The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday
Aaron Edward Brann
5-20-14
Senior Paper
Since the dawn of man, war has always followed close behind him in every endeavor, whether good or bad. The deciding factor of right or wrong primarily depends on which side he is on, the losing or winning. That being said, with every ingenious discovery man has made, he has found a way to use it as a tool for war. In fact, most inventions and discoveries were originally bred out of the need to create better war tactics, then found more day-to-day practical uses. One of the most ancient of inventions helped to build an entire branch of military for governments, the sailboat (50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel). Unsurprisingly, considering man’s obsession with warfare, from the sail boat came a military branch known as the Navy. Every nation connected to an ocean has a navy, including the United States of America. From our Navy came the most well trained fighting force known to man, The Navy SEALs. This paper will give a few examples to back this claim, including the origins of the U.S. Navy and its esteemed Navy SEALs, their training regimen, a few of their missions, and the dedication and perseverance of the teams.
This age has witnessed an extraordinary escalation of technology dealing with watercraft. This, not surprisingly, caught the eye of men with power, who in their never- ending quest for power saw the potential in even the simplest of crafts. Sea power has always been a major deciding factor in history, including a fight between the civilization of Sparta against Athens. Following suit, The United States Navy itself was founded in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. Lord Sandwich, the man in charge of the British Navy let his responsibilities slip, allowing the Britain’s Royal Navy to fall into shambles. Using this to their advantage, the Thirteen Colonies jumped at the opportunity and formed their own version of the Navy. In a way the United States Navy owes its success to the optimum geography of our proud nation. In 1777 the newly founded navy reached peak conditions with 34 ships and 5,000 men to run them (The Leverage of Sea Power, pg. 9).
The spring of 1943 set in motion one of the most important ventures of this nation’s history; a select few from a group of volunteers were chosen for the Naval Construction Battalions. These volunteers were organized into units and were tasked with reconnoitering and clearing beach obstacles for marines going ashore during amphibious landings. Today, the Navy SEALs can trace their beginnings to these underwater frogmen. SEAL is in fact an abbreviation for SEa, Air, and Land, for the reason that members of the elite team are specialists in all three of the fields. SEALs can slip behind enemy lines using any one of these methods. The diving SEALs can be in crystal clear water or murky black water where you can’t see your hand in front of the mask. One thing the SEALs always have when diving is a partner, meaning the members of the team are paired off. This is to their advantage because sometimes in the more murky water one cannot differentiate between up and down, or left and right(SEALsSWCC.com).
In the Korean War, SEALs began to enlarge their range of skills from just clearing beach obstacles to destroying railroad bridges and tunnels behind enemy lines. This was the first form of guerilla warfare tactics in which the SEALs were involved. During the 1960’s the Navy utilized recruits from Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) to form separate units called SEAL teams. While SEALs did not become famous until the Vietnam War, two teams were commissioned in 1962 by President Kennedy. The first was SEAL Team One in the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy, and the second was SEAL Team Two in the Atlantic Fleet. In 1983 the UDTs were decommissioned and recommissioned as SEALs.
SEAL teams arrived in Vietnam in 1966; however it wasn’t until 1968 that they reached their ultimate strength of approximately one hundred men. In Vietnam, the SEALs were credited as being a vital turning point in its outcome. The enemy troops feared the SEALs teams, referring to their members as the green devils or as the men with green faces, earning their nickname due to their heavy camouflage. In Vietnam, most SEALs were attached to Task Force 116, the River Patrol Force stationed in the Mekong Delta and the Rung Sat Special Area. They also took part in operation GAME WARDEN, which ran from 1965 through 1968, and operation SEALORDS, which ran from 1968 through-out 1969. Both of these operations were designed to cut the Viet Cong river supply line that was coming from Cambodia. Altogether what they are most proud of is that not a single member of their team was captured or missing in Vietnam. However, the SEALs lost 43 good men, leaving their souls forever to roam enemy heartlands. After the war, the SEALs emerged as the most decorated units involved in the conflict commenced in Southeast Asia. Three SEALs were welcomed home with the Congressional Medal of Honor, and twelve more were awarded the Silver Star for their perilous deeds performed on enemy soil(Military.com).
SEALs teams go through what is considered to be the harshest military training in the world, pushing them to the brink of human limits. Recruits encounter obstacles that develop and test their stamina, leadership, and ability to work as a team. The United States Navy SEALs training facilities are located in coastal Coronado, California. In that region, the year round temperature stays between fifty and seventy degrees. That means that the ocean temperature is pretty cold, as well. Anybody enlisted in the Navy qualifies to sign up for BUD/S which is short for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs training. Introductory tests are taken and then a physical is given to make sure the student is qualified for the training. This still doesn’t ensure passage to the training(SEALsSWCC.com).
There are four phases in the SEAL training in this order: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. In Phase 1 instructors see who can move onto BUD/S. Those who are chosen to advance paint their helmets green. If at any time during the training a student wants to quit, all he has to do is ring a ship’s bell three times, and place his helmet along the sides of a walkway out of the main entrance. In Phase 1, SEALs run, swim, workout, have basic first-aid, learn surf passage in a small inflatable boat, and learn drown-proofing and surf torture. In drown-proofing the student is hog-tied and thrown into the deep end of a pool where they are on their own to make it to the surface. Surf torture is an accurate title to describe this trial. Recruits wade in the cold ocean for hours while waves keep pounding at them. During the entirety of the training the SEALs will persistently be wet and cold, tirelessly pushing their bodies into the extremes. Throughout the last three weeks of Phase 1, students are taught the basics of what UDTs did during World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. In the last week of phase 1, students will be pushed like they have never been pushed before. The SEALs will paddle rubber boats for hours, run a daunting obstacle course over and over, perform grueling calisthenics using 300 pound logs all while instructors scream insults at them. During the five days of the week, the students will be allowed a maximum of four hours of sleep. It is not unusual for a student to hallucinate in the middle of the ocean due to a lack of sleep. Students are exercising their bodies literally around the clock, being kept wet, sandy, cold, and exhausted every minute of each day. Physicians are always standing by because hypothermia, torn ligaments, and broken bones are of the more common injuries. After the week is over, an overwhelming seventy percent of the class has either dropped out of the program or is failing the program. The purpose of hell week is to weed out the week from the strong, because instructors are looking for the best of the best.
In Phase 2, the SEALs learn how to Scuba dive under immense pressure. They also go for 3.5 mile swims in the pitch black ocean. The land warfare phase is phase 3, where SEALs do more running and physical labor, and learn how to shoot various weapons and the tactics of demolition. After the four phases the SEALs go to a jump school and then have a six month probationary period where they will be traded among teams to see where their skills are best suited. Total SEAL training lasts about 25 weeks followed by the six month probationary period(SealsSWCC.com).
In airborne school a SEAL is taught how to jump out of an airplane at night with a full combat load ready for battle. There are various ways in which a SEAL can get onto the ground or into the water from an aircraft. Fast roping is a very popular method. A rope is thrown out from a low hovering helicopter, sometimes as long as 90 feet. If executed properly, an entire squad of SEALs can make it to the ground in less than four seconds. They free-fall for most of the length of the rope and then grab as tightly as they can with special gloves, because the braking process will actually make the gloves start to smoke. HAHO stands for High Altitude High Opening. SEALs will jump out of an aircraft, opening their chutes as soon as they exit. Then they kind of stack on top of each other to make a vertical, single file line. HALO stands for High Altitude Low Opening. This is a more dangerous way of making a drop. In this method, a SEAL will free-fall until they are approximately 1800 feet off the ground. It is usually done over water, and on a dark night it is hard to tell the difference between the sky and the ocean(SEALsSWCC.com).
On the land, the SEALs are known for their offensive tactics. In their attacks, they utilize the element of surprise. They strike an enemy target without warning and escape without being detected. The ability to overwhelm a target area by saturating it with a hail of bullets either eliminates an enemy or gives time for outnumbered SEALs to retreat. In a war such as Vietnam, one thing the SEALs would do was booby trap things, like ammunition. An example of the most popular booby traps would involve finding the enemy’s ammunition. Next they would pull the bullet out, dump the powder, and refill the empty cartridge with Composition B explosive. Then the ammunition would be placed back where it was found, looking like not a thing had happened to it. When the enemy soldier attempted to fire this bullet, the gun would explode.
The SEALs operate in three different areas, and they also have three different types of vehicles. The Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) is one of the specially designed vehicles to rescue downed pilots or target a site for bombing. The DPV has three weapon stations for the crew and a passenger gun that can take the MK-19 full-auto grenade launcher or the M-60. The DPV can reach speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. In addition to the guns, it also has two AT-4 anti-armor missiles and it can carry Stinger surface to air missiles. The DPV looks like an overgrown dune buggy that is also heavily armed. The HumVee, or Hummer, can be fitted with the M2-.50 caliber heavy machine gun, the MK-19 grenade launcher, or TOW missiles. The main purpose of the HumVee is to carry SEALs and their gear from bunkers to bases. Although the Hummer is extremely rugged, the thought of using one as an offensive weapon would be suicidal.
On the water, the SEALs use a variety of vehicles, depending on the situation. In Panama and Grenada, the AC-130 gunship ripped apart targets with uncanny precision and effectiveness. The Patrol Boat, River (PBR) was widely used in Vietnam and is armed with .50 calibers in the front, M-60s on the sides, and a 40mm mortar on the back. One of the most popular boats the SEALs utilize is the Zodiac. It is rubber, and it is also bullet proof. The Zodiac can be loaded off a helicopter, a submarine, or the MC-130, which is a type of aircraft. Although it doesn’t have any weapons itself, it is a highly effective way to travel. Another type of SDV (SEAL delivery vehicle) is called the MK VIII. This boat is so stealthy that it cannot be picked up by sonar and it can carry explosives like C-4. The HSB (high speed boat) is operated by SEALs on the west coast and can travel at speeds of 70 miles per hour. The newest boat on the market for SEALs is the MKV. It can have any variety of weapons mounted from five different gun stations, it can hold sixteen SEALs, a Zodiac, and a stash of M-16 rifles.
In the air, SEALs will often use helicopters, or one of a couple aircraft. An MH-6 Pave Hawk has a mid-air refueling probe, radar altimeter, night vision, and it can also carry SEALs and their Zodiacs long distances armed with .50 mini-guns and hellfire missiles. The MC-130 can skim waters at 300 plus knots, raise the altitude and drop the airspeed to 150 knots, drop the SEALs off along with their boats, and be skimming the water again in a matter of minutes.
Just as there are a number of vehicles utilized by the SEALs, the same holds true for their weapons. A SEAL has a choice of what weapon he wants to use for the particular situation. Sidearm weapons the SEALs use the Colt .45, the 9mm Beretta, the H&K 9m P9, and the .45 Offensive Handgun Weapon System-OHWS. Assault rifles and sub machine guns used include the 9m H&K MP5N, the AR15 with 203, the M-16 A2 and the M-14. The M-60 lightweight machine gun is also widely used, and the Browning .50 caliber which is too heavy to be carried is mounted on support craft. The Ithaca Model 37 is a tough, pump action, 12 gauge shotgun that hold four rounds of ammunition in its tubular magazine underneath the barrel. The Stoner is a fully-automatic weapon that could fire 850 rounds per minute. It quickly became a trademark of the SEALs in Vietnam, a trademark that the VietCong learned to respect.
Another form of weapon commonly utilized by the SEALs are pineapple grenades and flash bangs. A flash bang does not kill the enemy, but it stuns it long enough for a SEAL to make a decisive action. The frag grenade (M26) breaks up into hundreds of pieces of shrapnel that covered a 30 meter wide area. The Stinger, MK-19, 203, and AT-4 are all types of grenade or rocket launchers used by the SEALs. One would not think it, but in guerilla warfare such as Vietnam, one of the most important components of a SEAL’s uniform was his camouflage. This was what earned the SEALs the nickname, the men with green faces. The way one could blend right into the background if properly camouflaged could make an onlooker keep on looking right by.
Navy SEALs have five primary missions: Unconventional Warfare (UW), Foreign Internal Defense (FID), Direct Action (DA), Counter Terrorism (CT), and Special Reconnaissance (SR). A SEAL platoon consists of two officers, one Chief, and 13 enlisted men. In the career of a SEAL or UDT, they can be called away from home at literally a moment’s notice. To show evidence to their unparalleled loyalty, tie to their own, and whole-hearted devoutness to their cause, no dead SEAL has ever been left on the battlefield.
Today the navy SEALs are known by their reputation for being among the toughest unconventional military forces in the world. SEAL teams’ jobs are never over, even during peacetime, SEALs fight terrorism, have missions in foreign internal defense, train allied forces, and participate in gathering intelligence operations. A few well-known missions SEALs have been involved in are Grenada, Panama, and Nicaragua. In Nicaragua they helped to capture Manuel Noriega, former dictator of Panama. The specialized teams captured him and held him as a prisoner of war. Another mission that stood out above others was in Somalia, in 1991. On this particular mission these elite and versatile soldiers were forced into a defensive position rather than their trademark element of surprise offensive. In Mogadishu, Somalia, the U.S. Embassy was outnumbered and under supplied when radicals yielding Ak-47s took to the streets and widespread ransacking broke out. Luckily for innocent civilians, this travesty happened during the Persian Gulf War, and a Navy SEAL team on the U.S.S. Guam was nearby in the North Arabian Sea. This was just the force needed for an evacuation of complexity.
After the SEALs landed in the compound, they were confronted by rebels who had scaled the wall. Fortunately, the rebels were immediately decommissioned and the SEALs were temporarily out of danger. Then team took precarious positions on rooftops and throughout the yard. They were only permitted to fire upon rebels inside the walls of the embassy; henceforth all they could do was wait in hopes another rebel would attempt to scale the wall. When the SEALs learned that three American citizens were trapped 6 blocks from the embassy, they took two light armored utility vehicles and brought the citizens back to the compound. Shortly thereafter, the rebels launched another attack, but quickly fled after causing little damage. The SEALs gained a huge advantage when the leader of the rebels requested a meeting with Ambassador James. This meant he would be brought into the compound and isolated from his men. If the rebels outside the compound fired, they were risking the life of their major. Dillon, an experienced SEAL and leader of the team in Somalia came up with the plan to distract the major and continue to evacuate without risking the lives of the civilians. Seconds after the final helicopter took off, the rebels stormed the compound. In the course of the night, 281 people had been rescued including eight ambassadors and 41 children(Navy SEALs operational history).
Of course we can’t forget the mission that made them well known to our generation was the elimination of Osama bin Laden. bin Laden had organized bombing through-out both America and Britain, and killed thousands of innocent Americans and Europeans. He made his presence known in 2001 when he crashed, and attempted to crash, airplanes into great American landmarks destroying countless lives and setting in motion a war he could never hope to win. bin Laden went into hiding operating from behind the scenes. Ten years later SEALs team 6 neutralized him and finally laid to rest a monster that had been left for too long to his own devices(Navy SEALs: Missions | Military.com).
To wrap this account up, the members of specialized teams proudly known as the Navy SEALs are the best of the best at what they do. Most only dream of accomplishing what they do in their training. Only one third of the men and women that try their hand at glory complete their objective and make it into a SEAL team. We’ve gone from Frogmen clearing beaches of objectives and evolved into a deadly, near god-like fighting force. Once again man has figured a way to shape even man into the perfect fighting machine used for war. One thing is certain, the means may change, but war…war never changes.
Literature Cited
Carrison, Daniel J. The United States Navy. New York: Praeger, 1968.
Dockery, Kevin, and Bud Brutsman. Navy Seals: A Complete History: From World War II to the Present. New York: Berkley, 2004.
Aaron Edward Brann
5-20-14
Senior Paper
Since the dawn of man, war has always followed close behind him in every endeavor, whether good or bad. The deciding factor of right or wrong primarily depends on which side he is on, the losing or winning. That being said, with every ingenious discovery man has made, he has found a way to use it as a tool for war. In fact, most inventions and discoveries were originally bred out of the need to create better war tactics, then found more day-to-day practical uses. One of the most ancient of inventions helped to build an entire branch of military for governments, the sailboat (50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel). Unsurprisingly, considering man’s obsession with warfare, from the sail boat came a military branch known as the Navy. Every nation connected to an ocean has a navy, including the United States of America. From our Navy came the most well trained fighting force known to man, The Navy SEALs. This paper will give a few examples to back this claim, including the origins of the U.S. Navy and its esteemed Navy SEALs, their training regimen, a few of their missions, and the dedication and perseverance of the teams.
This age has witnessed an extraordinary escalation of technology dealing with watercraft. This, not surprisingly, caught the eye of men with power, who in their never- ending quest for power saw the potential in even the simplest of crafts. Sea power has always been a major deciding factor in history, including a fight between the civilization of Sparta against Athens. Following suit, The United States Navy itself was founded in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. Lord Sandwich, the man in charge of the British Navy let his responsibilities slip, allowing the Britain’s Royal Navy to fall into shambles. Using this to their advantage, the Thirteen Colonies jumped at the opportunity and formed their own version of the Navy. In a way the United States Navy owes its success to the optimum geography of our proud nation. In 1777 the newly founded navy reached peak conditions with 34 ships and 5,000 men to run them (The Leverage of Sea Power, pg. 9).
The spring of 1943 set in motion one of the most important ventures of this nation’s history; a select few from a group of volunteers were chosen for the Naval Construction Battalions. These volunteers were organized into units and were tasked with reconnoitering and clearing beach obstacles for marines going ashore during amphibious landings. Today, the Navy SEALs can trace their beginnings to these underwater frogmen. SEAL is in fact an abbreviation for SEa, Air, and Land, for the reason that members of the elite team are specialists in all three of the fields. SEALs can slip behind enemy lines using any one of these methods. The diving SEALs can be in crystal clear water or murky black water where you can’t see your hand in front of the mask. One thing the SEALs always have when diving is a partner, meaning the members of the team are paired off. This is to their advantage because sometimes in the more murky water one cannot differentiate between up and down, or left and right(SEALsSWCC.com).
In the Korean War, SEALs began to enlarge their range of skills from just clearing beach obstacles to destroying railroad bridges and tunnels behind enemy lines. This was the first form of guerilla warfare tactics in which the SEALs were involved. During the 1960’s the Navy utilized recruits from Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) to form separate units called SEAL teams. While SEALs did not become famous until the Vietnam War, two teams were commissioned in 1962 by President Kennedy. The first was SEAL Team One in the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy, and the second was SEAL Team Two in the Atlantic Fleet. In 1983 the UDTs were decommissioned and recommissioned as SEALs.
SEAL teams arrived in Vietnam in 1966; however it wasn’t until 1968 that they reached their ultimate strength of approximately one hundred men. In Vietnam, the SEALs were credited as being a vital turning point in its outcome. The enemy troops feared the SEALs teams, referring to their members as the green devils or as the men with green faces, earning their nickname due to their heavy camouflage. In Vietnam, most SEALs were attached to Task Force 116, the River Patrol Force stationed in the Mekong Delta and the Rung Sat Special Area. They also took part in operation GAME WARDEN, which ran from 1965 through 1968, and operation SEALORDS, which ran from 1968 through-out 1969. Both of these operations were designed to cut the Viet Cong river supply line that was coming from Cambodia. Altogether what they are most proud of is that not a single member of their team was captured or missing in Vietnam. However, the SEALs lost 43 good men, leaving their souls forever to roam enemy heartlands. After the war, the SEALs emerged as the most decorated units involved in the conflict commenced in Southeast Asia. Three SEALs were welcomed home with the Congressional Medal of Honor, and twelve more were awarded the Silver Star for their perilous deeds performed on enemy soil(Military.com).
SEALs teams go through what is considered to be the harshest military training in the world, pushing them to the brink of human limits. Recruits encounter obstacles that develop and test their stamina, leadership, and ability to work as a team. The United States Navy SEALs training facilities are located in coastal Coronado, California. In that region, the year round temperature stays between fifty and seventy degrees. That means that the ocean temperature is pretty cold, as well. Anybody enlisted in the Navy qualifies to sign up for BUD/S which is short for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs training. Introductory tests are taken and then a physical is given to make sure the student is qualified for the training. This still doesn’t ensure passage to the training(SEALsSWCC.com).
There are four phases in the SEAL training in this order: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. In Phase 1 instructors see who can move onto BUD/S. Those who are chosen to advance paint their helmets green. If at any time during the training a student wants to quit, all he has to do is ring a ship’s bell three times, and place his helmet along the sides of a walkway out of the main entrance. In Phase 1, SEALs run, swim, workout, have basic first-aid, learn surf passage in a small inflatable boat, and learn drown-proofing and surf torture. In drown-proofing the student is hog-tied and thrown into the deep end of a pool where they are on their own to make it to the surface. Surf torture is an accurate title to describe this trial. Recruits wade in the cold ocean for hours while waves keep pounding at them. During the entirety of the training the SEALs will persistently be wet and cold, tirelessly pushing their bodies into the extremes. Throughout the last three weeks of Phase 1, students are taught the basics of what UDTs did during World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. In the last week of phase 1, students will be pushed like they have never been pushed before. The SEALs will paddle rubber boats for hours, run a daunting obstacle course over and over, perform grueling calisthenics using 300 pound logs all while instructors scream insults at them. During the five days of the week, the students will be allowed a maximum of four hours of sleep. It is not unusual for a student to hallucinate in the middle of the ocean due to a lack of sleep. Students are exercising their bodies literally around the clock, being kept wet, sandy, cold, and exhausted every minute of each day. Physicians are always standing by because hypothermia, torn ligaments, and broken bones are of the more common injuries. After the week is over, an overwhelming seventy percent of the class has either dropped out of the program or is failing the program. The purpose of hell week is to weed out the week from the strong, because instructors are looking for the best of the best.
In Phase 2, the SEALs learn how to Scuba dive under immense pressure. They also go for 3.5 mile swims in the pitch black ocean. The land warfare phase is phase 3, where SEALs do more running and physical labor, and learn how to shoot various weapons and the tactics of demolition. After the four phases the SEALs go to a jump school and then have a six month probationary period where they will be traded among teams to see where their skills are best suited. Total SEAL training lasts about 25 weeks followed by the six month probationary period(SealsSWCC.com).
In airborne school a SEAL is taught how to jump out of an airplane at night with a full combat load ready for battle. There are various ways in which a SEAL can get onto the ground or into the water from an aircraft. Fast roping is a very popular method. A rope is thrown out from a low hovering helicopter, sometimes as long as 90 feet. If executed properly, an entire squad of SEALs can make it to the ground in less than four seconds. They free-fall for most of the length of the rope and then grab as tightly as they can with special gloves, because the braking process will actually make the gloves start to smoke. HAHO stands for High Altitude High Opening. SEALs will jump out of an aircraft, opening their chutes as soon as they exit. Then they kind of stack on top of each other to make a vertical, single file line. HALO stands for High Altitude Low Opening. This is a more dangerous way of making a drop. In this method, a SEAL will free-fall until they are approximately 1800 feet off the ground. It is usually done over water, and on a dark night it is hard to tell the difference between the sky and the ocean(SEALsSWCC.com).
On the land, the SEALs are known for their offensive tactics. In their attacks, they utilize the element of surprise. They strike an enemy target without warning and escape without being detected. The ability to overwhelm a target area by saturating it with a hail of bullets either eliminates an enemy or gives time for outnumbered SEALs to retreat. In a war such as Vietnam, one thing the SEALs would do was booby trap things, like ammunition. An example of the most popular booby traps would involve finding the enemy’s ammunition. Next they would pull the bullet out, dump the powder, and refill the empty cartridge with Composition B explosive. Then the ammunition would be placed back where it was found, looking like not a thing had happened to it. When the enemy soldier attempted to fire this bullet, the gun would explode.
The SEALs operate in three different areas, and they also have three different types of vehicles. The Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) is one of the specially designed vehicles to rescue downed pilots or target a site for bombing. The DPV has three weapon stations for the crew and a passenger gun that can take the MK-19 full-auto grenade launcher or the M-60. The DPV can reach speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. In addition to the guns, it also has two AT-4 anti-armor missiles and it can carry Stinger surface to air missiles. The DPV looks like an overgrown dune buggy that is also heavily armed. The HumVee, or Hummer, can be fitted with the M2-.50 caliber heavy machine gun, the MK-19 grenade launcher, or TOW missiles. The main purpose of the HumVee is to carry SEALs and their gear from bunkers to bases. Although the Hummer is extremely rugged, the thought of using one as an offensive weapon would be suicidal.
On the water, the SEALs use a variety of vehicles, depending on the situation. In Panama and Grenada, the AC-130 gunship ripped apart targets with uncanny precision and effectiveness. The Patrol Boat, River (PBR) was widely used in Vietnam and is armed with .50 calibers in the front, M-60s on the sides, and a 40mm mortar on the back. One of the most popular boats the SEALs utilize is the Zodiac. It is rubber, and it is also bullet proof. The Zodiac can be loaded off a helicopter, a submarine, or the MC-130, which is a type of aircraft. Although it doesn’t have any weapons itself, it is a highly effective way to travel. Another type of SDV (SEAL delivery vehicle) is called the MK VIII. This boat is so stealthy that it cannot be picked up by sonar and it can carry explosives like C-4. The HSB (high speed boat) is operated by SEALs on the west coast and can travel at speeds of 70 miles per hour. The newest boat on the market for SEALs is the MKV. It can have any variety of weapons mounted from five different gun stations, it can hold sixteen SEALs, a Zodiac, and a stash of M-16 rifles.
In the air, SEALs will often use helicopters, or one of a couple aircraft. An MH-6 Pave Hawk has a mid-air refueling probe, radar altimeter, night vision, and it can also carry SEALs and their Zodiacs long distances armed with .50 mini-guns and hellfire missiles. The MC-130 can skim waters at 300 plus knots, raise the altitude and drop the airspeed to 150 knots, drop the SEALs off along with their boats, and be skimming the water again in a matter of minutes.
Just as there are a number of vehicles utilized by the SEALs, the same holds true for their weapons. A SEAL has a choice of what weapon he wants to use for the particular situation. Sidearm weapons the SEALs use the Colt .45, the 9mm Beretta, the H&K 9m P9, and the .45 Offensive Handgun Weapon System-OHWS. Assault rifles and sub machine guns used include the 9m H&K MP5N, the AR15 with 203, the M-16 A2 and the M-14. The M-60 lightweight machine gun is also widely used, and the Browning .50 caliber which is too heavy to be carried is mounted on support craft. The Ithaca Model 37 is a tough, pump action, 12 gauge shotgun that hold four rounds of ammunition in its tubular magazine underneath the barrel. The Stoner is a fully-automatic weapon that could fire 850 rounds per minute. It quickly became a trademark of the SEALs in Vietnam, a trademark that the VietCong learned to respect.
Another form of weapon commonly utilized by the SEALs are pineapple grenades and flash bangs. A flash bang does not kill the enemy, but it stuns it long enough for a SEAL to make a decisive action. The frag grenade (M26) breaks up into hundreds of pieces of shrapnel that covered a 30 meter wide area. The Stinger, MK-19, 203, and AT-4 are all types of grenade or rocket launchers used by the SEALs. One would not think it, but in guerilla warfare such as Vietnam, one of the most important components of a SEAL’s uniform was his camouflage. This was what earned the SEALs the nickname, the men with green faces. The way one could blend right into the background if properly camouflaged could make an onlooker keep on looking right by.
Navy SEALs have five primary missions: Unconventional Warfare (UW), Foreign Internal Defense (FID), Direct Action (DA), Counter Terrorism (CT), and Special Reconnaissance (SR). A SEAL platoon consists of two officers, one Chief, and 13 enlisted men. In the career of a SEAL or UDT, they can be called away from home at literally a moment’s notice. To show evidence to their unparalleled loyalty, tie to their own, and whole-hearted devoutness to their cause, no dead SEAL has ever been left on the battlefield.
Today the navy SEALs are known by their reputation for being among the toughest unconventional military forces in the world. SEAL teams’ jobs are never over, even during peacetime, SEALs fight terrorism, have missions in foreign internal defense, train allied forces, and participate in gathering intelligence operations. A few well-known missions SEALs have been involved in are Grenada, Panama, and Nicaragua. In Nicaragua they helped to capture Manuel Noriega, former dictator of Panama. The specialized teams captured him and held him as a prisoner of war. Another mission that stood out above others was in Somalia, in 1991. On this particular mission these elite and versatile soldiers were forced into a defensive position rather than their trademark element of surprise offensive. In Mogadishu, Somalia, the U.S. Embassy was outnumbered and under supplied when radicals yielding Ak-47s took to the streets and widespread ransacking broke out. Luckily for innocent civilians, this travesty happened during the Persian Gulf War, and a Navy SEAL team on the U.S.S. Guam was nearby in the North Arabian Sea. This was just the force needed for an evacuation of complexity.
After the SEALs landed in the compound, they were confronted by rebels who had scaled the wall. Fortunately, the rebels were immediately decommissioned and the SEALs were temporarily out of danger. Then team took precarious positions on rooftops and throughout the yard. They were only permitted to fire upon rebels inside the walls of the embassy; henceforth all they could do was wait in hopes another rebel would attempt to scale the wall. When the SEALs learned that three American citizens were trapped 6 blocks from the embassy, they took two light armored utility vehicles and brought the citizens back to the compound. Shortly thereafter, the rebels launched another attack, but quickly fled after causing little damage. The SEALs gained a huge advantage when the leader of the rebels requested a meeting with Ambassador James. This meant he would be brought into the compound and isolated from his men. If the rebels outside the compound fired, they were risking the life of their major. Dillon, an experienced SEAL and leader of the team in Somalia came up with the plan to distract the major and continue to evacuate without risking the lives of the civilians. Seconds after the final helicopter took off, the rebels stormed the compound. In the course of the night, 281 people had been rescued including eight ambassadors and 41 children(Navy SEALs operational history).
Of course we can’t forget the mission that made them well known to our generation was the elimination of Osama bin Laden. bin Laden had organized bombing through-out both America and Britain, and killed thousands of innocent Americans and Europeans. He made his presence known in 2001 when he crashed, and attempted to crash, airplanes into great American landmarks destroying countless lives and setting in motion a war he could never hope to win. bin Laden went into hiding operating from behind the scenes. Ten years later SEALs team 6 neutralized him and finally laid to rest a monster that had been left for too long to his own devices(Navy SEALs: Missions | Military.com).
To wrap this account up, the members of specialized teams proudly known as the Navy SEALs are the best of the best at what they do. Most only dream of accomplishing what they do in their training. Only one third of the men and women that try their hand at glory complete their objective and make it into a SEAL team. We’ve gone from Frogmen clearing beaches of objectives and evolved into a deadly, near god-like fighting force. Once again man has figured a way to shape even man into the perfect fighting machine used for war. One thing is certain, the means may change, but war…war never changes.
Literature Cited
Carrison, Daniel J. The United States Navy. New York: Praeger, 1968.
Dockery, Kevin, and Bud Brutsman. Navy Seals: A Complete History: From World War II to the Present. New York: Berkley, 2004.
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- Navy SEALs: Missions | Military.com
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