Rudy Boesch

Template:Sidebar

Biography

Rudy joined the Navy in April of 1945 and immediately volunteered for "secret and hazardous duty" with the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders, highly classified naval commando units. In 1951, six years after Scout and Raider training in Fort Pierce, Florida, Rudy completed UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams) training in Little Creek, Virginia, and was assigned to UDT-2 (redesigned as UDT-21 in 1953). He remained in UDT-21 for the next 11 years. During this period, he completed numerous specialized schools and was deployed routinely to the Mediterranean and Caribbean areas with the Naval Amphibious Forces. He became a proficient combat swimmer and expert in small-boat operations. In 1962, he was one of the 50 hand-selected officers of the original SEAL (Sea-Air-Land) Team TWO, becoming one of their most distinguished members.

In 1967, Rudy was advanced to the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer and, between combat tours, served as the senior enlisted position of Command Master Chief. From 1968-1970, Rudy completed two combat deployments to Vietnam. Among the numerous awards he won the Bronze Star Medal for heroic action during more than 45 combat operations. During and after his stint in Vietnam, Rudy was delegated the "Chief SEAL" and set physical and operational standards at SEAL Team TWO.

In the late 1980s, Rudy became the Naval Special Warfare Community "Bull Frog," a distinguishing award presented to the SEAL serving the longest time on active duty. Instead of retiring, Rudy was selected as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to USSOCOM. In August of 1988, Rudy headed to Tampa, Florida and entered into the "inner circle" of the Special Operations Command to advise on all enlisted matters of the Joint command. For his extraordinary performance, Rudy was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, an award not often given to an enlisted man.

Master Chief Rudy retired from the U.S. Navy after completing more than 45 years of continuous activity. He was honorably discharged on August 1, 1990. He and Marge have since been involved in extensive volunteer work. In 1992, he captained a 38' power boat during the "Americas Cup 1992" event. In 1996, he captained a support boat at the Summer Olympic Games. He continues as a Red Cross Volunteer and drives support vehicles and performs essential services during disaster-relief operations. He is also a volunteer for the Virginia Beach Police Department. Involved with many organizations, Rudy is a founding member of the UDT-SEAL Association and a founding member of the Association's Board of Directors, having once served as their President. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Special Operations Fund.

Rudy and Marge have three children: Ellen Marie, Patricia Ann and Barbara Jean, and one granddaughter, Kelsey. They reside permanently in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His birth date is January 20, 1928. At the end of the November 15, 2008 Survivor Gabon, the credits included "In memory of Marge Boesch", Rudy's wife.

Borneo

Rudy immediately began his time in Borneo by taking charge of his Tagi tribe and instructing the group on various decisions that would need to be made for survival in the wild. This bossy attitude quickly alienated several of his tribemates, and when Tagi became the first tribe to attend Tribal Council, Rudy received votes from three of the women of the tribe. His vote went to the player the majority of the tribe felt had cost them the first challenge, Sonja Christopher.

Rudy was not one to change, however, and he continued to be himself as the game progressed. Realizing he needed to fit in with the group, he found himself appreciating the skills and wisdom of Richard Hatch, a fellow contestant with wilderness experience. Rudy had more time to bond with his tribes mates, but still became a target at the third Tribal Council of the game (the second that the Tagi tribe attended). Fortunately for him, the men of the tribe and Susan Hawk sided with his work ethic over Stacey Stillman's, who was considered prissy, and Rudy's vote along with 4 others sent her packing. Rudy recieved two votes from the women, but was clearly becoming more respected by his tribe.

As time progressed, it became clear that numbers were of the utmost importance in the game, and while Rudy had previously been opposed to any idea of an alliance (as were many of the other players in the game), he eventually came to accept the fact that an alliance would provide him with great security. When Richard approached him with such a proposition, Rudy took the offer and became a part of a four-person alliance with Richard, Susan, and Kelly Wiglesworth that would run the game from that point on. In the fifth tribal council, the alliance targeted the oustider Dirk Been, who became their first victim in a 4-1-1 vote.

The tribes merged on Day 20 and Rudy found himself in a position very much like the one he had encountered when he first began the game. This time, however, he had an alliance on his side, and none of the Pagong tribe seemed to be playing the same way. With Greg Buis winning the first individual immunity challenge, the Tagi 4 alliance was forced to choose someone other than Pagong's biggest physical threat. They all voted for Gretchen Cordy, and their four votes proved to be enough to vote her off, as every other vote was cast for a unique player. It was clear that the Tagi 4 - Rudy included - had their head in the game. After all, it had been Rudy's decision to target Gretchen as Pagong's leader.

Greg was the next to go, as the Tagi 4 was able to eliminate Pagong's biggest challenge threat. The younger tribe still had not pulled themselves together to counter the threat posed by Tagi's alliance.

This would change, however, in the next episode, when Jenna Lewis and Colleen Haskell shared a reward feast and discussed turning the game around and overthrowing the Tagi 4. The minority was not able to get the votes together, with Sean Kenniff employing his alphabet voting strategy, and Rudy was able to remain in the game and in a powerful position. This episode also marked Rudy's first immunity win, where he was able to defeat his competitors in a mental challenge.

Thought Kelly faultered from the alliance and animosity grew between her and Susan, the Tagi 4 stayed strong as they booted Gervase Peterson, Colleen, and Sean in the next three Tribal Councils.

The Tagi 4 was finally forced to turn on itself. Kelly won another crucial immunity challenge, leaving only Rudy, Richard, and Susan vulnerable at Tribal Council. By this point in the game, Rudy and Richard had grown extremely close and had a Final 2 deal with each other. They both voted for Susan. Susan and Kelly voted for Richard, but in a tiebreaker, Kelly changed her mind and voted for Susan, sending the truck driver packing.

Rudy was the biggest threat in the game at this point, having garnered more respect for his straightforwardness and blunt, down-to-earth personality than Kelly or Richard. In the final Immunity Challenge, Richard stepped out of the challenge, claiming that he knew he could not beat either of his fellow competitors. This left Rudy to face off against Kelly, who had won several challenges in a row. Rudy fought hard for a win, but ultimately lifted his hand from the idol during a revolution of positions and lost the challenge. Kelly booted him at that tribal council, recognizing that he was more of a jury threat than Richard was.

On the jury, Rudy voted to give Richard the million dollars, keeping to his word and alliance with the gay corporate trainer.

After the show, Rudy became a fan favorite for his witty comments and comical confessionals. He would blame his demise on his failure to win the final IC, and later return for another shot in All-Stars.

All Stars

Write Up of Rudy's Gameplay in All Stars

Tribal Council History

Borneo

Episode	Voted For	Received Votes From
Episode 1	Sonja	Sonja, Stacey, Kelly
Episode 3	Stacey	Stacey, Kelly
Episode 5	Dirk	Sean
Episode 7	Gretchen	Gretchen
Episode 8	Greg	None
Episode 9	Jenna	None
Episode 10	Gervase	None
Episode 11	Colleen	None
Episode 12	Sean	None
Episode 13 (First TC)	Susan	None
Episode 13 (Second TC)	N/A	Kelly
Episode 13 (Jury)	Rich	N/A

All Stars

Episode	Voted For	Received Votes From
Episode 1	Tina	None
Episode 2	Ethan	Ethan, Jerri, Jenna L

Challenge History

Borneo

• Tribal Immunities Won: 3 (out of 6)
• Tribal Rewards Won: 2 (out of 5)

• Team Rewards Won: N/A

• Individual Immunities Won: 1 (out of 8)
• Individual Rewards Won: 0 (out of 5)

• Total Number of Challenges: 24 (11 tribal, 13 individual)
• Overall Challenge Record: 6-18

All Stars

• Tribal Immunities Won: 0 (out of 2)
• Tribal Rewards Won: 1 (out of 1)

• Team Rewards Won: N/A

• Individual Immunities Won: N/A
• Individual Rewards Won: N/A

• Total Number of Challenges: 3 (tribal)
• Overall Challenge Record: 1-2

Overall

• Tribal Immunities Won: 3 (out of 8)
• Tribal Rewards Won: 3 (out of 6)

• Team Rewards Won: N/A

• Individual Immunities Won: 1 (out of 8)
• Individual Rewards Won: 0 (out of 5)

• Total Number of Challenges: 27 (14 tribal, 13 individual)
• Overall Challenge Record: 7-20

Memorable Moments

• Being the oldest contestant on Survivor (both on Borneo and All-Stars)