5 Coasties to go through SEAL training

[unhappycamper]

5 Coasties to go through SEAL training
By Amy McCullough - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 20, 2008 17:33:52 EST

Four officers and one enlisted man have been chosen to become the first Coast Guardsmen to participate in the elite Navy SEAL training in Coronado, Calif.

After Commandant Adm. Thad Allen announced the program July 31, Coast Guard Personnel Command fielded more than 150 phone calls from people requesting additional information. As of the Sept. 15 deadline, 19 people had applied — 12 officers and seven enlisted members, said Lt. James McLay, spokesman for Deployable Operation Group commander Rear Adm. Thomas Atkin.

Of the 19 applicants, 12 were selected to move on to the evaluation phase in Florida. The group was then whittled to five by Naval Special Warfare Command and the Coast Guard’s DOG.

If any or all selected Coast Guardsmen make it through the nearly two years of physically and mentally daunting training, they will be assigned to a SEAL team for five to seven years, although they officially will be part of the Coast Guard.

Those who successfully complete the service commitment are not required to return to the Coast Guard, but Allen said this summer that he wants them to come back.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/11/cg_SEALs_112008w/%2e