The St. Theresa’s Early Childhood Development Center was the focus of a community relations (COMREL) project involving sailors from the USS Gunston Hall and the Africa Partnership Station West. The project was done during the ship’s port visit to Ghana, according to a feature on the Navy website.

Sailors prepared the center for work that is to be done in the next couple of days on March 11. This included scraping paint from and cleaning the exterior walls and surveying the site for the grounds keeping that needed to be done. St. Theresa’s was built in 1935.

Construction Electrician 1st Class (SCW/IUSS) Keith Evans, from Mansfield, Ohio, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 7 explains: “Our main goal for this first day is exterior protection. We have 15 gallons of primer that we’ll use today, and then we’ll start painting the last two days.”

It was not all work for the sailors, though. Some sailors, like Lt. Megan Brelsford from Albany, New York, medical officer of USS Gunston Hall, also spent time playing with the children. Brelsford shares: “”A few of us sang and read books to the children. This is the kind of stuff you join the Navy for and to have the opportunity to help out an organization that helps kids is great.”

St. Theresa’s headmistress Florence Adei and school priest Eshun Anthony expressed gratitude to the sailors for helping out at the center. Ms. Adei said: “We are very, very grateful for this help,” while Fr. Anthony said that the sailors’ coming to the center “is God’s intervention.”

Operations involving special forces that have unfortunately resulted in the loss of civilian lives have led to the issuance of rules that are meant to “rein in” special forces. This was given by the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, according to an article on The Times.

Gen. McChrystal reportedly told the New York Times: “You got one hand doing one thing and one hand doing the other, both trying to do the right thing but working without a good outcome.” As a result, most of the unconventional forces and regular troops have been placed under unified command. This will provide the Commander “absolute control over missions that might claim civilian lives,” according to The Times.

However, there will still be certain military units that fall outside of this unified command. Among these are the special forces task force who are dealing with detainees who are being held at Bagram. Also reportedly excluded from being under the unified command are the Delta Force and the Navy SEALs.

This should not be taken to mean, though, that they are operating outside the Commander’s control. The Times shares: “The Pentagon said that small numbers of special operations units were exempted from the directive but an official said that even though their line of command was different, General McChrystal remained in the loop for all operations.”

Despite the fact that General McChrystal and his focus on the protection of the population has reduced the number of civilian casualties, some of the worst incidents involving civilians are reportedly being blamed on operations involving special forces operatives.

Rep. Ted Poe has a rather interesting proposition. Given the success that Navy SEALs Matthew McCabe, Julio Huertas and Jonathan Keefe and the other SEALs who went on the mission to capture Ahmed Hashim Abed, they should be sent out for another mission just like it, according to an article on HumanEvents.com.

When we come to think of it, why not? That sure seems like a more productive use of the Navy SEALs’ skills, as opposed to their being subjected to a court martial. Poe was quoted in the article: “I think they ought to give them medals, send them out to bag another one. I think they showed great restraint. We are at war.”

Poe expressed that he did not believe the accusations against the SEALs. Meinecke writes: “Poe isn’t necessarily buying Abed’s story, especially since Abed didn’t launch the accusations until after the SEALs surrendered him to the Iraqis (he supposedly underwent further questioning by the SEALs, while technically remaining in Iraqi custody).”

He also shared that he felt that McCabe, Huertas and Keefe “need all the support they can get.”

Poe is one of more than 70 cosponsors who introduced a resolution that will honor the Navy SEALs for successfully apprehending Abed. The resolution was introduced in December but has not made it out of a House committee. According to Poe, the resolution is telling the SEALs, “We appreciate you, thanks, job well done.”

Poe says further: “I would hope the high level brass would be praising our SEALs as opposed to quickly criticizing what they did.  They ought to be quickly praising them for capturing this guy.”

Based on a half-a-million dollar Gallup study commissioned by the US Navy last fall, if there was anyone who had twice as much of a chance as others would in completing the rigorous SEAL training with flying colors, he would be a water polo player.

If he was a water polo player who could also play a great game of chess, then his chances would triple, according to a report by the Associated Press featured on Mercury News.

Water polo athletes emerged on top of the heap, along with triathletes, boxers, lacrosse and rugby players, and swimmers and wrestlers; as well as skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers, rock climbers and those who practice the martial arts.

So SEAL recruiters are setting their sights on athletes from these programs, from both high school and college teams. Capt. Adam Curtis, director of SEAL recruiting, told the Associated Press: “If we get those guys, they are tuned to sort of the right frequency, and they’ll get through at a higher rate than Joe Average.”

The Navy is looking to “beef up” the elite special operations force.

A new fitness and nutrition program designed specifically for deployed Sailors who spend their days in the relatively limited confines of Navy ships will be rolled out this summer, according to a feature on the Navy Times.

The Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling Series are designed for specific types of warships, and according to the article, it “aims to change the way sailors stay fit and eat.” The routines are designed to be performed on board Navy ships and, depending on the workout, will keep sailors fit in half an hour to an hour each day.

The Kitsap County Fairgrounds played host to hundreds of service members and representatives of local businesses last Saturday, March 13, as Kitsap County observed Military Appreciation Day, according to a feature on the Navy website.

The annual event, which salutes men and women in the service, was hosted by the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce and was open to the public, free of charge. Families and service members who gathered at the auditorium for the event made the rounds of more than 80 booths by organizations that ranged from local businesses to military organizations.

Military Appreciation Day chairman and event organizer Mike Strube shares: “Kitsap County is a military-oriented community, and it’s important to show service members we appreciate what they do for our country. This event continues to grow each year, and it’s important to thank service members for what they do.”

Activities for the day included interactive displays and demos performed by military working dogs from the Air Force and the Navy. There were Navy divers on hand to share more information about what they do. A mini boot camp for children was conducted by Sailors and Marines who are assigned to the Marine Corps Security Force Battalion (MCSFB).

Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Justin Farrow, who volunteered to help out at the mini boot camp, shares: “This event is great because it gives us a chance to show the community what we do in the military.” He adds further: “I enjoy being involved and setting a good example to the kids in our community.”