Charles Matranga graduated from Sachem in 1987 and spent 26 years working in United States Naval Special Warfare Command. He’s one of the rare individuals to work, train and instruct as a U.S. Navy Seal.
He’s also passionate about his roots and loves the memories and lifelong lessons he learned at Sachem playing football for Fred Fusaro and wrestling for Jack Mahoney. It was a conversation with former Sachem teacher and coach Steve Hackett two years after he graduated from the Lake Ronkonkoma school that sent him on the path to service.
Sachem Alumni Association President/Founder and Sachem Report Publisher Chris Vaccaro caught up with Matranga to talk about what Sachem meant in his life and career development.
CV: We’ll start with the basic but most important question … what does Sachem mean to you?
CM: Growing up as a kid I was an average athlete and student. I was a wrestler and football player. The sports and community in Sachem together kept me on the right path. Knowing Coach Fusaro and knowing all those coaches, you didn’t want to upset them. I wasn’t a starter but I had a sense of team and wanted to be a part of it. That has never really left me. Mark Wojciechowski is one of my best friends. A lot of other coaches were mentors. Batewell, Roth, Murphy, Petillo, Hackett, Luisi, Tuttle. It was the Golden Era of Sachem Football. Everyone was such a part of it, even if you weren’t an all-star athlete. You pushed to be part of it at Sachem. To this day I connect back to the community when I’m home.
CV: Your senior football season was one of the best in Sachem history. What does that Suffolk County championship and Rutgers Trophy mean all these years later?
CM: Our team was stacked. We had a full offense and a full defense. Dave Shanahan, Wayne Wilson, Ralph Isernia, Marty Cummings, Curt Giacobbe, John Walsh. On defense we had unscored upon games. Billy and Kevin on the line. Frank Iacono at nose. Gary Beutel and Tony Gambino. A core of linebackers who were unstoppable. Jimmy Hackett, the Pandolf brothers. Fred Kemp. Paul Englehardt. Jimmy Crossan. One big name player after another.
CV: What was your path from Sachem to the U.S. Navy?
CM: I went to St. Johns for about two years. I was living in Flushing, working a full-time job at the airport. I wasn’t happy and I wasn’t doing well. I would come back to Sachem to work out in the weight room and sat down with Coach Hackett one day. He confided in me about his experience in Vietnam as a Marine. I was a pretty good runner and good swimmer. I did some research, went to the library and got some books. I wasn’t telling anyone, not even my family. I started to train. I started to get myself prepared if I decided to join. One day at work I was not liking what I was doing at the time, so I went to a Navy recruiter. It was around October 1989. I went to a recruiter and told them I want to see it in writing and want a guaranteed spot. I got my chance and signed in Patchogue, a month later on December 13, 1989.
I left to go to Brooklyn and it was my first plane flight to get to bootcamp in Orlando. Three or four months later I’m in San Diego going through BUDS – Basic Underwater Demolition Seal Training – in 1990. After I graduated BUDS, I took my first team assignment in Virginia Beach to train on mini submarines and launch out of the back of larger submarines. I did that for about seven years until 1997 when I moved to San Diego to be an instructor to teach.
CV: What are you up to now that you’re out of the Navy?
CM: I was in for 26 years and had a great career and a lot of good times. Since retiring in 2016, I have jumped into working with tech companies and think tanks, executive protection and security functions for high network clients. The ultimate goal is to think about security as a holistic approach.
CV: On training Long Island native and U.S. Navy legend Lt. Michael Murphy?
CM: I put Mike through training. Fast forward three years ago, my sister works for a veteran organization on Long Island. She connected with Dan, Mike’s dad. We met at one of the lake walks/runs. I worked with his team to get stuff for the new museum. As an instructor, I could have a fun banter with them about being from New York versus Long Island. I got to know him a little bit and they left and went off to their team. That was around early 2002. Three years later the unfortunate events of 2005 happened. It was a tough situation.
CV: You and Sean Rosario are two of three Sachem alumni to serve as Navy Seals. I spoke to him for a similar Q&A that I’m publishing soon as well. Did you know him?
CM: We had a unit in Puerto Rico. I would go there a lot. I was walking across the Navy compound one day and noticed a guy wearing a Sachem football shirt. Of all places, on a Navy compound in Puerto Rico. So, of course, we started talking about where we grew up.
-As told to Chris R. Vaccaro