On the Shelf

In this week’s installment of On the Shelf I will reveal the final update of “Warrior Elite”. The remaining warriors for the Class of 228 had passed all of the certifications involved in phase 2. This entailed completing a rigorous underwater navigation test, modeled after real mission scenarios. The two leading officers of the class were tasked with swimming over 200m under water and attaching a placebo charge on an “enemy battle ship”.  The trainees moved onto third phase where team work and CQB arms training was practiced reverently. Class 228 was the first class in a number of sessions to have every trainee complete phase 3’s demanding marksmanship requirements. After the firearms training, the gentlemen move over to a private island where high ordinance explosives are detonated like backyard fireworks. While playing with these fireworks, the instructors take great care to ensure that the trainees follow the policy of “measure twice cut once” to a whole new level. Many explosions and combat simulations later, the author continues on to the graduation ceremony where he vividly describes the characteristics of the final 20 trainees. He then goes on to cite his valediction in which he essentially sums up the lessons learned while becoming a part of this warrior culture, emphasizing the values of the SEAL’s commitment to excellence and the ambition to win. The author then leaves us, the readers, with a jealous drive to become winners and the best of our own kind.