The Naval Special Warfare Center serves as the schoolhouse for much Naval Special Warfare training. It is a major component of the Naval Special Warfare Command and is commanded by an NSW captain. In addition to the twenty-sixweek BUD/S and nine-week Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC) courses, the Center also conducts advanced maritime special operations training for NSW and other service-component SOF personnel. The Center maintains a detachment at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, in Virginia, for selected training of personnel assigned to commands on the East Coast.
There are three types of personnel assigned to NAVSPECWARCOM: NSW officers, Navy enlisted SEALs, and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen.
Mission
The NSW mission areas include unconventional warfare, direct action, combating terrorism, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, information warfare, security assistance, counterdrug operations, personnel recovery, and hydrographic reconnaissance. NSW forces can operate independently or integrate with other U.S. special operations forces or within U.S. Navy carrier battle groups and amphibious ready groups.
Naval Special Warfare units are organized, trained, and equipped to conduct special operations in maritime and riverine environments. They are deployed in small units around the world in support of fleet and national operations. They provide an effective means to apply an effective counterforce in conjunction with national policy and objectives in peacetime and across the spectrum of hostilities from peacetime operations to limited war and to general war.
Structure
NSW is a highly structured and close-knit organization. The major operational components of Naval Special Warfare Command include Naval Special Warfare Group One and Special Boat Squadron One, located in Coronado, California, and Naval Special Warfare Group Two and Special Boat Squadron Two, stationed in Little Creek, Virginia. These components deploy SEAL teams, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams, and Special Boat Units (SBUs) throughout the world.
Naval Special Warfare Groups (NSWGs) are major commands led by a Navy captain that provide command and control as well as trained and ready SEAL and SDV platoons and forces to specific geographic areas. NSW Groups One and Two are organized into (1) three SEAL teams, consisting of six sixteen-man platoons, which conduct reconnaissance, direct action, unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and other operations in maritime or riverine environments; (2) one SDV Team, which operates and maintains submersible vehicles that deliver and recover SEALs in hostile areas and conduct reconnaissance and direct-action missions; and (3) NSW Units, which are small command-and-control elements located outside the continental United States used to support other NSW forces assigned to theater special operations commanders (SOCs) or components of naval task forces.
A Naval Special Warfare Command Combat Service Support Team (CSST) is assigned to each NSW Group and provides a full range of support for designated SEAL teams, Special Boat Units, NSW Task Groups/Task Units, and/or special mission units. Special Boat Squadrons, also commanded by Navy captains, equip, support, and provide trained and ready special operations ships and craft to the assigned geographic areas of operations. Each command is comprised of one or more active or reserve component Special Boat Units (SBUs) and Cyclone-class Patrol Coastal (PC) ships.
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team
Although SEALs are expert combat swimmers, there are times when the distances they must swim would be too great for them to remain effective, or when they have too much gear to transport to the site themselves. SDV Teams use underwater SDV craft to increase the areas in which SEALs can operate. SDV Teams usually deploy from submarines, but when necessary, they can also deploy from shore-based stations or surface ships. The SDV provides life support for the embarked SEALs. The older boats allow each SEAL to plug into an onboard air source and are flooded during operations, but the new Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) carries the SEALs in a dry compartment, keeping them warmer longer and increasing their effectiveness once they reach their drop-off point. Each type of SDV is powered by batteries and offers navigation and communications equipment in addition to the propulsion and life-support systems.
The primary SDV used by SEALs currently is the MK-8 Mod 1. At 22 feet, it is rated to carry six SEALs (two operators and four passengers). It can travel at about six knots out to a range of about seventy miles, although in many cases the effects of water conditions on the crew is more of a limitation than the battery power of the SDV. The MK-9 SDV was developed to carry a crew of two SEALs and two MK 37 torpedoes for use in standoff attacks against enemy shipping but has been superseded by the MK-8.
The MK-8 is used to conduct long-range submerged missions as well as deliver SEALs or other agents onto enemy territory from a submarine or other vessel at sea. Mission usage would include underwater mapping and terrain exploration, location and recovery of lost or downed objects, offshore and in-port intelligence collection, and infiltration or exfiltration of personnel on direct-action missions.
The latest addition to the delivery vehicles is the new Advanced SEAL Delivery System. It is a dry, 65-foot mini submersible used for long-range insertion of SEALs from a larger platform, either a surface ship or a submarine. Along with its increased range, speed, and capacity above that of the MK-8, it has the distinct advantage of keeping the SEALs dry, thereby minimizing their exposure to cold and fatigue while being transported to their target. The ASDS can also be transported by land, sea, or air by C-5 or C-17 aircraft.
Two Los Angeles-class submarines, the USS Greenville and the USS Charlotte, have been structurally modified to carry the ASDS, which is connected to the ship by a watertight hatch. With a sophisticated sonar and hyperbaric recompression chamber and operating with a sixty-seven horsepower electric motor, the ASDS is manned by a crew of two and can carry eight SEALs.
There are two SDV Teams. SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One (SDVT-1) is based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and operates in the Pacific Command and Central Command geographic areas. Team Two is based at Little Creek, Virginia, and conducts operations throughout the Atlantic, Southern, and European Command areas.
SEAL Team
Currently there are ten SEAL teams, each under the leadership of a Navy commander, consisting of six operational SEAL platoons with a headquarters element and support personnel.
SEAL Platoon
A SEAL platoon is the largest operational element that will normally be used to conduct a mission. A Navy lieutenant normally commands a SEAL platoon. A platoon consists of sixteen SEALs—two officers, one chief petty officer, and thirteen enlisted men. The senior officer is the platoon commander or officer in charge, the junior officer is his assistant, the senior enlisted man is the platoon chief, and the next senior enlisted man is the leading petty officer. The LPO is in charge of the day-to-day management of the enlisted platoon members.
A platoon may divide into two squads of eight or four elements of four. All SEALs are dive, parachute, and demolitions qualified. They can destroy or sabotage enemy shipping, port and harbor facilities, bridges, railway lines, communications centers, and other lines of communication, or infiltrate and exfiltrate selected personnel by submarine, surface vessel, aircraft, or land vehicle. They also can conduct reconnaissance and surveillance in multiple environments, and organize, train, and assist U.S., allied, and other friendly military or paramilitary forces in the conduct of special operations.
Primary or Core Missions
Regardless of whether a SEAL team is working strictly for the Navy or as a component of a joint task force operating within the USSOCOM, SEALs have nine primary or core missions:
1. Direct action (DA).Direct action refers to small-unit, short-duration strike operations designed to destroy, seize, capture, recover, or inflict damage on facilities or personnel in denied overseas areas. This type of mission can take place on land or at sea against all types of fixed or mobile targets, and may take the form of a raid, an ambush, sabotage, or a direct assault, which may be accompanied by e
xplosives or handheld weapons. SEALs also conduct standoff attacks from the ground, water, or aircraft, and employ handheld laser devices to guide aircraft or weapons strikes. Their targets are always of strategic, operational, or tactical importance, and may be hit well in advance of declared or formal hostilities.
2. Counterterrorism (CT). Increasing in importance is counterterrorism, which refers to offensive action taken to preempt, deter, or respond to terrorism. This is a highly specialized mission type requiring specialized courses and training for those who perform it. Certain special operations forces from the Army, Navy, and Air Force are assigned full-time to this primary mission throughout the world. Maintaining a high state of readiness, they can deploy overseas on short notice. CT activities may include attacks on terrorist organizations and facilities having strategic importance to those groups.
3. Foreign internal defense (FID). This primary mission type involves active assistance by U.S. military and civilian government agencies in aiding a foreign country in its efforts to fight subversion, lawlessness, or insurgency. The SEALs’ primary contribution to this mission type is to train, advise, and assist the host nation’s military and paramilitary forces. They also assist in the development of their host’s maritime capabilities and instruct its forces about tactical operations on its rivers and along its coastlines.
4. Unconventional warfare (UW). In contrast to direct action, UW involves a long-duration, covert or clandestine military or paramilitary operation conducted by local or surrogate forces overseas. SEALs and other SOF and certain government agencies organize, train, equip, and support these forces to varying degrees to achieve U.S. strategic objectives.
5. Special reconnaissance (SR). SR is performed when intelligence-gathering activities are best accomplished by humans on the ground with their eyes on the target. It is conducted to collect information on the capabilities, intentions, and activities of the enemy. SR is also conducted to provide vital weather, hydrographic, and geographic information about a specific target. Prestrike SR is done to accomplish target acquisition, while poststrike SR assesses the battle damage inflicted against targets identified. SR can also be done to assess chemical, biological, nuclear, or environmental hazards.
6. Psychological operations (PSYOPS). Psychological operations are conducted to influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the decision-making processes of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. This is accomplished through dissemination of selected information or disinformation distributed by a wide variety of means, such as radio, media, or leaflets dropped by aircraft.
7. Civil affairs operations (CAOs). Capitalizing on U.S. relationships with foreign military forces, government organizations, and the civilian population, these civil affairs operations are conducted by specially trained and equipped units. These operations could be conducted in friendly, neutral, or hostile areas before, during, and after military action. A civil affairs operation could include setting up and managing a hospital, a school, or other local government functions.
8. Information operations (IOs). These operations are conducted to affect an enemy’s technological and information infrastructure, such as computers, command and control, and sophisticated weapons systems, while at the same time defending our own systems.
9. Counterproliferation (CP) of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This mission type encompasses actions taken to seize, destroy, render safe, capture, or recover WMD. Special operations forces provide unique capabilities to both monitor and support foreign countries’ compliance with arms control treaties or agreements.
SEAL Missions
SEALs have performed these core or primary missions around the globe. An integral part of SEAL training is studying previous missions. During this process they not only analyze what went right and what went wrong, but also, more important, why and how to prevent errors from reoccurring on future missions. Michael Murphy and his classmates examined numerous previous SEAL missions.
• Operation Urgent Fury. In October 1983 President Ronald Reagan sent U.S. forces to the island of Grenada to obtain the release of U.S. students being held hostage. SEAL Teams Four and Six were attached to U.S. forces to aid in the assault.
• Operation Earnest Will was in effect from 1987 through 1989. SEALs were part of a policing force that was to prevent Iranians from seeding mines in a maritime seaway used by many of the world’s oil tankers. SEALs participated in an assault on the ship Iranian Air, which U.S. Army scout helicopters had found laying mines. The ship fired on the helicopters when ordered to stop. The ship and crew were captured without U.S. casualties.
• On April 14, 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine placed by the Iranians. On April 18, SEALs took part in Operation Praying Mantis in retaliation.
• Operation Just Cause. In December 1989 SEALs were charged with two missions; both involved preventing Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega’s escape. One team was assigned to disable two fast boats while the other disabled his Learjet at the Patilla Airfield near Panama City. Four SEALs were killed, and eight seriously wounded.
• Operation Desert Shield. SEALs were present in the Persian Gulf when Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Following the invasion, SEAL Team Five and Navy Special Boat Units were able to cross the Kuwaiti border before it was sealed off by the invading Iraqi forces. In addition to Team Five, Teams One and Three were in the country on various missions.
• Operation Desert Storm. On February 23, 1991, SEALs were the first into Kuwait City, racing ahead of Allied forces to scout Iraqi resistance in Fast Attack Vehicles, and later escorted the U.S. ambassador to the U.S. embassy and provided perimeter security.
• In February 2000 the Russian-flagged Volgoneft-147 was forcibly boarded by fast rope by SEAL Team Two after it had failed to stop for boarding and inspection under suspicion of smuggling Iraqi oil, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
• Operation Restore Hope. In 1993 SEALs were involved in the peacekeeping missions in Somalia, initially providing beach hydrographic reconnaissance for Marine units that would be landing. SEALs were subsequently involved in the Battle of Mogadishu on October 3-4, 1993.
In any trouble spot throughout the world, wherever and whenever American interests are threatened, SEALs are most likely involved. In most cases SEALs are in and out before the main combat action begins, a role requiring a special breed of warrior.
SEAL “Community”
There are just over two thousand active-duty SEAL operators, comprising about one-tenth of the U.S. Navy’s personnel. Because of the nature of their highly specialized training and missions, members of the SEAL community tend to be very close-mouthed and guarded. The elite of all special operations forces, SEAL operators are fully mindful of their training, responsibilities, and, most important, their ethos. SEALs effectively “police” themselves and are hesitant about, if not resistant to, non-SEAL or -NSW attempts to penetrate their community.
While some may view this reluctance as being aloof or arrogant, it is neither. The SEAL bond and sense of community is developed in and through BUD/S training. While the first law of nature is self-preservation, the metamorphosis, the fundamental rewiring, of those who successfully complete BUD/S brings the SEAL to realize that any one of his teammates is more important than himself. It is this fundamental mind-set that separates SEALS from all other military units and that is foreign to most non-SEAL operators. It is the mind-set of a warrior.
Having completed BUD/S, each and every SEAL knows what every other SEAL knows. In the civilian workplace many people with many different thought processes, training, capabilities, and character intermingle with varying degrees of attitude and commitment, if any, to the overall mission of the enterprise. In all too many cases, most believe that what is best for them is what is best for everyone else and the workplace.
However, as a member of the warrior community, all SEAL operators know each other’s thought processes, endurance, training, capabilit
ies, and character. They know that their lives are in their teammates’ hands. This knowledge of each other is necessary to accomplish their core missions, and it is this stark distinction from the civilian world that may appear to isolate SEAL operators from others.
SEALs are fully aware that they are the most highly trained and specialized military unit in the world, and that SEAL missions are, in most cases, beyond the level of training and capability of any other military unit. With that awareness comes an underlying level of confidence that is clearly visible in how SEALs talk, act, and carry themselves, as well as in their interaction with the civilian populace. It is this fundamental difference that may lead some to view SEAL operators as distant and overbearing.
But there is a difference between confidence and conceit, commitment and convenience, and character and contrition. It is the SEALs’ fundamental difference in thought process and attitude that provides them with confidence, commitment, and character. Thankfully, conceit, convenience, and contrition simply do not apply to the warrior community.
Unlike the mission statements framed on many corporate walls, but in most cases totally unknown to their workers, the SEAL Creed is ingrained into every aspect of a SEAL’s being. The SEAL Creed is not simply words. SEALs eat it, breathe it, and live it—every minute of every day:
SEAL of Honor Page 17
