It could not have been a better day in San Diego as I attended the graduation of Navy SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) Class 277. I had the distinct honor of pinning Navy SEAL insignia on Coast Guard blue for the first time. Two Coast Guardsmen were among the newly designated Navy SEALs and made history as the first uniformed personnel ever assigned to an operational SEAL team while a member of another branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The two Coast Guard officers volunteered to attend Navy SEAL training under an agreement signed in July 2008 by the Coast Guard, Navy and Special Operations Command. The historic agreement allows up to four Coast Guardsmen a year the opportunity to train and integrate with an operational SEAL team before returning to their Service. The agreement is an extension of the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, which was signed by all three U.S. sea services in October 2007.
In the words of RADM Gary Bonelli, Deputy Commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, who presided over the graduation ceremony, “Naval Special Warfare is proud to team with the nation's first U.S. Coast Guard officers qualified as U.S. Navy SEALs...During the past fourteen months, they have proven their mettle and have truly earned the right to be called our teammates. Cooperation among all services is a critical component of the National Maritime Strategy. Today's graduation is just one more example of the many integral ties that bind our maritime services."
Congratulations to SQT Class 277!
VADM David Pekoske
