The main motive behind the timing of my California trip was to catch high school friend Stefan's graduation from the Navy SEAL program. He completed the grueling two years of training in Coronado and finished with the 277 class. It's pretty impressive to hear the statistics about how they attained mastery of
Sea,
Earth,
and
Land. Swimming enough miles to go from Cuba to Florida, running enough miles to go from Florida to NYC, spending over 60 hours underwater, and blowing up over 7 tons of explosives earned this class of 41 men (from 160+ originally) their tridents.
The ceremony was pretty short and sweet. Part of me hoped for a bit more fanfare like I enjoyed at various Air Force Academy events. Alas, there were no fly-bys, parachute jumps, falcons, or addresses from the President. Still, it was a special ceremony and a very big deal for this group of elite men. Afterward I got a little tour of the training facilities including the Coronado shoreline.
I had a chance to catch up with some of Stefan's family and to meet his girlfriend Kim. We ate lunch at McP's, a SEAL-only establishment, to mark the first day that Stefan could be served with his new naval status. It was great to see such a good friend for the first time in years! Hooyah Stefan!
The main motive behind the timing of my California trip was to catch high school friend Stefan's graduation from the Navy SEAL program. He completed the grueling two years of training in Coronado and finished with the 277 class. It's pretty impressive to hear the statistics about how they attained mastery of Sea, Earth, and Land. Swimming enough miles to go from Cuba to Florida, running enough miles to go from Florida to NYC, spending over 60 hours underwater, and blowing up over 7 tons of explosives earned this class of 41 men (from 160+ originally) their tridents.
The ceremony was pretty short and sweet. Part of me hoped for a bit more fanfare like I enjoyed at various Air Force Academy events. Alas, there were no fly-bys, parachute jumps, falcons, or addresses from the President. Still, it was a special ceremony and a very big deal for this group of elite men. Afterward I got a little tour of the training facilities including the Coronado shoreline.
I had a chance to catch up with some of Stefan's family and to meet his girlfriend Kim. We ate lunch at McP's, a SEAL-only establishment, to mark the first day that Stefan could be served with his new naval status. It was great to see such a good friend for the first time in years! Hooyah Stefan!
2 comments:
Pretty cool that you were able to attend a Navy SEAL graduation, Becky! And, what an accomplishment for Stefan. Isn't Coronado beautiful? Did you see the Hotel Del Coronado? For 2 years at the Academy we had Christmas training for swimming at Coronado. Miss you!
Stefan is to be commended - this is such a big deal!
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