A former infantryman in the United States Marine Corps, Adam Schwarze joined the US Navy in 2012. Commissioned as a Naval Special Warfare officer, Adam Schwarze serves with the Navy SEALs in Honolulu.

Beyond the rigorous training to prepare them for special operations, Naval Special Warfare combatant-craft (SWCC) crewmembers complete additional training that qualifies them to transport SEALs to and from classified missions sites. In July 2021, a female sailor became the first woman to complete the 37-week SWCC course. This designation qualifies her to operate boats transporting Navy SEALs and to conduct other classified missions at sea.

Just a few years since military combat posts were open to women, this sailor is joining one of the three special boat teams associated with Naval Special Warfare. According to military policy for special operations forces, she has not been identified publicly by name. Typically, while approximately 300 sailors enroll in the SWCC course each year, only 70 complete it.

A US Navy SEAL officer, Adam Schwarze was active with the US Marines over the course of a decade before joining the Navy through the Naval Special Warfare program. Engaged in studies at Harvard University, Adam Schwarze is pursuing an international studies master’s degree and has undertaken certification in nuclear deterrence.

As detailed in the Department of Defense (DOD) News in 2020, an ongoing “nuclear triad” modernization process enjoys solid bipartisan support. This encompasses intercontinental ballistic missiles, bombers, and submarines, as well as control systems. One area of debate centers on the development of a separate low-yield class of tactical nuclear warhead, the W76-2. This could be deployed in situations such as a nuclear warhead on a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

According to W76-2 proponents, such a system would demonstrate to potential adversaries that even limited nuclear attacks would offer no practical benefit. Uncontrolled nuclear escalation would be the result of any attack, with many of the adversary’s cities hit. With this deterrence in place, they argue that America’s well established “no use first” policy would be solidified and nuclear war become even less likely.

After 10 years as a Marine, Adam Schwarze joined the US Navy as a Naval Special Warfare Officer in 2012. Meritoriously promoted multiple times, Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze is stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The only military branch to conduct operations from sea, air, and land, the Navy SEALs evolved out of underwater demolition teams formed during World War II. Originally used in Europe, these teams, known as UDTs, became critical in the amphibious landings required in the Pacific theater. In 1943, poor intelligence and lack of understanding of tides and beachhead conditions led to mass casualties at a landing in Tarawa, which prompted the need for formalized amphibious combat training.

A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Draper Kauffman created the UDT framework, recruiting the Navy’s best men and putting them through a series of courses involving swimming, explosives training, and small-craft handling. The UDTs’ first large-scale deployment came during the attack on the Mariana Islands and the Battle of Saipan in June 1944, and they continued to play a role in every significant US amphibious assault. In March and April 1945, nearly 1,000 UDT members participated in an operation in Okinawa. Once the war ended, UDT 21 was the first US military unit deployed to Japan, accepting the surrender of a Japanese unit.

A Hawaii-based lieutenant in the United States Navy, Adam Schwarze previously spent a decade as an infantryman in the Marine Corps. To stay informed on issues that affect veterans. Adam Schwarze maintains membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

To support and advocate for veterans’ access to high-quality and timely healthcare, the VFW publishes reports on the Veterans Choice Program, a US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program that allows veterans to receive care from a community provider rather than waiting for a VA appointment.

In the past, VFW reports have helped effect changes including refined definitions of geographic eligibility. Previously, distance was defined “as the crow flies,” which prevented many veterans from access to VA benefits at community clinics. The new calculations considered driving distance from the veteran’s permanent residence to the closest VA facility. According to the revised criteria, any veteran whose permanent residence is more than 40 miles driving distance from the closest medical facility with a full-time primary care physician is eligible to participate in the program.

After a decade as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps, Adam Schwarze joined the Navy in 2012. Currently commissioned as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, Adam Schwarze serves with the Navy SEALs in Honolulu.

To celebrate the rich history of the Navy SEALs, the National Navy SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, Florida, provides visitors with access to information, equipment, and artifacts. For an especially intimate experience, the museum offers tours led by elite museum docents. Named Special Access Programs (SAPs), these tours provide visitors with behind-the-scenes access to private areas, highly classified information, and exclusive features of the museum.

Offered just twice a week for 90 minutes, the tours feature SAP tour docents sharing unique SEAL stories and histories. Visitors are encouraged to preserve memories by taking group photos in restricted-access zones of the museum. Tour groups are limited to four people. For more information about SAPs and other programs, visit www.navysealmuseum.org.

Since 2012, Adam Schwarze has served as a Naval Special Warfare Officer in Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition to working toward a master of liberal arts at Harvard Extension School with certificates in international security and nuclear deterrence, Adam Schwarze maintains membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

The VFW plays a key role in advocating for legislation that protects and serves United States veterans. The organization supports several key pieces of legislation currently under consideration, including the TEAM Act. Created to provide critical reform in the way the Veterans Administration (VA) grants benefits, the law would specifically help expand healthcare access for veterans with health issues related to exposure to toxic substances.

The TEAM Act would establish an independent commission to review incidents as well as conduct studies on the relationship between exposure and disease. Additionally, the legislation would make more veterans eligible for healthcare enrollment due to exposure-induced conditions. This would particularly benefit veterans who are in dire need of treatment but have not yet completed the VA disability claims process.