Across the street from downtown’s Santa Fe Depot is a 10,000-square-foot building that provides its own kind of transportation. Here visitors are transported into the formerly secret world of the United States Navy’s Sea, Air and Land teams — the SEALs.
“A museum’s job is to present facts, not opinions but facts,” said Brian “Beef” Drechsler, the executive director of the Navy SEAL Museum, San Diego. He’s a retired captain and SEAL himself.
“When you look at Naval special warfare and 80 years of rich, adaptive, innovative history and telling that story accurately, I do think is very important,” Drechsler said.
One of the first things you see after entering this two story museum is an immersive theater experience. Three huge screens in front of you and to your sides show a film of the intense training that turns men into SEALs, right here in Coronado.
Drechsler said on average, only about one in five that try to become a SEAL, actually make it.
“Right now, it’s 70 weeks just to get a SEAL trident, and then you do an 18-month training cycle, so two and a half years of training before your first deployment,” Drechsler said.
As you wind your way through the first floor, you come to two interactive touch screens; it is the museum’s wall of remembrance. The screens let you see and read the stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“We’re trying to do things in a blended format, so there’s written word, there’s artifacts,” Drechsler said.
The museum features lots of artifacts — think equipment the SEALS use to accomplish their missions. There is high-powered weaponry and unique equipment like a Diver Propulsion Device, where a SEAL lies on top of a little sub with a propeller.
There is also a Seal Delivery Vehicle. The one in the museum hangs from the ceiling on the second floor. It’s so big that it had to be brought in using a crane through a window. All of it is critical for clandestine underwater transport. As important as those are, they are technically not considered high-tech.
But there is something else that is about as high-tech as it gets: a virtual reality mission where you sit in what’s called a 4-D chair wearing VR goggles to experience what it’s like being a SEAL on a secret mission. This mission involves rescuing hostages on a tanker. It feels unnervingly real.
Drechsler said when the museum opened last October, he hoped people would like it. Months later he was able to say “We’re getting fantastic feedback.”
He said from active duty to veterans to just everyday folks, people are loving what they see here.
Drechsler said part of what makes the experience of this place so special is the volunteers that interact with visitors.
“You got parents that love bringing their children here. They talk to our docents. Most of them are former SEALs and former SWCC with vast experience, and they can tell them about the teamwork, the discipline and what it takes to be part of this great community,” he said.
The SWCC Drechsler mentioned refers to Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen, the companion organization to the SEALs. The groups trace their origins back to the 1940s, with specially organized maritime commando units during World War II.
During your visit here, an overarching theme becomes apparent: service above self. Drechsler called it the story of common people with an uncommon desire to serve.
“You have to want it for the right reasons, so I think it’s that desire to serve, that commitment to the team and the desire to be part of something bigger than yourself, is absolutely required to be in this organization,” the former SEAL commander said.
Drechsler said he and his staff are more than happy to share the process of applying for service in the SEALs, but the goal for visitors when they leave is inspiration to serve the community.
A large video screen features retired SEALS talking about the importance of service. Next to it, a smaller interactive screen gives suggestions on the innumerable ways we can all serve.
“Hey, the SEALs are hiring if you want to join, but so is the Navy, the Army, the Marine Corps, and if that doesn’t interest you, be a first responder. Volunteer at an assisted living facility, mentor, start a neighborhood watch, so it’s about serving something, being part of something bigger than yourself,” Drechsler said.
An unexpected message from a museum — come to learn about Navy SEALS, leave with a desire to make the world a better place.
