Category Archives: SEALs

Rhino Wars and Spec Ops

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You hear the word SEAL and you don’t generally think of rhinoceroses. But SO1 Jeff “Biggs” Wobig and his band of merry cutthroats are in South Africa battling poachers:

While special operators typically protect Americans, Jeff “Biggs” Wobig and his friends have branched out to another population: rhinos.

Wobig, a 29-year-old special warfare operator first class, is a SEAL in the Navy Reserve. He’s also a newly minted TV star.

He spent six weeks in South Africa as part of the Animal Planet miniseries “Battleground: Rhino Wars.” The show debuted last month, but you can also track their missions online at AnimalPlanet.com.

Wobig, a sniper, was joined by former SEALs Craig “Saw” Sawyer and Rob Roy, and a former Green Beret who went by “Oz.”

SO1 is running this op as part of his civilian business, CTS Solutions: Consulting, Training and Security Solutions.

SEAL Swimmer, Larsen Jensen

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Larsen Jensen is a two-time Olympic medalist, competing in the 1500 meter freestyle and the 400 meter freestyle:

President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush pose for photos with U.S. Olympic swimmers Larsen Jensen, left, and Michael Phelps Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008, at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing.

President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush pose for photos with U.S. Olympic swimmers Larsen Jensen, left, and Michael Phelps Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008, at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing.

Larjo or Bro Jensen is also a USC graduate and a Navy SEAL.

AJ Dicken, Fake Navy SEAL

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The Panera Breads near my house has good coffee. Slightly burnt, but in a good Navy way. Plus they have a frequent visitor card. That is, if you swing by often enough, you win free schtuff. Like bagels and coffee. It did not take me long to realize that the algorithm (computer program picking the winners) is set to go heavy at the beginning and slackens off with time. If you don’t spend your winnings, they languish in your account and you don’t win more. I confirmed my non-scientific findings with a couple of the coffee girls who work there. (Yes, I may be thinking too much about this.)

My point: I like Panera. I go there fairly often. And one afternoon, an enormous dude wearing a SEAL baseball cap ambled over to me. He greeted me with: Hey El Tee.

I noticed the Trident shirt and actually thought: Gee this seems like a blogpost waiting to happen. So I probably played along more than I should have.

Hi, I replied.

He asked me my job and I told him a very boring version, hoping my dull garlic would ward off this Navy vampire.

He launched into some bs story about using crypto gear when he was on the Teams. And he mentioned the gear. He spoke of it like a guy who read a magazine article on the capability. It was just a secure radio and he spoke of it like a nuke.

His daughter or granddaughter stood behind him, so I did not say anything. I did not really chat much more with him. But wished him well. I was serious-minded and did not take any of his Navy bait that I take with some of the other Navy folks I chat with. Could he have been a real SEAL? Perhaps, but unlikely. I imagined he served stateside somewhere and wanted a history. There is no shame in the truth. A hey I was a Yeoman and I served in Norfolk. I would have had more reason to chat with him if his appearance matched his story. I don’t imagine there are many 300 pound Navy SEALs. Who are so open about their  service.

Then there is the story of this SEAL faker, AJ Dicken, who worked as a Lake Tahoe bartender. And the usual unusual stories began to fly:

Dicken closed the deal with a DD-214 — discharge papers saying he served 35 years in naval special warfare, 291 classified central intelligence operations, Vietnam, Panama, Iraq, awarded the bronze Star, Silver Star, Navy Cross, two Purple Hearts, six counter-terrorist service medals, and nine presidential citations.

Noyes: “Give me the one sentence pitch on the documentary, what was the documentary going to be?”
Vested: “‘A Soldier’s Story,’ based on what he gave us, the most highly decorated Navy SEAL in the history of the Navy SEALs.”

AJ Dicken, Fake SEAL

AJ Dicken, Fake SEAL

Noyes: “And you paid him the money.”
Vested: “It’s just over $50,000.”

After signing away rights to his life story, Dicken began sending page upon page of suggested plot lines. He wrote, “I have answered questions on a regular basis about what it is like to be a SEAL…What it is like to be in combat, man’s inhumanity to man, and to deal with the horrors of war…This story is my best recollection.”

But, Vested was doing his own research and uncovered a troubling fact (something the I-Team verified with the National Personnel Records Center) — that Dicken has never served a day in any branch of the U.S. Military.

Of course, AJ Dicken was no Yeoman in Norfolk. Just a bs’er.

Suicide Strikes the Navy, SEAL Commander Down

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I don’t truly understand suicide. I’ve had the challenge of being around four suicide attempts in my Navy career. All were unsuccessful, thankfully. In one, one of my best buddies in language school, despondent over low grades, went to a motel with a bottle of Jack and a rusty knife. And the hotel staff found him in the morning, bloody and alive. It was strange, me and another of our friends were doing well at the same language. And our buddy (who attempted suicide) would not let us help him with his studies. We were happy to see him alive and able to get the help he needed. He left the Navy and returned to a job he was effective at. We were compassionate with him, but somewhat puzzled about it. (I know that may sound unfeeling, but it is the truth.)

Sadly, another Sailor (possibly) committed suicide today, Commander Job Price, of Naval Special Warfare Group Four:

Commander Job Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, shown in this Naval Special Warfare Group TWO

CDR Job Price, 42, of Pottstown, PENN, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO pic

 A senior member of the U.S. Navy’s elite SEAL unit has died in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said on Sunday, and media reports said the death was a possible suicide.

Commander Job Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday of a non-combat related injury in central Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province, the Pentagon said in a statement.

“This incident is currently under investigation,” it said.

Price was assigned to a Naval Special Warfare unit in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the statement said.

NBC News and CNN quoted unnamed military officials as saying that the death was being looked at as a possible suicide.

Lieutenant David Lloyd, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Group Two, which comprises the four SEAL teams on the U.S. East Coast, declined to comment on the cause of death, saying it was under investigation.

I wish the Commander’s family and teammates well during this trying time. RIP, Sir.

Froglogic Definition

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Froglogic (frog-lojik), n.

1. A way of thinking that perpetually activates an individual’s desire to forge his or her own Self-Confidence in order to commit to living a team orientated lifestyle or “Team Life”.

2. A two-part motivational training program.

Part 1 – Accepting 8 simple Missions into your lifestyle in order to forge your personal and professional Self-Confidence.

Part 2 – Committing to 4 simple Missions that will ignite your understanding of what it means to live the Team Life.

3. A concept rooted in the proven exepriences of over 65 years of UDT/ SEAL “Real World” operations, training doctrine and elite lifestyle performance.

–David B. Rutherford, US Navy SEAL

SEAL Swindles his Shipmates

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I have no desire to swindle folks out of money (as a blogger, I’m busy swindling you out of your time.) But even if I did, I would not cheat SEALs. One of them could get ideas. Former SEAL Jason Mullaney was ordered Monday to face trial on 30 felony charges, including grand theft and fraud. He’s pleaded not guilty but remains jailed and faces up to 34 years in state prison if convicted. . .

Navy SEAL Goes for Record with Girlfriend

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David Goggins

Remember Navy Seal David Goggins? He attempted to set the world pull-up record. He failed, but he is trying again. And this time his girlfriend, Dawn Griner, is attempting to set the female record at 2,500 pull-ups. Wow.

I’m very confident we can do it. We’ve put the training in. There are no excuses. I have the proper bar. We’re prepared to go over the record, Goggins said.

Video Game Gets Seven SEALs NJP?

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NJP stands for non-judicial punishment and it is a way for a commander to assess smaller than court-martial penalties against a Sailor. We call it either Captain’s Mast or Admiral’s Mast in the Navy depending on the rank of the senior presiding over the action. And apparently, seven members of SEAL Team 6 went through NJP proceedings for assisting in the development of a video game:

Seven members of the secretive Navy SEAL Team 6, including one involved in the Usama bin Laden raid, have been punished for allegedly disclosing classified information, two senior military officials tell Fox News.

They were accused for their role working as paid consultants for a video game company producing “Medal of Honor: Warfighter.” The official says four other SEALs are under investigation for similar alleged disclosures, but are still on active duty.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter, made with help from Navy SEAL Team 6 members

The seven received what the military calls “nonjudicial” punishment on Wednesday. They were given letters of reprimand, which is often, but not exclusively, a career ending punishment — it depends on the commander’s discretion and whether or not he chooses to make it part of the offender’s permanent service record. In addition, the seven SEALs were made to forfeit half their pay for two months.

The deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli, issued a statement acknowledging that nonjudicial punishments had been handed out for misconduct, but he did not offer any details.

Okay, so someone is not reporting the news right. Seven were punished, but they were already out of the Navy? And four are about to be punished, but they are active-duty? If you are retired or have left active-duty, an NJP means nothing to you. I think the writer of this article mixed up the four and the seven. The active-duty guys were NJP’d. I am not sure what exactly they do to retirees or Sailors who have left the Navy traitorously early. (For all those who have served, I am only kidding with the traitor label. Thanks for your service. We need service-members who do four year hitches. Not everyone should do twenty. We would have no room for everyone to serve. And we would be very top-heavy.)

Medal of Honor for Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty

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May I be the first to suggest the Medal of Honor for Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty? Or is the Presidential Medal of Freedom the award they deserve? I suppose it is the latter, after all, they were not in uniform when they carried out their heroism. Not that the sixty (60) jihadis they waxed knew the difference.

New visitors: Howdy! Please look around. No jihadis here, I promise.

More Info About Navy Thighs Than You Are Interested In

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In an article titled Oral Hygiene Habits of the Interesting: U.S. Navy SEAL J. Robert DuBois, I found the following tidbit. Read at your own peril:

In BUD/S (SEAL training) we go for weeks of running, swimming, and carrying things: inflatable boats, logs… instructors. When the body is constantly exposed to salt water, sand and motion, some of the more sensitive areas tend to get chafed much more than usual. Add to this that SEAL trainees develop powerful thigh muscles from all the running, swimming and carrying. The end result is that our inner thighs are worn straight down to raw meat, as are our scalps from carrying all those boats. If you look at almost any “frogman’s” thighs you can find those scars. (And some of the scalps never recover their full plumage, too — viz me.)

Viz me? What the heck is that all about. . .