On August 23, 2014, a couple of Naval Special Warfare members are swimming to raise funds to support both the Navy SEAL Foundation and the UDT/SEAL Association. Both of these organizations support active duty and retired Naval Special Warfare members and their families.
The swim distance is roughly 15 statue miles/13 nautical miles/17 miles in stroke count and is taking place during the peak of hurricane season, fishing season, the heaviest boating traffic month, the second hottest month of the year, the time of hottest average water temps of the year, and to top it off, during jellyfish and sea nettle season! What’s that saying about the ‘only easy day was yesterday’?
The training for the swim has consisted of weight training, various cardio equipment training as well as pool and bay swim training averaging 12 hours/22 miles per week.
Who would do such a thing?? Here’s a little bit about the two Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Swimmers:
Master Chief (SWCC) Phil Powell is an active duty veteran presently serving at Naval Special Warfare Group FOUR in Virginia Beach, Va. and recently completed his tour as Command Master Chief at Special Boat Team TWENTY. Phil has completed 11 deployments and has served in a myriad of positions throughout his career spanning 29+ years. He’s an active Board member of the UDT/SEAL Association and the Larkspur Swim & Racquet Club. An avid swimmer; he’s no stranger to distance swimming. He previously supported the Navy SEAL Foundation, formerly known as the Naval Special Warfare Foundation by completing this same challenge back in 1995. The event raised thousands of dollars to provide support to active duty Naval Special Warfare members and their families. Originally from Maryland, he resides in Virginia Beach and plans to remain after retirement from the Navy. He’s happily married to his wife Kim of 25+ years and they have two great kids, Matthew (19) and Mckenzie (14).
Stephen Brown retired in 2011 as a Navy SEAL Senior Chief. He served 26 years in Naval Special Warfare with ten deployments and two combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He currently works for Blackbird Technologies as a Field Service Representative and has deployed to Afghanistan several times in support of USSOCOM. Steve grew up in Cumberland, Maryland. It was at a local YMCA that he began swimming competitively at the age of 5. He continues to swim in his free time and mentors young Naval Special Warfare candidates. He resides in Virginia Beach with his wife, Miriam and their two children, Victoria (18) and Joey (14).
Check out more about this fundraiser including the swim map and swimmers here.
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