Navy SEAL team wins mock battle for station

This story first appeared in the Northwest Florida Daily News on July 11, 1998

How accustomed have people become to military training in Northwest Florida?

You can load four trucks full of men with machines guns, drive down U.S. Highway 98, have them put on black hoods before turning off the road, and then stage a gun battle at Coast Guard Station Destin _ all without panicking boaters or people driving by the station.

"We wanted to capture the station back and that's what we did," said Navy Petty Officer Carl Finney, who oversaw the exercise.

According to Friday's scenario, the station overlooking East Pass and Choctawhatchee Bay had been taken over by a foreign force, and the objective of the Navy SEALs was to win it back.

A few minutes past noon Friday, the rescue was mounted. Quicker than a boat could sail through East Pass, the station was secured and returned to the hands of the good guys.

This wasn't an exercise with fake guns.

The SEALs drove through the station's front gate. Within seconds, they were bounding out of the trucks and shooting live blanks, leaving spent ammo in their wake.

The seizure swiftly moved through the station headquarters. Some guardsmen were handcuffed while SEALs determined which side of the mock war they were on.

In the rear of the station, SEALs searched for and fired on fellow SEALs who were playing the role of enemy troops.

Fake blood was used to simulate a wound, but a real needle was used for an IV to treat a sailor.

“There's not a better time to do it,'' Finney said of getting his troops experienced with first aid in a combat situation.

The SEALs had been given their assignment Friday morning and were expected to map out the assault in about two hours, Finney said. In addition to their hand-carried weapons, the SEALs carried maps and sketches of the station.

In a real war situation, the SEALs would pour through the station in the same fashion, but wear body armor in addition to the dark uniforms, Finney said. The black hoods protect the men from flashes of fire.

The SEALs are the Navy's equivalent of the Army's Ranger and Delta Force units. SEAL is short for Sea Air Land, and the sailors train for a variety of roles suited for small, independent units, including terrorism prevention and underwater surveys of beach-landing sites

The SEAL unit that won Friday's skirmish at the Coast Guard station will be in the area for two weeks, mostly training with their Air Force counterparts.

SEALs have used the station as a training ground before and are welcome back, said station boss, Senior Chief Boatswain's Mate Kurt Rommerdahl.