Just thought I'd share my recent experience at the 2009 Reunion in Little Creek. I was lucky enough to go down there as one of the candidates from the SEAL RDAC. A few other candidates and I stayed at the house of a team guy in Virginia Beach, and we also were lucky enough to meet several active duty SEALs, both officer and enlisted. They were all tremendous guys; it was extremely nice of them to share their time with us wannabes, and they gave us a ton of useful advice on BUD/S and beyond. It really meant a lot coming face to face.

We also had the privilege of meeting former SEALs, UDTs, Scouts and Raiders, and frogmen going all the way back to WWII. One of them was in the original UDTR class, class #1! It was pretty humbling to be in the presence of all these people who had made such sacrifices.

We got a chance to run the O Course there, which is fairly similar to the BUD/S O course, and to compete in a 4 mile run and 1 mile open water swim. We also saw a capability demonstration on the beach, including sniping, IADs, SWCC boats, parachuting, fast-roping, hydrographic recon, demo, and all the cool stuff that people want to become a SEAL to do. Mr. *******, I also met one of your trainees, who was medically discharged from BUD/S a few years ago but has worked his way back to earning another contract and leaves in October. I was really impressed by his persistence and determination.

This was a really great trip for me. It further solidified my thoughts about why I want to follow this path. The community among the team guys is amazing, and seeing the friendships between the old veteran UDTs swapping war stories was something else.

Finally, I learned a lot that helped me to better understand why I would like to, if possible, become a SEAL officer in particular. My OCS package for June did not make it to the boards in time, although I believed that it would have been rejected even if it had, as my PST scores were not quite good enough to secure the recommendation of the RDAC staff. However, the Reunion left me more determined than ever to get there for the January board. I am excited to be moving forward with my goal, and I wish the best of luck to everyone else on this site who shares it.