“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

– George Orwell.

Airsoft is imitation. It imitates the different armed forces around world. In a way, it gives homage to the men who fight for freedom, peace and justice. One of the top tier, and most sought-after operators around the world are the United States Navy’s Sea, Air and Land Teams or better known as the US Navy SEALs.

The Philippines also has its own top tier Naval group. They are called the Navy Special Operations Group, better known as NAVSOG, formerly were known as the Special Warfare Group (SWAG) and also known as the Philippine Navy SEALs.

I was one of the fortunate few who were able to meet and cross-train with them for a day.

THE CALL

It was during mid-2011 that I got a call from a friend asking if I wanted to come with them to Sangley Point. The moment he told me that they got permission to play in their training area, I jumped in. I was ecstatic. I was going to meet a real Navy SEAL and get to play airsoft with them!

The Green Jackets (another airsoft group I belong to that consists of friends I grew up with) packed up the armory. It consisted of M4s, an M14, HMGs, A Sniper Rifle, Masks, BBs and all the other extra gear we had to lend the SEALs for the cross-training session.

ARRIVAL AT SANGLEY POINT

When we arrived, we could not contain our excitement. We very  fortunate to be there. First, we stopped at HQ to make a courtesy visit to the “Bullfrog”. The Bullfrog is the nickname given to the commander of the Navy SEALs. Similarly, all those going through their training program, which is patterned after the US program, are called “Tadpoles” while the graduates are called “Frogs”.

Bullfrog was a very happy fellow. He was very welcoming and not once did he ever give the impression that he didn’t want us there or that we were just disturbing them. The busy person that he was, he still made time to accommodate us and show us around.

THE ROOM OF PLAQUES

Room with insignia and plaques.

At the HQ, they had a room filled with plaques. The ones in white (showed in the picture) are the ones I’m most intrigued about. I remember seeing a documentary about the Navy SEALs where it told of how each of the their plaques had a meaning that only members of that specific team know about.

They also had these miniature Frogmen statues around the base to remind them that they are Frogmen.

Frogman statue

INTO THE TRAINING GROUNDS

Their training grounds had a farm-like open space with a shell-filled beach overlooking Manila Bay. They had a small nipa hut in the middle, as well as some foliage. They had obstacles as well, such as crates and barrels within the vicinity, which kind of made it look like a speedball course. They also had tall monkey bars and rope tied to two trees for their training purposes.

As we took our guns and gear into an un-walled, roofed structure, we began laying down the rifles, ammo and gear while waiting for the SEAL Team to arrive. Around 15 minutes later, two teams from NAVSOG arrived in high spirits, greeting us. They seemed to be very happy meeting people who admire and imitate them, as well as excited to be trying out airsoft. They wanted to see if it was a tool they could use for training.

They were very amused with the scale of the guns, especially the HMGs. Their designated gunners hastily picked them up with huge grins on their faces, because they couldn’t believe the guns were just for airsoft. The banter started kicking in between the teams. I overheard one of them say, “O ayan, kasi wala ka tinatamaan sa tunay, baka dito meron!” (“Oh there you go, since you can’t hit anyone with the real thing, maybe with this you can!”). I saw another SEAL pick up my friend’s souped-up airsoft M4 and say to his buddy, “Uuuuy! Pare, guwapo ba?” (“Hey man! Do I look good?”) as he started doing some poses while his buddy comically replied “Mas gwapo pa yung baril sa ‘yo, pare. Haha!” (“The gun is more better looking than you, dude! Haha!”)

The head of the team (whose call sign I will not publish for security purposes) showed up and was equally amused. When all was set and settled, the Team Leader of the SEALs gathered everyone for a more formal welcoming. The Green Jackets’ Team Leader (Gunny) also said a few words of thanksgiving before we setup our first scenario.

SCENARIO: HOSTAGE RESCUE

So the Green Jackets set up around the small nipa hut as bad guys while the SEALs set up the rescue operation. I was not in this scenario as I wanted to observe how they did it, and helped my friend (Bacon) take some pictures.

I saw the SEALs quickly gather around their TL and started talking about their plan of attack. Team 1 was to pathfind their way towards the nipa hut and set up a perimeter while Team 2 was to assault and rescue the hostage.

Team 1 was on site first, closely followed by Team 2. It wasn’t very long until Team 1 broke formation to engage the tangos located by the perimeter of the hut. A brief encounter produced one dead from the bad guys as Team 2 was making their way into hut for the assault (to be honest, I was half-expecting a flashbang to be thrown. Hehe!) Team 2 got in formation and assaulted that hut with surgical precision. It was a small space, but they did it with the necessary violence needed, but with the fluidity of a scripted movie.

They rescued the hostage and proceeded back to the safe zone.

What struck me was that they spoke about everything that happened in detail after. “Why did you do this? We could have done that.” To a point that one of them admitted to the TL that he wasn’t comfortable and satisfied with what he did. At this point, Gunny (Green Jacket TL, the hostage) gave his inputs. Then he surprised everyone when he pulled out a gun from his trousers. Gunny said “Guys, may nakalimutan kayo. Hindi kayo nag check if may baril ang hostage.” (“Guys, you forgot something. You did not check if the hostage had a firearm.”) These guys asked him if he was hurt, if he was able to walk or if he needed medical attention… everything except check if he had a gun.

At this point, one of the SEALs bonked his buddy in the head and said “Sabi ko sa yo eh! Pa-tamad tamad ka kasi! Paano kung sa tunay ito at kalaban pala siya?!” (“I told you so! You are so lazy! What if the hostage was an enemy?!”) Everyone started laughing. The Team Leader reminded everyone that even though this was training, even though these were not real guns, we ALWAYS train for the real thing. ALWAYS. Though these gentlemen (referring to us Green Jackets) are civilians, what more in Mindanao where anyone, even a child, can pick up a gun and shoot you?

Everybody agreed and we were ready for another scenario.

SCENARIO: ELIMINATE ENEMY FORCES WITHIN THE COMPOUND

So the Green Jackets were tasked once again to be the bad guys, while the SEALs took the offensive. I set myself near the entrance of the compound and ghillied up, while the rest of my crew barricaded themselves near the nipa hut. I had a gameplan: I would let them pass right by me first and engage them from the rear. A few minutes had passed and I could hear the rustling footsteps of the SEALs walking by. I remained as still as I could, even though my heart was beating fast with excitement.

They engaged my friends at the nipa hut and took a full muster position. As soon as I heard their voices from a distance, I rose from the ground into a kneeling position. I started taking shots at all the targets I could see. It was very hard to shoot as the winds were strong since we were by Manila Bay. The group of SEALs watching started cheering in jest as the SEALs in the game started going down one by one.

Eventually, the SEALs eliminated all of us. During the After Action Report (AAR), the TL (of the SEALs) asked them what happened. The squad leader (of the SEALs) bonked one of his members in the head again, explaining that he assumed we were all going to be in that area (the Nipa Hut).

The TL then proceeded to explain that in combat, one can’t assume. That’s why we have designated sectors that we have to take care of. The Pointman has his duty at the front, while the Rear Guard has his duty at the back. One person’s mistake caused the lives of several SEAL members.

TL then reminded everyone to thank God that this was only training, because if it were the real thing, lapses like those will get you killed.

We ran a few more scenarios and let the SEALs play around with the guns amongst themselves. Then we had a boodle fight for lunch.

Boodle Fight!

THE FIRING RANGE

At the NAVSOG firing range

After lunch, it was their turn to show us their guns and gear, down at the firing range. There were M4s, M16s, M14s, etc. They did a live firing demo of the capabilities of the SEAL teams and that just blew us away. Flanking, peeling, crouching, maneuvering, you name it. Putting my feelings into layman's terms: it was pretty badass.

They then proceeded to lecture us about real guns, how to shoot them, etc. They introduced me to their sniper. We talked for a bit, I asked him about some of his missions (he answered very vaguely about them, but you know inside what he was talking about by reading between the lines). He taught me the different crawls and showed me his ghillie suit and weapon of choice.

Before then, I had never met a real sniper, nor a real Navy SEAL. These gentlemen showed to me how brave, courageous, fit and fun-loving people they are.

What I admired most of all from them was their ability to remain humble. Many times I have met an airsofter who think they know everything, that whatever they say is the only way, that they like the attention and the glory. They like making names for themselves and never fail to tell everyone how many kills they got that day. This was not so with the SEALs.

At the firing range

They were able to accept fault for further improvement, they listened not only to their Team Leader, but to us unknown civilians. They took what advice they could get and incorporated it. To be honest, I was a little hesitant to tell them things during AAR because these guys were the real Navy SEALs. I mean, who am I to tell them this or that? But they listened. Humility will go a very long way in a human being’s character.

I left the base astounded with what I had experienced. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to come back here. It was hard to believe that this happy bunch of people have been through hell and back, and would go through it all over again. I have the utmost respect for the men at NAVSOG. Having met you guys, I can now put faces on the men who make me sleep peaceably at night.

[All faces are blacked out for anonymity including ours as per request of the Bullfrog for security purposes]

With the NAVSOG gentlemen and Bullfrog.