The VP Trains with Navy SEALs, a New MI6 Chief Wears a Rolex, Apple Watch Shenanigans, & the Watches of Jeffrey Epstein & Luigi Mangione
By Benjamin Lowry
With a snap of St. Nick’s white-gloved fingers, the Christmas holiday has come and gone, and we’re staring down the barrel of a brand new year. But before you give up vaping, cancel a few OnlyFans subscriptions, and reactivate your Planet Fitness membership, it’s time to lean into this month’s year-end W.O.E. SITREP or Situation Report.
For the uninitiated, the SITREP is our monthly recap of all things watches, espionage, current events, and national security, coupled with our best attempt at informative commentary. As always, no matter the subject matter, nothing we do here is political. Our aim is simply to observe, report, and share a few thoughts about what it all means, man.
Closing down 2025, we have a lot to unpack, from the VP’s impromptu attempt at Navy SEAL training to a new MI6 chief and her Rolex to vulnerable Apple Watches showing up where they shouldn’t to timepieces appearing in court documents related to some of recent history’s most notorious individuals.
As always, we’ll also share a few intriguing episodes of watch-related criminal activities, with the broader goal of sending you into the new year safe, informed, and aware of all things W.O.E. Let’s get after it.
VP Vance “Trains” with Navy SEALs in Coronado, Seiko Makes an Appearance
Last week, Vice President JD Vance visited Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, participating in a 90-minute training session at the BUD/S compound, where budding SEAL candidates famously begin their grueling training pipeline. A Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq as a military journalist in 2005 and attained the rank of corporal, the VP admitted the training evolution, which included running, rope climbing, and log PT, “hit like a freight train.” Beyond the dog and pony show, a couple of intriguing watches appeared on the wrists of SEALs training alongside the VP. Fortunately, VP Vance left his Apple Watch at home.
While Vance conducted log PT in the wrong color shirt, a presumed SEAL in front of the VP wore what appears to be a Seiko dive watch on a nylon pull-through strap. Seiko and Naval Special Warfare have a lengthy shared history, with numerous SEAL Teams issuing the legendary 6309 “Turtle” starting in the late 1970s. Still, seeing a modern frogman opting for an analog Seiko over a Digital Tool Watch (D.T.W.) in 2025 is awesome. Behind Vance, another SEAL wears an unidentified watch on yet another nylon pull-through strap.
Could it be another Seiko or maybe even a Tudor, another brand with close ties to NSW? It’s tough to tell, but in any case, we’re always excited to see analog watches being used as the tools they have been and will always be.
New MI6 Chief Wears A Rolex
MI6 Chief Metreweli wearing what appears to be a Rolex Datejust in 2025. (Photo Credit: Jooney Woodward)
For those outside intelligence-gathering circles, Britain’s MI6, officially the Secret Intelligence Service, is best known as James Bond’s parent organization. In the films, the fictional head of MI6 is known as “M”, famously portrayed by Dame Judi Dench in eight modern 007 movies. In reality, however, the role of MI6 Chief had never been held by a woman until earlier this month, when Blaise Metreweli, a career intelligence officer who previously led MI6's Technology & Innovation division, took over the role, earning the codename “C” in the process. I digress, but according to the BBC:
It is a common misnomer to think that the "C" stands for Chief. It does not. Britain's very first spy agency was called the Secret Service Bureau, established in the 1900s. It was led by a Royal Navy officer, Captain Mansfield Cumming. He always signed his letters "C" and the codename has stuck.
Idiosyncratic naming conventions aside, Chief Metreweli has been wearing what appears to be a Rolex Datejust since taking over the role. Rolex’s associations with world leaders and key figures in intelligence are nothing new, but we’re always happy to see someone of importance in the IC wearing a “real” watch, especially given the counterintelligence risks of smartwatches and other connected devices. Unfortunately, not everyone is as careful.
Special Forces General Nominated to Lead NSA & US Cyber Command (Should Probably Lose Apple Watch)
LTG Rudd wearing an Apple Watch earlier this year in Singapore.
Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, the current deputy commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, was recently nominated by President Trump to head the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. Joining the Army in 1993 before transitioning into Special Forces in 1999, General Rudd served in and subsequently led the Army’s Special Mission Unit during the Global War on Terror and has also held senior leadership roles in 25th Infantry Division, 1st Special Forces Command, and Special Operations Command Europe.
If confirmed, General Rudd will immediately become a priority intelligence target for virtually every adversarial intelligence service and will need to take a hard look at his watch-wearing ways, which often include an Apple Watch. As discussed in our open letter to VP JD Vance earlier this year, the Apple Watch presents serious counterintelligence risks for politicians and other senior national security figures, and can be easily compromised to reveal the wearer’s location or health data, and can even be used to listen to conversations.
To be clear, we love to see an operator from the highest levels of SOF hit the big time, but we are going to have to recommend a safer watch choice. A few of our top picks for military watches are listed HERE.
Watches & Crime
At Watches of Espionage, we are dedicated students of the seedy underbelly of the timepiece world. That said, we always keep an eye out for watch-related crimes that may provide insights for how to wear and use your own watch collection more safely, as well as instances where watches are highlighted in other high-profile crimes.
Court Documents Reveal the Watches of Jeffrey Epstein & Luigi Mangione (Trigger Warning)
Recently released court documents included a photo of Epstein’s watch collection.
As the Epstein files continue to trickle into the public eye, albeit with some major redactions, a photo showcasing Epstein’s personal watch collection was also released and quickly picked up by the internet watch community. Despite his vast wealth, the watches are more modest than you might expect, with a Panerai PAM113, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore End of Days chronograph, three Luminox models, a smartwatch of some kind, a Franck Muller Long Island, and a fashion watch of some kind, all making an appearance.
What drew Epstein to Luminox in particular, a brand known for dubious Navy SEAL-related marketing, we may never know, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Evidence photos show the inexpensive digital Casio among Mangione’s pocket litter. (Photo Credit: CNN)
As body camera footage and other details surrounding the arrest of Luigi Magione, the man accused of the December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, emerged, photos of his personal effects included a wristwatch. At first blush, the watch looked like it could be an F91W, a watch favored by everyone from Usama bin Laden to US Special Operations, but further research indicates it is more likely a W217H, another inexpensive digital Casio model.
Mangione’s alleged use of the watch in the commission of an assassination is further evidence that, whether the wearer’s intentions are benign or nefarious, watches remain important tools of war, terrorism, and crime. Of course, a smart watch would have aided investigative efforts, something that even the novice could have pieced together.
Baltimore Thieves Target Down Jackets & Citizen Watches?
As my grandfather often said, “Think twice before wearing your Canada Goose and Aqualand in Baltimore.”
Earlier this month, press reporting out of Baltimore described a trend where youths are being robbed of their name-brand down jackets as well as Citizen watches, with as many as twenty-five separate incidents having occurred in recent months. The idea that coats from brands like Canada Goose, which often retail over a grand, are being targeted is not surprising, but it is challenging to believe that hoodlums are willing to go to jail over a Citizen… not exactly a Rolex or a Richard Mille.
We mean absolutely no offense to Citizen, the maker of watches like the Aqualand, which has an incredible military pedigree, but the brand’s price points are relatively low, especially compared to Rolex or Patek Philippe, two of the most commonly stolen watch brands. Maybe these particular street toughs are simply not up on which watches to steal, or perhaps they are looking for items that are easier to fence compared to luxury watches. In any case, be sure to leave your Aqualand at home when heading to Baltimore, a sentence I never imagined writing.
W.O.E. Shoutouts
While our goal with the platform is never to accumulate accolades, now and then, it’s nice to be appreciated and serves as further evidence that our little corner of the watch world impacts the industry at large. Starting with Esquire, W.O.E. was stoked to be included in The Best Thing I Wore All Year, where he called out his new Omega Seamaster Diver 300M unit watch, the caseback of which you will never see.
Next, it was awesome to see YouTube sensation and my former employer, Teddy Baldassare, the Cleveland-based don of influencer-driven watch video content, push out an interview with a United States Marine. W.O.E. got called out a few times, and several of Mark’s watches also showcased our straps. For someone like Teddy, who lives in mainstream watch media, to take a moment to focus on a member of our community can only be a good sign, and the video is well worth your time.
Final Thoughts
With a champagne-soaked New Year’s Eve squarely in our sight picture and 2025 rapidly fading into the rearview, one thing remains constant: Watches continue to surface at the most unexpected corners of power, conflict, crime, and popular culture. From Seiko-wearing SEALs supporting a big ass log for the VP to a new British intelligence chief signaling security with a Rolex to an Apple Watch once again highlighting the risks of connected tech, timepieces continue to serve as silent witnesses to history in motion.
That, ultimately, is why the SITREP exists. At Watches of Espionage, we’ll keep monitoring the wrists of intel officers, SOF, and prominent world figures alike, pulling every thread where horology intersects with the real world. From all of us here at W.O.E., we’d like to wish you a safe and enjoyable New Year and remind you that we’ll be back next month with whatever watch-related happenings go down in January. Until then, stay sharp, Use Your Tools, and don’t get (too) sloppy tomorrow night.
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Read Next: Watch Industry SITREP - November 2025
7 comments
Fantasic way to end the year. Thank you to WoE and Ben for keeping us entertained and informed.
Metreweli is probably the right person for the job, unlike some other country that hire persons who like their own countrys enemies. Nice the she have a Rolex.
If Mangione was a spy he would have disposed of the Casio and pocket litter.