathine penicillin, also known as the dreaded “Peanutbutter Shot” in the military because of its thick brownish color in the syringe. This shot is usually given in the butt muscle and you are sore as Hell at the site of the injection for days afterward.

It is actually kind of amazing that more don’t contract pneumonia during training given the conditions under which they train. They spend a lot of time in the Pacific ocean during BUD/S which is generally very cold all the time with temps that are usually in the 60s. During the winter months, the failure rate of trainees increases in BUD/S because of the colder water. There is another reason the relatively low rate of serious respiratory infection among trainees is remarkable.

Every day, Mexico dumps some 30-40 million gallons of sewage and toxic waste, into the Tijuana river which outflows into the Pacific about a mile away from where BUD/S is conducted.

raw sewage in the Pacific ocean outflowing from the Tijuana river appears brown and muddy. Just beyond the pier extending into the ocean is the Naval Special Warfare Training Center. Residents of Imperial Beach frequently complain of the smell of raw sewage wafting into their homes and frequent beach closures due to the biohazard this presents to humans.

Balancing Safety and Accomplishing the Mission

The Times article painted a picture of blind indifference to losses in training to suggest that a culture of brutality extended also to navy leadership in noting that 11 aspiring SEALs have died in training since 1953. There are occupations in the navy where far more deaths occur without claims that these deaths are the result of indifference to risk, drug use, or cheating on established standards.

From 2013 to 2017. aviation mishaps in just the Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets took the lives of some 133 pilots and other service members. In just this one type of aircraft. These losses occurred in spite of everything the navy can think of doing to make naval aviation safe in an environment that really cannot be made safe. Planes fly off of the shortened runways of aircraft carriers at night and in bad weather. They operate at high speeds and low altitudes with heavy loads. These aircraft are often flown at the limits of their engineered specifications. The men who fly them are preparing for war. In Ukraine, the appalling casualties of Russian soldiers illustrates how deadly and unforgiving war can be to hastily trained troops.

The difficulty of making unsafe things like carrier aviation safe can also be applied to navy SEALs and their mission according to one retired SEAL we spoke to,

“There is no way to make SEAL training safe. We board submarines and exit them using their torpedo tubes into freezing water. We jump from an airplane at 35,000 feet wearing oxygen and free fall to under one thousand feet before deploying our parachutes. We train with weapons and explosives and even place mines on ships to blow the bottoms out of them in defended harbors. The only way you can make things like this safe, is not to do them. So, selection and training is hard on purpose, because if the first time you run into something hard and dangerous is on an actual mission, you will fail in that mission and you’ll die along with your teammates.”

CORONADO, Calif. (Sept. 2, 2015) Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUDS) candidates wearing helmets and reflective life vests getting sandy during surf passage training. Surf passage involves rubber inflatable handling in difficult surf conditions. It is also about recovery procedures should the raft capsize in the waves. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Russell/Released)

The Navy Reacts

The death of any service member automatically triggers an extensive safety and process investigation in the service branches. It’s an examination of processes and regulations which are mostly written as the result of other incidents resulting in death or serious injuries. They are also looking to identify unforeseen circumstances that require new safety regulations be put in place.

We reached out to Naval Special Warfare Command on these allegations and they were eager to answer our questions initially offering this statement;

“The circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Kyle Mullen remain under investigation. Naval Special Warfare Command continues to examine events leading up to his death, including medical practices, prohibited performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) testing, and BUD/S safety protocols to identify and address areas that may have contributed to the loss of our teammate. We are committed to a thorough, accurate, and impartial investigative process. The safety of our SEAL candidates remains paramount during every evolution of NSW’s demanding Assessment, Selection, and Training pathway.”

In a series of follow-up questions, we asked NSWC to share with us any policy changes the navy may be considering in the wake of the unusual death following the end of Hell Week. They offered the following, which is printed without edits;

Naval Special Warfare Policy and Procedures

This unfortunate incident has afforded Naval Special Warfare Command an opportunity to closely examine current medical practices, prohibited performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) testing protocols, and identify areas of unforeseen risk that require immediate action to address with changes to policies and procedures. These substantive changes will reduce the risks inherent in NSW’s demanding Assessment, Selection and Training pathway.

Numerous changes have already been implemented and many more are in the process of implementation. The changes immediately implemented upon SN Mullen’s death include:

Institution of a cardiac screening program
Increased prevention measures for pneumonia
Extending the observation period post-BUD/S Phase 1 Assessment and Selection and SWCC crucible events to 24 hours
Mandatory shift turnover between medical providers
PEDs testing
Creation of Training Selection Assessment Team

If you prefer more detail to the specific changes:

Numerous changes have already been implemented and many more are in the process of implementation. The changes immediately implemented upon SN Mullen’s death include:

- Cardiology. Institution of a cardiac screening program that incorporates recommendations from multiple cardiologists across all service branches. This includes purchasing of ECG machines with improved artificial intelligence to screen for underlying conditions which may result in sudden cardiac death in athletes. These are used during orientation and reviewed by Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) cardiologist prior to entering first phase.
- Pneumonia Prevention. Increased prevention measures for pneumonia based on recommendations and data from NMCSD Infectious Disease department. An intra-muscular injection of Bicillin is being administered the week prior to both Phase 1 Assessment and Selection crucible event for SEAL candidates and Tour Week for Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen.
- Observation Post-Hell Week. Basic Training Command has extended the observation period for 24 hours post securing both BUD/S Phase 1 Assessment and Selection and SWCC crucible events. Candidates now recover in the Recovery Observation Center (ROC) located in an open bay barracks in the Howell Classroom. A medical provider and Hospital Corpsman remain on site in building 637 medical spaces until candidates are secured after medical checks on Saturday morning. The leading watch stander is now a qualified high-risk instructor.
- Turnover. Mandatory shift turnover between BTC Medical on coverage and NSWCEN Medical duty provider to discuss medical status of candidates.
- Limited PEDs Testing. “Medically safe-to-train” PED testing through urine tests with the NMCSD laboratory for the safety of accession candidates within the limitations of existing policies and directives.
- Creation of Training Selection Assessment Team (TSAT). The TSAT was formed in April 2022 to strengthen oversight and identify latent risk of BTC and Advanced Training Command (ATC) courses. It is composed of the Command Warrant Officer/Training Officer at NSWCEN, a senior civilian, a senior enlisted from both the SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) communities and Reservist Support. Third party participation with Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) is in staff coordination to strengthen the objectivity of this effort. TSAT focuses on three areas: 1. Professionalism of instructors with students; 2. Instructors following proscribed curriculum/schedule/remediation; and 3. Training safely (EAPs created and followed, equipment available, on-site, and functioning).

Naval Special Warfare Command is also working aggressively to change the following policies and procedures:

- SIPE. SIPE protocol be reviewed for effectiveness and issued in an instruction to ensure uniform application of the protocol throughout Assessment and Selection. The protocol will emphasize the potentially serious medical consequences of SIPE.
- Medical Screening. Clarify the use, purpose, and procedures of data collection regarding recordation of respiratory complaints or abnormal lung sounds in candidates, including the Pulmonary Complaint form, and codify it in written instruction.
- More Clarity Regarding Duties of Duty Medical Officer. Codification of an instruction governing the purpose, role and responsibilities of the Duty Medical Officer.
- Connection Between PEDs Use and Pneumonia. Force Medical will further study the correlation between PED use and contracting pneumonia, beyond the anecdotal correlation presented in this investigation, and brief WARCOM to determine whether this correlation should be requested for further research in current Department of Defense studies.
- PEDs Policy. We are relentlessly pursuing a comprehensive and permanent PED testing protocol for the future. NSWCEN has submitted through the Navy Staff for consideration to expand the authority to test Naval Special Warfare candidates for PEDs. This action will strengthen our understanding of the scope of PED use, and help us counter unauthorized PED use within the force.
- Improving Candidate Culture. Finally, additional inquiry will be made into the cultural tension between the expectations that candidates will push through adversity to demonstrate grit and that SEALs will recognize and report health information to remain medically fit for mission. The SEAL and Combatant Crewman ethos must be reinforced through all phases of Assessment, Selection and Training.

Current drug testing procedures

The current drug testing procedure for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) at the Naval Special Warfare Center consist of a urine lab sample to analyze the T/E ratio. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards for Testosterone to Epitestosterone (T/E) ratio is 4.0. If a sample shows abnormal results based on WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) standards, the candidate is removed from training and will undergo an additional urinalysis test, authorized via probable cause from the first test, through a DOD approved SMRTL lab for a full performance-enhancing drug panel. Out of the 794 PEDs tests that have been conducted this year, 33 were positive.

NSW is relentlessly pursuing a comprehensive and permanent PED testing protocol for the future. NSWCEN has submitted through the Navy Staff for consideration to expand the authority to test Naval Special Warfare candidates for PEDs. This action will strengthen our understanding of the scope of PED use, and help us counter unauthorized PED use within the force.

The word SIPE appears in the above quote and it refers to Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema, a condition where fluid collects in the lungs. It is generally triggered by swimming in colder open water. In addition to surface swimming, SIPE is also found to occur during scuba diving, snorkeling, and free diving. The Symptoms of SIPE include coughing, shortness of breath, tightness or pain in the chest, and in some cases hemoptysis (blood in the sputum). It can be fatal in some cases, but symptoms generally lessen after leaving the water and are gone entirely within 48 hours. Not a great deal is really known about SIPE, it was first identified in scuba divers in 1981 and the number of studies done on the condition is sparse because it is rarely fatal and the symptoms clear up rather quickly once someone is out of the water. Studies of the condition(admittedly limited in number) have not found any known deaths from SIPE.

In BUD/S training, instructors not only see SIPE occur in trainees but many have experienced it themselves. While Seaman Mullen suffered from an underlying acute Strep infection, the symptoms he presented while training looked very much like SIPE, a non-life threatening condition with a very low incidence of death, especially in young fit males.

Screening for Performance Enhancing Drugs is not a new policy. These substances are not illegal narcotics in the military like marijuana or cocaine and the normal drug screenings performed on personnel will not detect PEDs. The World Anti-Doping Agency standard mentioned above includes a 20-page list of substances prohibited to competitive athletes and the list is updated every year as new drugs are introduced. And the tests are not cheap, they cost about $400 for each one administered. The question then becomes how often such tests are administered during the two-year training program and at what point are they administered? What about after training when these new Naval Special Warfare Operators go to the Teams? In the information released above the navy states that this year they have already conducted some 794 PED tests on trainees and found only 33, or just over 4% tested positive.

Can 4% disobeying clearly stated regulations about using PEDs be fairly called a “culture” of drug abuse? Given the trainees limited exposure to the SEAL community in a few weeks is BUD/S the reason for this culture or are trainees bringing these habits with them when they arrive?

We asked the spokesman at the Naval Special Warfare Center what the consequences would be for a trainee or later SEAL caught using PEDs. They stated that a second test would be done to confirm the positive results and then the service member would be processed for an administrative separation from the Navy. This differs from the Bad Conduct or Dishonorable Discharge given to service members caught using illegal narcotics which represents criminal offenses, but it is also a zero-tolerance policy. Get caught and you are out of the navy whether in training or actively serving on the Teams.

180413-N-PJ969-3899 Coronado, Calif., (Apr. 13, 2018) U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the sea, air and land.(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Abe McNatt)

A Culture of Brutality

SOFREP asked about Instructors being negligent in handling trainee safety and we were told by our source who was an instructor at BUD/S,

“Virtually every second of BUD/S training is carefully scripted in great detail. We exercise almost no discretion when it comes to going past proscribed limits in training. Trainees spend 15 minutes in the ocean, no more no less, then 20 minutes of calisthenics on land, then another 8 minutes in the water, no more no less. We might make it seem to the trainees that they will be in the water forever, but the time limits represent safe limits and we stick to them very carefully, We could get everyone to quit or just die by leaving them in the cold ocean for hours, but we aren’t trying to do that.”

Medical personnel monitor the condition of trainees and are present during the entirety of Hell Week Training. There are even ambulances standing by in case of an emergency. As Hell Week progresses the medical checks become more and more frequent.

When asked about why Mullens didn’t ask for or seek medical attention during Hell Week, the Chief told us, “These guys try to hide how sick they are sometimes because they want to push themselves through. We aren’t going to tell them what their limits are unless it’s obvious to us they are no longer able properly assess that for themselves. We had a trainee on the fourth day of Hell Week dislocate his shoulder and was still pressing on. We noticed the way he was moving and I and the other instructors had a brief conference about his condition. We weren’t sure what the problem was at the time, but something was definitely wrong with one arm. We pulled him out and sent him to medical”

SOFREP asked if this injury meant the trainee would have to recycle and repeat Hell Week, did he fail? “Oh no, we passed him. It was Day 4, and this guy wasn’t willing to quit with a dislocated shoulder. That’s the kind of determination we are looking for in a Navy SEAL.”

In a recent Salon interview, the writer of the New York Times piece, Dave Phillips stated that some of his sources were trainees who had quit BUD/S and that they would be good sources because they would be upset they did not pass the program. Of course, the problem with these men as sources is that many of them left the program in the First Phase of BUD/S during Hell Week which is the fourth week of actual training. A few weeks in SEAL training before they quit the program and returned to the fleet is all some of Mr. Phillips’ sources know about what goes on in BUD/S, a program that takes some two years to produce a SEAL ready to go to an operational team for even more training.

“One of the things I learned really quickly is the front door is not a good way to report. In this BUD/S selection course, the statistic they’re most proud of is only 25 percent of people who show up make it through. The vast majority quit. I was like, “Oh, the vast majority quit! They’re not SEALs, but they were there.” That’s a heck of a lot of people who have a pretty good idea of the dynamic there is, and probably have reason to talk because maybe they felt like they weren’t treated very well. So, that’s really the angle I started working. It’s just a mass attack on these former candidates and reaching out to them cold. My failure rate on that approach is really, really, really high—95 percent, if not more. But you don’t need that many to get a beachhead. If I can get one or two guys and talk, not only is that really good firsthand information about what happened, but if I talk to someone for two hours, I have a much higher success rate with someone they know than I do with a cold call. So slowly, piece by piece, you build this landscape where you can figure out what happens. Bit by bit, I get enough to tell a story.”-Dave Phillips, New York Times

Brandon Webb, publisher of SOFREP spent more than 13 years in the navy, was a navy SEAL for most of it, a Chief Petty Officer, and the program manager for their elite sniper program.

“The Teams have gone a long way to clean up their public image in the last four years and it’s well known inside and out of the community that all illicit drugs are off limits. That extended to other legal supplements when I was a SEAL. I’ve been through high-risk instructor training and worked Hell Week as a guest instructor. The cadre is tough but extremely sensitive to medical issues, and if any instructor understood the severity of Mullen’s condition they would have sent him to the hospital immediately. Students sometimes hide injuries to their detriment. They call it high-risk training for a reason. You can’t make diamonds unless they are subjected to extreme pressure over time. This is BUD/S.”

Webb bristled at the New York Times writer’s accusation that a culture of “brutality” exists on the Teams; “Brutality is cruelty and violence done without care for anyone but yourself. Navy SEALs are willing to give their lives not just for their country but also for each other. That willingness to sacrifice yourself for others doesn’t come from a culture of brutality.”

SOFREP Interview with Army Ranger, Vetrepreneur and Author Dan Blakeley

“Your past never forgets you.” – Dan Blakeley

The first thing that struck me about Dan is that he’s incredibly easy to talk to. Some special operations guys have a reputation for being a little standoffish or having a larger-than-life ego, not Dan. Yet, he endured some of the most demanding military training there is to become a member of the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment, part of the US Special Operations Forces (SOF). Dan deployed six times in six years to multiple war zones in support of the Global War on Terror. He’s fought in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Naturally ambitious, Blakeley joined the Army at the age of 17, right out of high school after graduating a year early. He went straight through basic training, followed by airborne school and the grueling Ranger pipeline, ending up at the 2nd Battalion, where he served from 2006 to 2012, eventually earning the rank of Staff Seargent.

Then, as happens to so many of us, life threw him a curveball; his was during the Army’s Advanced Leader’s course while he was on a group run. Dan started feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Instead of going away, it only got worse. In short order, he found himself in the back of the fall-out van and, later, on his way to the ER. Turns out it wasn’t just indigestion from some bad burritos the night before; the doctors found that Blakeley had a hole in his heart.

There is no scenario where that is going to be good news for anyone, especially a warfighter.

After exiting the Army, he earned a double Master’s at Appalachian State University and went on to found United Valor, an organization that helps veterans by telling their stories in a way that fosters healing and understanding, ultimately aiding their transition back into civilian life. His book is an extension of their efforts.

The Twenty-Year War is available on Amazon and at twentyyearwar.com. Proceeds from sales on twentyyearwar.com go to veteran service organizations that are supported by the authors.

Dan is shown here with his weapon and an American flag. — Dan on one of his multiple deployments, is shown here, weapon at the ready, holding an American flag. Image provided by Dan Blakeley

Hearing how Dan and his fellow authors took the stories of 71 post-9/11 combat veterans and presented them in their own words reminded me of one of the best books I have ever read, The Good War by Studs Terkel. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985 for General Non-Fiction and was required reading as part of my course of study as an Army cadet. Briefly, the author interviewed over 100 people worldwide and told their stories of the days immediately before, during, and after World War II. It’s an oral history of the greatest generation. Post 9/11 veterans, in their own way, can be considered to be our nation’s second “greatest generation.”

However, many of their stories have remained untold until now. The Twenty-Year War breaks their silence and allows the reader to become part of their world. In doing so, we understand the individual’s motivation, sacrifice, and ongoing challenges. This becomes both cathartic for the storyteller and enlightening to the reader. I believe it’s destined to be a new American classic.

I hope you enjoy reading the SOFREP interview of Dan Blakeley as much as I did talking with him.

Dan Blakeley stands in front of One World Trade Center in New York City — Dan poses in front of One World Trade Center, a fitting symbol of rebuilding and moving forward after 9/11. Image Credit: Dan Blakeley’s Instagram account

SOFREP: So, how are you doing this morning, Dan?

DB: I’m doing well; how about yourself?

SOFREP: Great, thanks. Could you tell us a little bit about your military background?

DB: Sure, I joined straight out of high school; I actually graduated a year early and joined when I was seventeen. Went straight through basic training…everything…airborne school, Ranger indoctrination program…ended up at 2nd Ranger Battalion, which is where I served for six years. From 2006 to 2012. It was kind of during the peak, during the height of both wars; that’s when the two surges happened and everything. So, it was a pretty high optempo at the time.

I served there up until I was a squad leader, a Staff Sergent, operated on the line, and then got out because I had some medical issues. My heart kinda started failing on me (laughs). I guess too much stress or something. I ended up deciding to go to college, and while I was in college, I also stayed in the North Carolina National Guard for two more years, teaching OCS [Officer Candidate School] through the National Guard, so I was an OCS instructor for two years.

SOFREP: I was reading your book, and I really enjoyed it because it was broken down into bite-sized stories. Seventy-one of them, right?

DB: Uh-huh, yeah.

SOFREP: I was surprised by the story of how you had to fall out of a run with chest pains and then be taken to the hospital, where you found out you had a hole in your heart. Did you suspect anything that serious was wrong with you?

DB: I did not. Honestly, up until that happened, I thought I was relatively invincible. I think a lot of people, especially that serve in special operations, think that they are…until something happens to them. I had every intention to stay in. I was coming up on a reenlistment as well, and I was recently married. Basically, what the doctors told me was that it could be fine; you could be OK for the rest of your life. Or, you could continue to stress your heart, and the hole could get bigger and you would need to have open heart surgery to repair it. I said, “That’s a pretty big ‘maybe.’”

So, I decided to stay in through the rest of my enlistment, I had one more deployment. Once this happened, basically, I told them, “Well, look, I’ve got to really assess whether this is smart for me and my family or not, to stay in.” Me and my wife talked about it, I went on my last deployment, came back, still was having off and on chest pain and ultimately decided it would be best for me not to stress out my body so much. And, it was hard to leave the guys that I served with and the guys that I trained. They were going to be on the same optempo and constantly deploying. So to not be able to be there and fight alongside of them was rough. It was definitely a difficult thing.

SOFREP: And how are you doing now?

DB: I think slowing down, backing off, has definitely made it better. I get chest pains every once in a while, I get checked out annually to make sure nothing is getting worse, but I haven’t had to have a procedure or anything.

SOFREP: So, did you get the idea for your book, The Twenty Year War, because it was coming up on the 20th anniversary of 9/11?

DB: Well, initially, in 2020, I had a lot of time at home, like everybody else, and I took a lot of time to reflect on life in general. I talk about it in the book, but I did not do a good job of staying connected. As soon as I got out of the military, I pushed off everything, didn’t identify as a veteran, most people didn’t know, and I didn’t even try to let people know. But in 2020 I started reflecting and thinking that there has to be countless other people out there who don’t want to tell their story, don’t want to feel connected, for whatever reason, and so I was thinking of ways to try to connect with those types of veterans.

At the same time this is happening, one of my childhood best friends, Beau Simmons, he’s the photographer for the book, was moving across the country to North Carolina to be closer to me. And he had been working on a photo series for Heros and Horses, a veteran non-profit, and he said he wanted to figure out a way to keep doing the same kind of thing. He wanted to give back to the veteran community. He hasn’t served himself, but he has a strong affinity for veterans and people who have served.

We were both talking at my kitchen table and got to thinking about how we could put our heads together and do something for veterans. We figured we’d tell the stories of veterans, do portraits of veterans, as they are today, not in uniform, out of service. He loved the idea. I realized it was the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 and the GWOT [Global War on Terror] and I said we should just lean on that theme and call it The Twenty-Year War. We’d tell stories of only people who had served in the past 20 years, in combat. Lots of time books are written so long after the fact; why don’t we do ours now when we’re right at the tail end of it?

Co-author, fine art photographer, and good friend to Dan Blakeley, Beau Simmons. Image courtesy of Dan Blakeley

DB: After we had the idea to do the book, I got a hold of Tom [co-author Tom Amenta]. We had been in the National Guard together for a year and had become good friends. He had co-founded a company called “Ranger Up” but had recently left and said he was tired of doing veteran projects because it had taken up so much of his time. When I told him this idea [for the book], he as like, “100%, tell me what you need. I’m all for it.”

The first thing I asked him for was his black book; I said, “Give me all your contacts, everybody that you know.”

SOFREP: That answered my next question. I was wondering how you found all of these fascinating people to interview for your book.

DB: We started calling people who would help support this book. About a month into it, I talked to Tom again and asked him if he could help me write these stories…because I needed some help from someone who had some experience. And that’s how he became heavily involved in the writing of the book. To go back to your question about how we got all these specific people….all word of mouth. I contacted my first initial network of people, and they asked how they could help the project, then connected us with two or three more people, and it kind of just organically grew that way.

SOFREP: I wanted to comment on how much Beau’s images contribute to the book. To see portraits of the people behind the stories goes a long way in making them more relatable.

DB: He had been doing fashion photography for a long time, and he decided he wanted to get back into more traditional photography. He shot every single photo in the book on a 1980s camera, all on medium format film.

Photo of a member of the second marine division who shared his story for the book. — Portrait of a member of the 2nd Marine Division who shared his story for the book. Image by Beau Simmons

SOFREP: My favorite quote of yours from the book is where you note, “Your past never forgets you.” Everyone deals with their past in their own way, and that comes out in the stories.

DB: Yep, we had a guy in the book, Roy…he could not open the book for months. He gave it to all his family and friends and let them read it, and they had no trouble with it, but he couldn’t bring himself to read it since it’s a piece of his story of how he lost one of his guys overseas. We left the details out, per his request. But, over a decade after he retired, out of pure luck, or chance, or whatever you call it, got connected to the guy’s father once he got back, and his photos in the book are of them at his friend’s grave. Roy’s past found him. It took him months to open it…he finally opened it (maybe five or six months after the book was released), then he called me and said, “I can’t thank you enough for doing this. For kind of forcing me to be able to read these stories because it’s important.”

And that right there was enough for me to write a book like this. I have countless other examples, but that one really struck me.

SOFREP: Your book is helping a lot of people heal, not just the veterans portrayed in the book but other veterans who read it as well.

DB: And that’s what I hope it does, and I hope it continues to do. We struck when the iron was hot, right at the end of the twenty-year war, and of course, that’s the title of the book. People are still buying it. Once people have learned of the book, they understand the impact it can carry.

SOFREP: Dan, we thank you for your service, for writing this wonderful book, and for taking the time to talk with us today.

SOFREP’s Navy Highlight: The Path of Special Warfare Combatant Crewman Nick O’Sullivan

In the fast and flashy world of bustling America, we sometimes forget how our homegrown heroes live their lives. Today, we’ll show you the inspiring dedication of Navy’s Nick O’Sullivan.

“I always push myself to try and learn something new every day.” This is how Nick wakes up every morning – with purpose and passion. When he was seven years old, his family moved all over the country because of his father’s job. He played baseball in school and became an umpire in high school. For Nick, his sports training taught him to make the right decisions at the right time. This would become one of his irreplaceable foundational skills in the military.

Nick was not a kid who you would call a “jock.” Instead, he was extraordinarily creative and had a passion for design. In the military, he integrates his love for creating things into his woodworking activities.

As young Nick sought a career that would change his life, he went on to work in a local grocery store, but he knew there was something bigger awaiting his destiny.
He knew he wanted to serve “something bigger than himself.”

Then, his brother got re-enlisted as a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy. The Navy’s Hospital Corps has more than 30,000 active duty and reserve Corpsmen training in multiple specialties. Corpsmen are stationed in various limitary facilities, research units, clinics, and medical institutions throughout the US. Corpsmen are instrumental in providing direct support to the Navy and Marine Corps (especially during a live mission).
His brother’s passion sparked something in him, pushing him to join the military.

At first, Nick didn’t know what to enlist in, but when he watched a video of Special Operations Craft – Riverine (SOC-R) carrying [Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC) crew members, that got his attention.

“I want to do that,” Nick said.

The SWCC is somewhat of a hidden branch in the Navy. They’re not as flamboyant as the ones we see in the movies, but they’re a highly important, specifically trained unit that operates and maintains smaller craft for special operation missions (supporting Navy SEALS).

Since SWCCs are highly specialized, their crewmembers must have a knack for combat and analysis.

As per the US Navy:

“United States depends on an elite defense force known as Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen, or SWCC. You may have never heard of them, and that’s on purpose—their missions are the kind the Navy keeps quiet because of how vitally important they are. As the Sailors who insert and extract Navy SEALs from classified locations around the world, they are true warriors—highly trained, disciplined and distinguished. Their motto is “On Time, On Target, Never Quit,” and they live up to every word.”

Nick finally knew what he was meant for—the SWCC.

Nick discovered that the program was ruthless. As part of the SEAL’s special operations unit, SWCC needs to be quick on their feet and highly intelligent when it comes to analyzing the situation and making “the right decisions at the right time.” SWCCs are also trained in communications, electronics, small boats, and special missions (like raids and waterborne confrontations).

Nick had to undergo the Recruit Training Command (RTC), aka Boot Camp, where he had intensive medical screening and physical training. Then, there was the 2-week SWCC indoctrination in Coronado, CA. Then, another five weeks go for his Basic Crewmember Training (BCT), which covers water competency, basic seamanship, boat handling, teamwork, and mental tenacity.

He passed the Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) and *finally* became an official SWCC member.
Through this program, Nick became passionate about learning and improving himself everyday. He also appreciated the bond in the SWCC team and treats everyone like family.

Even outside of training and duty, learning and bettering himself simply became second nature to Nick.
Nick’s most outstanding achievement is being invited to return as an SWCC Instructor “Instructor to pay the training and knowledge he’s received forward to new recruits. As an instructor, Nick sees his team as a family and wants to set them up for success when they’re embarking into the world for their mission—just like he does with his own son.”

Want to know more?

From shallow rivers to distant shores, the United States depends on an elite defense force known as Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen or SWCC. You may have never heard of them, and that’s on purpose—their missions are the kind the Navy keeps quiet because of their vitally important. As the Sailors who insert and extract Navy SEALs from classified locations worldwide, they are true warriors—highly trained, disciplined, and distinguished. Their motto is “On Time, On Target, Never Quit,” and they live up to every word. Learn more about what it takes to be a Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman.

Share your story

We all have our own stories in the military. If you’d like to share yours, reach out to the SOFREP team and send an email to editor@sofrep.com.

The SEAL Team 6 Rescue of Philip Walton and the Demonstration Effect

During the early morning hours of October 31, 2020, members of the US Navy SEAL Team 6, also known as DEVGRU (Development Group), carried out a dramatic hostage rescue operation in Northern Nigeria to recover the kidnapped American citizen named Philip Walton.

According to reports, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supplied the intelligence that led to the whereabouts of Walton, and components of the Marine Special Operations in Africa assisted in locating him. Because of their responsibilities in the region of West Africa, SEAL Team 6 was selected to carry out the operation.

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters in a statement that “US forces conducted a hostage rescue operation during the early hours of October 31 in northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men”. Hoffman added that Walton “…is safe and is now in the care of the US Department of State.”

These operations are essential in ensuring the safety of the hostage, and of course, it speaks about the national security of the country involved. With this rescue mission, US pledged its commitment to defending its citizens and national interests wherever they may be.

What happened to Philip Walton?

Philip Walton, age 27, resided in a tiny village of Massalata in Niger with his wife and daughter. Massalata is located close to the border of Nigeria. US officials said he was kidnapped on October 26, 2020. Near the edge of Niger and Nigeria, it is noted that Walton maintains a flock of camels, lambs, chickens, and mango trees. As per the reports, six bandits armed with AK-47 assault rifles rode up on motorbikes to the house where he lived. They then took him captive.

The US intelligence community was able to track him down in Northern Nigeria by following the clues it left behind. As a result, the green light was given to the US Special Operations Forces not long after former US President Donald Trump was briefed on the situation. Although it was a “tough” decision, in the end, the president chose to go ahead with the operation because he placed the utmost importance on protecting American citizens. According to the sources, the aim of the kidnappers was either to demand a ransom payment or to sell Philip Walton to one of the terrorist groups operating in Nigeria.

The Rescue Attempt

The rescue mission carried out by US Special Operations commenced with a parachute insertion into the area. In most cases, this form of insertion is only utilized in exceptional circumstances, such as when no other covert insertion methods are immediately accessible. Additionally, it is used when the forces entrusted to the raid need to go into the target location on aircraft with a greater range from a substantial distance. During the attack, there was around 30 personnel who were a part of special operations. After the rescue team had successfully parachuted into the region, they set out on foot approximately three miles to the objective. After what was described as a “short but intense firefight,” Walton was carried to the evacuation spot. From there, helicopters transported the captive and the rescue team to a secure location. According to a defense official, of the six kidnappers involved in the abduction and during Walton’s liberation, five of them were killed, while the remaining one managed to escape.

U.S. Navy SEALs are deployed worldwide, conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (Source: U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class George R. Kusner., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Post-Operation Reaction

After the nerve-racking operation, the rescue mission received glowing praise, including former president Donald Trump who said in a tweet that the successful operation was a “Big win for our very elite US Special Forces today. Details to follow!”

During a separate event, he also stated while addressing a crowd in Pennsylvania that “The kidnappers wished they had never done it,” which is something of an understatement since only one of the kidnappers survived.

This successful mission conducted an entire continent away in the remote reaches of a country like Nigeria offers several lessons. The Demonstration Effect can affect the behavior of others who witness an event or the actions of others and the consequences that go with them. The mission to rescue of Walton was something of a marvel in terms of the operational art of war. It may have also been a mission only the United States could pull off successfully.

The long War on Terror had honed the skills of Special Operations Forces like SEAL Team 6 to a very fine point of competence and proficiency.
Our worldwide network of bases provides the Air Force with a global reach, able to send aircraft just about anywhere in the world we might need to conduct operations.
Our intelligence agencies were able to provide timely and accurate information that allowed planners to craft a successful mission.
Our network of satellites was able to provide real-time data of conditions on the ground prior to and even during the raid itself
Political leadership was able to give the green light to the operation with a high degree of confidence that it would be successful.
A successful mission like this creates a deterrent effect. Kidnappers want the ransom money, not a SEAL Team shooting them in the face.

Russians Kill Two Americans, Part of a Special Operations Force, in Ukraine’s Donbas Region

Today the US State Department has confirmed that two more American Citizens have died in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

A State Department representative reported to news outlets that they could not provide details about those killed or the circumstances of their deaths. However, they said they “are in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance.”

When pushed for more information, the spokesperson stated, “Out of respect to the families during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.” What we do know, however, is that in recent days Russians have been intensifying their attacks in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Luke "Skywalker" Lucyszn was one of the Americans Killed in Action. Image Credit Kathy Lucyszyn via ABC News — Luke “Skywalker” Lucyszn was one of the Americans Killed in Action. Image Credit Kathy Lucyszyn via ABC News

SOFREP has learned, through POLITICO, the names of those killed and the situation surrounding their deaths. Killed in the fighting, along with a Canadian and Swedish citizen, were Luke “Skywalker” Lucyszn and Bryan Young. They died on July 18th alongside Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois of Canada and Edvard Selander Patrignani of Sweden.

Their deaths were confirmed by the men’s commander, Ruslan Miroshnichenko, today, Saturday, July 23rd. According to Miroshnichenko’s Linkedin profile, we know that he is a graduate of NATO’s Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence and the NATO Senior Staff Officer’s Course.

The combatants were killed when a Russian tank opened fire on them during an extensive firefight on the frontlines in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine. They were part of a special operations force within the Territorial Defense of the Armed forces of Ukraine. Their unit had been based near the town of Siversk, which became a target of the invading Russian force. Tasked with slowing the Russian advance in the region, the men were sent to the village of Hryhorivka, roughly two miles away from Siversk.

According to Miroshnichenko, the men were tasked to take up firing positions and clear out a ravine that Russian forces were utilizing to cross a river. “They did it successfully,” he said. “But at the end of the mission they were ambushed by Russian tanks,”

Miroshnichenko continued:

“The first shell injured Luke. Three guys, Edward, Emile, and Bryan, they immediately attempted to help Luke, to do first aid, and evacuate him from this spot. Then the second shell killed them all.”

Destruction in Donbas. At least two other American citizens have died during the war in Ukraine since it began in late February. Image Credit: SOPA Images/Light Rocket

The foreign fighters were tapped to go to the area to reinforce conventional Ukrainian troops specifically because of their specialized skill sets and experience. Their commander explained why they were there, near Hryhorivka:

“A group of professionals with relevant experience in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was created to carry out the task. Two scouts were checking the territory, they were supported by a machine gun and grenade launcher group in case of a combat encounter and the need to cover the departure of the reconnaissance group, as well as for the purpose of inflicting fire damage on the enemy.”

Heavy shelling continued on the position long after the deaths of the soldiers, and it took hours before hostilities eased up enough to have a team go in and recover the bodies.

This is a developing story, and SOFREP will provide more details as they become available.