RT Idaho's 1-0 John "Tilt" Stryker Meyer's life and experience with his issued Seiko 6119-8100 shaped the specifications of the M38 Series 1 watch. Through his books and our interviews with Tilt, a New Jersey native, we learned that he grew up body surfing with his father at the shore. It was something that he continued to do both during and after the war. In his book “On the Ground” Tilt recalls body surfing at Da Nang’s FOB 4 on the same beach that the NVA sappers had used to infiltrate the FOB on the tragic night of August 23rd 1968.

• Improved materials and water resistance: The tropical climate of Vietnam and Tilt's experiences surfing with his watch were the reasons we upgraded the reference model’s plated brass snap back case and friction crown to an all stainless steel construction case featuring a screw down case back and crown. Just for good measure the water resistance was increased to 100 meters/330 feet making the CISO M38 a capable all-rounder. 
• Re-creating the case: The bottom line is the Seiko 6119-8100 got the job done. While we incorporated the improvements above we also retained Seiko's signature and proven 4-piece case construction. Having worked with and studied Seiko construction principles for more than 20 years we built the M38 the way Seiko would have done but better than they would ever allow a 5-series watch to become. The upgrades include a sapphire box crystal with AR coating, solid-end piece screw pin bracelet, assembly by hand in Japan, and final regulation in the USA.
  
• Strap choice: Tilt's 6119 survived 2 tours in Vietnam with MACV-SOG but he lost the watch when his issued single pass black plastic strap broke during a body surfing session off Osborne Beach, NJ after the war. This story is the reason the CISO M38 comes with a single-pass Maratac nylon strap along side the solid-link stainless steel bracelet. The Maratac nylon strap is known for its robustness, affordable price, comfort, and unlike most woven fabric straps will not stretch when wet.

The goal with the CISO M38 was to deliver a watch that would serve as an enduring tribute to men of MACV-SOG. Toward that end a portion of the sale of each watch is donated to the Special Operations Assoc. (SOA) which was founded by veterans of MACV-SOG to support their own. Together we've raised more than $23,000 so far for the SOA of which $15,000 has already been forwarded to the SOA. Why did we do this? For me this is personal but I'll cover that in a future edition of the Newsletter/blog.

Glossary:
RT = Recon Team
1-0 = The overall recon team leader
"Tilt" = Each SOG man selected their own callsign. 

What else is in the photo: 

• Montagnard bracelet: The friendship bracelet included in this photo above is meant to be broadly symbolic of the deep bonds and loyalties between the SOG men and all of their indigenous ("indig") team mates, not just the "Yards". That bond survived the war and the indig team members like Khanh "Cowboy" Doan (SOA Member #1233) that made it to the US after the fall of Saigon were welcomed into and supported by the SOA.
  
  
• Mister Freedom Tiger Stripe shorts: The Special Forces advisors made this South Vietnamese pattern into a symbol of elite status that endures into the modern age.  
  
  
• Yucca body surfing fins: Jon our Marketing Director Emeritus and SPAR team member is an avid body surfer and Yucca are his fins of choice.