SEAL TEAM TEN

By John T. Vigiano

This is the story of how a bunch of New York City Firefighters met and "partnered" up with SEAL Team TEN. This began with a trip to Bethesda Naval Hospital back in October 2007. As we were making the rounds of the ward, we came upon a sign hanging from one of the patient's door. You could not help but realize that inside that room was an incredible human being; a man who gave part of himself to make this country what it is. The sign read:

Attention: To all who enter here, ifyou're coming into this room with sorrow or to feel sorry for my wounds, go elsewhere. The wounds I received, I got in a job I love,and doing it for people I love, supporting the freedom of a country I deeply love. I am incredibly tough and will make a full recovery. What is full? That is the absolute utmost physically my body has the ability to recover. Then I will push that about 20% further through sheer mental tenacity. This room you are about to enter is a room of fun, optimism, and intense rapid re-growth. If you are not prepared for that, go elsewhere. (Adjacent to this was the SEAL Trident)

From the Management

I immediately took a photo of this and we asked if we could meet this young man (Lt. Jason Redman, US Navy SEAL). The corpsman escort entered first and asked the warrior if he would meet with us (usual procedure) Needless to say, his response was affirmative. When we entered the room, this young man was standing there ... hanging from him were a maze of tubes and other medical contraptions which to a normal person would mean "stay in bed". Jay greeted us like brothers and began a conversation about New York, Firefighters, and SEALs being bonded. We stayed as long as we were permitted, and left. All day long we spoke of the attitude of that young man. A few days later a friend was going down to visit the troops... I asked her to visit this young man and to ask him if he would allow us to "adopt" his team. My friend did meet Jay and relayed my request. It was then I found out there were 200 people in the Team. Undaunted, I said "not a problem," but I knew I had to come up with 200 hats, tee shirts and patches from somewhere. A few days later, I received an email from Jay's CO, CDR Robert "Gus" Gusentine and we communicated back and forth discussing this partnership (SEALs are not adopted). My end was easy, we would supply the team with 200 hats, etc in exchange of four (4) patches from SEAL Team TEN... each of the "partnered" units would then mount the patch in their fire house and would agree to support the members of the team in any way necessary; e.g. mail, packages from home, or whatever. Gus then proposed that he and Jay come to New York to meet the members of the partnered houses. We worked out the logistics of that day and made it happen. Unfortunately, the dates had to be changed and I was not available for the new dates, but since it was already set up, we continued with the plan. Capable hands took over in my absence and made it happen. Gus and Jay arrived at the airport, and arrangements were made to have them meet some Port Authority Police Officers, change into their class "A" uniforms and we drove them to their first unit; Ladder Company 132 (where I served from Jan 1977 to September 1977) and Engine Company 280 for breakfast. This was also the unit my son worked in when he was killed on 91 1.

After the exchange of patches and "stuff," they moved on to stop number two; Rescue Company 2, one of the Special Operational Units of the FDNY; a unit I served in as a firefighter from September 1972 to June I 978 and again in September 1977 to June 1988. After an exchange the groups moved on to stop number three... Ladder Company 176 and Engine Company 233 and the Field Communication unit. Ladder 176 was my last command having been assigned there in June 1990 until my retirement in May 1998. Again, a large group of off-duty members and retirees joined the members of the house for the exchange of patches and a light lunch.

The final stop on this pilgrimage was Ladder Company 103 (where I started my Fire Service career in 1962 until my first promotion in 1976) - Engine Company 290. Once again, many of the former members came by to pay their respects and meet Jay and Gus; their "partnered" SEALs. When the day was over, four FDNY units felt very close to SEAL Team TEN and the brave men and women who have taken it to our enemy for the lives of the 343 brothers we lost here in New York Fire Departrnent. In my case, it was more personal, I lost my only two sons that day and I knew somewhere a few people paid for that thanks to men like SEAL Team TEN.

After Gus and Jay left we continued to work on our part of the partnership and that was to come up with 200 shirts, hats and patches for each SEAL in the Team. The original meeting we decided each house would contribute 50 of each and they would mail them to the Master at Arms, SEAL Team TEN. Well firefighters are pretty much like SEALS; they are brave, a bit nuts and as hard to corral as a herd of cats. Eventually one of the four houses took it upon themselves to come up with a special design for everyone. Unforlunately, it took a lot of back and forth with the manufacturer, but they came up with a beautiful design... unfortunately, it did not make it to the team until Saturday, July 19, the day of the demonstration on the beach ... two days after we arrived to meet and join the team for the reunion. (We had planned to have this gear mailed to the base long before the trip) We had hoped to make a presentation to the CO, but had nothing until it arrived on Friday night ... too late for a ceremony. The shirts and hats did arrive late Friday night and the exchange was eventually made... but not the way we intended it. After the demonstration on Saturday, the sky opened up and it rained like a quick monsoon ... everything was soaked, the roads became small streams and everyone took cover where they could find it. Most just stood in the rain and just enjoyed it. We made the exchange in a parking field, from our cars to the car of a young SEAL who promised to deliver them to building 3080.

During our visit, we were treated like royalty by both the members of the Team, the Boat Squadron, and the SEALAssociation. We were shown the weapons and equipment used by the present day teams. The young SEALS that spent their morning explaining everything and answering all the questions that my grandsons and sons of another firefighter asked about the Team; they epitomized the professionalism of this unit.