News and Intel from Navy SEAL Museum San Diego
ISSUE #02
OCTOBER 2024
We Did It. We Brought it in Through the Window.
In the waning hours of dusk along the San Diego waterfront, early-morning walkers and other passersby were treated to a unique sight when a SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) was maneuvered through the air by crane, almost as if it were underwater, and inserted into the 2nd story window our Museum. It was a sight to see. And you can!
The event was covered by two broadcast news stations—CBS and NBC—on site (see links below), cameras rolling. The excitement, and anxiety, was palpable as Burger Construction and LA Propoint Inc. hoisted the SDV from ground level. But, as experts in their respective crafts, our two partners guided the vehicle through a 60-inch window with the precision one would envision these submersibles exhibiting underwater, piloted by expert Navy SEALs. And it just so happened, we had one on hand.
Senior Chief, Charlie Matranga, USN (ret.) once trained SEALs on the use of these undersea assets when he was stationed in Coronado, CA & Panama City, FL. Matranga can be seen in the CBS 8 clip below discussing the nuances and oddities that come with SDV operation. For example, SDVs are not submarines. The pilot and navigator are exposed to the water during operation which, as one can imagine, makes talking to your co-pilot quite difficult. Matranga says, “and it is difficult. We communicate with each other via “The Pilot and Navigator can communicate with each other using the radio in the SDV – the four SEALs in the back have no communication with the pilot and navigator, this was how it was done back then. I am certain things have changed with the new SDVs.”
Once hung from the ceiling, visitors will be able to view it in 360looms 15-feet above them. Adding to the experience, guests will be able to “pilot” an SDV via interactive 2-person simulation. In the meantime, you can get a sense of the size of the SDV in the links below.
Museum opens Summer/Fall 2025.
From the Executive Director
Our Navy SEAL Museum San Diego staff first met Mary Munk about a year ago, at one our NSMSD reception events. Some of us already knew of her husband Walter’s legacy: starting off as a meteorologist but expanding into oceanography and even geophysics – all for the betterment of our oceans, planet, and mankind.
But the more we learned as Walter Munk Day neared, we realized he was also a force in geopolitics – in support of our nation and global democracy in WWII.
The Nov ’43 Tarawa landings served as a genesis for our UDTs, after unseen coral reefs forced combat-loaded Marines to disembark far from the beach, where hundreds died from drowning or the enemy as they slowly waded toward devastating gunfire. The US Navy decided a special unit was required for this hydrographic reconnaissance – and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) were born. By the end of Nov, a UDT school was created in Oahu. By Feb ’44, the UDT ‘Frogmen’ were in action at Kwajalein, and by Jun ’44 they were clearing beaches in the Mariana islands of Saipan, Guam and Tinian!
Likewise, Walter witnessed a less costly disaster years earlier during amphibious training in
Walter then trained over 100 officers on this ‘Wave Prediction Method’ to better support all our upcoming landings critical to the war effort: North Africa in Nov ’42, Sicily and Italy in ’43, France in ’44 and dozens of amphibious landings required across the Pacific in ’44-’45.
Walter continued to serve his country with the Bikini (’46) and Eniwetok (’52) tests; and his acoustic research support to US Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare was critical during the Cold War, when the location of USSR submarines – and the silencing of our own subs – was of the highest priority for our national security. Ironically, these efforts also benefited climate research and marine mammals – thus one more example of Walter’s work transcending geophysics and geopolitics, to include our NSW forefathers. These WWII Amphibious Scouts, Naval Combat Demolition Units and UDTs later became today’s Naval Special Warfare (NSW) focused on our current warriors better known as Navy SEALs and SWCC (Special Warfare Combat Crewmen).
Lastly, Navy SEAL Museum San Diego was honored to be part of the Walter Munk Day event in La Jolla last weekend. The world is a far better place due to Walter’s 80 years of incredible service!
Very respectfully,
Captain Todd Perry, USN (ret.)
Executive Director, Navy SEAL Museum San Diego
Donor Interest in NSMSD is Growing
On 19 September 2024, nearly one hundred people attended a reception to learn about the Navy SEAL Museum San Diego, scheduled to open in San Diego summer/fall 2025. The reception, Honoring Our Heroes, Inspiring America, was hosted by a committee of business leaders including Susan Couch and Alex Beck of Bank of America, Keith Kitagawa and Paul Pintek of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Natalie Sherod of Cavignac, Jeff Everage of Trident Proposal Management, Victor Ramsauer of LevitZacks, and John Tishler and Michael Leake of Sheppard Mullin. The first hour allowed attendees face-to-face access with Museum leadership and staff, as well as retired SEALs.
Executive Director, Capt. Todd Perry, provided the overview of the Museum’s mission and gave insight as to why building this museum is a perfect fit for San Diego. He touched on how the Museum will become a community resource through the many planned initiatives such as Community Engagement Impact Programs, providing SEAL-to-youth leadership programs and opportunities to expand career opportunities for young people seeking a higher purpose. He also outlined the visitor experience and its many unique attributes like a virtual reality module, giving attendees a sense of what a real SEAL mission is like from mission planning to extraction.
Special guest speaker, Chair of the Board of Directors, Tim Szymanski, Former Deputy Commander U.S. Special Operations Command and Commander Naval Special Warfare (SEALs) stirred the enthusiasm of the attendees with his personal story of rising through the ranks in the Navy and what he hopes the museum visitors will come away with: a renewed sense of patriotism, the desire to serve a cause higher than one’s self, and an appreciation of the sacrifices that military families make for our greater freedoms.
Attendees left with the understanding that Navy SEAL Museum San Diego promises to be an inspirational legacy for the entire nation.
The main objective of the Museum remains the promotion of public education by providing the opportunity to explore the history of the United States Navy SEALs through interactive exhibits, while honoring the fallen at the Navy SEAL Memorial and caring for those warriors’ families through the Trident House Charities Program.
If you are interested in supporting the museum by hosting a reception, making a donation, or becoming a docent and volunteer, please contact Kim Rhinehelder at kimrhinehelder@navysealmuseumsd.org.
Frogmen Lead from The Front
On October 7, 2024, we kicked-off, the Plank Owner BUD/S Class Campaign. The objective of the Plank Owner BUD/S Class Campaign is to secure 200 BUD/S Classes each raising $5,000. We are asking “our own” to pledge their support and lead from the front in helping to build the Navy SEAL Museum in San Diego.
The support of every Frogman, no matter where they live, is crucial in our efforts to demonstrate to the public that we are a powerful force multiplier in mission success. Sound impossible?
Absolutely not. And here’s why:
We are opening this campaign to the public. You don’t have to be a SEAL to donate. Gifts can be made to pay tribute to an individual or BUD/S Class by loved-ones, classmates, and friends.
A gift made in honor or in memory is an extremely meaningful way to praise and show your admiration.
Your gift, no matter the size, will be added to the total goal for the BUD/S Class you designate.
For every donation the following recognition will be provided:
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- Your name (presented in alphabetical order with class number) without listing the size of your gift will be listed on the Plank Owner BUD/S Class Campaign Webpage at www.navysealmuseumsd.org/plankowner/.
- Your gift amount will count towards the designated BUD/S Class total tally. When a Class reaches the $5,000 goal, the Class Number will be etched into the granite pillar which holds the bronze Navy SEAL Sculpture. The Sculpture will be placed in a prominent location directly outside the Navy SEAL Museum on Kettner Blvd. in San Diego.
- For those individuals who give a gift of $10,000 or more, your name or family name will also be presented on the exquisite Donor Wall of Honor located on the first level inside the Museum And your BUD/S Class Number will be featured on the bronze sculpture.
Are you in? Is your class the strongest and hardest? Let’s lead from the front and build this museum. Hooyah! CLICK HERE.
50 Years Ago, BUD/S Class 83 Graduated – Capt. Bob Schoultz, USN (Ret.) looks back.
“No one knew who or what Navy SEALs were then. I always tell people that if was going to chat up a young lady in a bar I’d say, ‘I’m training to work with the SEALs. She just figured I was going to work at Sea World. And when I explained ‘Navy SEALs’ they were confused, they’d never heard of them.”
Since 1975, when Capt. Bob Schoultz’s BUD/S class graduated, a lot of things have changed. The Vietnam War is over, and the enemy is different. Today, most people know who Navy SEALs are, and it’s been a struggle keeping in touch with his Classmates from BUD/S Class #83.
“I was in BUD/S when Saigon fell so things were slowing down, militarily, in our country. When we were training up at [Fort] A.P. Hill, for example, if we needed equipment or other support from the Navy, the old Master Chiefs would call around and work with the supply clerks where maybe someone had what we needed and for a case of Vietnam-era KA-BAR knives, for example, the Master Chief would make the trade and get what we needed. That old informal system was called ‘cumshaw,’ but I assure you that is not the case today. In our post-9/11-era, Naval Special Warfare operators are outfitted with the top-of-the line, cutting-edge equipment.
“Obviously, the technology, the unmanned systems are much more advanced today. But also, the enemy’s changed. Now the bad guys can go buy the same stuff off the shelf as we have, so now the Navy is having to shift to deal with near-peer competitors. That’s a different war than we fought.”
And with that fact, the basic principles of BUD/S remain the same but the pathway to becoming a
SEAL has evolved too. NSMSD Deputy Director, Beef Drechsler, was formerly the Commodore of the Naval Special Warfare Center. In that capacity he was the major command that oversaw BUD/S. As he describes, “The mission requirements for Navy SEALs have increased since the 1970’s and the current SEAL assessment, selection, and training now not only includes BUD/S but other advanced course before a new SEAL joins their first team. Today, with no injuries or setbacks, it takes over 70 weeks to earn a Trident from Navy Boot Camp, BUD/S and follow on SEAL Qualification Training (SQT. Although, as any SEAL would tell you, ‘Hell Week’ is still the same—the logs are just as heavy, the instructors still as merciless, the IBS surf passage still as challenging, and the water is cold, cold, cold.
Capt. Schoultz reminisces on the relationships he forged in Class #83 with pride, though he says, “The guys in my class were not very good at staying in touch with each other.” Like any SEAL, he’s adapting to, and overcoming that fact. “Now I run the Old Frogs and SEALs Network. It has long served to connect UDT and SEALs who have served with each other and with the guys who are still serving. We engage with individuals who have been out of the Navy for forty, fifty years. I’m the only one from my class that I know of that stayed in a full thirty years. But the BUD/S experience was a highlight and defining moment of every SEAL’s life, and many like to get together to associate with and reinforce the ethos or that mutual feeling that got us all through BUD/S training.”
Next year, Capt. Schoultz will be having the 50th anniversary of Class #83’s graduation here in San Diego. As the mark get closer, his class is reaching out and finding more and more of his Classmates, but many of those guys got out of the Navy fairly quickly and went on to have other careers. In fact, I haven’t seen most of these guys since graduation day,” says Schoultz. “So, though it’s been a challenge to reconnect with many of them, when we get together next summer, it will be like Old Home Week, and the stories will flow”.
Virtual Reality Becoming a Reality
Navy SEAL Museum San Diego promises to deliver an immersive experience to all visitors; but, for those who want to join a real Navy SEAL rescue mission, you will not be disappointed.
The yet unnamed virtual reality module is created by Havik Solutions, builders of portable, high fidelity, accredited, and cost-effective training systems. Essentially, they blend the space between military training and advanced gaming technology, creating safe, but highly realistic environments for the military.
The VR module will be located on the 2nd floor of the museum and the environment will consist of 6 seats (5 + 1 ADA). Once the visitor is in the chair, they’ll be given goggles, and the chair will feature air vents and other immersive capabilities for slight motion and movement. These, paired with the video shown on the goggles, guests will experience a full mission profile that demonstrates an assignment that all Navy SEALs are trained to execute. Users will be immersed in an operation nearly indistinguishable to a real-world mission, down to the environments, tactics, and weaponry. Visitors will leave the experience motivated and with a better appreciation and understanding of the full breadth of Naval Special Warfare.
This virtual reality experience is going to be a unique offering at NSMSD and one-of-a-kind on the West Coast.
