bobdina
05-21-2010, 11:09 PM
C. Guardsmen become service’s 1st SEALs
By Susan Schept - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 21, 2010 16:13:49 EDT
Two Coast Guard officers became the first in their service to earn SEAL tridents Friday, according to Navy and Coast Guard officials. Another three are in the pipeline.
They will be the first uniformed personnel ever assigned to an operational SEAL team while a member of another branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Their graduation ceremony was scheduled for 11 a.m. Pacific time at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Calif.
The Coast Guard signed an agreement in July 2008 with the Navy and Special Operations Command to allow Coast Guardsmen the opportunity to train and integrate with an operational SEAL team for about seven years before returning to their service.
“The commandant just wanted to contribute forces to the Global War on Terror,” said Lt. James McLay, a spokesman for the Coast Guard deployable operations group.
The agreement will allow the Coast Guard eventually to have its own subject matter experts in special warfare and to further its development of its counter-terrorism programs, McLay said. It also helps increase interoperability with the Navy, he said.
Four Coast Guard officers, whose names were not released, were the first to attend SEAL training in January 2009. Two completed the Navy’s first phase of training, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, on Sept. 3 and are the ones who got their tridents Friday. A third officer dropped out and a fourth was injured. He eventually recovered and graduated from BUD/S — considered to be the most difficult part of SEAL training — April 22. He is expected to graduate next spring.
“During the past 14 months they have proven their mettle and have truly earned the right to be called our teammates,” said Navy Rear Adm. Gary Bonelli, deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, in a statement. “Today’s graduation is just one more example of the many integral ties that bind our maritime services.”
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Dean Lee, commander of the service’s deployable operations group, echoed Bonelli’s comments.
“We are extremely proud of the dedication and effort displayed by these two members in graduating from SEAL Qualification Training,” Lee said in a statement. “They are trailblazers for our service, and we wish them the best of luck as they continue to serve their nation.”
The two Coast Guard SEALs declined to be interviewed, McLay said.
This year, the Coast Guard selected three additional Coast Guardsmen for SEAL training, said Lt. Fred Martin, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado. One started BUD/S training and dropped out in early April. One starts BUD/S training Monday. The other one is at Special Warfare Preparatory School at Great Lakes and has not been assigned a class yet. The Coast Guard is looking for a fourth applicant to fill its final slot for 2010.
The two Coast Guardsmen are part of a class of 41 who graduated Friday, Martin said. He said the graduates would be assigned to active-duty SEAL teams, but for security reasons, he could not say where they were going.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/05/coastguard_SEAL_052110w/
By Susan Schept - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 21, 2010 16:13:49 EDT
Two Coast Guard officers became the first in their service to earn SEAL tridents Friday, according to Navy and Coast Guard officials. Another three are in the pipeline.
They will be the first uniformed personnel ever assigned to an operational SEAL team while a member of another branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Their graduation ceremony was scheduled for 11 a.m. Pacific time at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Calif.
The Coast Guard signed an agreement in July 2008 with the Navy and Special Operations Command to allow Coast Guardsmen the opportunity to train and integrate with an operational SEAL team for about seven years before returning to their service.
“The commandant just wanted to contribute forces to the Global War on Terror,” said Lt. James McLay, a spokesman for the Coast Guard deployable operations group.
The agreement will allow the Coast Guard eventually to have its own subject matter experts in special warfare and to further its development of its counter-terrorism programs, McLay said. It also helps increase interoperability with the Navy, he said.
Four Coast Guard officers, whose names were not released, were the first to attend SEAL training in January 2009. Two completed the Navy’s first phase of training, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, on Sept. 3 and are the ones who got their tridents Friday. A third officer dropped out and a fourth was injured. He eventually recovered and graduated from BUD/S — considered to be the most difficult part of SEAL training — April 22. He is expected to graduate next spring.
“During the past 14 months they have proven their mettle and have truly earned the right to be called our teammates,” said Navy Rear Adm. Gary Bonelli, deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, in a statement. “Today’s graduation is just one more example of the many integral ties that bind our maritime services.”
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Dean Lee, commander of the service’s deployable operations group, echoed Bonelli’s comments.
“We are extremely proud of the dedication and effort displayed by these two members in graduating from SEAL Qualification Training,” Lee said in a statement. “They are trailblazers for our service, and we wish them the best of luck as they continue to serve their nation.”
The two Coast Guard SEALs declined to be interviewed, McLay said.
This year, the Coast Guard selected three additional Coast Guardsmen for SEAL training, said Lt. Fred Martin, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado. One started BUD/S training and dropped out in early April. One starts BUD/S training Monday. The other one is at Special Warfare Preparatory School at Great Lakes and has not been assigned a class yet. The Coast Guard is looking for a fourth applicant to fill its final slot for 2010.
The two Coast Guardsmen are part of a class of 41 who graduated Friday, Martin said. He said the graduates would be assigned to active-duty SEAL teams, but for security reasons, he could not say where they were going.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/05/coastguard_SEAL_052110w/