Lone Survivor_ The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 ( PDFDrive )

1. Consider all weapons to be loaded at all times.
2. Never point a weapon at anything you do not want to put a bullet through.
3. Never put your finger on the trigger unless you want to shoot.
4. Know your target and what’s behind it.
They kept us out on the shooting range for hours. In between times we had to
dismantle and assemble machine guns and the M4, all under the eyes of
instructors who timed us with stopwatches. And the brutal regime of fitness
never wavered. It was harder than second phase, because now we had to run
carrying heavy packs, ammunition, and guns.
We also had a couple of weeks at the center to study high explosives and
demolition. This mostly involved straightforward TNT and plastic, with various
firing assemblies. The practical work happened only on the island of San
Clemente. And before we got to do that, we had another rigorous training
schedule to complete, including one fourteen-mile run along the beach and back.
This was the first time we had run any race without being wet and probably
sandy. Just imagine, dry shorts and running shoes. We floated along, not a care
in the world.
It was mid-March before we decamped to San Clemente for four weeks of
training, long hours, seven days a week until we finished. This rugged
moonscape of an island is situated off the California coast, sixty miles west of
San Diego, across the Gulf of Santa Catalina.
For almost fifty years, the U.S. Navy has been in command here, using the
place as an extensive training area. There are no civilians, but parts of the island
are an important wildlife sanctuary. There are lots of rare birds and California
sea lions, who don’t seem to care about violent explosions, shells, and naval air
landings. Up in the northeast, right on the coast, you find SEALs.
And there we learned the rudiments of fast and accurate combat shooting, the
swift changing of magazines, expert marksmanship. We were introduced to the
deadly serious business of assaulting an enemy position and taught how to lay
down covering fire. Slowly, then faster, first in daylight, then through the night.
We were schooled in all the aspects of modern warfare we would one day need
in Iraq or Afghanistan — ambushes, structure searches, handling prisoners,
planning raids. This is where we got down to all the serious techniques of
reconnaissance.
We moved on to really heavy demolition, setting off charges on a grand
scale, then hand grenades, then rockets, and generally causing major explosions
and practicing until we demonstrated a modicum of expertise.