The United States Navy's Sea, Air, and Land Teams,
commonly known as the US Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special
operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) and
SOCOM.
"SEAL" is always capitalized in reference to members
of the Naval Special Warfare community. The acronym is derived from their
capacity to operate at sea, in the air, and on land. In the War on Terror, SEALs
have been utilized almost exclusively for land-based operations, including
Direct Action, Hostage Rescue, Counter Terrorism, Special Reconnaissance,
unconventional warfare, manhunts and foreign internal defense operations. SEALs
are male members of the United States Navy. An exchange program with the Coast
Guard, which graduated three Coast Guardsmen as SEALs, was suspended in 2011.
The CIA's highly secretive Special Activities Division
(SAD) and more specifically its elite Special Operations Group (SOG) recruits
operators from the SEAL Teams. Joint Navy SEALs and CIA operations go back to
the famed MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. This cooperation still exists today
and is seen in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the finding and killing
of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
History
Origins
Navy SEALs can trace their roots to the Second World
War. The United States Navy recognized the need for the covert reconnaissance of
landing beaches and coastal defenses. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and
Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Scouts and
Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack
on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint Army-USMC-Navy unit.
Scouts & Raiders
The first group included Phil H. Bucklew, the "Father
of Naval Special Warfare," after whom the Naval Special Warfare Center building
is named. Commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942
during Operation Torch, the first allied landings in Europe, on the North
African coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in Sicily, Salerno,
Anzio, Normandy, and southern France.
A second group of Scouts and Raiders, code-named
Special Service Unit No. 1, was established on 7 July 1943, as a joint and
combined operations force. The first mission, in September 1943, was at
Finschafen on New Guinea. Later operations were at Gasmata, Arawe, Cape
Gloucester, and the East and South coast of New Britain, all without any loss of
personnel. Conflicts arose over operational matters, and all non-Navy personnel
were reassigned. The unit, renamed 7th Amphibious Scouts, received a new
mission, to go ashore with the assault boats, buoy channels, erect markers for
the incoming craft, handle casualties, take offshore soundings, blow up beach
obstacles and maintain voice communications linking the troops ashore, incoming
boats and nearby ships. The 7th Amphibious Scouts conducted operations in the
Pacific for the duration of the conflict, participating in more than 40
landings.
The third Scout and Raiders organization operated in
China. Scouts and Raiders were deployed to fight with the Sino-American
Cooperative Organization, or SACO. To help bolster the work of SACO, Admiral
Ernest J. King ordered that 120 officers and 900 men be trained for "Amphibious
Raider" at the Scout and Raider school at Fort Pierce, Florida. They formed the
core of what was envisioned as a "guerrilla amphibious organization of Americans
and Chinese operating from coastal waters, lakes and rivers employing small
steamboats and sampans." While most Amphibious Raider forces remained at Camp
Knox in Calcutta, three of the groups saw active service. They conducted a
survey of the upper Yangtze River in the spring of 1945 and, disguised as
coolies, conducted a detailed three-month survey of the Chinese coast from
Shanghai to Kitchioh Wan, near Hong Kong.
Naval Combat Demolition Units
Along with the Scouts and Raiders were the Naval
Combat Demolition Units. They specialized in demolitions, explosive cable
cutting, and commando raiding techniques. On 7 May 1943, Lieutenant Commander
Draper L. Kauffman, "The Father of Naval Combat Demolition," was directed to set
up a school and train people to eliminate obstacles on an enemy-held beach prior
to an invasion. On 6 June 1943, LCDR Kaufmann established Naval Combat
Demolition Unit training at Fort Pierce. By April 1944, a total of 34 NCDUs were
deployed to England in preparation for Operation OVERLORD, the amphibious
landing at Normandy. On 6 June 1944, in the face of great adversity, the NCDUs
at Omaha Beach managed to blow eight complete gaps and two partial gaps in the
German defenses. The NCDUs suffered 31 killed and 60 wounded, a casualty rate of
52%. Meanwhile, the NCDUs at Utah Beach met less intense enemy fire. They
cleared 700 yards (640 metres) of beach in two hours, another 900 yards (820
metres) by the afternoon.
Casualties at Utah Beach were significantly lighter
with six killed and eleven wounded. During Operation OVERLORD, not a single
demolitioneer was lost to improper handling of explosives. In August 1944, NCDUs
from Utah Beach participated in the landings in southern France, the last
amphibious operation in the European Theater of Operations. NCDUs also operated
in the Pacific theater. NCDU 2, under LTjg Frank Kaine, after whom the Naval
Special Warfare Command building is named, and NCDU 3 under LTjg Lloyd Anderson,
formed the nucleus of six NCDUs that served with the Seventh Amphibious Force
tasked with clearing boat channels after the landings from Biak to Borneo.
OSS Operational Swimmers
Some of the earliest World War II predecessors of the
SEALs were the Operational Swimmers of the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS.
Many current SEAL missions were first assigned to them. OSS specialized in
special operations, dropping operatives behind enemy lines to engage in
organized guerrilla warfare as well as to gather information on such things as
enemy resources and troop movements. British Combined Operations veteran
LCDR Wooley, of the Royal Navy, was placed in charge of the OSS Maritime Unit in
June 1943. Their training started in November 1943 at Camp Pendleton,
California, moved to Santa Catalina Island, California in January 1944, and
finally moved to the warmer waters of The Bahamas in March 1944. Within the U.S.
military, they pioneered flexible swimfins and diving masks, closed-circuit
diving equipment (under the direction of Dr. Christian J. Lambertsen), the use
of Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (a type of submersible), and combat swimming and
limpet mine attacks. In May 1944, General Donovan, the head of
the OSS, divided the unit into groups. He loaned Group 1, under Lieutenant
Choate, to Admiral Nimitz, as a way to introduce the OSS into the Pacific
theater. They became part of UDT-10 in July 1944. Five OSS men participated in
the very first UDT submarine operation with the USS Burrfish in the Caroline
Islands in August 1944.
Underwater Demolition Teams
On 23 November 1943, the U.S. Marine landing on Tarawa
Atoll emphasized the need for hydrographic reconnaissance and underwater
demolition of obstacles prior to any amphibious landing. Offshore coral reefs
and other obstacles in the surf had resulted in many of the Marines drowning or
being hit by enemy fire because their landing craft could not reach the beach.
After the Tarawa, Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner directed the formation of nine
Underwater Demolition Teams. 30 officers and 150 enlisted men were moved to the
Waimānalo Amphibious Training Base to form the nucleus of a demolition training
program. This group became Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) ONE and TWO.
The UDTs saw their first combat on 31 January 1944,
during Operation Flintlock in the Marshall Islands. FLINTLOCK became the real
catalyst for the UDT training program in the Pacific Theater. In February 1944,
the Naval Combat Demolition Training and Experimental Base was established at
Kīhei, Maui, next to the Amphibious Base at Kamaole. Eventually, 34 UDT teams
were established. Wearing swim suits, fins, and dive masks on combat operations,
these "Naked Warriors" saw action across the Pacific in every major amphibious
landing including: Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Angaur, Ulithi, Peleliu,
Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, Zambales, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Labuan, Brunei Bay, and on 4
July 1945 at Balikpapan on Borneo, which was the last UDT demolition operation
of the war. The rapid demobilization at the conclusion of the war reduced the
number of active duty UDTs to two on each coast with a complement of seven
officers and 45 enlisted men each.
Korean War
The Korean War began on 25 June 1950, when the North
Korean army invaded South Korea. Beginning with a detachment of 11 personnel
from UDT 3, UDT participation expanded to three teams with a combined strength
of 300 men. As part of the Special Operations Group, or SOG, UDTs successfully
conducted demolition raids on railroad tunnels and bridges along the Korean
coast. On 15 September 1950, UDTs supported Operation Chromite, the amphibious
landing at Incheon. UDT 1 and 3 provided personnel who went in ahead of the
landing craft, scouting mud flats, marking low points in the channel, clearing
fouled propellers, and searching for mines. Four UDT personnel acted as
wave-guides for the Marine landing. In October 1950, UDTs supported
mine-clearing operations in Wonsan Harbor where frogmen would locate and mark
mines for minesweepers. On 12 October 1950, two U.S. minesweepers hit mines and
sank. UDTs rescued 25 sailors. The next day, William Giannotti conducted the
first U.S. combat operation using an "aqualung" when he dove on the USS Pledge
(AM-277). For the remainder of the war, UDTs conducted beach and river
reconnaissance, infiltrated guerrillas behind the lines from sea, continued mine
sweeping operations, and participated in Operation Fishnet, which devastated the
North Korean's fishing capability.
Vietnam War
President John F. Kennedy, aware of the situations in
Southeast Asia, recognized the need for unconventional warfare and special
operations as a measure against guerrilla warfare. In a speech to Congress on 25
May 1961, Kennedy spoke of his deep respect for the United States Army Special
Forces. While his announcement of the government's plan to put a man on the moon
drew all of the attention, in the same speech he announced his intention to
spend over $100 million to strengthen U.S. special operations forces and expand
American capabilities in unconventional warfare.
The Navy needed to determine its role within the
special operations arena. In March 1961, Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval
Operations, recommended the establishment of guerrilla and counter-guerrilla
units. These units would be able to operate from sea, air or land. This was the
beginning of the Navy SEALs. Most SEALs came from the Navy's Underwater
Demolition Teams, who had already gained extensive experience in commando
warfare in Korea; however, the Underwater Demolition Teams were still necessary
to the Navy's amphibious force.
The first two teams were on both US coasts: Team One
at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, in San Diego, California and Team Two at
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Men of the
newly formed SEAL Teams were trained in such unconventional areas as
hand-to-hand combat, high-altitude parachuting, demolitions, and foreign
languages. The SEALs attended Underwater Demolition Team replacement training
and they spent some time training in UDTs. Upon making it to a SEAL team, they
would undergo a SEAL Basic Indoctrination (SBI) training class at Camp Kerry in
the Cuyamaca Mountains. After SBI training class, they would enter a platoon and
conduct platoon training.
According to founding SEAL team member Roy Boehm the
SEAL's first missions were directed against communist Cuba. These consisted of
deploying from submarines and carrying out beach reconnaissance in prelude to a
proposed US amphibious invasion of the island. On at least one occasion Boehm
and another SEAL smuggled a CIA agent ashore to take pictures of Soviet nuclear
missiles being unloaded on the dockside.
The Pacific Command recognized Vietnam as a potential
hot spot for unconventional forces. At the beginning of 1962, the UDTs started
hydrographic surveys and along with other branches of the US Military, the
Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) was formed. In March 1962, SEALs were
deployed to South Vietnam as advisors for the purpose of training Army of the
Republic of Vietnam commandos in the same methods they were trained themselves.
The Central Intelligence Agency began using SEALs in
covert operations in early 1963. The SEALs were involved in the CIA sponsored
Phoenix Program where it targeted key North Vietnamese Army personnel and
Vietcong sympathizers for capture and assassination.
The SEALs were initially deployed in and around Da
Nang, training the South Vietnamese in combat diving, demolitions, and
guerrilla/anti-guerrilla tactics. As the war continued, the SEALs found
themselves positioned in the Rung Sat Special Zone where they were to disrupt
the enemy supply and troop movements and in the Mekong Delta to fulfill riverine
operations, fighting on the inland waterways.
Combat with the Viet Cong was direct. Unlike the
conventional warfare methods of firing artillery into a coordinate location, the
SEALs operated within inches of their targets. Into the late 1960s, the SEALs
were successful in a new style of warfare, effective in anti-guerrilla and
guerrilla actions. SEALs brought a personal war to the enemy in a previously
safe area. The Viet Cong referred to them as "the men with green faces," due to
the camouflage face paint the SEALs wore during combat missions.
SEALs continued to make forays into North Vietnam and
Laos, and covertly into Cambodia, controlled by the Studies and Observations
Group. The SEALs from Team Two started a unique deployment of SEAL team members
working alone with South Vietnamese Commandos (ARVN). In 1967, a SEAL unit named
Detachment Bravo (Det Bravo) was formed to operate these mixed US and ARVN
units, which were called South Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units
(PRUs).
At the beginning of 1968, the North Vietnamese and the
Viet Cong orchestrated a major offensive against South Vietnam: the "Tet
Offensive". The North hoped it would prove to be America's Dien Bien Phu,
attempting to break the American public's desire to continue the war. As
propaganda, the Tet Offensive was successful in adding to the American protest
of the Vietnam war. However, North Vietnam suffered tremendous casualties, and
from a purely military standpoint, the Tet Offensive was a major disaster for
the Communists.
By 1970, President Richard Nixon initiated a Plan of
Vietnamization, which would remove the US from the Vietnam War and return the
responsibility of defense back to the South Vietnamese. Conventional forces were
being withdrawn; the last SEAL advisor left Vietnam in March 1973 and Vietnam
fell to the communists in 1975. The SEALs were among the highest decorated units
for their size in the war. SEALs were awarded 2 Navy Crosses, 42 Silver stars,
402 Bronze Stars, 2 Legions of Merit, 352 Commendation Medals, 3 Presidential
Unit Citationsand 3 Medals of Honor.
Grenada
Invasion of Grenada and Operation Urgent Fury
Both SEAL Team 4 and SEAL Team 6, the predecessor to
DEVGRU, participated in the US invasion of Grenada. The SEALs' two primary
missions were the extraction of Grenada's Governor-General and the capture of
Grenada's only radio tower. Neither mission was well briefed or sufficiently
supported with timely intelligence and the SEALs ran into trouble from the very
beginning. One of their two transport planes missed its drop zone, and four
SEALs drowned in a rain squall while making an airborne insertion with their
boats off the island's coast. Their bodies were never recovered.
After regrouping from their initial insertion the
SEALs split into two teams and proceeded to their objectives. After digging in
at the Governor's mansion, the SEALs realized they had forgotten their SATCOM
gear on the helicopter. As Grenadian and Cuban troops surrounded the team, the
SEALs' only radio ran out of battery power, and they used the mansion's land
line telephone to call in AC-130 fire support. The SEALs were pinned down in the
mansion overnight and were relieved and extracted by a group of Force Recon
Marines the following morning.
The team sent to the radio station also ran into
communication problems. As soon as the SEALs reached the radio facility they
found themselves unable to raise their command post. After beating back several
waves of Grenadian and Cuban troops supported by BTR-60s, the SEALs decided that
their position at the radio tower was untenable. They destroyed the station and
fought their way to the water where they hid from patrolling enemy forces. After
the enemy had given up their search the SEALs, some wounded, swam into the open
sea where they were extracted several hours later after being spotted by a
reconnaissance plane.
Iran-Iraq War
Operation Prime Chance
During the closing stages of the Iran-Iraq War the
United States Navy began conducting operations in the Persian Gulf to protect US
flagged ships from attack by Iranian naval forces. A secret plan was put in
place and dubbed Operation Prime Chance. Navy SEAL Teams 1 and 2 along with
several Special Boat Units and Navy EOD teams were deployed on mobile command
barges and transported by helicopters from the Army's 160th Special Operations
Aviation Regiment. Over the course of the operation SEALs conducted VBSS (Visit,
Board, Search, and Seizure) missions to counter Iranian mine laying boats. The
only loss of life occurred during the take down of the Iran Ajr. Evidence
gathered on the Iran Ajr by SEALs and EOD techs later allowed the US Navy to
trace the mines that struck the USS Samuel B. Roberts. This chain of events lead
to Operation Praying Mantis, the largest US Naval surface engagement since the
Second World War. During Operation Desert Shield and Storm, Navy SEALs trained
Kuwaiti Special Forces. They set up naval special operations groups in Kuwait,
working with the Kuwaiti Navy in exile. Using these new diving, swimming, and
combat skills, these foreign SEALs took part in combat operations such as the
liberation of the capital city.
Panama
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Navy contributed extensive special
operations assets to the invasion of Panama, code named Operation Just Cause.
This included SEAL Teams 2 and 4, Naval Special Warfare Unit 8, and Special Boat
Unit 26, all falling under Naval Special Warfare Group 2; and the separate Naval
Special Warfare Development Group (DevGru). DevGru fell under Task Force Blue,
while Naval Special Warfare Group 2 composed the entirety of Task Force White.
Task Force White was tasked with three principal objectives: the destruction of
Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF) naval assets in Balboa Harbor and the
destruction of Manuel Noriega's private jet at Paitilla Airport (collectively
known as Operation Nifty Package), as well as isolating PDF forces on Flamenco
Island.
The strike on Balboa Harbor by Task Unit Whiskey is
notably marked in SEAL history as the first publicly acknowledged combat swimmer
mission since the Second World War. Prior to the commencement of the invasion
four Navy SEALs, Lt Edward S. Coughlin, EN-3 Timothy K. Eppley, ET-1 Randy L.
Beausoleil, and PH-2 Chris Dye, swam underwater into the harbor on Draeger LAR-V
rebreathers and attached C4 explosives to and destroyed Noriega's personal
gunboat the Presidente Porras.
Task Unit Papa was tasked with the seizure of Paitilla
airfield and the destruction of Noriega's plane there. Several SEALs were
concerned about the nature of the mission assigned to them being that airfield
seizure was usually the domain of the Army Rangers. Despite these misgivings and
a loss of operational surprise, the SEALs of TU Papa proceeded with their
mission. Almost immediately upon landing, the 48 SEALs came under withering fire
from the PDF stationed at the airfield. Although Noriega's plane was eventually
destroyed, the SEALs suffered four dead and thirteen wounded. Killed were Lt.
John Connors, Chief Petty Officer Donald McFaul, Torpedoman's Mate 2nd Class
Issac Rodriguez, and Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Chris Tilghman.
Somali Intervention
In August 1993 a four man SEAL sniper team was
deployed to Mogadishu to work alongside the Delta Force as part of Task Force
Ranger in the search for Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid. They took part in
several operations in support of the CIA and Army culminating in the 3 October
'Battle of Mogadishu' where they were part of the ground convoy raiding the
Olympic Hotel. All four SEAL's would be later awarded the Silver Star in
recognition of their bravery whilst Navy SEAL Howard E. Wasdin would be awarded
a Purple Heart after continuing to fight despite being wounded three times
during the battle.
Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Invasion
In the immediate aftermath of the 11 September
attacks, Navy SEALs quickly dispatched to Camp Doha, and those already aboard US
Naval vessels in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters began conducting VBSS
operations against ships suspected of having ties to or even carrying al Qaeda
operatives. SEAL Teams 3 and 8 also began rotating into Oman from the United
States and staging on the island of Masirah for operations in Afghanistan. One
of the SEALs' immediate concerns was their lack of suitable vehicles to conduct
special reconnaissance (SR) missions in the rough, landlocked terrain of
Afghanistan. After borrowing and retrofitting Humvees from the Army Rangers also
staging on Masirah, the SEALs inserted into Afghanistan to conduct the SR of
what would become Camp Rhino, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). These
early stages of OEF were commanded by a fellow SEAL, Rear Admiral Albert
Calland.
The SR mission in the region of Camp Rhino lasted for
four days, after which two United States Air Force Combat Control Teams made a
nighttime HALO jump to assist the SEALs in guiding in Marines from the 15th
Marine Expeditionary Unit who seized control of the area and established a
Forward operating base. While at Camp Rhino, the CIA passed on intelligence from
a predator drone operating in the Paktia province that Taliban Mullah Khirullah
Said Wali Khairkhwa was spotted leaving a building by vehicle convoy. SEALs and
Danish Jægerkorpset commandos boarded Air Force Pave Low helicopters and seized
Khairkhwa on the road less than two hours later. The SEALs continued to perform
reconnaissance operations for the Marines until leaving after having spent 45
days on the ground.
Subsequent SEAL operations during the invasion of
Afghanistan were conducted within Task Force K-Bar, a joint special operations
unit of Army Special Forces, United States Air Force Special Tactics Teams, and
special operations forces from Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark,
Norway, and Turkey, under the command of Navy SEAL Captain Robert Harward. Task
Force K-Bar conducted combat operations in the massive cave complexes at Zhawar
Kili, the city of Kandahar and surrounding territory, the town of Prata Ghar and
hundreds of miles of rough terrain in southern and eastern Afghanistan. Over the
course of six months Task Force K-Bar killed or captured over 200 Taliban and al
Qaeda fighters, and destroyed tens of thousands of pounds of weapons and
ordnance.
Navy SEALs participated extensively in Operation
Anaconda. During insertion, AB1 Neil Roberts was thrown from his helicopter when
it took fire from entrenched al Qaeda fighters. Roberts was eventually killed
after engaging and fighting dozens of enemies for almost an hour. Several SEALs
were wounded in a rescue attempt and their Air Force Combat Controller,
Technical Sergeant John Chapman, was killed. Attempts to rescue the stranded
SEAL also led to the deaths of several US Army Rangers and an Air Force
Pararescueman acting as a Quick Reaction Force.
SEALs were present at the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
alongside their counterparts from the British Special Boat Service. Chief Petty
Officer Stephen Bass was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the
battle.
Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was posthumously awarded
the Medal of Honor after his four-man counterinsurgency team was almost wiped
out during Operation Red Wings in June 2005.
Iraq War
Al Faw and Iraqi oil infrastructure
Several days before the beginning of the invasion of
Iraq two SDV teams were launched from Mark V Special Operations Craft in the
Persian Gulf. Their objectives were the hydrographic reconnaissance of the Al
Basrah (MABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya (KAAOT) Oil Terminals. After swimming under
the terminals and securing their Mark 8 mod 1s the SDV SEALs spent several hours
taking pictures and surveying Iraqi activity on both platforms before returning
to their boats.
On 20 March 2003 the Navy SEALs launched what is the
largest single SEAL operation in history from US Naval vessels, Ras al-Qulayah
Naval Base and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait as part of a mixed force of US
Navy SEALs, Polish GROM and British Royal Marines. Their targets were not only
the ABOT and KAAOT platforms but their respective onshore petroleum pumping
locks and the Al Faw port and refinery. Each force was to be inserted via
helicopter or boat on the perimeter of the targets and then assault the main
facilities. The first attacks occurred at the pumping locks for each offshore
terminal. At MABOT's pumping lock the team's landing zone was covered in
concertina wire that was unreported by their intelligence and so the SEALs and
Royal Marines were forced to hover several feet off the ground. The Royal
Marines, led by a Provost Sergeant, were the first off the helicopter followed
by the SEALs and all immediately became entangled in the obstacles. In this
exposed position the SEALs and Marines began taking fire from the platform's
garrison. The landing at the KAAOT pumping lock ran into similar problems with
their landing zone but both teams at both locations regrouped and successfully
assaulted the pumping locks taking the main buildings and several occupied
bunkers. After securing the facility an Iraqi armored vehicle approached the
SEALs' position. Their embedded Air Force Combat Controller coordinated with an
Air Force A-10 and destroyed the vehicle. In total five Iraqis were killed and
sixteen captured.
The assault on the offshore platforms were carried out
by SWCC's manned rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) as well as SWCC manned Mk
Vs carrying the GROM. The SEALs were assigned MABOT and GROM the KAAOT. Two days
before the launch of the operation the Iraqis replaced the MABOT garrison with
elite Republican Guard troops. With this last minute change in opposition in
mind, and the added fear of the Republican Guard blowing up the platforms upon
attack, the SEALs decided to change their plan to quickly take out all
opposition before physically securing MABOT. Once the SEALs assaulted MABOT via
RHIB the Republican Guard forces immediately began to surrender. The GROM on
KAAOT encountered the same unwillingness by the Iraqis to fight allowing both
platforms to be taken with no deaths. Subsequent inspection on MABOT showed that
the Iraqi forces had not primed their explosives having been unwilling to
destroy the facility. The assault on the Iraqi positions on the Al Faw peninsula
consisted of a DPV mounted SEAL force at the refinery and port with a larger
force of US Marines from the 5th Regimental Combat Team of the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force attacking Iraqi positions farther north in the Rumaila oil
fields. Before the operation the SEALs raised objections that the ground looked
unsuitable for DPV use but the faulty intelligence was assured by their attached
intelligence liaison that the land on Al Faw would be hardpack. The teams went
ahead and landed with their DPVs straight off the helicopters but their fears
were confirmed when the oil soaked and muddy ground on the peninsula rendered
their underpowered, rear wheel drive vehicles useless. Now on foot and
surrounded by approximately 300 entrenched Iraqi soldiers and armored vehicles
the SEALs relied on their Combat Controller to call in air strikes. In
coordination with close air support the SEALs swept the entire facility on foot
fighting through enemy positions until day break when they were relieved by the
42 Commando of the British Royal Marines. In total several hundred Iraqis were
killed, 100 captured and all the armored vehicles destroyed.
Mukarayin Dam
Coalition military planners were concerned that
retreating Iraqi forces would destroy the Mukatayin hydroelectric dam northeast
of Baghdad in an attempt to slow advancing US troops. In addition to restricting
the maneuver of Coalition forces, the destruction of the dam would deny critical
power needs to the surrounding area as well as cause massive flooding and loss
of Iraqi civilian life. A mixed SEAL / GROM force was called in to seize the
dam. This force was flown several hours by US Air Force MH-53 Pave Lows to the
dam. The SEALs employed DPVs into blocking positions to defend against
counter-attack and roving bands of Iranian bandits that had been crossing the
border and raiding Iraqi towns. As in Al Faw the SEALs found their DPVs to be
ineffective and this marked the last time they would employ them in Iraq.
The SEALs and GROM on foot fast-roped out of their
helicopters and immediately stormed the dam. The minimal Iraqi security forces
on site surrendered, and with the exception of a GROM soldier who broke an ankle
during the insertion, the operation went off with no casualties. After several
hours of searching the dam for remaining hostile forces or any explosives, the
SEALs fully secured the dam and were later relieved by advancing elements of the
US Army.
Maersk Alabama hijacking
On 12 April 2009, in response to a hostage-taking
incident off of the coast of Somalia by Somalian pirates, three Navy SEALs from
DEVGRU simultaneously engaged and killed the three pirates who were closely
holding the hostage, Captain Richard Phillips, of the freighter ship, the Maersk
Alabama. The pirates and their hostage were being towed in a lifeboat
approximately 100 yards behind the USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), when the three
pirates were killed by three DEVGRU snipers with single shots to each of their
heads.
Death of Osama bin Laden
In the early morning of 2 May 2011 local time, a team
of 40 CIA-led Navy SEALs from DEVGRU, with 24 on the ground, successfully
completed an operation to kill Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan about 35
miles (56 km) from Islamabad. The Navy SEALs were part of the Naval Special
Warfare Development Group, previously called "Team 6". President Barack Obama
later confirmed the death of bin Laden, but did not directly mention the
involvement of DEVGRU, saying only that a "small team" of Americans undertook
the operation to bring down bin Laden. The unprecedented media coverage
raised the public profile of the SEAL community, particularly the
counter-terrorism specialists commonly known as SEAL Team 6. The Walt Disney
Company tried unsuccessfully to trademark the name "SEAL Team 6" the day after
the raid.
2011 Chinook shootdown in Afghanistan
On 6 August 2011, 17 Navy SEALs were killed when their
CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by an RPG fired by Taliban militants. The
SEALs were en route to support U.S. Army Rangers who were taking fire while
attempting to capture a senior Taliban leader in the Tangi Valley. Fifteen were
SEALs belonging to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Two others were
SEALs assigned to a regular naval special warfare unit. Eight other Americans
and eight Afghans were also killed in the crash, including the pilot of the
helicopter, Army Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols.
Selection and training
SEAL training is extremely rigorous, having a
reputation as some of the toughest anywhere in the world. The drop out rate for
BUDs classes are sometimes over 90 percent. The average Navy SEAL spends over a
year in a series of formal training environments before being awarded the
Special Warfare Operator Naval Rating and the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC)
5326 Combatant Swimmer (SEAL) or, in the case of commissioned naval officers,
the designation Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) Officer.
All Navy SEALs must attend and graduate from their
rating's 24-week "A" United States Navy SEAL selection and training course known
as Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) school and then the 28-week SEAL
Qualification Training (SQT) program. SQT qualifies all BUD/S graduates in basic
SEAL skillsets in MAROPS, Combat Swimmer, Communications, TCCC, Close Quarters
Combat, Land Warfare, Staticline/Freefall Parachute Operations, SERE and
Combatives. All sailors entering the SEAL training pipeline with the Navy
Hospital Corpsman rating or those chosen by Naval Special Warfare Command must
also attend the 26 week Special Operations Combat Medic course and subsequently
earn the NEC SO-5392 Naval Special Warfare Medic before joining an operational
Team. Once outside the formal schooling environment SEALs entering a new Team at
the beginning of an operational rotation can expect 18 months of Professional
Development/Schools (PRODEV) and Troop unit level training (ULT) before each
6-month deployment. In total, from the time a prospective SEAL enters military
service to the time he finishes his first predeployment training cycle, it can
take over 30 months to completely train a Navy SEAL for his first deployment
Navy SEAL teams and structures
Naval Special Warfare Groups
Naval Special Warfare Command is organized into the
following configuration:
Naval Special Warfare Group 1: SEAL Teams 1, 3, 5, 7
Naval Special Warfare Group 2: SEAL Teams 2, 4, 8, 10
Naval Special Warfare Group 3: SEAL Delivery Vehicle
Team 1
Naval Special Warfare Group 4: Special Boat Teams 12,
20, 22
Naval Special Warfare Group 11: SEAL Teams 17, 18
(formerly Operational Support Teams 1, 2)[26]
The total number of Navy SEALs assigned to Naval
Special Warfare Command is approximately 2,000 out of a total staffing of 6,500.
About half of the SEAL contingent are based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious
Base and Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Most of the remainder are
headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California or with SDVT-1 in
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
SEAL Teams
SEAL Teams are organized into two groups: Naval
Special Warfare Group One (West Coast), and Naval Special Warfare Group Two
(East Coast), which come under the command of Naval Special Warfare Command,
stationed at NAB Coronado, California. As of 2006, there are eight confirmed
Navy SEAL Teams. The original SEAL Teams in the Vietnam War were separated
between West Coast (Team ONE) and East Coast (Team TWO) SEALs. The current SEAL
Team deployments include Teams 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10.
The Teams deploy as Naval Special Warfare Squadrons or
Special Operations Task Forces and can deploy anywhere in the world. Squadrons
will normally be deployed and fall under a Joint Task Force (JTF) or a Combined
Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) as a Special Operations Task Force
(SOTF).
Each SEAL Team is commanded by a Navy Commander (O-5),
and has a number of operational SEAL platoons and a headquarters element.
A SEAL Team has a Staff Headquarters element and three
40-man Troops. Each Troop consist of a Headquarters element consisting of a
Troop Commander, typically a Lieutenant Commander (O-4), a Troop Senior Enlisted
(E-8), a Targeting/Operations Officer (O-2/3) and a Targeting/Operations
Leading/Chief Petty Officer (E-6/7). Under the HQ element are two SEAL platoons
of 16–20 men (two officers, 14–16 enlisted SEALs, and sometimes two enlisted EOD
Operators); a company-sized Combat Service Support (CSS) and/or Combat Support
(CS) consisting of staff N-codes (the Army and Marine Corps use S-codes); N1
Administrative support, N2 Intelligence, N3 Operations, N4 Logistics, N5 Plans
and Targeting, N6 Communications, N7 Training, and N8 Air/Medical.
Each Troop can be easily task organized into four
squads of eight 4–5 man fire teams for operational purposes. The size of each
SEAL “Team” with Troops and support staff is approximately 300 personnel. The
typical SEAL platoon has an OIC (Officer in Charge, usually a Lieutenant (O-3),
an AOIC (Assistant Officer in Charge, usually a Lieutenant (junior grade), O-2),
a platoon chief (E-7), an Operations NCO/LPO (Leading Petty Officer, E-6) and
other operators E-4 to E-6. The core leadership in the Troop and Platoon are the
Commander/OIC and the Senior Enlisted NCO (Senior Chief/Chief).
Troop core skills consist of: Sniper, Breacher,
Communicator, Maritime/Engineering, Close Air Support, Corpsman,
Point-man/Navigator, Primary Driver/Navigator (Rural/Urban/Protective Security),
Heavy Weapons Operator, Sensitive Site Exploitation, Air Operations Master, Lead
Climber, Lead Diver/Navigator, Interrogator, Explosive Ordnance Disposal,
Technical Surveillance, and Advanced Special Operations.
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, a naval base in
Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to SEAL Teams 2, 4, 8, and 10. Naval
Amphibious Base Coronado, a naval base in Coronado, California, is home to SEAL
Teams 1, 3, 5, and 7. There is also a SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) unit, SDVT-1,
located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. SDVT-2 was based in Virginia; it was
disestablished and merged into SDVT-1. SDV Teams are SEAL teams with an added
underwater delivery capability. An SDV platoon consists of 12–15 SEALs.
Declassified Locations:
SEAL Team 1
Southeast Asia
6 Platoons
Coronado, California
SEAL Team 2
Northern Europe
6 Platoons
Little Creek, Virginia
SEAL Team 2 is the only SEAL Team that has
full-fledged arctic warfare capabilities
SEAL Team 3
Middle East
6 Platoons
Coronado, California
SEAL Team 4
South America
6 Platoons
Little Creek, Virginia
SEAL Team 4 is the only SEAL Team with a viable
standing language capability, which is Spanish
SEAL Team 5
Korea
6 Platoons
Coronado, California
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group
Worldwide
Classified
Dam Neck, Virginia
SEAL Team 6 was dissolved in 1987. The Navy then
established the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also
known as DEVGRU. While DEVGRU is administratively supported by Naval Special
Warfare Command, they are operationally under the command of the Joint Special
Operations Command.
SEAL Team 7
Worldwide
6 Platoons
Coronado, California
SEAL Team 8
Africa
6 Platoons
Little Creek, Virginia
SEAL Team 10
Worldwide
6 Platoons
Little Creek, Virginia
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One
Worldwide
4 Platoons
Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i
Dets in:
Little Creek, Virginia
San Diego, California
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two
Worldwide
4 Platoons
Little Creek, Virginia
Merged with SDVT-1