Military & Intelligence Watch Spotting - Part II

More of the Most W.O.E. Images of All Time 

About a year ago, we shared some of our favorite “action shots” of historically important and intriguing watches being used as tools by practitioners from the military and intelligence (check out part one HERE). Twelve months down the road, the broader W.O.E. community has been busy, and there are so many more great shots and impactful timepieces that we thought we’d do it again, and we might even have to make it a regular thing.

Like much of our content, this isn’t really about watches. It’s about the people, history, heritage, and culture behind them; honoring those who came before and modern-day practitioners through the watches on their wrists. This approach is at the core of everything we do and contrasts sharply with a watch media landscape dominated by paid reviews, hype, and sponsored content. 

W.O.E. has carved out its own path, a specific niche at the intersection of watches and the military, intelligence, and national security. It ain’t for everyone, and that’s fine by us.

A Danish Frogman wears the Omega Seamaster Diver 300m unit watch during a training exercise.

Watch Spotting The W.O.E. Way

“Watch spotting” is the process of identifying noteworthy timepieces on the wrists of prominent figures in sports, film, politics, or current affairs. This typically comes with commentary of varying quality regarding the brand, design, and, far too often, cost. 

At Watches of Espionage, we frankly don’t care which actor wore which press loaner Vacheron Constantin to the ESPYs. For us, it’s about observation, analysis, and genuine curiosity, searching for the secret sauce that led an individual to select and use a certain watch, which can tell you a lot about them. In watch spotting and intelligence, no detail is too small, and everything matters. 

With that, we would like to present some of the best W.O.E. images that have crossed our desks. Some are modern, pulled directly from the national archives of various countries; some are historical, and many come directly from the end users themselves, which is always our favorite way to get them. Remember, in our community, it’s never just a watch. 

Military Diver - Rolex Submariner  

Unfortunately, there isn't much information about where or who this came from, but it doesn’t get any cooler than a Rolex Submariner being used as a tool by a diver emerging from an actual submarine. We would welcome corrections in the comments, but this looks to be a US Navy submarine?

In any case, this is the very definition of Use Your Tools. And to think most people are scared to wear their Submariner in the shower… If anyone knows who this guy is, let us know. We’d like to get the real story behind the photo and send him a W.O.E. challenge coin.

French Commando Hubert - Tudor Pelagos FXD Unit Watch

While it has since taken off as a commercial product, the Tudor Pelagos FXD was developed from scratch for the Commando Hubert combat swimmers of the French Navy in 2020/2021. Absolutely wild at the time, the FXD offered a bidirectional countdown bezel, strap slots cut into the titanium case to create “fixed” lugs, and a specialized military-only dive strap with a D-ring to connect swimming pairs.

 The blue dial and bezel were practical choices for underwater visibility but also a nod to the blue snowflake Marine Nationale-issued watches of the 1970s. Heritage matters. 

The main differences between the civilian and Commando Hubert versions are the limited “two-line” text on the dial of the unit variant and the availability of the unit versions in a “destro” or left-hand-drive format.

 This image came to us directly from the unit, and shows a CH combat swimmer using the Commando Strap we developed with ZA Straps. It doesn’t get much better than this.

US & Royal Thai Marines - Rolex Submariner 

(Photo Credit: US National Archives)

Sometimes, you just have to drink the cobra’s blood. In these images, Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and Royal Thai Marines conduct jungle warfare training during Cobra Gold, a multinational Indo-Pacific training exercise, in 2002. On the wrist of the Thai NCO is an older Rolex Submariner with drilled lug holes, which makes it even better. 

It’s easy to poke fun at Marines for eating crayons (or drinking snake blood), but they are probably the most influential cadre in the IC and national security writ large. The Marine Corps has produced some of the finest leaders I have worked with both in the government and the private sector.

US Army General Scott Miller - Christopher Ward C60 Trident 

Gen. Miller in Somalia wearing his trusty Christopher Ward.

Gen. Austin Scott Miller (Ret.) wearing a Christopher Ward C60 Trident 600 GMT with a red bezel in Mogadishu, Somalia, a place with which the decorated special operator and senior military leader has significant history. In 1993, then-Captain Miller fought in the Battle of Mogadishu, later covered in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, as a Delta Force troop commander. Miller later led the Army’s Tier One special operations unit before commanding Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) starting in 2016. 

Miller is best known in our community for wearing the Christopher Ward in Afghanistan. Since his retirement in 2021, Miller has also been seen wearing an Omega Seamaster Diver 300 on one wrist and a smartwatch on the other, making him one of many current and former special operators we have spotted double-wristing. Christopher Ward is an intriguing case study in that it started more like a microbrand before developing into a fully-fledged watchmaker that also operates a serious unit watch program. 

160th SOAR Pilot CW3 Wilson Owens - Seiko 6309 

CW3 Wilson Owens pictured during Operation Just Cause in 1989. 

In this image, 160th SOAR pilot Wilson Owens wears a Seiko 6309, a watch we have called the most iconic military watch of all time. On 20 December 1989, during Operation Just Cause in Panama, Owens repeatedly re-entered heavy fire to protect friendly forces, ultimately giving his life when his aircraft was shot down.

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), known as “The Night Stalkers”, is the U.S. Army’s elite aviation unit and works extensively with Army/Navy SMUs. The unit was reportedly involved in the recent operation in Venezuela, Mogadishu in 1993, and the raid that took out UBL in 2011. 

Chief Warrant Officer Three (CW3) Wilson “Sonny” B. Owens (1960-1989) enlisted in the Navy at 18, later becoming an Army aviator and a distinguished AH-6 Little Bird Instructor Pilot. After assignments in West Germany as an aerial scout, Owens joined the elite Task Force 160 in 1986, where he earned a reputation as one of the unit’s finest pilots and marksmen. 

The 6309 is among history’s most important watches in military service. (Watch Photo Credit: Benjamin Lowry)

He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, a Legion of Merit, a Purple Heart, and an Air Medal, and is honored at Fort Campbell with the Owens Hangar. A 6309 on a 160th pilot is always going to be awesome to see, but a story like this is another perfect reminder that watches aren’t really why we’re here. 

SOAR has several unit watches, including a cool one currently in production; if they want to tell that story, they know where to find us.

Royal Irish Regiment & SAS Colonel Tim Collins - Pulsar G10 

While it’s less common today, certain military organizations continue to issue analog watches, including the British Ministry of Defence, or MOD. In this image, Royal Irish & SAS Colonel Tim Collins, dubbed “Nails” by his men, wears an MOD-issued Pulsar G10. The G10 is more commonly associated with CWC, and Pulsar, a subsidiary of Seiko, began supplying watches conforming to the same military standard in 1999, likely at a lower cost compared to the Swiss-made CWC variant. 

A former SAS captain, Collins was famous for giving an impressively prescient speech on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, a copy of which was later hung in the Oval Office. If you don’t care to read, scroll on down, but it is epic, and we have included an excerpt below: 

"We go to liberate, not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country. We are entering Iraq to free a people, and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.

There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send. 
 
As for the others, I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory.

Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood, and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there.

You will see things that no man could pay to see -- and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis.

You will be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing. Don't treat them as refugees, for they are in their own country. Their children will be poor; in years to come they will know that the light of liberation in their lives was brought by you.

It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to be done lightly.
If someone surrenders to you, then remember they have that right in international law and ensure that one day they go home to their family. The ones who wish to fight, well, we aim to please.

If you harm the Regiment or its history by over-enthusiasm in killing or in cowardice, know it is your family who will suffer. You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest—for your deeds will follow you down through history. 

As for ourselves, let's bring everyone home and leave Iraq a better place for us having been there.”

US Army Special Forces - Sangin Professional 

(Photo Credit: US Army)

Our exploration of Watches of Espionage is not limited to major Swiss and Japanese names, and several intriguing watch brands have emerged from within the community. One of our favorites is Sangin Instruments, which was founded by former Marine Raider Jacob Servantes in 2016. In this image, a US Army Green Beret takes part in Fuerzas Comando, a SOF competition in Belize in 2022, with a Sangin Instruments Professional on the wrist.

Many of us came up during the Global War on Terror, when Digital Tool Watches (D.T.W.) from brands like Casio and Suunto were the norm. They are excellent tools, but an ever-growing subset of the military and special operations, including this young Green Beret, reaches for analog tool watches, and Sangin provides an attainable entry point that has brought countless modern practitioners into the fold.

German Maritime Special Operator - Sinn UX S 

Germany’s maritime SOF unit is the Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine or KSM, which is composed of individual operators known as Kampfschwimmer. In this image, a member of KSM wears the issued Sinn UX S Kampfschwimmer during a January 2016 dog and pony show with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Lesser known compared to their US counterparts, KSM has been deployed to Afghanistan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Kosovo, and Somalia and is highly regarded among global maritime SOF. 

For decades, German combat divers relied on IWC’s Ocean Bund, a military adaptation of the civilian Ocean 2000. In 2016, however, the KSM formalized a new partnership with Sinn, adopting a customized version of the UX, an oil-filled, quartz-driven take on the brand’s iconic U1. The watches carry their own NSN, meaning they can be procured with government funds and issued at the unit level, one of only a few analog watches still being officially issued to a military unit. 

Lord of War (2005) - Rolex President Day/Date

While Hollywood’s portrayal of members of the W.O.E. community is not always accurate, films provide valuable insights into how the military, intelligence officers, and even the bad guys are viewed and understood in popular culture. Lord of War is a 2005 fictional Hollywood biopic loosely based on the life of Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death”, who took advantage of the fall of the Soviet Union to sell off the massive stockpile of leftover arms at significant profit. 

In the film, Yuri Orlov, portrayed by Nicholas Cage, wears a platinum Rolex President Day-Date. While the watch selection in the film does not accurately indicate Bout’s timepiece of choice (see below), the watch is a fitting choice for his character. The film also has one of the best opening scenes of all time and some excellent quotes, including: 

"There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?"

Viktor Bout - Breitling B-1 

Viktor Bout wearing his B-1 after his 2008 arrest in Thailand.

We’ve said this before, but there is significant overlap between the intelligence community, the military, certain global bad actors, and a Swiss watchmaking brand called Breitling. There are countless examples, but one of the most definitive is the Breitling B-1 worn by Viktor Bout, the aforementioned Russian arms dealer. Known for providing all manner of instruments of death and destruction to rebel groups in Africa and South America, Bout was finally arrested in a sting operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Bangkok in March 2008. 

In several photographs from his arrest and detainment, Bout wears a Breitling B-1, an ana-digi quartz pilot’s watch produced from 1998 to 2006. Often worn by military pilots, the B-1 was also the base model for several unit projects, including a White House variant worn by FBI Director Kash Patel. After his arrest, Bout was extradited to the US and convicted in a Manhattan federal court of conspiracy to kill  U.S. citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization. He was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, and we can’t help but wonder where his Breitling ended up… 

Fidel Castro & Ernest Hemingway - Rolex 

In this iconic 1960 photo, Ernest Hemingway and Fidel Castro pose with trophies from the annual Hemingway Fishing Tournament held in Havana, Cuba. Hemingway wears his gold 1950s Rolex Oyster Perpetual while Castro appears to wear his Datejust, one of several Rolex models associated with the communist revolutionary and statesman. 

In Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway’s Secret Adventures, 1935-1961, Nicholas Reynolds chronicles Hemingway’s suspected espionage work for both Soviet and U.S. intelligence agencies, before and during the Cold War. Rolex was even featured in some of Hemingway’s works, including Across the River and Into the Trees:

"It’s just a muscle,” the Colonel said. “Only it is the main muscle. It works as perfectly as a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. The trouble is you cannot send it to the Rolex representative when it goes wrong. When it stops, you just do not know the time. You’re dead.”

Castro wearing his GMT-Master and his Datejust while meeting with Leonid Brezhnev in 1964. 

Castro effectively leveraged the Cuban Intel Service (Dirección General de Inteligencia or DGI) to maintain his control domestically in Cuba and push interests abroad. Castro was also (in)famous for simultaneously wearing two Rolex watches, one of them a GMT-Master, to track the time in Havana, Moscow, and Washington, DC.

Final Thoughts 

This collection of weathered photographs is an enduring reminder that the best watch-spotting stories only begin with the timepiece itself. The rest, the real juice, is in the people and the moments in history the watches lead us to. Whether it’s a battered Seiko on the wrist of a 160th pilot who gave his life for his men and the mission, a unit-issued Sinn on a German combat swimmer, a Rolex worn by a revolutionary, or a sketchy Breitling on a notorious arms dealer, every image tells a story that extends far beyond any watch. 

This exploration will always be what Watches of Espionage is about. We’ll continue searching the archives, speaking with practitioners, and chasing these stories wherever they lead because, in our community, observation is everything, every detail matters, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s never just a watch.

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