In the wake of President Obama using the SEALs raid on Bin Laden’s Abbottabad, Pakistan compound for political gain, I’d like to ask that we all remember the bigger picture. The world’s most wanted terrorist is dead and today should be one of celebration.
Celebration you say? Yes, the fact that US HUMINT (human intelligence) led us to Bin Laden’s door step should be celebrated for all those that have perished leading up to the operation and those that are still falling in support of continuing operations that deconstruct the terrorist network overseas. Bin Laden’s death certainly didn’t change the battlefield, but it did serve to unite the country in the toppling of a keystone.
One year ago at 23:36 Eastern time, President Obama addressed the nation and announced that US Special Operations conducted an operation deep inside a compound in Aboottabad, Paskistan that left Osama Bin Laden dead after a firefight.
Here at ITS Tactical, we created a 5.1.11 Prevail Morale Patch days after the operation in partnership with America’s Mighty Warriors. AMW is run by Gold Star Mom Debbie Lee, mother of Marc Lee, the first SEAL killed in Iraq on August, 2nd 2006. We continue to donate the profits from the 5.1.11 patch sales to America’s Mighty Warriors.
Marc perished during house-to-house clearing in Ramadi, Iraq and earlier that day put him self in the direct line of fire not once, but twice, to draw attention away from an injured teammate. The second time to allow a medic to reach the fortified position on the rooftop they were on.
Debbie Lee’s Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Charity, America’s Mighty Warriors, was founded to help our military, their families and those that have fallen through their loss. Today I’m celebrating Bin Laden’s death for Marc Lee, Alex Ghane and Jason Workman, who I was in BUD/s with and who I know are celebrating themselves as they look down over us from Valhalla.
We’ve been wanting to create something for a long time now on ITS Tactical to honor all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our way of life. I often get asked about the memorial bracelet I wear on my right wrist and its significance.
I’ve actually been alternating memorial bracelets in remembrance of three SEALs I went to BUD/s with that have lost their lives since the beginning of the war. Marc Lee, Alex Ghane and Jason Workman. It’s my way of never forgetting them, striving to do good and living life to its fullest each and every day. I know that’s what they’d want, to never forget them and what they died for. [Read More…]
Today, I’d like to offer my thoughts and perspective on the recently released Act of Valor movie. I’m not a movie critic, or even someone who’s got any operational experience outside of BUD/s (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training) and what I was taught there. What I do offer with my write-up is the perspective of someone who has been through and overcome adversity side-by-side with members of the Naval Special Warfare community I’m proud to call my friends.
Words will never fittingly describe, nor do justice to the adversity that each one of these guys encountered in training and faces every day of their lives. What I mean by this is the continuous training, workup and deployment cycle they go through and all they sacrifice on a daily basis that most will never understand.
“We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill [Read More…]
I would argue yes, the order does matter. Something that’s been ingrained in me since my days in BUD/s is the order in which I dress.
As I was getting dressed this morning, putting my pants on first, I thought I’d write about why we were taught back in the day to dress in a certain order. [Read More…]
The first thing that I typically hear when I tell someone about GORUCK, is “what’s that?” GORUCK is definitely not a common word, but neither is ruck to those outside of the military and the UK.
Short for rucksack, ruck is how our ALICE packs (All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment) were referred to when I was issued mine in the Navy. While a lot has changed since the initial development of the external frame ALICE Pack, they’re still being issued today to our military.
Whether using an ALICE Pack or another ruck, our troops hump weapons and equipment everywhere and it’s from this that the GORUCK Challenge was born.
go·ruck noun [verb go + verb ruck] ruck is a noun short for rucksack (aka backpack), it’s also a verb: to ruck is to move with a rucksack, and implies action, energy, and purpose.
[Read More…]
Lately I’ve been going on Ruck Runs to build myself up for the GORUCK Challenges I’ll be doing in Oklahoma and Dallas this year, followed by the GORUCK Ascent in September with Mike.
While I haven’t done many Ruck Runs since leaving the Navy, I still use the construction techniques I was taught at BUD/s to make different weighted “pills” to run with in my pack/ruck.
Pills you say? Yep, that was how we used to refer to the taped up sandbags we’d run with during Second Phase in BUD/s. Primarily because the taped sandbags resemble pills and there’s the whole “take your pills” chant that you’d tell yourself when it was time to go for the Ruck Runs. [Read More…]
As we continue to build our article library on diving, I’d like to branch off with a few articles on the basic principles of swimming, how our military uses it and why you should work it into your exercise regimen.
Today we’ll be addressing some core information on swimming as a skill-set and looking at combat, lifesaving and fitness applications. [Read More…]
Preparing for BUD/S or not, running on soft sand is an excellent way to train and exercise. Students at BUD/S will run on the soft sand (SS) on a daily basis, which is very different than harder sand or surfaces.
Whether on a conditioning run, the O-course, running up and over the berm, boats-on-heads, logs, or just running to chow, many BUD/S students overlook the difficulty that SS presents and how common of an occurrence it is in almost every evolution they will face. [Read More…]
So now that we’ve got the diving introduction out of the way, let’s jump right into what we feel is a major issue. When it comes to SCUBA Diving, it is important to know your Gas Laws. In Dive Physics, during the Second Phase of BUD/s, they teach you that these laws are very important to a diver. A diver must be aware of the physics affecting him underwater. Without the knowledge of what happens to the human body underwater, circumstances could easily become disastrous.
In this article, we’re going to cover six important diving laws and principles that every diver needs to be aware of. We urge you to study this article and develop a full understanding of how these laws work and to draw your own opinions about why they’re important. The definitions are taken from documents provided in BUD/s training, and we can’t think of anyone better to talk to about the water than the SEALs. [Read More…]
We’ve put together a video showing all the knots from the “How to Tie Knots Like a Navy SEAL” series tied underwater.
In the video we’ve recreated the BUD/s (Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL) Underwater Knot Tying Test.
At BUD/s the test is performed in the 15 ft. section of the CTT (Combat Training Tank), where students must swim out to a waiting instructor who is treading water over trunk line on the bottom of the CTT. [Read More…]
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