bugler played “Taps” without missing a note. Then the six sailors acting as pallbearers pulled the flag taut and began giving it the thirteen folds, while a lone bagpiper, a retired Navy SEAL, played a solemn “Amazing Grace.” The honor guard finished their work with a neat blue and white triangle. Not a hint of red was visible.
The escort passed the folded flag to the commander of Seal Team Three, who knelt in front of Judy Higgs and handed her the folded triangle, the straight edge facing her. He started to speak, “On behalf of a grateful nation…” and the SEALs sitting around Jerry began to stand and form a line to one side of the casket. Jerry stood as well, and spotted Lapointe, who nodded to him and made space for him to stand.
The SEAL at the front of the line waited until the commander had finished and took his place at the head of the line. Then Lieutenant Ramey gently let go of Judy’s hand, stood, and walked over to join them. The SEAL commander helped Ramey, Higgs’s closest friend, but hampered by his cast, remove the gold SEAL Trident from his uniform blouse and position it on top of the casket. With two sharp raps, Ramey pounded it straight and square into the wood surface. Stepping back, he rendered a final salute to his friend, his comrade in arms. As Ramey returned to his seat, each SEAL came up in turn, added his own trident pin, and rendered honors.
As he stood with Lapointe, Jerry watched petty officers and commissioned officers, from third class to captain, remove their tridents and pound them into the casket.
As they approached the front of the line, Jerry whispered, “Good thing it’s not a metal casket.”
“We’d manage,” Lapointe said firmly.
Jerry took another step forward and saw Judy, holding Ramey’s hand. Her face looked drained, weary. She’d sacrificed much, but she wouldn’t be left behind. There’d be a long line of supporters to help her through the difficult days ahead; SEALs take care of their own.
Lapointe was the last SEAL in line. He slapped his trident into the wood, saluted, and hobbled away smartly. Now it was Jerry’s turn. Jerry removed his gold dolphins and carefully placed them in line with the other insignia, and gave them two sharp raps. The pins bit deeply into the lid. By now, two rows of gold tridents ran the length of the coffin, and he was adding to a third.
It was more than just saying good-bye. Even in death, they wouldn’t leave their comrade. He would never be alone.
GLOSSARY
1MC — General announcing circuit, shipwide public address system
ADC — Acoustic Device, Countermeasure
ADCAP — Advanced Capability
ASAP — As soon as possible
ASDS — Advanced SEAL Delivery System
ASW — Antisubmarine Warfare
ATT — Antitorpedo Torpedo
Bisht — A loose cloak worn on special occasions
BMC — Battle Management Center
BMP — A Russian armored personnel carrier. In Russian it stands for “Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty” and is translated into English as “Infantry Combat Vehicle.”
CAG — Carrier Air Group
CAP — Combat Air Patrol
CENTCOM — Central Command
CIA — Central Intelligence Agency
CJCS — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
CNN — Cable News Network
CNO — Chief of Naval Operations
CO — Commanding Officer
COB — Chief of the Boat
CPA — Closest Point of Approach
CRRC — Combat Rubber Raiding Craft, phonetically spoken as SIRK
CSG — Carrier Strike Group
CT — Cryptologic Technician
CVN — Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier
DShK — A Russian 12.7mm machine gun. In Russian it stands for “Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny” and is translated into English as “Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre.”
GBU — Guided Bomb Unit
GPS — Global Positioning System
Growler — Electronic warfare variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet
Hadiths — Written reports of statements or actions of Muhammad, or of his tacit approval of something said or done in his presence
Halal — A term designating any object or an action as permissible according to Islamic law
Hijab — A term used to describe both the traditional head covering worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general
HUMINT — Human Intelligence
IAEA — International Atomic Energy Agency
IAF — Israeli Air Force
IED — Improvised Explosive Device
IR-40 — Iranian 40 megawatt (thermal) heavy water reactor
IRGC — Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, aka Pasdaran
JO — Junior Officer
Ka-bar — U.S. military fighting/utility knife
Klick — Slang for kilometer
KL — Iranian copy of the Russian AK-47 assault rifle
KPH — Kilometers per hour
MBITR — Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio
MEK — People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran. In Farsi, it stands for “Mujahedeen-e- Khalq.”
MG-24 — A Russian submarine deployed acoustic countermeasure. The Russian designation means “drifting compact device active sonar interference.”
MG-519 Arfa — Mine-hunting/collision avoidance sonar on Russian submarines
MGK-400 Rubikon — Sonar suite on Russian Project 877 Kilo-class submarines
NAVSEA — Naval Sea Systems Command
NAVSPECWARCOM — Naval Special Warfare Command
NGA — National Geospatial Agency
NIC — National Intelligence Counsel
NIE — National Intelligence Estimate
NIO — National Intelligence Officer
NOFORN — Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals
NSA — National Security Agency
OIC — Officer in Charge
ONI — Office of Naval Intelligence
OOD — Officer of the Deck
PKM — Russian 7.62mm light machine gun. In Russian, it stands for “Pulemyot Kalashnikova. Modernizirovanny” and is translated into English as “Kalashnikov’s Machinegun Modernized.”
PNG — Persona Non Grata
