THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407210170
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
SWAPPING DAY-AT-THE-office stories with neighbors, friends and family is one thing Senior Chief Kevin Schrat just doesn't do.
A Navy SEAL for nearly 17 years, Schrat has had to keep his often sensitive daily duties a secret from everybody, including his wife, Janet, and 11-year-old daughter, Nicole.
Post-work chatter is simple and brief. ``He can either say he had a good day or a bad day . . . and that's it,'' Janet Schrat said of her husband. ``He can't tell anyone. That's hard.''
Last Saturday, however, daddies, husbands and uncles had the chance to show off a few of their SEAL skills at the Naval Special Warfare Family Day at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. The 45-minute demonstration was only a portion of the UDT/SEALs annual reunion weekend.
Hiding behind masks of brown and green camouflage paint, a group of husky young SEALs created real-life war scenes from World War II, Vietnam and Desert Storm. While some were loaded down with machine guns, heavy ``cammies'' (camouflage clothing) and overstuffed rucksacks, others wore next to nothing and a knife.
The crew of ``frogmen'' slithered on land and crept through water, while helicopters bounced above and boats waited in the murky waters nearby.
Their missions were short and powerful. They blew up beach obstacles and mock mines along the shoreline, fired on enemy fishermen and ``lazed'' an Iraqi chemical weapons facility in the woods. The ear-ringing explosions sent clouds of thick smoke and flakes of debris into overcast skies.
``It scared the pants off me!'' said Jennifer Bartman, who traveled from Omaha, Neb., for the demonstration. Bartman's uncle is an active-duty SEAL.
Produced by Special Warfare Group II, the demonstration showed nearly 2,000 spectators some of the tactics and procedures used by UDT and SEAL team members, past and present. Civilians, retired and active-duty Navy personnel and their dependents gathered on a small strip of beach at Little Creek cove to see just why the Navy SEALs are one of the most elite and secretive commando forces in the world.
Besides presenting booming demonstrations, the SEALs manned displays of both vintage and modern-day equipment, including parachutes, harnesses and ``fastropes,'' used for getting on and off helicopters.
``This is a capsulized version of what the guys do,'' said Richard Marcinko, a retired SEAL. ``This is our family cruise day. The kids get to see who the other daddies are.''
Marcinko, who has written two controversial (some say too revealing) best-sellers about his life and experiences as a SEAL, ``Road Warrior'' and ``Road Warrior II,'' said it was inspiring to see the ``young bucks'' in action. He retired as a commander in 1989 after 29 years.
``It brings back a lot of the memories,'' he said. ``But they don't get to have as much fun as we did.''
Sleep, eat and live it up is how Marcinko defined the abbreviation SEAL. He started his career as a seaman and worked his way to commanding officer of SEAL teams 2 and 6. He said he was once gone for 300 days out of the year.
``It's hard on the family because they don't know exactly what you do,'' he said.
Besides not always knowing when they will leave or where they will end up, the hush-hush members of today's SEAL teams cannot have any contact with their families by phone or by mail while they are away from home.
``You have to be able to deal with all of the stresses of life and solve all of the problems by yourself,'' said Janet Schrat. ``It would be nice if you could talk to them.''
She relates well to one of the SEALs' popular mottoes, ``The only easy day was yesterday.''
The men have to deal with ``the elements, currents and Murphy's law before you go to work,'' Marcinko said. ``Equipment and man get abused pretty much.''
SEALs say their careers have bonded them together, as men, friends and family. ``A fraternity with guns'' is how Kevin Schrat described it. ``The training we've gone through and the accomplishments we've made . . . it's something a lot of people won't ever experience,'' he added.
As indescribable as childbirth, the camaraderie attached to being a part of one of the most select groups in the world is something most SEALs can't put into words.
``If a guy's down on his luck, I'll give him a place to stay and something to eat,'' Kevin Schrat said. ``That's just the way it is.''
His wife agreed, ``Their buddies are everything to them. They really are.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos on cover by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Navy SEALs hit the beach from their rubber raiding craft during the
Naval Special Warfare Family Day at Little Creek Amphibious Base.
The SEALs demonstrate how they operate in a desert environment
similar to that of the Gulf War.
Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
SEALs demonstrate how Viet Cong boats, far right, were ambushed
during the Viet Nam conflict. The ear-ringing explosions ``scared
the pants off me!'' said spectator Jennifer Bartman.
ABOVE: In desert camouflage, a SEAL provides cover for teammates
moving inland. RIGHT: A helicopter gunship flies interference for
men being extracted from the ``jungle'' by another helicopter.
A young Navy SEAL demonstrates what it was like for World War II
frogmen. Armed with only a knife, Underwater Demolition Teams
(forerunners of today's SEALs) were the first ones to hit the beach
in order to destroy obstacles that could hinder invading amphibious
forces.
ABOVE: The SEALs hit the beach after coming almost ashore aboard a
rigid-hulled inflatable boat. RIGHT: Two men are decked out in
closed-circuit breathing apparatus used in underwater operations.
Richard Marcinko, a retired SEAL who has written two controversial
best-sellers on his life as a SEAL, attended the annual family day.
KEYWORDS: NAVY SEALS by CNB