I served in the U.S. Navy, but never in the “regular” Navy. I was part of a very small community within the Navy that performed decidedly non-“big Navy” operations. I did do some time on a handful of big Navy ships, but never enough time to become a shellback (one who has crossed the equator, […]
About Frumentarius
‘The Expanse:’ Politics, mystery, and sci-fi across the universe
LifestyleMy cousin recently informed me that she was enjoying my hot takes here on Sandboxx covering music, television, books, and film. After thanking her profusely for her encouragement — I do very much enjoy churning out these reviews, and pretending like my opinion matters, and might even sway one person to check out a cool […]
Hooyah! — the origins of the Navy SEAL battle cry
LifestyleHooah… Oorah… Hooyah… Few sounds grate on the ears of the non-initiated more than the service battle cry. If you have ever been around U.S. Army personnel for an extended period of time, for example, then you have surely heard “hooah” (rhymes with Tua, as in the NFL quarterback) flung about ad nauseam to indicate […]
How the Navy SEALs could build better leaders (by copying the Fire Service)
CareerThe fire service in the United States has a lot in common—organizationally—with the U.S. military. I should preface that statement, though, by admitting that my experience with both professions is limited to a relatively small subset of each. In the Navy, I served in the SEAL Teams, a small community that cannot and should not […]
‘Ted Lasso’ is the show we all need right now
LifestyleI was slightly late to the “Ted Lasso” party. I did not get Apple TV+ until just a few weeks ago, when I bought a new IPad Pro to replace my 12-year-old MacBook Pro, which is sadly on its last legs. The Apple streaming service came free for a year with the IPad purchase— boo […]
How a single frat-house tourniquet helped the Soviets kill American spies
FeaturedA bizarrely ironic tale came to light recently in the wake of the publication of an opinion piece written by Doctors Frank K. Butler and John B. Holcomb in the Wall Street Journal on December 20th, 2020. The original opinion piece by Butler and Holcomb (full disclosure: Butler is the father of this author) makes […]
Why is Saudi Arabia recruiting former Navy SEAL contractors?
FeaturedIt appears that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking to send some of its military members to U.S. Navy SEAL training (BUD/S) and they are really shooting for the moon in terms of seeking out former U.S. Navy SEALs to prepare them. According to a source familiar with a contract entered into to train […]
A Navy SEAL’s ode to his BUD/S instructors
FeaturedI wrote an article here a few weeks back about former Navy SEAL and BUD/S instructor Terry Patstone that made me start thinking about all of my BUD/S instructors, from First through Third Phases of the training. I was mentally trying to make a list of them and grasping on to any details I could […]
Amazon Prime’s ‘The Boys’ is a diabolical take on the Super-Hero trope
LifestyleThe first thing you will notice if you decide to embark on the hilarious, but dark, cinematic journey that is “The Boys” on Amazon Prime is just how many human heads are destroyed in the course of two seasons (the second season premiered on September 4th, 2020). They are manually crushed, exploded, shot, melted, smashed […]
The epitome of the Navy SEAL BUD/S Instructor: Class 234’s Terry Patstone
FeaturedThe other day, my Dad sent me and my cousin a link to a YouTube video of SEAL BUD/S Instructor, Terry Patstone. My cousin recently completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, and we all three (plus, my uncle) had been waxing nostalgic about our own various BUD/S experiences at a family get together to celebrate […]
