The Islamic State group is trying to work on its special forces prowess. Well, they’ve got their work cut out for them, according to combat vets that viewed a recently released promotional video by the extremist group. The video, first posted by news site Vocativ, features a dozen scenes of training, door breaching and amphibious sneak attacks. There are countless reasons why this whole thing is a giant soup sandwich, a former Navy SEAL told Navy Times in a Wednesday interview. Starting with: Why kind of special ops mission happens in broad daylight? “Well, the only thing that they had…
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A Washington-based sailor who made a run in late July at the Guinness world record for pullups held by a Navy SEAL ended up in the hospital, but says he plans to make another attempt once he recovers. Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class (AW) Mike McCastle made it to 3,202 pullups on July 26, just 828 shy of the record, before health concerns forced him to head to the emergency room. He lasted 19 1/2 of the allotted 24 hours, but still raised almost $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. As of July 31, he said, he had collected $9,600,…
A movie based on the ambush of a Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan has generated Academy Award buzz for its lead actor, Mark Wahlberg. After the premiere of “Lone Survivor” on Tuesday night in Hollywood, Wahlberg generated some buzz of his own. Asked about preparing for the role of Marcus Luttrell, whose book recounting the 2005 mission served as the basis of the film, Wahlberg offered a profanity-filled tirade aimed at actors who compare their jobs to those of service members. Various entertainment-media outlets reported the speech. Here’s a cleaned-up version of the remarks, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter:…
Recent cinematic efforts involving Navy SEAL units have included the dramatized takedown of a terrorist mastermind and real-life special operators lending their talents to Hollywood. Later this year, an adaptation of a SEAL’s story of a 2005 ambush in Afghanistan will hit theaters, with Academy Award buzz likely. Also, “The Rock” is going to kill some monsters. The Hollywood Reporter reported yesterday that the wrestler-turned-actor-turned-sometimes-wrestler Dwayne Johnson will star in “SEAL Team 666,” in which special operators will “battle demons” as they do in the Weston Ochse novel of the same name. A brief passage: “While one of the SEALs…
The trailer for “Lone Survivor,” Hollywood’s take on a 2005 SEAL mission in Afghanistan that ended in ambush, tragedy and acts of valor that stand out even among the nation’s elite special warriors, is below. It hit YouTube yesterday and already has almost 175,000 views. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMFLzf-DXXU[/youtube] This adaptation of former Special Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell’s book was directed by Peter Berg, whose last Navy-themed film had a decidedly different tone. Stars include Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. It’ll have a limited release Dec. 27, according to Entertainment Weekly, which will make it eligible for…
The video says it all, but read on below for a bit more background: [HTML1] That’s SEAL Cmdr. Chris Cassidy aboard the International Space Station, giving a quick glimpse (very quick, thanks to sped-up video with an appropriately lighthearted soundtrack) at how to shave one’s head in zero gravity. Key quote: “I don’t think I’ve looked like this since Plebe Summer.” The 1993 Naval Academy grad shed his hair late last month in anticipation of the arrival of Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut who, well … who saves on barbershop bills. Parmitano and two other flight engineers arrived aboard the…
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[HTML1] The March issue of Esquire magazine – it’s due to hit the newsstands Feb. 19 – has a lengthy story about the plight of the Navy SEAL who claims he fired the three shots that killed terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. The former SEAL, whose identity the magazine did not reveal, is referred to as “The Shooter” in an article written by San Francisco-based investigative journalist Phil Bronstein. The magazine’s cover image screams “The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden…Is Screwed.” Bronstein took to NBC’s “Today” show earlier today to talk about the article and the SEAL who…
As if “Act of Valor” and “Zero Dark Thirty” weren’t enough, SEALs are getting more time on the big screen. Millennium Films just purchased the script for “High Value Target,” an action-adventure flick based on the SEAL Team 6 raid in January that freed two hostages taken by Somali pirates, Screen Rant reported. The script, written by Spenser Cohen, calls for many scenes to be shot by cameras attached to actors playing members of the raid team, giving the film a realistic quality, according to the website. Millennium Films described the movie as “Black Hawk Down” mixed with “The Raid:…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiKn9khrXGY[/youtube] It’s tough enough trying to become a Navy SEAL, so you can image the sharp skills and good luck needed to nab one of the coveted spots on the U.S. Navy Parachute Team, the “Leap Frogs.” But who says you can’t jump with them, in a virtual kind of way? The video (above) was produced in high definition by local production firm Surf’s Up Studios, which went wheels up to record the Navy’s famous parachute demonstration team make its entrance at the annual Coronado Speed Festival. On September 22-23, the annual racing car fest that is part of the…
Reaching 100 years of age is remarkable enough. But the Navy made it extra special for a former Navy Seabee Dec. 2. Retired Capt. James R. Mims, the nation’s oldest living Seabee, was made an honorary member of Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 by the unit’s top sailor, Command Master Chief (SCW) Johnny DeSarro, during Mims’ 100th birthday party, held at the Oaks Country Club in Richmond, Va.. Mims also received a U.S. flag flown over the Capitol building, a birthday greeting from President Obama and a very cool commemorative paddle. Mims has experienced some remarkable moments in his life. In…
