Battle Ready: Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic by Mark L. Donald, Scott Mactavish Read Free Book Online Page A

wasn’t going to let him see me sweat, so with the same arrogance that sent me to the bottom of the pool at marine boot camp, I gathered what little documentation I had and charged on.
    When I arrived at the San Diego International Airport it was the same as it was two and a half years earlier, empty. Unsure of a direction, I followed the herd of the long-hair “regular” recruits arriving from across the country and boarded the bus for the Naval Training Center. Once there, I tried to speak with the staff and the CC (company commander, the navy’s version of a drill instructor) about the OSVET program, but it was to no avail. No one seemed to know anything about it, so I decided to keep following the line on the floor that processed everyone into the system.
    It didn’t take long before I realized that I was entering basic training all over again, rather than the OSVET program, and that I was either going to have to get along or move along. Suddenly all I could think about was what Top had told me. This was a one-way trip, and the last thing I needed was to be thrown out. Nervous and confused, I did what any young marine would do and just followed orders. I guess I thought things would eventually get worked out, and since the navy’s boot camp wasn’t anything like the marines’ I had no problem waiting. Besides, this gave me plenty of time to familiarize myself with the nuances of the navy, and there were plenty of differences. One of the biggest, barring the physical aspects, of course, was the significance the Marine Corps placed on knowing the battle history of the Corps, as well as its traditions. That may not sound like much, but I can tell you that from an infantryman’s perspective it means everything. Once you hear of the deeds of your predecessors and realize how revered they are for their bravery, any thoughts of retreat are instantly erased.
    However, where the Marine Corps emphasized a physical and mental toughness, I felt the navy concentrated on understanding the reason for each action. What a fundamental difference. Every bit of training I received from the Corps, from boot camp to Amphibious Reconnaissance School, had the same mantra, “Nobody ever drowned from sweat.” The navy’s perspective was more along the lines of “Work smarter, not harder,” and I welcomed the challenges of learning the “navy way.” Both services had their strengths and their reasons for doing things a particular way, but neither had a weakness in developing its force.
    Toward the end of the first week, the company commander gave us a schedule of the upcoming events, which annotated any clothing, books, or equipment that was required. When I looked at the next morning’s agenda it simply read “Training Tank,” but there was no requirement for swim trunks, which seemed a little odd. While the company readied for lights-out, Petty Officer Dieter, one of the CCs who had served on a gator freighter (a fleet term used to describe ships that transport marines), called me into the office. He was aware of my prior service as a Recon Marine but, like the others, knew nothing of my supposed assignment to OSVET. Away from the eyes and ears of the other recruits, he addressed me by my first name.
    “Mark, tomorrow the dive motivator will be speaking with the class. I know you want to return to Recon as a corpsman, but I think you should consider screening for BUD/S.” He was referring, of course, to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. I had always been curious about how hard the training really could be, but this wasn’t in the plan.
    “Thanks, Petty Officer Dieter. I appreciate the advice, but I think I’ll pass.”
    “Suit yourself, shipmate, but I’m going to speak to them about you anyway. You shouldn’t limit options.”
    Walking back toward my rack, I thought about what he said about the differences between the SEAL Teams and Marine Recon. Back then the Marine Corps hadn’t embraced Reconnaissance with