SEAL of Honor (10 page)

As Maureen tried to set up sleeping arrangements, Michael approached her and insisted, “Mom, I have the biggest room. Put their girls in my room and I’ll move to the sewing room. It’s no big deal.” With that Michael moved to the sewing room, the smallest in the house, without complaint. Naturally, the addition of three additional children in the house created a stressful environment until everyone got used to living under the same roof and to each other’s personalities.

During the summers of both his junior and senior years, Michael served as an intern in the Supreme Court of New York. Here he had the opportunity to research past cases for attorneys and the court, as well as draft preliminary decisions, and having his work reviewed and critiqued by both attorneys and the court. He learned the importance of accuracy and strict attention to detail. Throughout high school, Michael was regularly on the Honor Roll and selected for the National Honor Society his junior year. Michael spent his junior year taking advanced-placement classes that resulted in his taking only two courses his senior year. His cousin Kristen Bogenshutz was two years behind Michael in high school and described him as “always humble. He was talented in every sport he played, and was considered a ‘team player,’ was dedicated, motivated, and put his team interests before his own personal pursuits. Mike did what was best for all involved, rather than choose to put himself in the spotlight. He was brighter than anyone knew, more athletic than we considered, more driven than we could have imagined. He was funny, had a sharp wit, intelligent sense of humor, and was always ready for a prank, but fiercely loyal to those he loved.”

He spent a lot of time on college applications to schools both in New York and neighboring states. Graduating with academic honors in 1994, and accepted at
several colleges, Michael chose Penn State University for three specific reasons: it was away from home but within driving distance, it had an excellent academic reputation, and it was a public school with a lighter tuition cost for him and his parents.

Having graduated from high school, Michael’s first “real” job was with the Brookhaven parks department picking up litter and doing general maintenance. He also acquired basic aquatic and lifeguarding skills and began working as a lifeguard at several area pools and beaches, including Lake Ronkonkoma. While he mastered his lifesaving skills, he frequently enlisted the help of his cousins Kelly, Colleen, and Cathy, dragging them across the pool while practicing his waterrescue skills. Here he met Jay Keenan, the O’Callaghan’s, Jimmy Emmerich, and others with whom he became lifelong friends.

When Kelly turned sixteen and was just sitting around the house, Michael walked up to her, dropped a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) manual into her lap, and said, “Read this.” The next day he took her to the DMV, where she passed her written test and received her temporary permit. Michael exhibited great patience and composure and made sure that she was proficient and obtained her license.

Michael entered Penn State University (PSU) in the fall of 1994 with advanced academic placement. He finished the first semester with a respectable 3.02 grade point average (GPA), and become involved with the intramural football and ice hockey teams.

His 1995 spring semester GPA of 3.69 resulted in his first appearance on the dean’s list, a feat he accomplished five more times, including every semester his junior and senior years. At PSU he led both of his intramural teams to championships while serving as captain.

At some point between his sophomore and junior years, Michael decided to pursue a career in the military. During a family dinner at the Cull House restaurant in Sayville, New York, Michael told his father and brother that he was seriously considering a career in the Marines. John believed Michael was kidding and did not take him seriously, nor did his father, who believed Michael was just expressing his newfound freedom of being in college. On the five-hour drive between PSU and Patchogue, Dan and Michael had lengthy talks about life, school, career, and relationships that strengthened the bond between father and son. It was during the long drives in his junior year that Michael talked about his desire to join the military—only now interested in the Navy. The first time Michael brought the subject up, Dan was so startled that he nearly ran off the road.

In an attempt to get his son back to a “correct” way of thinking, he said, “Michael, I thought you wanted to go law school and be a lawyer.” After some hesitation Michael admitted to his reluctance in becoming a lawyer. He argued that there was an overabundance of lawyers and, as a result, the standards of getting in to law school were exceedingly high.

Dan insisted, “Michael, I told you that I would disown you if you ever went into the military.” Although concerned, Dan was comforted by the thought that Michael was only in his junior year and would probably change his mind and appreciate the potential of a law career. Knowing his father’s concern, Michael avoided any further conversation regarding the Navy. While this curbed Michael’s talk of a military career, it did not lessen his interest.

During Michael’s senior year, he became open and insistent about his desire to become a Navy SEAL, and it became a frequent topic of conversation on the long trips to PSU. Dan, now having backed off his threat to disown Michael, tried to impress upon him that he did not need the service to complete his character. He emphasized that the SEALs were called upon to perform the most arduous and dangerous missions, many of them covert. Due to the nature of their missions, many times they were left to their own devices with little or no support. Dan did not want a military life for his son; he was adamant that Michael forget about a military career and follow in his footsteps and pursue a lucrative law career.

Dan believed that military service was important for young men who had lost their way and needed regimented guidance or a heavy dose of discipline to get them on the straight and narrow. Michael needed neither, and Dan believed that he was wasting his time and talents forgoing a law career and pursuing the military. While Michael agreed that his father made several good arguments, his mind was made up. He would pursue Officer Candidate School (OCS) and Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training upon graduation. If those two avenues did not materialize, he could always go to law school.

In early 1998, during his senior year and after having done well on his LSAT examination, Michael applied to numerous prestigious law schools, including Columbia, St. John’s, Fordham, New York University (NYU), the University of Tennessee, Boston University, and Cornell. In April and May letters of both acceptance and rejection came back. Accepted into St. John’s, the University of Tennessee, and Fordham, Michael was both disappointed and pleased: disappointed at not being accepted into NYU, but pleased because the letters strengthened his resolve to join the SEALs as a Navy officer. He continued doing extensive research on the SEALs and the Navy’s Officer Candidate School.

CHAPTER SIX

—WILLIAM MATTHEWS, quoted at Famous Quotes & Authors,
www.famousquotesandauthors.com/authors/william_matthews_quotes.html
(accessed December 21, 2009)

 

 

 

I
n early November 1997, during his senior year at Penn State University, Michael began seriously researching the Navy SEALs, including admission requirements, training, and selection process. During his research he learned of a former SEAL captain who served as the senior Navy representative and facility instructor at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, just eighty miles from PSU. Ryan J. McCombie had more than twenty-six years of service, having previously served as the commanding officer of SEAL Team Two, perhaps the nation’s most elite group of special warriors. McCombie had spent most of his naval career in special operations and was highly decorated. He had received more than two dozen significant medals and awards, including the Bronze Star Medal with V device, which was awarded for valor, a Legion of Merit, and two Defense Superior Service Medals, as well as awards from the French and Vietnamese governments.

With the SEALs, McCombie trained and served with commandos from all over the world. He was the first American to complete the training for French marine special operators and served a two-year tour with the elite Commando Hubert. He served as operations officer of the highly regarded Red Cell Team, a U.S. special operations team essentially comprised of Navy SEALs that was the subject of much media reporting for its innovative and highly effective counterterrorist and antiterrorist missions. Because of his knowledge of French and special operations, McCombie was selected to be the first military attaché to the U.S. embassy in Brazzaville, Congo. Following that billet, he commanded SEAL Team Two from 1985 to 1987, and then served in high-level positions at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C.

After several requests, Michael was granted an appointment to meet with Captain McCombie at his home. McCombie seldom saw students or anyone there. He had long ago tired of those who were simply curious about the SEALs, as opposed to those with the determination and work ethic to become one. When Michael arrived at the house, he was directed to the backyard, where he found McCombie chopping wood. He stopped a few feet away as McCombie split a log with a single swing of his ax. Without looking up, McCombie said, “So, you are interested in talking about the SEALs?”

Michael responded, “No sir, I want to be a Navy SEAL. There’s a difference.”

Saying nothing, Captain McCombie looked at Michael from head to toe for several seconds, then continued chopping wood.

“We can talk when I am finished.”

As he looked around, Michael noticed several big stacks of wood and another ax leaning against one of the stacks. He took off his jacket and tossed it on top of one of the piles, picked up the ax, and began chopping beside McCombie. Over the next several hours, the two exchanged some casual conversation as they worked. By midafternoon the work was finished.

McCombie invited Michael onto his back porch, where they talked for the next two hours. Michael laid out his background and discussed his studies and activities. McCombie learned that Michael was not only serious about becoming a Navy SEAL, but also a Navy SEAL officer. Michael explained that following graduation, he would enlist with the condition that he was accepted into Officer Candidate School (OCS) and Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training.

Having dealt with many wannabes over the years, McCombie was skeptical regarding Michael’s ambitious agenda; however, by the time their conversation ended, he was impressed with every aspect of the young man. As Michael was getting ready to leave, McCombie told him to contact Captain Andrew Bisset, the Recruiting District Assistance Council (RDAC) district coordinator in Stamford, Connecticut, who coordinated a SEAL training and mentorship program each month at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York.

That night McCombie telephoned Bisset and hold him about his meeting with Michael, including his obvious work ethic, determination, attitude, and desire. Later McCombie said, “If Michael just had watched me work, I wouldn’t have given him the time of day. The fact that he picked up the other ax I had sitting there and helped me complete the work told me a lot about him. It turns out, I was right.”

Captain Andrew Bisset, a Navy SEAL with thirty-seven years of combined active and reserve Naval Special Warfare (NSW) experience, had served for five years
active duty with SEAL Team One and Underwater Demolition Team Twenty-one (UDT-21). While in the Naval Reserve (NR), he commanded two NR Special Warfare Group Two detachments, as well as NR SEAL Team Two and NR Special Boat Squadron Two, and ultimately served as reserve commodore of NR Special Warfare Command, the senior SEAL reserve position.

Following through on McCombie’s instruction, on Monday, November 9, 1997, Michael contacted Bisset, who invited him to attend the RDAC mentorship and training program beginning the following January. Bisset told him about the program’s standards and how it operated. He explained that meeting the U.S. Navy SEAL requirements was not enough to successfully complete the program; all candidates recommended to the Naval Special Warfare Command must far exceed the minimum SEAL standards. Undaunted, Michael accepted the invitation.

In the 1970s, with the increased demand for SEALs, the Navy lowered its training standards to increase the success rate, which was 25 percent, meaning that 75 percent of all those who began BUD/S training did not successfully complete the program. This lowering of standards concerned Captain Bisset, who strongly believed that by starting with a better-prepared BUD/S candidate, there would be a corresponding increase in the success rate.

Bisset founded the council in 1994. Its membership is composed of SEAL Naval Reservists and retirees who mentor SEAL candidates and prepare them for BUD/S. Statistics show that the cost of transforming a man into a Navy SEAL is very expensive—about $500,000—so efforts to produce a better BUD/S candidate could greatly increase the effective use of tax dollars and provide the Navy with better-qualified applicants. In addition to the mentors, the council also includes other high-level civilians who network with various spheres of influence within the civilian community that benefits the RDAC. The SEAL RDAC focuses on helping recruiters find qualified SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) candidates and then mentors, evaluates, and prepares them for BUD/S. Through Physical Screening Tests (PSTs) and mentoring sessions, candidates are taught swim-stroke and other strength-training techniques and given individual encouragement to prepare them both physically and mentally for the boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes and then for eventual success as a SEAL operator after completing their training at BUD/S in Coronado, California.