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Coast Guardsmen to Join Navy SEAL Teams (TONK! WOW!)
American Forces Press Service ^ | Jim Garamone

Posted on 08/15/2008 5:51:34 PM PDT by SandRat

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 – Coast Guardsmen soon will be training to join Navy SEAL teams, a senior Coast Guard officer said today.

Rear Adm. Thomas F. Atkin, commander of the Coast Guard’s deployable operations group, said four Coast Guardsmen -- two officers and two enlisted sailors -- will be selected to begin basic underwater demolition school later this year.

If they graduate, the admiral said, they will become full-fledged members of Navy SEAL teams and deploy with those teams worldwide.

Atkins called the development the beginning of an exciting new era in the Coast Guard.

“Certainly this is historic, it’s different, but it’s very consistent with the long partnership we’ve had with the United States Navy,” he said during a conference call with bloggers.

SEAL teams are among the most elite military units in the world, he noted. “We understand that, and we will strive to find the best and the brightest here in the Coast Guard to support that program,” the admiral said.

The Coast Guard will get a capability it does not have right now, he said. “We will get a great skill set and experience set from what they will learn,” the admiral said. “We think this program will bring a lot of experience back to the deployable operations group and the Coast Guard as a whole.”

The service will accept applications through the middle of next month. At that point, the service -- in coordination with the Navy Special Warfare Command -- will select the Coast Guard candidates.

The Coast Guard has “a military mission; we have a counterterrorism mission; we have an anti-terrorism mission; and we also have a mission to conduct high-end specialized law enforcement in the Caribbean, the Eastern Pacific and around the homeland,” Atkins said.

SEAL training provides the service with increased capabilities and more experience, and it also will help Coast Guard’s relationship with the Navy and the U.S. Special Operations Command.

The Navy also benefits from the Coast Guardsmen becoming SEALs, the admiral said.

“The Coast Guardsmen will bring their knowledge base on maritime operations, law enforcement operations, port security and homeland security to the SEAL teams,” Atkins said. “These are experiences these folks don’t have.”

The more diverse an operational group is, the better off it is, he said.

“It doesn’t mean the SEAL teams are going to conduct law enforcement operations, but understanding how law enforcement operations work and understanding the experiences a new person brings to the team will only make them better,” he said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: navyseals; seal; specialforces; tonk; udt; uscg; usn
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1 posted on 08/15/2008 5:51:35 PM PDT by SandRat
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub; StarCMC; Kathy in Alaska

TONK must be so proud watching from above.


2 posted on 08/15/2008 5:52:47 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SandRat
Great story, Sand. Tonk surely must be proud.


3 posted on 08/15/2008 5:56:10 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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To: SandRat

He would be thrilled. I am thrilled. Gutsy bunch. Much needed.

Remember what branch mounted that incredible rooftop rescue in New Orleans after the flood.


4 posted on 08/15/2008 5:57:56 PM PDT by Bahbah (Typical white person-Snow white)
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To: Bahbah

Yep.


5 posted on 08/15/2008 5:59:19 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: SandRat
Navy SEALS aside (just don't want to talk about their mystique), the Navy doesn't, or at least didn't know much, institutionally, about maritime interdiction in peace time. The Navy is the go to force for a blockade. Board and search cargo ships in you're backyard, or even to enforce limited (arms, oil, etc) embargos in areas where trade is going on...Coasties. Any whatever as far as whose got the hairiest ones, I can't think of too many scarier non-combat tasks than searching big container ship in the dark, looking for drugs, pirates, or terrorists.
6 posted on 08/15/2008 6:00:08 PM PDT by NYFriend
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To: SandRat; All

OOH-RAH!

GODSPEED AND GODBLESS TONK!


7 posted on 08/15/2008 6:13:03 PM PDT by alpha-8-25-02 ("SAVED BY GRACE AND GRACE ALONE")
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To: NYFriend
My niece is in the Coast Guard assigned to an 87’ cutter out of Hawaii. The experience she has been through just this last year and the variety of situations is something to be admired.

She's a 4'11 machinist mate but a tough little ——. Coast Guard said they needed people that can fit in tight spots.

God Bless her and her crew.

8 posted on 08/15/2008 6:21:39 PM PDT by Wilum (Never loaded a nuke I didn't like)
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To: Wilum

My Father was a CPO in the Coasties in WW2. They never received the credit due them for their service in some really nasty areas.


9 posted on 08/15/2008 6:30:33 PM PDT by Little Bill
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To: backhoe; CholeraJoe; Criminal Number 18F; DevSix; DJ Taylor; Future Snake Eater; GarySpFc; ...
SOCOM Ping.

IIRC there was a similar article a month or so ago.

10 posted on 08/15/2008 6:32:47 PM PDT by ASA Vet
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To: Wilum

I work as a civilian for the Navy but the last two years I’m sort of “contracted” to the Coast Guard. For the most part, I find the officers much more approachable and less apt to be on a high horse than some of the Navy guys I’ve worked for. I am lucky I get to work with such a good group.


11 posted on 08/15/2008 6:59:08 PM PDT by merry10
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To: SandRat
If they can find the Coast Guard men to go through BUDs then more power to them..

I can't believe they can find guys that can tolerate that f'ing cold water. I hate the cold. I've been in the cold, I've trained in the cold...but I'd never be able to do BUDs training cause of that weakness..... maybe other weaknesses that the cold would bring out as well.

I'm kinda wondering about the "mission" statement of the program with the Coast Guard. I can see it for boarding and searching, but the "law enforcement" part bothers me a little.

I have 2 friends that were/are SEALs and those guys would be just nasty on a "no knock" raid. I can see that the fire discipline and intel acquisition the SEALs have would be a lot better than ANY LEO would have in this country, but holy crap if they got in a firefight.... cause the meat wagon would be real busy after those guys got through.... and not to the ER but to the morgue.

12 posted on 08/15/2008 7:17:58 PM PDT by Dick Vomer (liberals suck....... but it depends on what your definition of the word "suck" is.,)
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To: Little Bill

My dad was a Sparky in WWII. He taught me Morse Code when I was a little girl. Very cool...


13 posted on 08/15/2008 7:18:13 PM PDT by Sacajaweau (I'm planting corn...Have to feed my car...)
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To: SandRat
I take nothing away from the Coast Guard volunteers, when I say:

The Knee-Deep Navy of Puddle Pirates takes a big step forward.

14 posted on 08/15/2008 7:19:01 PM PDT by woofer (Earth First! We'll mine the other eight later.)
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To: Dick Vomer

Perhaps a nasty surprise awaits MS-13.


15 posted on 08/15/2008 7:21:00 PM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: Dick Vomer
...but holy crap if they got in a firefight...

That's what I'm wondering about. As I understand it, the Coast Guard is basically in law-enforcement mode and defends themselves as necessary when deadly force is called for. The SEALs on the other hand basically operate "with authorization" and the usual doctrine is to stay covert if at all possible, as long as possible. But when it hits the fan, shoot first and never ask any questions. (until maybe the debrief and after-action) To the SEALs who are generally outnumbered in most operations, swift application of overwhelming firepower is the norm. It'll be interesting to see how (or if) they can square the two missions...

16 posted on 08/15/2008 7:26:40 PM PDT by CodeMasterPhilzar
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To: SandRat; Allegra; big'ol_freeper; Lil'freeper; TrueKnightGalahad; blackie; Larry Lucido; ...
My very best friend was a Coastie and he died suddenly several years ago. At his funeral I gave an elegy saying that he served in the Coast Guard and was stationed at ports around the Gulf of Mexico. When all other ships were heading to port during severe storms, Mack and his mates were on ships headed out into the tempest to save lives.

"I once told Mack that when the Marines are told to take a hill, they take the hill come hell or high water. When the Coast Guard is told to go save lives in stormy seas or hurricanes, they do it also come hell or literally high water. The difference is the Marines have weapons that they can fire back at the enemy while the Coasties cannot shoot back at screaming gales and killer waves, they must rely on skill, determination and sheer guts.

"To me that is a superior form of bravery in taking on Mother Nature head on to save other lives in jeopardy. Rest easy Mack, you are the bravest of the brave and I know you are in a better place."

17 posted on 08/15/2008 8:19:30 PM PDT by Bender2 ("I've got a twisted sense of humor, and everything amuses me." RAH Beyond this Horizon)
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To: SandRat

BTTT


18 posted on 08/15/2008 8:27:10 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Obama: The presumptuous democratic nominee)
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To: Wilum
She's a 4'11 machinist mate but a tough little ——. Coast Guard said they needed people that can fit in tight spots.

Dayum! I had to join the Navy back in the 60's, as they said I was too short for the Coast Guard. Had to be six feet, so you could walk to shore if the boat sank!       ;^)

Seriously, good for her, and thanks to you both. As my Mother told me, "Good things come in small packages!" and even though I had her by a head she'd still tan my hide if necessary.

19 posted on 08/15/2008 8:54:13 PM PDT by brityank (The more I learn about the Constitution, the more I realise this Government is UNconstitutional !!)
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To: SandRat

Gotta make it through BUDS first.


20 posted on 08/15/2008 9:24:53 PM PDT by Francis McClobber
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