Best Defense congratulations to Eric Stratton III

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 11:20 AM Share

I haven't seen it in print, but I hear through the grapevine -- and not from him -- that Eric, whom many of you know from the comments section, recently was named NAVSOC Medic of the Year. That is pretty impressive, given the role the SEALs have played in recent years in Afghanistan.

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EXPLORE:NORTH AMERICA, MILITARY

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RUBBER DUCKY

4:32 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Second the motion...

Best wishes to a thoughtful friend.

GOLD STAR FATHER

4:42 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Sierra Hotel ESIII

Well done.

JPWREL

5:36 PM ET

January 17, 2012

BRAVO!

ERIC is superb! I strongly second the motions of GSF and RD! ERIC is a classic example of the outstanding people that the NSW (SEAL) community attracts and I for one am intensely proud of him. His performance and reputation has even made it through the SEAL grapevine from the east coast teams to the west coast teams and that means even more than what it seems.

CHARLES IN AMERICA

7:19 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Amazing stuff

Great accomplishment - and what adds to it is that we get his musings right here on a regular basis. I like a lot of what he has to say and find a lot of wisdom in his comments. I copy & paste or write stuff down from him and others on a regular basis. I like to think I'm a reasonably smart dude, but Eric and others remind me there's so much more I need to learn. Very grateful for exposure to a lot of the stuff from him and others on this site.

Congrats Eric.

In a prior life I went to BUD/S, Class 207. Got hurt, got dropped from training. Ended up getting my fancy diplomas and joined the Army via OCS.

Always treasured that experience but always regretted not making it. I'd enlist for 30 years as an E-1 if I knew they'd let me stay until I finished.

Very fond of that time in my life, and the SpecWar community. Almost every encounter I had was a good one. Glad to see Eric is continuing that trend.

Bravo Zulu!

_B_

7:19 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Congratulations!

HUNTER

7:37 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Congrats

Congrats. That's a great honor...and I mean it.

64DRIVER

8:02 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Congratulations

Quite an honor, well done. My unit supported that community last time around in Afghanistan, and it was a great experience. My troopers and I learned a lot.

MICHAEL VREDENBURG

9:20 PM ET

January 17, 2012

BZ, Doc!

BEARCAT

9:24 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Congrats ESIII !!

I half expect you to weigh in here with a hearty rebuttal at any moment!?!?!

TYRTAIOS

9:59 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Frogman : )

Also, in addtion to Otter's award, the Chief was seriously wounded late last year in a fire-fight in Afghanistan, but obviously lived to tell the tale. . .tough frogman ain't he. . .which goes to the point, this award didn't come cheap!

Toujours Fidel

RVN SF VET

11:03 PM ET

January 17, 2012

YEAH, BUT?

He must goof off a lot because look at how well read he is! Also, he tends to remember what he reads. Further, he understands what he reads. So, how could he find time to do all this SEAL stuff and then be selected as the best NSW medic?

I'm thinking this reading should be getting in his way. You take him on a raid and his LED reading light gives your position away. That's probably how he got blown-up. You're on the target in the collection phase and he's sitting there reading Camus.

The underlying question is, "Should SEALs be permitted to read?" And if his reading isn't bad enough; he then shares his insights with us. It might be OK for Hunter, who has nothing else to do, but a deployed SEAL?

HUNTER

12:41 AM ET

January 18, 2012

Caught me

I come here to read crap I don't have to, to get away from the crap I DO HAVE TO read.

LITTLEMANTATE

11:23 PM ET

January 17, 2012

Congratulations, ES.

ES is a gentleman and must be credited for his noble sentiments.

I still wish you and your fellows were members of a force that was only a border and coast patrol.

KAYKURI

2:03 AM ET

January 18, 2012

?????!

Drive on, Eric.

John

KAYKURI

2:06 AM ET

January 18, 2012

Ack...

That was meant to be "congratulations!" in Korean, just for variety's sake. Definitely not meant to convey surprise, as it appears...

How about a hoo-ah! instead? Are we still saying that?

Seriously... cheers.

MIKE D

2:18 AM ET

January 18, 2012

Congratulations

Great Accomplishment ! I hope he will continue to call folks out and post great comments. I enjoy being called out by ESIII from time to time.

VIC LESPERANCE

12:29 PM ET

January 18, 2012

Well Done

Congratulations on a job well done!

RABBIT

1:08 PM ET

January 18, 2012

Excellent work

I'm happy for you, I really am. Congratulations, and I look forward to your continued contributions on the blog too.

DRIFTER83

3:43 PM ET

January 18, 2012

Congrats

FG42

11:03 PM ET

January 18, 2012

Good work, ESIII. My only

Good work, ESIII. My only criticism is that you didn't choose to go with the USMC. You know, the Navy Corpsman ("Doc") is a key and much beloved member of the Marine combat unit (22 of the 200 Marine Medal of Honor winners since WW1 were Navy Corpsmen). You would make a fine Marine! And don't pay any attention to RVN SF VET....the Doc in my 4th Force Recon Co was very literate and, I must admit, was smarter than the rest of us. Semper Fi!

LUVMY91STANG

3:55 AM ET

January 19, 2012

Bravo Zulu Eric!