Running in the shadows. (War & Readiness).

They're highly trained and highly motivated. They are the sea lions and their trainers who make up the Shallow Water Intruder Detection System (SWIDS). Although an unconventional tool, the SWIDS program is a crucial part of the ongoing war on terrorism, both at home and in the Central Command Area of Responsibility.

As the swimmer makes his way through the dark waters of the Persian Gulf, only one thing is on his mind -- destroying those he hates. He tows behind him a deadly package of explosives to attach to one of the haze-gray hulls in the distance. As he gets closer, he is confident the dark night and the dark water will hide his passage.

Suddenly, huge eyes and sharp teeth block his view. It's something he has never seen before in these waters, but as quickly it appeared, the apparition is gone. Then he feels something hit his leg and suddenly he's caught in a spring clamp. Moments later bright lights shine his way and a boat full of armed Sailors pull into view. Divers drop over the side and take him into custody before he can deliver his deadly package. Once again, Zak has done his job.

Zak, a 375-pound California sea lion, is part of a team of California sea lions and their trainers, from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), San Diego's Shallow Water Intruder Detection System program deployed to the Central Command Area Of Responsibility (CENTCOM AOR) as underwater sentries to protect ships from terrorists.

"If you were a bad guy and saw a big wet smelly black thing with big eyes and big sharp teeth patrolling the area you wanted to get into, you'd think twice about going in the waters," said CDR Jon Wood, Naval Forces Central Command Special Operations Branch head.

The sea lions are trained to attach a spring camp to intruders. Able to swim in short bursts of up to 40 knots, the sea lions are so good at their job that the clamp is on the swimmer before they are aware of it.

For the past 44 years, the Navy has been studying and working with mammals, such as Zak, through the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program. (Begun in 1959 at Marineland of the Pacific with a Navy scientist and a Pacific white-sided dolphin named Notty, the Navy studied the hydrodynamics of the dolphin.) By understanding how dolphins move in the water, perhaps they could improve torpedo, ship and submarine designs.

As time went on, California sea lions and Beluga whales were added to the program and trained to deliver equipment to divers, locate and retrieve, equipment, detect and mark underwater mines and conduct underwater surveillance.

According to Wood, sea lions are now used almost exclusively because of their very sensitive underwater directional hearing and low-light level vision. They are easily trained for a variety of tasks, and are capable of repetitive deep diving.

"These particular sea lions are Mark V animals that were initially trained to do deep water recovery, but have been retrained in an enhanced capability," said Wood. "They can actually find swimmers that may be a threat to our ships and can swim along the piers and in the shallows to locate things most of us would never see or hear," Wood continued.

The Navy saves a lot of money by using the sea lions to help recover things that have fallen in deep water such as practice torpedoes and mines that can then be re-used.

"When the focus shifted to provide force protection out in the field, we decided to shift their training focus in that direction, said Brenda Bryan, SPAWAR, San Diego's head animal trainer.

Navy marine mammals have also been used to search for people and objects like cars under the water. In 1993, a Navy-trained sea lion in Charleston, S.C., helped the local sheriff's department find a car that had fallen into a river. Although human divers had tried many times without much luck, the sea lion, with its acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness in the water found it one the first try.

"A lot of hours go into the training it usually takes a year and a half of training until the animals will be ready for SWIDS said Bryan.

"In the beginning, most of it has to do with getting them used to wearing a harness and holding a bite plate in their month. Then it progresses to attaching a device to an intruder," she continued.

The close relationship the sea lions have with their trainers is what keeps them from just swimming away. The life they lead is good, since they don't have to worry about predators and they get to take naps more than wild sea lions would.

"Mainly we build relationships with them through the years. They've learned to trust us and they see that all positive things come from being with us" said Bryan. "It's their own choice, and they choose to come back to us every single day."

Each time a SWIDS team deploys, an Army veterinarian with a mobile veterinary hospital is sent out with them to provide constant care for the animals.

They receive frequent physicals, are inspected daily for nicks and cuts they might receive swimming among the piers and ships and their diets are strictly monitored. Each sea lion gets a set amount of food each day to make sure they maintain their weight.

"The animals are treated incredibly well," said Wood. "Their food, restaurant-grade fish, is flown in regularly from the states."

"These guys have a great reputation for not being aggressive said Bryan, "but any wild animal can become aggressive at any time, so you really need to be aware of what you're doing."

A sea lionis demeanor is similar to that of dogs they're out to please their trainer they really enjoy the work they do and they look forward to going out on patrol every day.

"The biggest reward of working with these animals is that they're fun to be around and always out to please you." Said Bryan. "When you're both having a good time, it's just completely fun."

Although an unconventional tool, the SWIDS program is a crucial part of the ongoing war on terrorism. "The capabilities that we're demonstrating here with SWIDS is very applicable to homeland defense and the protection of our troops and ports overseas," said Wood. "In today's high-threat environment, I see this program growing."

Houlihan is a photojournalist assigned to All Hands.

Article Details

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Author:	Houlihan, Bob
Publication:	All Hands
Date:	May 1, 2003
Words:	1090
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