Into Navy SEALs’ ‘Hell Week’ and back
Bringing honour to his motherland, Lt. Chamitha of the Special Boat Squadron, the first and only Sri Lankan to undergo this training, is back home from Coronado, California in the United States of America.
It is at Navy Headquarters in Colombo that we meet him on Monday – the topmost pin on the right side of Lt. Chamitha’s chest being the ‘Trident’, a symbol of honour bestowed on the hardy who have completed the rigorous Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training.
U.S. Navy SEAL candidates squat while performing the log physical training evolution during the “Hell Week” crucible of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training on Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alex Kerska)
A formidable special operations force within the U.S. Navy, the SEALs (Sea, Air and Land Teams) are highly trained and have gained fame for their classified, covert, high-impact missions in any environment.
…..And the prestigious pin exhibits four main features – the ‘anchor’ signifying the navy and the ‘eagle’ symbolizing the air, while holding in its right talon, the ‘trident’ which symbolizes Neptune, the Roman God of the Sea and in its left talon a ‘cocked flintlock pistol’, which symbolizes land warfare and a state of constant readiness.
When asked about the 5½-day ‘Hell Week’ during the first phase of BUD/S training, having familiarized ourselves of its rigour by reading eye-opening accounts on the private NAVYSEALS.com site, Lt. Chamitha nods in agreement.
Cold and wet alternately, brutal ‘Hell Week’ in Coronado located on a peninsula in San Diego Bay, is set to test physical endurance, mental toughness, pain and cold tolerance, teamwork, attitude and ability to perform work under high physical and mental stress, with just four or fewer hours of sleep.
“Running, swimming, paddling, carrying boats on their heads, doing log physical training, sit-ups, push-ups, rolling in the sand, slogging through mud, paddling boats and doing surf passage………being still can be just as challenging, when standing in formation, soaking wet on the beach or up to the waist in the water, with the cold ocean wind cutting through you. Mud covers uniforms, hands, faces – everything but the eyes. The sand chafes raw skin and the salt water makes cuts burn,” is how NAVYSEALS.com describes the training.
Doing the country proud: Lieutenant Koyan Chamitha. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
This is why only about 25% of BUD/S trainees make it through ‘Hell Week’ and in his batch Lt. Chamitha is one. He has successfully undergone training in all key aspects: physical conditioning (extensive running, swimming, calisthenics – a form of strength training – and obstacle courses); water confidence (open and closed-circuit diving, underwater navigation and more); combat skills (land warfare, small unit tactics, weapons handling, rappelling and more); mental toughness (to withstand extreme stress and pressure); and teamwork (operating as a highly cohesive unit).
Numerous have been the news reports worldwide of how in May 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the U.S. Navy SEALs in ‘Operation Neptune Spear’ eliminated al-Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden, who claimed his operatives carried out the September 11, 2001 attack in New York, where hijacked planes smashed into the World Trade Center.
Among many other reports is praise on the U.S. Navy SEALs for their “daring” nighttime rescue of two aid workers, an American and Dane, in Adado, Somalia, entailing parachuting into and stealthily advancing on foot to where the hostages were being held in January 2012.
Another rescue which is on the silver screen as the action thriller ‘Captain Phillips’ is how U.S. Navy SEAL snipers “took the shot” at Somali pirates and got the injured Captain released, ending the saga of the hijacked cargo ship ‘Maersk Alabama’ in April 2009.
For Lt. Chamitha from Oruthota in Gampaha who had a yearning to join the SLN from the time he was very small, the pathway opened after he qualified in Double Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry at the Advanced Level from Bandaranayake College, Gampaha. His primary education had been at Sumedha College, Gampaha, and from Grade 6 to Ordinary Level at Sri Sanghabodhi Central College, Nittambuwa.
An only child, his father had been a businessman, now retired, while his mother looked after their home.
A natural swimmer, it was in June 2017 that he applied, got selected and joined the SLN as an Officer Cadet. After training at the Trincomalee Naval and Maritime Academy and passing out in December 2019, he had been assigned to the gunboat, ‘SLNS Ranarisi’ for six months and then to the Special Boat Squadron in July 2020.
Ensuring Sri Lanka’s maritime security by guarding its coastline and complying with international conventions including those of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), the Special Boat Squadron has the authority under the ‘Visit, Board, Search and Seizure’ (VBSS) mandate to board ships or boats suspected of carrying unlawful items and persons.
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for SEAL training came when the U.S. government offered the SLN a slot in the rigorous programme – it did not come easily though. With a number of navy personnel under 28 years of age vying for this opportunity, it was strenuous physical training and English Language tests which were the clinchers and Lt. Chamitha topped the contenders.
Last year he headed to the U.S. firstly for a preparatory course followed by (BUD/S) training at the Naval Special Warfare Command, interestingly with the address: 2000 Trident Way, San Diego, returning to
Sri Lanka on July 31, 10 days ago.
The U.S. Navy SEALs had celebrated 60 years of existence in 2022 and a media release titled ‘From Salt and Sand’ stated how the Cold War brought a new era of conflict and geopolitics, calling for a new type of warfighter and President John F. Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address, assured the world of America’s resolve against the challenges it may soon face………”Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty,” said Kennedy. “This much we pledge – and more.”
Less than one full year later, Kennedy established the first SEAL teams…….There was no celebration or ceremony to mark the occasion, only the quiet understanding the U.S. Navy needed an unconventional maritime warfare capability, the media release added.
Meanwhile, across the seas this week, when we repeatedly ask Lt. Chamitha whether at any point during the rigorous training he wished to quit and rest his weary body and mind, he says: “I thought of the navy. Keeyatawath madin navath-wanney nae kiyala hithuwa (I was determined not to give up).” This was the burning desire which ensured his success.
Lt. Chamitha hastens to add that throughout, the trainees were provided all the necessary nutrition based on scientific evidence to face this arduous programme, while their safety too was guaranteed.
As the Trident was pinned on, “godak sathutu hithuna (I was very happy),” he says, as his parents and fiancee eagerly await their reunion to celebrate his ‘endurance triumph’.
A role model for Sri Lanka’s youth, Lt. Chamitha has brought honour not just to the SLN but to the country too.
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