NEW BLOOD a Look at What It Takes to Join the SWCC Brotherhood 1: Building Warriors Quiet Professionalism Begins at the Center
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NEW BLOOD A look at what it takes to join the SWCC brotherhood 1: BUILDING WARRIORS Quiet professionalism begins at the Center. 2: MMA How MMA can help operators fight on the battlefield. 6: RIGGERS They say “JUMP” — and can tell you how high! 12: HIGH CALIBER PEOPLE Naval Special Warfare’s best and brightest 13: WAVE RIDERS Candidate to SWCC: What it takes to make the cut. 18: BIKER BOYS Why they love to drive fast and how they do it safely. 23: FOREIGN AFFAIRS Group 4 takes over NAVSCIATTS. 26: BROOMBALL Teambuilding on ice is nice! 28: LOYALTY Finding the right path and sticking to it. CATCHING AIR: Students parachute from 1,500 feet above El Centro, Calif. Jan. 19 during a Static-Line Jump Master course conducted by NSW ATC Air Operations. COMMANDER > FORCE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER Rear > Admiral Edward Winters, III PRODUCTION MANAGER > DEP. PAO/EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS Commander > Lieutenant Gregory Nathan Geisen Potter ART DIRECTOR > MC1 (SW/AW) Andre Mitchell DEP. PAO/INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS > Ms. Patricia O’Connor Ms. Mandy McCammon LAYOUT/DESIGN > MC2 (PJ) Michelle Kapica EDITOR > MCCS (SW/AW) Scott Williams STAFF > MC2 (SW/AW) Arcenio Gonzalez, MC2 (SW/AW) Erika Manzano, MC2 (SW) Shauntae Hinkle, Ethos is an authorized official production of the Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs Office, 2000MC2 Trident (SW/AW) Way, SanDominique Diego, LascoCalif. 92155-5599. STAFF Send electronic submissions and correspondence to [email protected] or call (619) 522-2825. On the cover: SWCC students triangulate their position on an 11-meter Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat in Coronado Bay, Calif., June 13. On the back: Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 2nd Class (EXW/AW/FPJ) Justin Birch monitors a Static-Line Jump Master course student as he performs outside air safety checks from a C-130 Jan. 19 above El Centro, Calif. Photos by MC2 (PJ) Michelle Kapica 1: BUILDING WARRIORS Quiet professionalism begins at the Center. 2: MMA How MMA can help operators fight on the battlefield. 6: RIGGERS They say “JUMP” — and can tell you how high! Get Centered 12: HIGH CALIBER PEOPLE Naval Special Warfare’s best and brightest hat is the essence of a warrior? Is it toughness, skill, attitude? Certainly our ethos contains many Ultimately, it makes no difference whether the warrior is of these tenants, including honor, perseverance, downrange, conducting local training or riding a motorcycle on the 13: WAVE RIDERS and teamwork. The SEAL/SWCC ethos is the weekend. The operators of Naval Special Warfare live our ethos every Candidate to SWCC: fundamental core principles of all that we do at the day and are representatives of the special operations community both What it takes to make the cut. Naval Special Warfare Center. on and off duty. It is truly a privilege to be work with the young The core of the training at the Center has remained intact since our aspiring warriors and instructor staff assigned to the Naval Special inception. From the beginning, we have always produced individuals Warfare Center. 18: BIKER BOYS with an extraordinary will to succeed and never-quit life philosophy. With increased demands to grow the force no standards have been Why they love to drive fast - Capt. Stewart G. Elliott compromised at the Naval Special Warfare Center. Candidates continue and how they do it safely. Commander, Naval Special Warfare Center to meet the high standards that have not changed over the past 20 years. SEALS and SWCC are proven warriors on today’s battlefields and we will continue to assess and select the finest individuals for Naval 23: FOREIGN AFFAIRS Special Warfare; our force and our country deserve nothing less. Group 4 takes over NAVSCIATTS. The key to producing a professional warrior is to ensure our curriculum reflects efficient processes of training that contains all of the mental, physical and moral attributes we want to instill in 26: BROOMBALL our operators. The instructor is the tool by which we pass on these Teambuilding on ice is nice! attributes, to which end we invest substantially in training the trainers. Everyone in a teaching position attends the Naval Special Warfare Instructor Qualification Course, which covers not just training 28: LOYALTY techniques but also safety, psychology and ethics. Our instructors are Finding the right path total professionals who perform flawlessly on a daily basis in their and sticking to it. mission to make, train and educate our next generation of Naval Special Warfare warriors. In the pages of this magazine, you will discover the various aspects of our lifestyle – on duty and off. One article features the hard-working support staff at Advanced Training Command as they teach Air Operations to candidates and conduct refresher courses for our operators returning from deployment. You’ll also see how the instructor staffs for the Basic Crewman Training and Crewman Qualification Training courses create a SWCC. Additional stories provide examples of how our people spend some of their off duty time. It should come as no surprise that the people who work at NSW - GUYS WHO LIKE ADRENALINE, COMPETITION, CHALLENANGED FACES, LIFE OR DEATH – chooSISTUATE OFF-DUTYI ACTOINSVITIES THAT MATCH THEIR NATURAL INCLINATIONS. 2 ETHOS Modern MMA competition made its debut in popular American culture in the early 90’s with the creation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It brought together practitioners of different martial arts styles in a realistic, street-style type of fighting with few rules. Some SEALs believe development of MMA-style fighting skills provides a tactical advantage over the enemy in close-combat situations. “There are a lot of things you’ve got to be good at (in the teams),” said Lt. Cmdr. John “Jocko” Willink, Commanding Officer of NSW Group 1 Training Detachment and co-owner of Throwdown Elite Training Center in San Diego. “Being able to fight is definitely one of them.” Although MMA combines many different forms of martial arts, Brazilian Jujitsu is considered to be one of the core styles due to its heavy use of submission holds and grappling. hese are the guys who watch, study and “Brazilian Jujitsu is definitely the base,” said Willink. “Then you learn the brutal fighting techniques of a tie that with Muay Thai, which uses elbows, knees, kicks, punches and more clench work… finally, wrestling because you have to be able to sport that has evolved from blood-thirsty, dictate where that fight is going to go.” cage-fighting wrestlers into one of the Putting serious time in at the gym is the only way for fighters to improve their technique. It’s the time on the mat, in the ring and in most popular, technical and respected sports the cage that pays dividends when faced with an enemy insurgent today: Mixed Martial Arts. downrange. It provides the confidence, that extra edge that operators need to be able to walk into any situation knowing they can handle anything or anyone – with or without weapons. “It’s true hand-to-hand, as far as knowing how to manipulate someone to do stuff,” said Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Thomas Giummarra, Group 1 TRADET training department LCPO. Giummarra, who has trained in MMA for seven years, said fighting can be a very humbling experience – a distinct reality check for a fighter whose skills aren’t on the same level as their opponent. “I think more guys should do it just for the experience and knowledge of how much of a bad-ass we aren’t some times,” said Giummarra. Besides the obvious tactical benefit, MMA is a great total body workout that hits the core areas of strength, endurance and flexibility. It provides focus and is a great way to relieve stress, leading to a healthier and more productive lifestyle. Despite its reputation, MMA is a relatively safe sport, said Giummarra. A good fighter can control a fight, leading his opponent in any direction. Injury rates in MMA are no greater than sports like football or basketball, he said. Getting into MMA is easy. There are hundreds of specialized gyms all over the country with qualified instructors who teach at all levels. “Have fun with it and realize you won’t be an expert overnight,” said Giummarra. “You must leave your ego at home – the sport equalizes everyone. It doesn’t matter how strong or big you are you can still get tapped out by the smallest guy in the gym.” - Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Thomas Guimmarra - MC3 Antontio Ramos and MC2 Hadi El-Abiad NSW TRADET, Training Dept LCPO - Photos by MC3 Antonio Ramos TAKING NAMES: UFC Fighter Dean Lister takes a break from training to pose for a photo at Throwdown Gym in San Diego. Lister, a native of Brazil is one of the best Jujitsu fighters in the world. He regulary works with local service members and shows them new techniques. Climbing to altitude, youíre pretty much doing math ñ ensuring that your calculations are correct and the winds havenít shifted. The ramp opens. Youíre looking for the perfect spot. Itís surreal. Youíre sticking out of the aircraft at 12,500 feet ñ not something you probably thought youíd ever be doing ñ Itís pretty exhilarating! 6 ETHOS eaning over the side of the ramp mission done,” said Birch. “It’s a good jump do in the fleet transfers over here (to NSW),” of a C-130 travelling at 130 knots, when everybody is on the ground safely. said Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 2nd That’s always a good day’s work.” Class (AW/FPJ) Matthew Taylor, leading Class (EXW/AW/FPJ) Justin Birch Birch is a qualified military freefall petty officer at LOGSU-1 parachute loft in scans the ground.