| Fifties Frogs Magazine |
Vol 8 |
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Pg 1 |
Vice Admiral Eric Olson,
Speech |
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Good Morning. Thank you all for coming today. It’s great to see so many of you here. I know that some of you are local and some of you came from great distances. Some of you are here for the first time and some of you are regulars at this event. Some of you have no direct connection to the Underwater Demolition Teams or SEAL Teams, and some of you served in the storied units, some are here to learn , and some are able to teach. All of you are patriots and supporters, and all of you, by your presence emphasize the importance of this event and the tribute is pays to all who have this great nation. I am very honored to be among you. I thank all who had a hand in putting this weekend together. As all of you know, last year’s event was canceled because of hurricane Francis and Jean, two direct blows that caused many of you great hardship. And the leadership of this Museum, supported by so many local leaders and volunteers, worked hard to get things ready for this year. Captain Mike Howard, an old teammate of mine assumed his duties as the museums new executive directive just three weeks before the heaviest storms hit. He and the Board of Directors have worked tirelessly and have made a lot of good and important decisions to regain the momentum and posture this great facility for the future. Outgoing President Jim H. Barnes and incoming president Willard Snyder continued their labors of love for the Museum and all that it represents. And we all know well that the museum would not survive and thrive without the support of citizens of Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County. Thank you again. This is the 20th year since Navy UDT-SEAL Museum was founded, and the local support has bee strong and steady. More than six decades ago, while American was engaged in a global war to preserve our freedoms, a few dozen Navy Men, all of them volunteers, came to Fort Pierce. –to a site just a couple of hundred yards from here, to train for missions of special importance and danger. After some of the toughest military training ever developed, they faced bullets and destroyed obstacles on many enemy beaches in order to clear the way for the amphibious assaults that were then the only way to seize and control coastal territory. Their efforts at great cost to the men themselves, saved many, many Lives. And ultimately enabled victory. Some of those men are here today, and I encourage you to seek them out and ask them questions, and listen carefully to their accounts of what small teams of hard men can accomplish. They and the many who followed them, the other naked warriors of World War II. The amphibious Frogmen of the Korean hinterland, the sea-air-land commandoes—SEALs-of the rivers and jungles of Vietnam. Those who fought through the Islands of Grenada, The Isthmus of Panama, the sands and seas of Desert Storm, the dirt streets of Mogadishu, and the foggy hilltops of Bosnia. And those who served and continue to serve in places where a few men can make a difference. Training their counterparts in Cambodia, Yemen, Columbia, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, the Philippines, Jordan, Mali and over a hundred and fifty other countries. And now for over four years with a scope and intensity unmatched in the last sixty years, fighting terrorists and terrorism in the vast expanses and rugged mountains of Afghanistan and the hostile deserts and chaotic cities of Iraq. These are men, still mostly young, still all volunteers who have completed what is still the military’s most demanding training regimen who follow in the footsteps and shadow of their predecessors. Men whose traditions, whose mindset, whose warrior spirit, whose war-fighting ethos and virtues can be credited in lard part to those who this Museum honors, and whom we all honor on this day. We no longer have Underwater
Demolition Teams I the Navy. They have all become SEAL Teams but in
tribute to the men who earned us the right to call ourselves "Frogmen"
to this day, the training, now in Southern California and not Fort
Pierce. Is called BUDS…Basic Underwater Demolition-SEAL training.
Collectively, he and the other members of this class will: fire 850,000 rounds of ammunition, and detonate 5,500 pounds of explosives above and below the water. [ top ]
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Cont- These remain some of Americas finest young men, and they wear their Frogman Heritage with great pride. Their equipment and capabilities and facilities and specific missions are different. But the fundamental expectation is the same that these men will go into harm’s way to do important things that other men are either unwilling or unable to do. That they will like their predecessors among us bring exceptional creativity, bravery, and determination to the fight. That they will accomplish the assigned task, no matter what the odds. And I am proud to say that today’s Frogmen are doing exactly that. The foundations you veterans laid, the concepts you developed, the training methods you originated, the traditions you began, the values you live by…are still the core of this great war-fighting community. The published code, to which all SEAL’s swear allegiance can be summarized like this: I am loyal to country, team and teammates. I serve with honor and integrity on and off the battlefield. I take responsibility for my actions and the actions of my teammates. We excel as warriors through discipline and innovation. We train for war and fight to win. I treat every day in the team as an honor and a privilege. I must always earn my right to stay. In late June of this year, the SEALs suffered their largest single day loss since World War II. In Afghanistan, a special operations helicopter, crewed by eight of the world most accomplished and carrying eight of the worlds best trained warriors, was shot downs during a mission to render assistance to four brothers in arms who were engaged in an intense firefight. We learned almost immediately that all of the courageous young Americans aboard the helicopter had died. The whereabouts of the other four in the forbidding high terrain of the Hindu Kush of Eastern Afghanistan were unknown. A major search and recovery operation was conducted over the next few days, resulting in the return of three more bodies. A few days later we rejoiced at the news of one survivor. In all, eight "Nightstalkers"of the Army’s famed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and eleven Navy SEALs died…one SEAL came home. On its most fundamental aspects, what took place in those far off mountains represents the essence of special operations. Hard men, bonded by war gave their all for each other. With full awareness of the dangers and risks, motivate by the knowledge that their teammates were in serious trouble, these men did exactly what thy were selected and trained to do. It was inevitable and undeniable that they would respond as they did. It was undeniable that the would respond as they did. It was who they were and what they believed. This was not the first time that Navy SEALs had died on the battlefield alongside their counterparts from the other services. It was not the first time SEALs had died to save another. Today we have with us two widows of SEAL’s who died earlier in the war. As we honor and mourn these brave men, we know that it will happen again. As a Navy SEAL it gives me cause for both sorrow and great pride. These men were national treasures. They were tough, smart, fit, talented, and extraordinarily capable of overcoming adversity. They did not complain and the did not quit. For little fame and little glory, they took on some of this nation’s most daunting missions. And when we win this global war to again preserve America’s freedoms, it will be because of men like these. I am humbled to be in the presence today of so many men and women who have served this nation so well in so many ways for so may years, I am further humbled by my association with the sacrifice of today’s Frogman. As the Veterans of previous wars have passed so much to today’s warriors so should they be touched by the powerful demonstration of their legacy on today’s battlefield. I am among the many who are renewed by the experience we share here today. There is no greater honor than to be identified as a member of the Teams that began right here in Fort Pierce today so many years ago. Thank you all for your support. Hooyah and God Bless America.
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