The Sole Survivor

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boondocksaint375
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Late to this thread, but thanks for posting that, Boon.

This might seem like a small thing.....I have a huge problem with certain newspapers (Washington Post and NY Time to name two) that refuse to capitalize SEAL. I actually had an e-mail argument with the NYTimes public editor about it in 2005:

Subject: The correct use of 'Navy SEAL'

Good Day,

This is something that has bothered me over the years whenever I see it in the Times. When writing about Naval Special Forces, the Times refers to them as "Navy Seals."

Perhaps you don't know the origins of the Navy SEAL. SEAL is an acronym for Sea Air and Land, and therefore should always be capitalized. Please honor these very brave men by spelling their name right.

Thank you for your time,
Dawn xxxxx




Subj: 7/7 OPE Response Re: 7/5 The correct use of 'Navy SEAL'
Date: Thursday, July 7, 2005 11:26:15 AM
From: public@nytimes.com
To: Dawn@aol.com



Dear Ms. xxxxx,

Perhaps the relevant entries in the paper's stylebook will clear this up for you:

"Navy Seals is the informal name for the Sea-Air-Land units, the Navy’s specialists in unconventional warfare. A member is not a Seal but an ensign, a seaman, etc., in the Seals. Also see Special Operations."

acronyms. An acronym is a word formed from the first letter (or letters) of each word in a series: NATO from North Atlantic Treaty Organization; radar from radio detection and ranging. (Unless pronounced as a word, an abbreviation is not an acronym.) When an acronym serves as a proper name and exceeds four letters, capitalize only the first letter: Unesco; Unicef. Also see abbreviations and company and corporation names.

Sincerely,
Joe Plambeck
Office of the Public Editor
The New York Times

Note: The public editor's opinions are his own and do not represent those of The New York Times.



Mr. Plambeck,

I refer you to these official US government websites:
http://www.seal.navy.mil/
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/personnel/seals/seals.html
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20050706-3888.html

Do you see 'Navy Seals' anywhere? NO.
A member's rank is ensign, petty officer, etc., you're correct, but their designation is Navy SEAL.
There is no 'informal' use of Navy SEAL. SEAL may not be a true acronym, but it is the way is the US Navy and the Department of Defense refers to the members of Naval Special Warfare. But I guess the New York Times knows better.

These men don't ask for recognition, in fact, they shy away from it. The least the New York Times can do is show some respect for their sacrifices and refer to these brave men the way 99.9% of the world does, US Navy SEALs.

Dawn xxxxx
Click to expand...

Of course I didn't get a response to that last e-mail. :rolleyes: :mad:
 
Hey in Poland the media uses the phrase" 'commandos' (komandos in Polish) to every soldier that wears a balaclava or traines H2H combat :doh:

The news guys usually are sooooo dumb.

You know the thread that Boon made about "The Navy neads more SEALs" ?
They made it in Polish and it was sooooooo fucking corny I just had to say "FUCK !"

You can't beat them, belive me I tried.
 
I've written to the NYT a couple of times over a quite major mistake they repeatedly make (they say aparthied ended in South Africa in 1994 with the ANC coming to power, when in fact the last aparthied laws were repealed in 1992) a big mistake for a paper that is talking specificly about the history of this country, I recieved no response and they continue with their false history.
 
Newspapers and other print media have different style manuals they use to try to maintain consistency and correctness. We used the Chicago Manual of Style when I was in school; I don't know what the Times uses. One of the manuals we use in the Army is AR 25-50. The media is not bound by the same writing guidance that the military is.

For example, the rank "sergeant" is abbreviated SGT in the Army, but in print you will always see it "Sgt." or something close thereto.

The military abreviates "Central Command" as CENTCOM, but, as the response states, When an acronym serves as a proper name and exceeds four letters, capitalize only the first letter: So you'll see "Centcom" in print a lot.

Also, while you will see "Marines" captialized when talking about individuals (because it's a proper noun), "soldier" in most cases is not. I capitalize "Soldiers" in my writing, knowing that it is incorrect, because I believe it is appropriate to treat the word as a proper noun. Same with Sailor, etc.

I do think the editor's own words prove your point though- SEAL is in fact an acronym, and by his style manual's own guidance, it should be capitalized.

What's my solution? Change the freakin' style manual and stop pissing us off.
 
Marauder06 said:
I do think the editor's own words prove your point though- SEAL is in fact an acronym, and by his style manual's own guidance, it should be capitalized.

What's my solution? Change the freakin' style manual and stop pissing us off.
Click to expand...

But if they have to make it plural and say 'SEALs'? Then that's five letters. :rolleyes:
I hate the press.
 
this video is a continuation of the video of shane patton and other navy seals going through jump school. i had helped shane create this video and the arnold schwarzenegger thing at the end was just for laughs.
Click to expand...

[youtube]jnReNhPTqLs[/youtube]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnReNhPTqLs"]YouTube - Navy SEAL Skydiving Shane Patton and SDVT-1 Tears Of The Sun[/ame]

Shane Patton and some other Navy Seals in jump school. Great skydiving video. Look up "Shane Patton" on any search engine and read his story. He was a U.S. Navy Seal and was KIA June 28, 2005 in Afghanistan. Also, the new book "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell is in stores now and tells the story of what happened to Shane and the other Navy Seals on June 28, 2005
Click to expand...
[youtube]HIFPJ8wVh5o[/youtube]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIFPJ8wVh5o"]YouTube - Navy Seals Skydiving Shane Patton[/ame]
 
The second one was darned pretty, thanks for sharing that.

I'm in the middle of reading Marcus' book, I put it away last night, not necessarily bedtime reading. But it was nice to see a video of Shane enjoying himself.
 
Shane Patton was a fanatic about VW bugs. I would yak with him about the VW scene now and again when we would cross paths at the Team. We heard the news from the XO out on a sub during SDV OPS. Sad day.The list held the names we all had known. I remember coming back to the team area and driving by Shane's Bug sitting in the parking lot. The tires had gone flat and the cover had blown off from the trades that blew late in the day. A monument for me. Even to this day it is a reminder of those times talking about engines, body work or whatever. I heard they sent it back to the mainland to his Dad. I hope he restored it to its elegant condition that Shane wanted to do after his deployment. Memories...
 

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