SEAL Team TWO page 19 photo album

Standing: William Bishop, John Jaunzems, Bill McCarthy KNEEL:Sam Fornier, Bill Langley, White,Doc Long

From: Peter Slempa [mailto:sonny37@]
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2013
To: Anderson Franklin
Subject: Pland crash into Monkey Mountain Med to Late sixties?

HELP
Requesting info concerning a RVN crew manned C-47 that crashed into Monkey Mountain with a SEAL jumpmaster and a
load of RVN PRU's. All on board were killed. That was the same period that SM1 Dave Wilson was KIA and I ewscorted his
remains back to the states. I returned to Da Nang three weeks later for an additional 6 months. I need to know the name of that
Jumpmaster. Had I been in Country during that time I would have been the jumpmaster.

Pete Slempa

Eric Prince

The Vindication of Erik Prince

Erik Dean Prince, BUD/S 188 and ST-8. NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE December 5, 2013

The former Blackwater CEO releases a new book, Civilian Warriors, to set the record straight.

By Alec Torres

Erik Prince now lives in Abu Dhabi. The former Navy SEAL and creator of the military-contracting company Blackwater isn’t even sure he wants to remain an American citizen.

“Uh . . . for the record, for now I plan on retaining my U.S. citizenship, but I am very, very worried about the direction of America right now,” he told me on November 18, the day before Civilian Warriors, his book about his time at the helm of Blackwater, was released.

Blackwater was an amazing success story. A company born out of a desire to help America in any way possible, it provided security for diplomats, resupply aid to soldiers, relief to disaster-struck populations, and more. Yet it was ruined by the politics and policies of the government it served. Looking back on the story of Blackwater, Prince worries about the future of the country he had risked his life for and built his company to aid and protect.

His worry is understandable. Not only were he and his company hounded by the press, sued, badgered by Congress, reviled, and subjected to IRS scrutiny, but his time first in the military and then as a private contractor provided a first-person view of the decline of American influence and prestige abroad as well as the depths of government waste and inefficiency.

“You can’t spend yourself off a cliff. You can’t make decisions leading almost to self-immolation and expect the country is going to go on the way it always has,” he said. “America is held in lower regard today wherever I go in the world. It’s not respected. It’s not trusted as a partner. The repeated blunderings of the U.S. ever since the Arab Spring have lowered America’s stock.”

Far more worrisome than America’s standing abroad, says Prince, is the growth of the U.S. government. “I believe unfortunately that the greatest threat to American liberty is becoming the U.S. government,” he told me. “It’s not a foreign enemy any more. It’s the growth and bloat of the U.S. government itself.”

Having spent years as the object of anti-war anger, forced to keep silent by an agreement with the State Department he was hired to protect, Prince has come out in the open to give his side of the story, telling a tale of bureaucratic waste, government malice, and media deceit.

But for Prince, it wasn’t always that way.

He started out with a simple idea: build a world-class one-stop training facility for special-operations personnel, who, at that time, were being shipped to different facilities around the country at the taxpayers’ expense. Financed by the fortune left to him by his late father and informed by his own experiences as a former Navy SEAL, Prince set up shop in 1998 in North Carolina’s Great Dismal Swamp, whose charcoal-colored waters provided the company’s name.

The years from 1999 to 2006 saw the rapid rise of Prince’s company from a struggling training facility and shooting range to a worldwide, billion-dollar corporation. At each crisis, from the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole to September 11 to America’s response in the form of the War on Terror, Blackwater stepped up to the plate, purchasing new equipment, expanding capabilities, and providing personnel where the government was lacking. Eventually Blackwater had contracts flying supplies into the mountainous regions of Afghanistan, guarding American diplomats in Baghdad, and protecting CIA bases in Kabul and Taliban-held eastern Afghanistan. And while Blackwater earned a profit, it offered its services at a fraction of the cost the government would have incurred performing these functions itself.

Then came Nisour Square. On Sunday, September 16, 2007, in western Baghdad, Blackwater troops were clearing the road for a diplomatic convoy. A car approaching from the other direction ignored repeated warnings to stop. Fearing another car-bomb attack, Blackwater’s Paul Slough opened fire on the car, occupied, it was later determined, by an innocent man and his mother. What ensued was a pitched battle, the details of which are still disputed. As Iraqi militants fired on the Blackwater men and they returned fire, more than three dozen Iraqi civilians were shot, and eleven of them died.

The result was an international outcry. The Iraqi government demanded Blackwater’s removal from the country. American media outlets blared stories of the “Blackwater Massacre” and “Mass Murder in Nisour Square.” The U.S. Justice Department charged five Blackwater agents with a total of 14 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter, and the use and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime. While individual agents were indicted, Blackwater itself faced no charges. Democrats in Congress became furious that the company remained legally unscathed, and in the 2008 elections, the role of military contractors, with Blackwater as their face, became a campaign issue.

When I spoke with Prince, I asked him about the aftermath of Nisour Square. He told me it was the first step in the unraveling of his company. “It was the perfect time for the anti-war Left that during the Vietnam War went after the troops. This time, they went after contractors,” Prince said. “Look, I came from a conservative family, I supported conservative causes in the past, I was the sole owner. We were the perfect target for all those folks to say, ‘That’s it.’ It became a campaign talking point for the congressional elections.”

Prince also thinks the State Department threw Blackwater under the bus, depriving its agents of evidence by barring them from having dashboard cameras in their vehicles, which Prince believes would have exonerated them, and refusing to defend his men, who were acting in defense of American diplomats. “The sad thing is the State Department could have shut down a lot of nonsense with the media by saying, ‘We did an investigation, and this is what it is,’” Prince said.

Perhaps worse, Prince and his employees were unable to speak to the press and give their account of the events because of a gag rule in their contract with the State Department.

With the world seemingly against them and no means of defense, Blackwater personnel were targeted as “cowboys” and “war profiteers,” reckless men endangering the lives of innocent people. What followed was years of court proceedings, bad press, and attacks from Washington politicians. Blackwater changed its name to Xe Enterprises in 2009 and eventually Academi in 2010. Prince, for the good of the company, had stepped down in March 2009.

* * *

Though Erik Prince finished a draft of Civilian Warriors in 2011, he waited to publish until now, when the final prosecutions against five former executives of his company had finished, the men ultimately exonerated and the case dismissed. Now, with the past behind him, he can take the time to tell his story.

“I wrote this book just to set the record straight,” Prince told me. “The characterization of being these overly aggressive war profiteers who were running amok was just not the case. I think the book does a pretty good job of taking those arguments apart.”

To combat the notion that military contractors are a new evil in the modern era performing what ought to be strictly governmental functions, Prince traces the history of military contracting from Columbus — who “with the stroke of Isabella’s pen . . . effectively became a private military contractor,” Prince writes — to Iraq.

“Contractors are strewn all through American history, from the founding of the country and the original colonists, to the building of the Continental Army, to the privateers of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, to the Flying Tigers, you name it,” Prince told me. “Why say, ‘Oh there should never be any fighting contractors?’ because there certainly have been in the past.”

Throughout the book, Prince details the infuriating and counterproductive policies of central control in Washington, especially the State Department. “It’s the curse of dumb policies set back in Washington that say, ‘You will have a Suburban with running lights and sirens, washed and waxed, and you’re going to run the same route every day,’” Prince said, reflecting on those who claimed his company was dangerously belligerent. “It’s pretty easy for the enemy to play whack-a-mole. So, then, driving aggressively is about the only thing you can do to avoid losing people.”

In the light of this troubled past with the State Department, I asked him if there is any bad blood. “I try to forget about them as much as I can,” he said with a laugh. “The sad thing is I know that if we had been on the job in Benghazi, the U.S. ambassador would be alive. We had competent people and did something like 100,000 runs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and none of the diplomats we were guarding was ever killed or injured.”

Despite the way his company was treated by politicians and bureaucracies, Prince still sees an important future for private military contractors, who continue to constitute a large portion of America’s footprint abroad. “In the short term, the key thing is that if we have a competitive contractor system, at least we have a private-sector benchmark as to what things should cost,” Prince said. “The Pentagon budgets $2.1 million a year for every active-duty soldier. So a private contractor can say, ‘That’s bullshit. I can provide a guy with the same qualifications, a 35-year-old man with ten years’ experience, and I can put him in the field for $400,000 a year. That’s one-fifth of what the government spends.’”

Though the benefits of using private contractors are clear, he offered a warning for American companies in the contracting world. “To have my company wrecked by politics is a sad and hopefully a cautionary tale to the next guy who is dumb enough to run to the sound of an alarm bell,” he told me. His one bit of advice: “Don’t be an American company, because you are automatically subjecting yourself to every parasitic, ambulance-chasing lawyer in America.”

Today, from Abu Dhabi, Prince is working with a private-equity start-up on mining, agriculture, and energy exploration, development, and logistics in Sub-Saharan Africa. His next project is to build a petroleum refinery in South Sudan to bring affordable energy to a country otherwise dependent on Gulf fuel expensively transported over sea and land. “That’ll be a very satisfying project, I hope,” Prince told me, “and probably the single greatest act of economic development that country has ever seen. Obviously we’re doing it to make money, but bringing usable energy to the people of South Sudan is long overdue.”

Though he has lived in Abu Dhabi the past three years and is unsure of his future citizenship, his kids attend school in Virginia, and he remains a Virginia resident, taxpayer, and voter.

Reflecting on what in his view is the greatest threat to America — the size of the government — Prince offered one frank solution: “Cut the whole thing.” “There is a ton of room across the board,” he added. “I could cut 40 percent out of the Pentagon easy.”

He worries in particular that Republicans don’t understand the gravity of the situation and are letting their love of the military obscure reality. “For Republicans, you need to take away the notion that it’s unpatriotic to cut the defense budget. I love the military, but it needs to be cost-effective, not just effective,” he said. “We’re not endangering America by cutting the defense budget. We’re endangering it by not.”

Prince is doubtful, though, that politicians will be able to agree on a solution. Instead, he thinks that only crisis — in the form of hyperinflation and budgetary collapse or the next all-out war — will spark reform.

Regardless, Prince foresees a hard future for America, and he’s not sure he wants to be here when that future comes.

— Alec Torres is a William F. Buckley Fellow at the National Review Institute.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/365505/vindication-erik-prince-alec-torres

Eric Prince: Blackwater CEO

Lucio Aliotti

1Dec2013
From: Lucio Aliotti
To: Doc Riojas

I don't think we've met. I served during the years 1959 - 1963 in SEALs with both Lenny Waugh and Jim Watson, may he rest in peace. I was an officer in BUD/S class 21 (see picture of the class on my timeline); U.D.T. 21 and Jim worked in Supply with me during a lot of my time. I today live in Milano Italy.

Lucio Aliotti

Bo Reichenbach

Carroll

Dan Cerrillo

Eric Basu

Lance CUmmings

Rory O'Connor

Mark Divine

Nicholas Bickle

MUSTER, Ft. Pierce FL 2013

Tom Norris and Michael Thornton

Ross Perot, Mike Thornton, Tom Norris

Mark Owen

Robert B. Guzzo

Mari and Danny Dietz

Maria Dietz Interview; seen dancing with her husband Danny Dietz, K.I.A.

Maria Dietz wife of Danny Dietz KIA

VADM Robert Hayward Parachutes into his own retirement

Jim Bracken

From: Jim Bracken
To: Doc Riojas
Subj: Nov 2013 Muster

to I just returned from my annual trek to the UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, FL. Had a great time as usual. Buzz (BUD/S Class-mate of mine) took us fishing off of Palm Beach. Kristin hooked a 30 inch Mahi-Mahi . . . got it right up to the boat and Buzz cut the line with the gaff hook. . . . But that's NOT why I called.

The Saturday demo was low-balled, due to the Government budget crunch. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department pitched-in with a great K-9 demo. Had some Volunteer jumper's . . . low ceiling, so they just did a hop-n-pop. Museum's getting really big with the recent expansion . . . I'm really proud of it, especially knowing it's all done without ANY Government support.

But . . . . the highlight of the event was a guest speaker, Dr. Dorothy Woods. She is the widow of Ty Woods, the former Navy SEAL/Contractor who was killed when our Embassy was attacked in Benghazi. We had the usual local politicians, and the Democrat Rep. Patrick Murphy, that (Barely) beat-out Col. Allen West at the last election . . . he gave what amounted to a campaign speech.

When Dr. Woods addressed the crowd, it was the highlight of the whole event. She related her love, respect, and admiration that she felt for Ty . . . how she felt when she found out he's been killed during the embassy attack . . . how she would not have expected anything other than the way he reacted. She paused and said . . . "I don't know what he said when he got word that the embassy was under attack . . . but I guarentee it wasn't . . . 'What difference does it make now?' . . . The crowd exploded into a 10 minute standing ovation . . . if only Secretary of State Hillary had been there!!! Medal of Honor recipients Mike Thornton and Tommy Norris . . . who followed Dr. Woods . . . were basically speechless after that . . . Ross Perot waved to the crowd and didn't speak at all. She was totally awesome . . . I'll never forget it. Wish you all could have been there.

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Donald L. Zyski

Donald L. Zyski, R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Donald L. Zyski, 84, of Jenny Lind, CA on 06 November 2013.
Donald graduated with UDT Training Class 006 on 21 November 1952 in Coronado and served with UDT-1 during the Korean War.
Donald Leonard Zyski of Jenny Lind, CA passed away on November 6, 2013 of natural causes. He was 84. He ser ved his country in the Navy from 1945 to 1955 and was as a membe r of UDT
-
1. Following his military service, h e then went on to work for Grey Hound for 24 years. Later in life, Donald was a Past Masters Mason. Donald loved cruising the world with his wife, Mildred. There were only 2 places they hadn't gone, Africa & the Amazon. Donald loved going out golfing alone or with family/friends. He also enjoyed swimming and celebrating with family even if it was just a weekend BBQ. Donald dedicated himself to teaching CPR & First Aid for over 15 years to people all over California. Donald, along wit h his wife, helped with the high school program, Every 15 Minutes (HS Drunk Driving Program). Every time Donald entered a room, it was filled with smiles all around.

webmaster note: PLease somebody send me pictures of our Frog Brother Donald. thank you, Doc Rio

Phudnall on Rt. and Charlie Moser

SS
P. Hudnall talking to Charlie. Charlie Moser. I served with him at HCU-1 in the late 80s. He was a Senior Chief Hull Tech at the time. I think he was at HCU-1 before they moved it to Hawaii. He is retired, living in Hawaii.

Jim Dixon

Chuck Jessie

An original Navy SEAL, Chuck Jesse, recounts experiences November 12, 2013

Lt. to Rt: Doc RIojas, Vanessa Theodine, Larry Theodine, and Fred Miller

Captain Bob Peterson

Asami, Doc Riojas, and Glen Grinnage getting married

Waldo "Wallyi" Scheid

SEALs from ST-1

Robert B. CLine

SEAL Mike Boat

SEAL Mike Boat in 'nam

Robert W. "BOB/Chris" Christensen

xRobert W. "Bob / Chris" Christensen

Bob p assed away quietly at home on 10/23/13.

He was born in Bakersfield in 1928 and moved to Santa Barbara as a teenager. He graduated from Santa Barbara High School and obtained a BS in Pharmacology from USC.

He enlisted in the Navy after graduation, attended Officer Candidate school and was assigned to Underwater Demolition Team Eleven as a n Ensign .

After discharge from active duty he briefly worked as a Pharmacist but quit in 196 to to pursue a commercial diving career. He was instrumental in the formation of Santa Barbara City College's Marine Diving Technician Program where he taught for 16 years.

He retired from teaching in 1985 and after several years of retirement joined Kirby Morgan Diving Systems where he worked until this year. Bob was a pioneer in the diving industry as well as an avid fisherman, backpacker, gardener and cook.

Robert W. "Bob / Chris" Christensen

William F. "O.B." O'Brien R.I.P

Steve Robinson on: William Francis "O.B." O'Brien, R.I.P.

I was very deeply saddened to learn that Chief William Francis "O.B." O'Brien has passed away 5 Nov 2013, due to complication from surgery. OB was the Senior Instructor at BUD/S while I was there Sep 1970-Feb 1971, and I spoke with him often in my efforts to learn how to be an effective Petty Officer.

I reconnected with OB a couple of years ago, enrolling him in a SEAL-eyes-only Online Discussion Forum which I hosted, and aiding him with computer problems from time to time. He confided in me that he was always concerned when people called him a "SEAL" because he had never actually served anywhere but with UDTs.

I assured him that with all his knowledge and abilities - skills which echoed through our rigorous training - that he was fully qualified for the title. He remained humble and self-deprecating through it all... insisting that he was first, last, and always "A FROGMAN"!

Fair winds and following seas, old friend. You trained so very many men to be the best our nation could offer at a time when they were sorely needed

. You did your job exceptionally well. We will meet again on the far shore... at Fiddler's Green.

Until then I raise my hand in a sad and solemn salute of profound respect.

HOOYAH OB... you were, and always will be, one damned fine FROGMAN!

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MasterCHief Bill O'Brien (OB) Passed Away Inbox x Roland Gerson

to me Doc, I don't know if you knew OB, class 27EC (I Think) and attached to UDT11 WC (again, I think), then training in BUD's, but he passed away last tuesday and I just found out. He's been my friend for 18yrs, but due to being on the out's with is controlling daughter, I didn't find out till tonight. I don't keep in contact with many Teammates, so if you would, pass the word out to the original "old guys",
I'm 2nd tier, ony 64.

Thanx. Roland

Pinche green go steel hour sign in Puerto Rico, AY que BANDIDO ! Don Shipley, but wee forgif heem !

James Watson R.I.P.

In Memorium to James "Jimbo & Patches" Watson

May he Rest in Eternal Peace

On Death
Kahlil Gibran

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Rich Beauregard

Rich Beauregard QM2/SS on the USS John Marshall SSN-611

Rich Beauregard QM2/SS on the USS John Marshall SSN-611
Mon, Oct 21, 2013

to me I was a QM2/SS on the USS John Marshall SSN-611 around 88-89 and my collateral duty was ship's photographer. I have a few photos from when we surfaced in the Med in 1989.

I will attach the photos and a letter sent to the Sub's Crew for our duties during that time frame. Note: The mention of "Contingency Operations in August", This was when we added a few more SEAL TEAM members to the SEALs that were already onboard.

I do remember in one photo, they said they were the SDV TEAM (Swimmer Delivery Vehicle). Again, I do not remember their names and I was only a member of the Ship's Crew. I believe these guys were Spec War Group Two, SEAL TEAM 2 from Little Creek, VA.

I really enjoyed these exciting times and hope these guys are still around.

Last photo was me on the scope. You can post these to your website if you like and I hope some of these guys get to look back at them.

Thank you,

Rich Beauregard of Johnstown, Pa.

A few of the guys using up some old ammo topside. Spec war Group Two SEAL TEAM 2 on the back of the USS John Marshall SSN-611 while surfaced in the Med. 1989.

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B.J.B. and LeMoyne

B.J.B. and LeMoyne4 Navy SEALs

LeMoyne wearing socks under his generic booties Lt. Barbata, Lcdr LeMoyhne and CDR shaul Ziv of Shayetet 13 (Israeli SEALs)

From:Brian Barbata
To : Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
Subj: www.sealtwo.org

I love looking at your photo collection. So random, yet so cool.

Here is a photo for your site ...

1973 ! i was in college. Dig that 1/4 inch sharkskin wetsuit ! i bet it was t... to me Yes, those were thick suits for spending hours in the SDV. They were custom made by Hot Water Suits and Systems in San Diego. I still have mine. When we got them with our names stenciled on the inside, we thought that was really hot shit.

Brian Barbata

From: Brian Barbata
To: doc Riojas
Subj: Posting Brian's Emails on www.sealtwo.org

Sure, post it. I think others will be interested because of LeMoyne and the Israelis (some very cool guys!). We trained about 8 of them. Every one was a pilot and picked up flying the SDV like nothing. And could they shoot…OMG!

So we're having a briefing one afternoon for a night op and I draw two lines on the board, naming one country "Orange" and the other "Blue".

I get into the scenario a little and Shaul waves me off and says, "My guys won't get this. Let me do it." So he erases the board and starts over, drawing the same two lines. "OK, this is Saudi Arabia and this is the Red Sea and this is Egypt". Turns out these were the guys who had raided a jetty in the Red Sea and stolen top secret radar equipment the Russians had given the Egyptians.

The CIA had never seen it before and was able to analyze its capabilities. Shaul and his boys had many other missions that would make any SEAL drool. I heard he died a couple of years ago in his kibbutz.

Brian Barbata

From: Brian Barbata
to: Doc Riojas

You combined a couple of e-mails under the pic, making sound like I was in college in 1973, not you!

Hard to be in college and be in the ST! Maybe you can fix?

I graduated college in 1968, went in to the Navy and graduated BUD/S Class 52 in August 1969.

Such great stuff on your site!

Hooyah!

Brian

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Doc Riojas Response: I'll correct that today Friday 25Oct2013

Doc Riojas,

That's LeMoyne with the socks! I guess that's how he made Admiral.

Right after this, I lost my Team Rolex. Bought another one in St. Thomas for $125 and kept it when I got out.

I was in a shop in London a few months ago and the guy offered me $24,000 for it.

Turns out antique Rolex's are a big deal today! Wouldn't sell it for any amount. Been all over the world with that watch. Hundreds of feet down and thousands of feet up.

Brian

Doc Riojas Response: thousands of feet up?

William McRaven, seen as a senior, attended Roosevelt High School in San Antonio
Commander in Bin Laden mission was schooled in S.A. Admiral RAVEN graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1973

William McRaven

Ed Chisasson, Gerry Woolf, Jim Jones

Ed Chiasson, Gerry Woolf, Tim Jones

Frog21@aol.com
1:29 PM (3 hours ago)

to edudt22, me, frogfather

Hi Tim Thanks for sending along Doc,s picture of you me & Woolfe 3 good lookin Frogs, Huh? Thanks Bud see ya at the Creek in July... Ed I now remember you at the Reunion, Remember we sat together, We both have changed, I recognize the gold chain and wanted one. Doc Ed Chaisson is the frog on the left and was in class 32 with me. I am ready for the home for the mentally challenged, Ed who is Woolfe ? ( full name) please. Doc is determined to identify all three of us, See you at the 50th reunion. Your friend and classmate. Tim

From: Frog21 [at] aol DOT com
To: me, edudt22, deepdivebob
10/12/2013

I won't forget you. See you at the 50th reunion. Why did't you go to the 40th? Thanks for the Info,

Regards Tim.

From: edudt22 [at] comcast DOT net
To: Frog2
Sent: 10/12/2013
Subj: Re: 3 frogs Ed Chaisson, Tom Wolf, and Tim Jones

T J, Tim, that's Gerry Woolf in the middle. I think Gerry came thru class30/ He was in team 21. Finest kind we've been in touch lota yr's. Stay thirsty my friend.

Ed Chiasson PS

don't you ever forget me again********

From: Frog21@aol.com
To: docrio45[at] gmail DOT com; edudt22 [at] comcast DOT net; deepdivebob [at] yahoo DOT com; frog21 [at] aol DOT com
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2013
Subject: 3 frogs Ed Chaisson, Tom Wolf, and Tim Jones

Tim, The person in the middle is Tom Wolf. I think.
Bob Holmes

Exclusive: What it means to be a Warrior

Author: Mark D. Divine
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: September 5, 2006

What it means to be a Warrior

Mark D. Divine

WARRIOR: These days we hear the term used frequently – all too often, loosely – to describe a broad range of people from members of the military to tribal warlords, corporate leaders, vocal peacemakers, and martial artists. But are all such men and women truly deserving of the title? Or is a warrior, in the purest sense of the word, something different? Is a true warrior a type of person we have forgotten about in our unintentional dilution of the word, and in our quest to ensure that all are equal?

Surely there is something beyond special, perhaps even transcendent, that makes someone what we in the 21^st century have come to define as a warrior.

My dictionary defines a warrior as a: “a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier…” and “a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics.”

But based on those definitions, nearly all members of the armed forces might be warriors. Though the question that continues coming back to me is, do all military members exhibit “great vigor, courage and aggressiveness” in their duties and overall service? Of course, military service alone may qualify as the service of “warriors,” at least in some quarters (relative to other professionals). And all service to country is certainly noble.

But then there are those very few within the military who go above-and-beyond service to country. For them, service is far more than a commitment to duty and the fulfillment of a voluntary obligation.

Those few I speak of are the true warriors, the soldiers and sailors who – in my estimation – time-and-again perform decisively, courageously, selflessly: In short, in a manner that whether in peace or in war, they place the mission and lives of their teammates above their own. It is an almost spiritual approach to duty. This is where the line is drawn separating the true warriors from professional soldiers.

Fortunately for us all, America continues to produce such warriors: Good men who not only have demonstrated – what might seem to lesser men – an almost superhuman athleticism, a seemingly impossible courage, and whose legacies are far-too-often written in blood.

U.S. Navy SEAL Marc Lee was – and will forever be – one such warrior.

Marc was a member of the Navy’s elite SEAL commando force serving in Iraq. He and his SEAL teammates were supporting an Iraqi and U.S. Army unit during intense combat operations to remove insurgent elements from Ramadi, the provincial capital of the al Anbar province in western Iraq.

According to Marc’s Silver Star citation:

“During the operation, one element member was wounded by enemy fire. The element completed the casualty evacuation, regrouped and returned onto the battlefield to continue the fight. Petty Officer Lee and his SEAL element maneuvered to assault an unidentified enemy position. He, his teammates, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Abrams tanks engaged enemy positions with suppressive fire from an adjacent building to the north. To protect the lives of his teammates, he fearlessly exposed himself to direct enemy fire by engaging the enemy with his machine gun and was mortally wounded in the engagement. His brave actions in the line of fire saved the lives of many of his teammates.”

In addition to his posthumous Silver Star, Marc was awarded a Bronze Star (with combat “V”) and the Purple Heart.

Marc put the lives of his teammates above his own, and he died the most honorable death a warrior might hope for.

I did not personally know Marc, but I have corresponded with several of his teammates. And I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they loved and respected Marc as only warriors can love and respect one another. The intensity of the emotions caused by the loss of their teammate, and their understandable concern for his family are powerful testaments to Marc’s honor, his life, and what it means to be a SEAL.

These men are not alone: America has lost scores of such men in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world: fighting for their country and their teammates.

The love of one’s teammate is a bond that separates warriors from ordinary men and women. That love is what Marc Lee and his teammates in Ramadi demonstrated for each other.

Though I have never tasted the horror and incomprehensible sadness of sitting beside a dying teammate; I have experienced the bond formed by self-sacrificing teammates while an active duty SEAL in the 1990’s. It has not only defined me as a man. But it has given me a sincere appreciation for what it means to be a warrior: An understanding that not all men are warriors. And why America owes so much to its cardinal warriors like Marc Lee and the men who served – and continue to serve – on his left and his right.

— Mark D. Divine served for eight years on active duty with the U.S. Navy SEALs, and is a currently a Reserve Commander.

If you are a reporter or producer who is interested in receiving more information about this writer or this article, please email your request to Miramx1@aol.com.

Mark A. Divine

Edwin D. "Digger" O'Toole

Capt. Simmons, & Doc Riojas Louis Boisivert

David PaAaina and Damien Rio Vaquez

Bill Daugherty, his girlfriend, and Rudy Boesch

John T. Boyd

Clark

LDNNs at Camp CamRanBay 'nam

Mike Thornton MOH

"Pete" Peterson, Karen Peterson, Vicki and Jim McCutchan

Richard A. Pearson

ST-1 SEALs in Nam

Navy SEALs ?Alaska?

Sterling Baker and Doc RIojas

Coronado CA. SEAL reunion 2013

Petition to Oust Jesse Ventura from UDT SEAL Assn

Mike,

This petition has my full support also. James Janos has been nothing but an embarrassment to Naval Special Warfare. His lawsuit against Chris Kyle shows his real character which is to dishonor the brotherhood we share as Navy SEALs. To continue a lawsuit against Chris Kyle's family when Chris can no longer protect and defend his family is something only James Janos would do to a fellow brother Navy SEAL. Janos is a disgrace to the UDT/SEAL Association! Remove him from our association!

Jim LaVore class 49 wc, ST-1.

JAMES LAVORE
From: "Michael P. Macready" <cruiser_49>
Date: July 29, 2013,
To: Jim LaVore <jmlavore>
Subject: Petition

Jimmy,

This is something you may be interested in putting your name to. If you agree to it there is a link to a Brother who's heading it up and his name is "Drago". You can respond him with your approval to include your name.

Link to open petition: http:// maritimetacticalsecurity.com/ documents/petition_to_udt- seal_association.pdf

Later,

Mike

From: JAMES LAVORE <jmlavore> Date: July 29, 2013,
To: Association UDT-SEAL <executivedirector>, "Macready Michael P." <cruiser_49>

Subject: Fwd: Petition

From: "Michael P. Macready" <cruiser_49> Date: July 29, 2013,
To: Jim LaVore <jmlavore>
Subject: Petition
Jimmy,
This is something you may be interested in putting your name to. If you agree to it there is a link to a Brother who's heading it up and his name is "Drago". You can respond him with your approval to include your name.

Link to open petition: http:// maritimetacticalsecurity.com/ documents/petition_to_udt- seal_association.pdf
Later,
Mike

Chris Kyle R.I.P.

Stew Smith

SEALs KIA in Bengazi Tyrone S. Woods, Glen Doherty,

SEALs KIA & Passings

Fall Winter 2012-13

8/16/12 Patrick D. Feeks, 28 Afghanistan ST3

8/16/12 David J. Warsen, 27 Afghanistan ST3

8/16/12 PO1 Sean P. Carson Afghanistan NSW Support

9/11/12 Tyrone S Woods, 41 Benghazi Doing what he enjoyed doing.

9/11/12 Glen A. Doherty, 42 Benghazi Doing what he enjoyed doing.

10/04/12 Kevin C. Shanahan, 61 NJ UDTR -51 EC-ST2

10/15/12 Andrew C. Hayden, 75 CA UDTR-35 EC-ST2

10/28/12 Ramon S. Vandawalker, 90s MO NCDU 216

11/1/12 Matthew G. Kantor, 22 Zabul, AFG BUD/S 280

11/12/12 Robert Bryan Guzzo, 33 CA CONUS BUD/S 251-ST5

11/14/12 Duncan Winkler, 66 CA BUD/S 41-NSWG1

11/24/12 Kevin R. Ebbert, 32 Afghanistan BUD/S 265-NSWG2

12/08/12 Nicolas D. Checque, 28 Afghanistan BUD/S 247-ST10-NSWDG

12/15/12 Paul Burkley OR UDTR 28-UDT-21

12/22/12 CDR Job Price, 42 Afghanistan BUD/S 193-ST4

12/22/12 Duane McDonald, 77 ID UDTR16

12/24/12 Skip Connor, 50 OK BUD/S 143-ST4

12/25/12 Barry Enoch, 76 TN UDTR24-UDT12-ST1

12/30/12 Kenneth Lange, 85 NC UDTR16

1/7/13 Matthew P. White, 31 RI-CONUS BUD/S 253-ST10

1/10/13 C. Gardner Sullivan II, 82 AZ UDTR16

1/30/13 Mark L. Shaw, 66 CA BUD/S 70-ST1

1/27/2013 Ronald David Dean, 66 WA UDTR 38-ST1

2/2/13 Chris Kyle, 38 TX “American Sniper” BUD/S 233-ST3

2/17/2013 Robert Lewis Billinger, 65 CO UDTR 42-UDT11

2/19/13 SO1 Matthew J. Leathers, 33 HI-CONUS (MIT) BUD/S 245-SDVT-1

K.I.A. SEALs in Afganistan

Brett D. Shadle

Chad M. Burkhart

John T. Qirk

Lance Vaccaro

Mario G. Maestas

Paul P. Kelly Sr.

Peter G. Oswald

Rock E. Blasis

Shapoor A. Ghane

Theodore M. Moreland

Tom Carlin

Folks are asking Doc Riojas "how to find a picture" on www.sealtwo.org
HERE IS NOW !

    SEARCH Engine ONLY for SEALTWO.ORG

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Disclaimer Notice:   Some or all of this material was written collaboratively by Teammates or visitors to this website. While every effort is made to ensure that the content of this website is accurate, the website is provided “as is” and sealtwo.org makes no representations or warranties in relation to the accuracy or completeness of the information found on it. While the content of this site is provided in good faith, we do not warrant that the information will be kept up to date, be true and not misleading, or that this site will always (or ever) be available for use. For reliable information of any sort, you must consult an officially qualified professional in The U.S. Navy, or the

Mi Vida Loca - Copyright ©1998 - All Right Reserved      Webmaster:  Erasmo "Doc" Riojas        email:   docrio45@gmail.com

THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT Fertig, The Guerrilla General

One of our guys, although he had the misfortune of going Army instead of Navy, has become a writer in
his old age. His first few books were about the paranormal... he likes to chase ghosts in his spare time. But his latest
endeavor; Wow! He has started a new series of books he calls Behind the Lines. His first book, recently completed and
published is titled “THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT: Fertig, the Guerrilla General.” It’s a historically correct novel about Wendell Fertig in the Philippines in World War II. Here’s what the book looks like.
Cover Final :
May, 1942. General Wainwright has just surrendered the Philippines. Wendell Fertig, a Corps of Engineers Lieutenant Colonel, refuses to comply and flees into the mountains of Mindanao. Fertig is soon
joined by dozens of former Philippino Army scouts who encourage him to form a guerrilla Army. Over the next few months Fertig is joined by several other displaced American soldiers, one of whom builds a small, makeshift transmitter and establishes contact with the Navy.
General MacArthur denounces Fertig, going on record claiming it’s impossible for a guerrilla movement in the Philippines to succeed. The O.S.S. decide to take a chance and covertly supplies Fertig by submarine. Once he receives the tools to wage war, his achievements become legendary. By the time MacArthur returns to the Philippines in 1944 he is met on the beach at Leyte by a force of over twenty thousand of Fertig’s guerrilla Army.

This fictional accounting is based upon the actual military records and reports of one man’s impossible achievements against overwhelming odds; against an enemy who outnumbered him a hundred to one. Wendell Fertig, a civil engineer and untrained amateur in the ways of war, defied the predictions of the experts and brought the Japanese Army to its knees. Enjoy this first installment in the new Behind The Lines series of combat thrillers based upon historical records.
.

The book is available from Amazon in either print or Kindle versions, or by special order from almost any book retailer.
(He’s not Tom Clancy yet. They don’t stock his books but they can order them). These links will take you to the Amazon listings. If you look at the Kindle listing there is a Look Inside feature that lets you read through the first chapter.
Print:
http://www.amazon.com/Indomitable-Patriot-Fertig-Guerrilla-General/dp/
1512025623/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431972445&sr=8-1&keywords=the+indomitable+patriot

Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Indomitable-
Patriot-Fertig-Guerrilla-General-ebook/dp/B00XUSX4RU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432050603&sr=
1-1&keywords=the+indomitable+patriot

About the Author     Carl’s professional career began as an Army and then FAA air traffic controller. He advanced from a small radar van in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the TRACON in one of our nation’s busiest airports. He also became a commercial pilot and flight instructor, retiring after thirty-nine years of flying. By 1986 he was experiencing severe burnout. He put himself through the police academy, resigned from the FAA and became a deputy Sheriff in Reno, Nevada. He retired after a distinguished career on the street. Not only the cop on the beat, Carl became a renowned traffic accident reconstructionist on his departments Major Accident Investigation Team, as well as a highly acclaimed crime scene investigator. Throughout his life Carl has been a student of the paranormal and often experienced the effects of the supernatural in his personal life. In 2012 he became involved in the saga of the haunted Allen House in Monticello, Arkansas and its resident spirit, Ladell Allen Bonner. The result of dozens upon dozens of paranormal interactions with Ladell led Carl to write his first book about Ladell’s life and death. Writing that first book sparked a latent avocation in his life: writing. Carl has always been a connoisseur of military history, and that interest began a new direction for his writing. This latest book is the story of Wendell Fertig, and the beginning of a thrilling new series, 'Behind The Lines.' While the stories are fictionalized, they are all based upon factual military history. Join in with Carl and enjoy his books as you gain an interesting new insight in what war is all about.

The following is typical of the reviews I’m receiving on the book:

Just finished your book and you get 4.0 marks from this old Navy Seal. Really enjoyed and it adds to my hobby of WWII.
Spent 22 years of my 34 in and out of the PI. Have traveled every island and was trained a marksman by RJ when we were
stationed at Team 2 during Vietnam. Still a very good friend I keep in contact with. Going to recommend it to my friends,
at least the ones that can read.

THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT Fertig, The Guerrilla General

Doc Riojas Comment: Once i started reading this book, i have find myself hard to putting it down! because of my very old age (84 yr old eyes and at the end of being able to correct my vision) I find that the way the paragraphs are other important text are spaced to be extremly easy to read.
Having retired from the Navy and traveled to that part of the orient reminds me of my days as a guerrilla combatant as part of the Navy SPecial Warfare serving as a Navy SEAL in the Jungles of Vietnam.
The author is equally as good a military writter as Tom Clancy. This story may possibly be material for a great movie similar to the the movie produced about the POW rescue in WWII by Filipino Guerilla fighters and the U.S. Army Rangers. "The Great Raid"
Do not wait to buy it tomorrow, order it today ! It was recommended to me by CDR R.D. Thomas (recommended for the Medal of Honor by the US Army, but our politically correct US Navy downgraded it to a Navy Cross. SHame on them !