There have been TV shows, movies, and books about them. Some realistic and some not so much. Anyone who wants to understand the SEALs mindset and learn about their training and history should attend the SEAL Museum. (https://navysealmuseumsd.org) To get a glimpse of what someone would experience, Military Press Magazine interviewed the Executive Director, Brian Drechsler, who was a SEAL for 26 years and is now retired and also had the privilege of touring the museum led by retired SEAL Peter Toennies. He became a SEAL in 1970 and retired in 2000.
Brian Drechsler, noted, “In 1985 in Florida there is already a SEAL Museum. That is where all predecessors to the SEAL teams trained for WWII and where Hell Week was invented. This is sacred ground for Naval Special Forces Warfare. About eight years ago, people questioned why there was not a Museum in San Diego considering that Coronado is home to the Naval Special Warfare Command, Basic Training Command, and just about half the SEALs are there. Plus, San Diego is a huge tourist destination in the country along with being the biggest military city in the country.”
According to Brian the mission “is to have a world class museum, support for the active duty, support for the families and veterans, along with being an active partner here in Southern California. People should realize the SEAL story has the ethos of commitment, teamwork, and responsibility. They will learn that anyone who wants to become a SEAL must go through 70 weeks to earn their Trident, an 18-month training cycle before a first deployment, and about 2.5 years of training before their overseas deployment.”
As someone enters, the first thing seen are the SEAL ethos and the SWCC, Special Warfare Combat Crewman, Creed. They show what the community is about. Beneath that are the seven SEAL Medal of Honor recipients and the five SWCC Medal of Honor recipients. Close by is a reminder of the connection the SEALS have with NASA. This included the aquatic training for the Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo programs, the development of the flotation for the capsule, and the recovery of the Astronauts.
Going deeper into the museum, visitors will find a Memorial Wall. Brian noted, “It honors our fallen. It has an interactive display of all SEALS killed in training or killed while on active duty. It is broken down where someone can search by name or eras. By choosing an individual someone gets a baseball card of information.” Because Memorial Day is a holiday where US military personnel who died while serving are mourned, people might think of going to the museum to pay their respects.
There is also a second floor with two virtual reality displays. Right off the elevator are six chairs where even someone with a wheelchair can participate. It gives a guest what it is like to go on a SEAL mission. They experience what it is like to jump out of an airplane, communicate, flying in a helicopter, and rescuing a hostage on a ship. HAVIK created the virtual reality experience for the museum. It was founded by a former SEAL and specializes in virtual reality training. This does have a surcharge.
Anyone who participates can gain a brief insight into what a Navy SEAL does by former SEALS. One person who volunteered to do the virtual experience said that “going through the hallway and hearing the gunshot really brought it home.” His favorite parts were going onto the ship, walking through a hallway, not knowing where the enemy was, and plunging into the ocean during a free fall.
Further down is another virtual reality display. Looking up, people will notice a SEAL delivery vehicle, like a mini submarine, while below is where someone can experience a virtual reality to see what is like to pilot the minisub that includes navigating currents, dealing with sonar, hiding from bad guys radar, and launching swimmers. This is free of charge.
There are two videos, one on the first floor and one on the second floor. On the first floor there is a theatre with a 13.5-minute video that tells the Naval Special Warfare story with eight personal accounts and interviews. It is segmented into “chapter” of discipline, responsibility, commitment, and history/heritage with a call to service last. The second-floor video speaks to the evolution of the SEALS. It goes through the history of the community by era that includes how the SEALS were founded.
The tour docent, Peter Toennies, explained that the video shows the evolution of the SEALs: during WWII there was the Underwater Demolition Teams, the Frogmen was founded during the Korean War, SEAL Teams 1 and 2 were founded in 1962, and more transformations occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, ending with the Global War on Terror.
Many docents are in various spots throughout the museum to fill in the gaps and answer questions. Most being retired SEALS or SWCC, the Special Warfare Combat Crewman, although there are a few civilian docents as well.
Also, on the first floor is a retail store that sells merchandise including apparel, pens, patches, and stuffed animals.
Brian also spoke of how the museum has outgrown itself. “The new museum’s home is an 85,000 square foot building that will take five years to design and build. This will hopefully enable us to go more in depth with the exhibits and more virtual reality.”
The Museum is doing something special on Monday May 25th, Memorial Day. Because it is a day where Americans can think about and honor those who gave their lives in service to keep Americans safe, the Navy SEAL Museum in San Diego is having a community picnic on May 25th. There will be free food for the first sixty guests, SEAL veterans telling their stories, artifact displays, and is free to the public. Brian is hoping that people who leave “the museum, were inspired. We hope to make an impact on the community and to be an active partner where someone can realize they are part of something bigger themselves. Children will learn what discipline means and how hard work and focus lead to success.”
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