BirthME, Doulas

All volunteers must be registered.Honor their memory by swimming in the harbor to remember their sacrifice and help those in need.Make a corporate donation and get significant business exposure in the Boston market by supporting the swim.We need safety kayakers, general volunteers and ultimately...swimmers!

A call went out to both UDT TWENTY-ONE and UDT TWENTY-TWO for volunteers, and virtually everyone signed up.

From that point on, more quotas were obtained, until virtually every member of UDT ELEVEN and UDT TWELVE was given the opportunity to become airborne qualified. Don Mann — a New York Times Best-Selling Author, Navy SEAL Team SIX member (Ret. He was subsequently retired on full disability. However, it was not until early 1961 that LTJG George Raines, OIC, Second Platoon, UDT ELEVEN Detachment MIKE, received encouragement that his platoon of two officers and fifteen enlisted men may be attending the first course.The platoon deployed from Yokosuka, Japan to Okinawa, arriving in typical UDT fashion with no money, no billeting and a long list of requirements. Very simply, it became a “rice bowl” issue, much similar to the early non acceptance of UDT SEAL Combat Swimmers by the Navy’s diving community.

Conversely, not all SEAL Team ONE personnel had been qualified as basic parachutists thus, a number were sent to the Navy’s parachute training facility at NAS, Lakehurst, NJ to qualify and evaluate the course. He then went on to qualify in the use of the Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU) and was assigned to the first Underwater Swimmer Group trained for operations in Northern Europe. In part, urgency to become parachute qualified drove this decision, as quotas at Fort Benning were limited and the Lakehurst course was significantly shorter in duration. Brandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL Sniper. LT Taylor was selected to lead three volunteer Austrian corporal POWs on the first American operation into Austria, coined the Dupont Mission. Regrettably, the lack of funding to procure parachute equipment and priority to schedule aircraft resulted in a four year delay before any water jumps were actually conducted.During the intervening years, additional quotas were sought so as to have a cadre of qualified personnel on board at all times.

Prior to their scheduled graduation, LT Huddleston and LTJG Ralph Leonard, both of UDT TWENTY-ONE, commenced training in the next class.Unfortunately, CDR Saunders did not graduate due to a near fatal injury sustained on the 250 Ft Tower. In truth, they probably feared that UDT’s marching skills would cause great hilarity and embarrassment, and that it would be far better to spread the Detachment out amongst the masses.Following graduation, the Detachment remained for an additional week of Jumpmaster Training, which included three more jumps. The bottom line was that this ensemble, referred to as a uniform, was motley looking at best.However, in preparation for jump school, and to the dismay of others in the Teams, the dirty dozen plus three were issued several sets of Army style greens purchased at Ft. Story. Although this was far from an ideal situation, the tests did conclude that the wearing of Closed Circuit SCUBA and ancillary equipment under the existing parachute assembly was not the way to go, and that some form of general purpose (GP) bag would be needed.In order to gain additional parachuting experience, COMUDUTWO in July 1959 arranged for this core of UDT jumpers to attend a week long Airborne Orientation Course offered by the 77th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, NC. However, the course proved to be unsatisfactory, and all follow on training reverted to the Army. Be a part of a very special event to raise money for the families of fallen SEALs.

As a result of these tests, it was concluded that delivery by parachute was a viable concept and that it should be incorporated into UDT tactical doctrine as an operational capability.Following this embryonic stage of development, jumping slowly became a part of the East Coast UDT’s culture.

Frogman Down – Memorial Toast to the Fallen Frogmen is an extension of the support provided by the Navy SEALs Fund – Brotherhood Beyond Battlefield® to all generations of UDT/SEALs.