Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/773724
In September 2016 I had a pleasure to take part in the event organized each year by the Luminox together with former U.S. Navy SEALs. A history of the cooperation between the United States Navy and Luminox dates back to the 1990's, when this watch from the Swiss manufacturer was noticed for the first time by the SEALs. They catch Frogmen attention with a unique technology used in the watches of this company for illuminating a dial: small tubes filled with tritium (radioactive gas, which illuminates even for 25 years) installed in the hands, hour markers of the dial and in a central part of the bezel. The cooperation between Luminox and the Navy Seals led to an authorization of one of the watch models to be used during a service (so called A.N.U., which is a program that authorizes gear to a usage during the underwater operations). It means that each Luminox timepiece from the 4200 series has been a subject of the rigorous tests and received appropriate certificates of safe use. The Luminox Special Ops Challenge or LSOC in short, originates straight from this long-term cooperation between the watch manufacturer and the Navy SEALs. Every year, selected participants train (nearly as hard) as real Navy SEALs, just for one day. During LSOC you can certainly you can learn about Luminox, as well as get to know interesting people, including chief instructor, who is responsible for the whole event in psychical and physical sides. This year, this role was fulfilled by Rob Roy, NSW officer, who retired after 26 years of duty in the Navy, most of the time in Naval Special Warfare and more than half of it in Tier 1 SEAL Team Six, the Naval Special Warfare Development Group aka DEVGRU. During his duty he was assigned to the Green Squadron, a training branch within the unit responsible for internal selection and training of the operators. Let's come back to LSOC 2016 – at its beginning its participants were divided into 4-men teams and each of these teams had to choose the leader. We were informed that each time when we will not complete a task or we fail to do it, we will punish with push-ups. But such push-ups as the frogmen perform, that is with announcing each position, an upper and a lower one, what provides a field of endeavors for an instructor and enforces a person who executes an exercise to careful listening to the commends. After a morning initiation to the secrets of push- ups, each of the LSOC participants received a Luminox 4200 watch - the very same as SEAL candidate receives after a half year SQT training, but more about it further. The first stage took place at the beach. The semi- rigid boats with the paddles – such smaller versions of the famous Zodiacs, but waaay lighter, just about 80 kilograms. Certainly under a condition, that a weight of the boat laid on the head is distributed evenly and no crafty fellow from your team does not rest at the expense of his colleagues. Prior to a play with the boats, we were sprinting on a sandy beach, carrying colleagues from the teams on our backs or a so called barrow, that is a walk on the hands with a buddy who holds your feet. All executed against time and in teams. Every one of us has his assigned "swim buddy" from his team – you had to be always together, running, swimming, eating and sleeping.. It is system from the famous BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL) – a six months basic training program of the Navy SEALs, focused first and foremost on the waterborne and underwater operations, where great value is put on team work and a way you treat the others. It is also a physically and psychically exhausting program, focused on rooting out inappropriate candidates for duty. The final part of BUD/S is a legendary Hell Week – a few days, practically sleepless, which constitute the last round of eliminations, during which the future SEALs are driven to the edge. They can only resign because of their own limitations – you can go home and have a hot meal within few minutes but you have to ring that shameful ship bell. www.fragoutmag.com