After the marksmanship training, Valkyrie returned to instruct the next phase: hand-to-hand combat, knife and garrote use, assassination, and sentry elimination techniques. Her movements were fast and agile, and Owen couldn't help but wonder if her skill with knives came from the same dexterity she used when assembling weapons.
When it came to knife combat, Valkyrie focused on standard combat daggers, not the flashy karambits Owen was more familiar with. In special operations forces, a dagger wasn't just a fighting weapon—it was also a survival tool. So the knives issued to operatives were always multipurpose, able to serve both as weapons and tools—not something cool-looking but impractical.
Owen studied diligently for two days and found that military close-combat techniques differed significantly from what he had learned before. His skills mostly came from the Major Crimes Unit and Monica, who had taught him law enforcement Krav Maga. Only a small portion of his training came from ASH, who had taught him the military version of Krav Maga.
ASH had once been a member of Israel's "Hummingbird" unit, and his hand-to-hand combat style reflected that. As it happened, the SEALs also trained in Krav Maga, making it the same core system Owen already knew.
In truth, there wasn't a huge difference between the police and military versions of Krav Maga—the core concepts were the same. The military style simply struck harder and aimed for lethal zones, while the law enforcement version focused on subduing the target with less-lethal force.
As for knife work, Valkyrie's methods were surprisingly similar to those Owen had seen in McCall's CIA training tapes. It made sense—CIA field techniques likely evolved from military close combat.
During sentry elimination drills, Owen favored two methods.
One was to stab a target in the kidney from behind, then follow up with a strike to the heart. It was a bit more involved, but it maximized stealth. A kidney wound wouldn't kill immediately, but the pain would be enough to render a person unconscious—ensuring no sound was made—then the heart strike would finish the job.
The second method involved slipping the blade under the ribs at an upward angle—avoiding bone and puncturing the heart or lungs. Like the first, it prevented noise: a collapsed lung caused by pressure imbalance would mute any screams, and the internal bleeding wouldn't leave blood traces or scent at the scene.
Even during land warfare training, physical conditioning and underwater drills continued to be interspersed. Every day brought random tasks, some solo, others requiring teamwork.
As SEALs, one of their core skills was attacking enemy ships from underwater. This technique was drilled extensively during basic training.
Owen's task that day was a ship infiltration. The trainees paddled their inflatable boats two miles from an enemy port, then silently submerged, swimming the distance using only a depth gauge and compass.
As they neared the docked ship, the light dimmed. The steel hull blocked moonlight, streetlamps, and all ambient light.
Owen moved toward the keel—the darkest spot beneath the ship—where it was pitch black and the noise from the engine thundered through the water. It was easy to get disoriented, to fail the mission.
Every SEAL knew: under the keel, in the blackest moments of the mission, you had to stay calm. That was when you relied on every ounce of training, fitness, and inner strength.
Owen carefully navigated through the darkness, reached the designated spot, attached a dummy explosive, set the timer, and swam away.
Twenty minutes later, the receiver on the instructor's monitor registered all five simulated charges going off successfully. The mission was complete.
In general, land warfare training was better than the brutal conditioning phases. It focused more on basic military competencies. After five weeks of foundational work, the final five weeks focused on team operations—integrating everything they had learned into full scenarios.
The content covered team tactics, weapons usage, rappelling, night ops, long-range recon and patrol, intelligence gathering, helicopter insertion and extraction.
Instructors would create mission simulations—sometimes splitting the trainees into opposing teams. They'd reenact the entire spectrum of operations, drilling until the reactions became automatic.
The SEAL model emphasized cross-functionality: every operator had a specialty, but all were expected to cover for their teammates in a pinch. That was the purpose of all this training.
Their main vehicle for interception missions was the semi-rigid inflatable boat. The MK5 patrol boat was their high-speed maritime transport—and its brutal vibrations during training had even caused injuries.
During this final BUD/S phase, very few trainees were eliminated.
But standards remained sky-high. They had to demonstrate excellent marksmanship at pistol and rifle ranges, show thorough knowledge of military-grade explosives and munitions (including grenades, shaped charges), and perform well in complex team-based tactical problems.
They were also required to be familiar with SEAL-standard weaponry: HK MP5 9mm SMG, SIG Sauer P226, Colt M1911, M14 7.62mm rifle, HK17 Mod 0, Remington 700 sniper rifle, Barrett M82 series, and the McMillan .50 caliber bolt-action sniper rifle.
In addition, they had to be proficient with SEAL team-issued gear like the AN/PVS-7 night vision goggles and the AN/PVS-4 night scopes.
Only after meeting all these standards were they considered BUD/S graduates. By that point, most had already been eliminated. Passing BUD/S brought them one step closer to becoming full-fledged SEALs.
Following BUD/S, the remaining candidates headed to the Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, for basic parachute training.
SEAL parachute qualification took three weeks, during which they learned how to jump with different parachutes under varying weather and altitude conditions.
The first week focused on physical training—barely worth mentioning for those who had survived BUD/S.
The second week was ground-based skills training.
They learned how to pack and handle parachutes, wait for jump commands, approach the door, follow jump orders, emergency procedures, and landing techniques. It was mostly mock training on land to prepare for the real thing.
Even so, one trainee broke his leg during a dry-run jump and was cut from the program. Sometimes, Owen felt fate was cruel—he, a man who could never stay with the SEALs, had made it this far, while others with dreams of service lost everything to one small mistake. Life could be bitterly ironic.
The third week was the real deal: five actual jumps—three during the day, one at dusk, and one full-combat gear jump. All trainees completed them safely. With enough preparation, parachuting wasn't particularly difficult—and Owen had experience from before.
With that, another critical step was complete.
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