Navy SEALs, SWCCs Meet Prospective NFL Players

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William S. Parker, Naval Special Warfare Group 2 Public Affairs

BALTIMORE (NNS) -- Members of the East Coast SEAL (sea, air, and land) and SWCC (special warfare combat crewman) scout team met with prospective National Football League players at the Eastern Regional NFL Combine in Baltimore Feb 11.

The Navy has formed a mutual partnership with the NFL to raise career opportunity awareness about the U.S Navy and its special warfare programs for potential non-selected NFL draftees.

"Unfortunately, not all the players will get a chance to enter the 2012 NFL draft," said Master Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Shawn Johnson. "The SEAL and SWCC programs offer these guys other potential opportunities that they may not have thought about before."

At the conclusion of each of the offensive and defensive tryout sessions, the team of Navy SEALs and SWCCs presented a brief on special warfare programs, and spoke about the linkages between special warfare operators and professional athletes.

"They make sacrifices, they work in a team oriented environment, they know how to push themselves and train towards a goal," said Johnson. "They're characteristics we look for in SEAL and SWCC candidates."

The SEAL and SWCC scout team discussed how a football player's background correlates with the characteristics and values of potential SEAL candidates.

"Our partnership with the SEAL and SWCCs scout team is a great thing," said Stephen Austin, NFL director of operations for the NFL League Office in New York. "It's implanting a thought that may enable these players to commit to an even higher goal"