Posted on 08/20/2005 3:44:30 PM PDT by zencat
The oldest Navy SEAL in uniform has retired at age 60 after a career that included a tour in Vietnam, 24 years in the reserves and a return to active duty to help reorganize the reserves.
Capt. William "Wild Bill" Wildrick signed on with the SEALs in 1968, before the highly specialized Sea Air Land commandos became a household name. He served all but two of his 39 years in the Navy with the SEALs.
Wasn't there an old retired Navy SEAL that kicked-butt on the first 'Survior' reality show? Don't much remember, but my friends made me the last episode at a bar.
The survivor SEAL was Rudy Bosch(Spelling) and he was bumped off for PC reasons the guy that won was a Homo. Can't have a straight guy win a show like that.
On a second note. You should see some of the Kampfschwimmers.lol I don't mean Teddy. I mean active duty Ks's, some of them are pretty old too. I think they have to go to like 60 before being able to retire.
Spec Ops Ping
Rudy commented that all the other contestants were seriously dysfunctional.
I thought it was disgraceful the way the nude homo was paraded around, even after he "won." More efforts to make such behavior normal. I do not know of anyone else allowed to be Fully Monty on the Letterman Show. Isn't that cute?
No.
I loved every minute of being a sneakypete. But dang, six years of living and sleeping with snakes, mosquitos, leeches, being wet, and tired was enough positive mental attitude for me. I'm 63 and sleep at Holiday Inns now.
Thank you brother.
Oldest SEAL, a Vietnam vet, retires
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 20, 2005
CORONADO – An era ended this week when Capt. William "Wild Bill" Wildrick retired in a ceremony at the Special Warfare Command here. The Navy lost the last active-duty SEAL platoon officer who had served in Vietnam.
Wildrick, at 60 the oldest SEAL in uniform, became a Sea Air Land commando before most people knew what one was. He has been a SEAL for all but two of his 39 years in the Navy. "The biggest change I've seen is the publicity," Wildrick said. "There was a time when our compound wasn't even marked and we didn't wear patches.
"Now you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the world who doesn't know what a SEAL is. And I don't think that is necessarily a good thing."
After becoming a SEAL in 1968 and later an instructor, Wildrick spent five years on active duty and an additional 24 years in the reserve units. He saw firsthand the good and the bad of reserves and thought of ways to improve the experience if he got the chance.
Reserve SEAL units historically had suffered from low funding, poor training and fragmented leadership.
His chance came in 1996 when Wildrick returned to active duty at the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., where the commander was Gen. Hugh Shelton, the future chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Wildrick helped establish reserve SEAL support commands on both coasts in 2003 that initiated what some consider the most significant change to the Naval Special Warfare Reserve community in its 30-year history.
"What he did was, instead of dispersing units around the country, he set up operations support teams in San Diego and Norfolk, Va., that provided a closer link between active and reserve forces," said John McTighe, a longtime friend, retired Navy captain and a SEAL for 27 years.
That model is now being considered for the rest of the Navy reserves.
"He had a good reputation for his tour in Vietnam and for being an instructor at BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) in Coronado," McTighe said. "But he clearly has a legacy for reorganizing the reserves."
Wildrick retires as the second-ranking person in the SEAL community.
"People probably were surprised that we could have the trust in a reservist," said McTighe, a program manager for the SEALs.
"On Sept. 11, (2001) Adm. Eric Olson was away from the command and Capt. Wildrick, as the deputy commander, was the acting commander for Naval Special Warfare Command during and right after Sept. 11," McTighe said. "He got the ball in motion for eventual deployments to Afghanistan."
Unlike in Iraq, the battle against insurgents in Afghanistan has been largely fought by special operations forces, including SEALs.
Master Chief Mike Beske, a medical adviser for the SEALs, gives Wildrick credit for recognizing that the war on terror would need everyone, including the reserve force.
"It's not the same Navy as 10, 15 years ago," Beske said. "These guys (reservists) are an integral part of our force. If they weren't here it would be a lot harder. Capt. Wildrick took the reserves and built it up. There is definitely a better melding of people."
Wildrick became a SEAL in 1968 after attending Officer Candidate School and graduating from Washington and Lee University in Virginia.
He graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Class 46 in 1968 after the Tet offensive and went to Vietnam as a member of SEAL Team One in late 1969 and early 1970.
He returned to Coronado as a BUD/S instructor in the early 1970s. Jesse Ventura – then known as James Janos – was in his first class. Wildrick doesn't remember Janos, but does remember the class – BUD/S Class 58.
"I had an Irish setter and one night we were walking along the beach when we found the trainees asleep. I had them carry their classmates around in their rubber boats," Wildrick recalled.
Wildrick, who has a wife and three children, isn't sure what he'll do next.
He said he might take a job in Florida, but likes living in La Jolla and might stay in San Diego if he can find the right job.
He is certain about what he is going to miss.
"Leaving these people is going to be the hardest. No one in the civilian world is going to put their life on the line for you," Wildrick said. "These people is what I'm going to miss."
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20050820-9999-2m20wildrick.html
>>>"Reserve SEAL units historically had suffered from low funding, poor training and fragmented leadership"<<<
The Reserves has its faults, but it always gave the opportunity to serve, funding or not.
TT
Rudy.
I wonderered if this might have been him.
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