Origins Although not formally founded until 1962, the modern-day U.S. Navy SEALs trace their roots to
World War II. 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 on the North African Coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in
Sicily,
Salerno,
Anzio,
Normandy, and
southern France. The 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
Finschhafen in
Papua New Guinea. Later operations were at
Gasmata,
Arawe,
Cape Gloucester, and the east and south coasts 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, clear 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. In September 1942, 17 Navy salvage personnel arrived at ATB
Little Creek, Virginia for a week-long course in demolitions, explosive cable cutting, and commando raiding techniques. On 10 November 1942, the first combat demolition unit successfully cut cable and net barriers across the Wadi
Sebou River during
Operation Torch in North Africa. This enabled to traverse the water and insert
U.S. Rangers who captured the
Port Lyautey airdrome. In early May 1943, a two-phase "Naval Demolition Project" was directed by the
Chief of Naval Operations "to meet a present and urgent requirement". The first phase began at ATB Solomons, Maryland with the establishment of Operational Naval Demolition Unit No. 1. Six officers and eighteen enlisted men reported from the
Seabee's NTC
Camp Peary dynamiting and demolition school, for a four-week course. Those Seabees, led by Lieutenant Fred Wise CEC, were immediately sent to participate in the invasion of Sicily. At that time Lieutenant Commander
Draper L. Kauffman, "The Father of Naval Combat Demolition," was selected to set up a school for Naval Demolitions and direct the entire Project. The first six classes graduated from "Area E" at NTC Camp Peary. LCDR Kauffman's needs quickly out-grew "Area E" and on 6 June 1943, he established NCDU training at Fort Pierce. Most of Kauffman's volunteers came from the navy's
Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) and enlisted Seabees. Training commenced with a grueling week designed to filter out under-performing candidates. Eventually given the name "Hell Week" by NCDU recruits, this rigorous course was integrated into UDT training and remains a part of modern-day Navy Seal training today. 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, under heavy fire, 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 of beach in two hours, another 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, four NCDUs from Utah Beach plus nine others participated in the landings
Operation Dragoon in southern France. It was the last amphibious operation in the
European Theater of Operations. Once the European invasions were complete, Rear Admiral Kelly Turner requisitioned all available NCDUs from Fort Pierce for integration into the
Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) operating in the
Pacific Theater. Thirty NCDUs had been sent to the Pacific prior to Normandy. NCDUs 1–10 were staged on
Florida Island in the
Solomon Islands (archipelago) during January 1944. NCDU 1 went briefly to the
Aleutians in 1943. NCDUs 4 and 5 were the first to see combat by helping the
4th Marines at
Green Island and
Emirau Island. The first underwater demolition team commanders were CDR E.D. Brewster (CEC) UDT 1 and CDR John T. Koehler UDT 2. The teams wore fatigues with life-vests and were not expected to leave their boats—similar to the NCDUs. However, at Kwajalein
Fort Pierce protocol was changed. Admiral Turner ordered daylight reconnaissance and CEC. ENS Lewis F. Luehrs and Seabee Chief William Acheson wore swim trunks under their fatigues anticipating they would not be able to get what the Admiral wanted by staying in the boat. They stripped down and spent 45 minutes in the water in broad daylight. When they got out they were taken directly to Admiral Turner's
flagship to report, still in their trunks. Admiral Turner concluded that daylight reconnaissance by individual swimmers was the way to get accurate information on coral and underwater obstacles for upcoming landings. This is what he reported to Admiral Nimitz. The success of those UDT 1 Seabees not following Fort Pierce protocol rewrote the UDT mission model and training regimen. Those Seabees also created the image of UDTs as the "naked warriors". At
Engebi CDR Brewster was wounded and all of the men with ENS Luehrs wore swim trunks under their greens. that staged for UDTs 1 & 2. He and Chief Acheson were the first UDT swimmers. His
Corps insignia would have had a Seabee on it. Seabees made up the vast majority of the men in teams 1–9, 13, and 15. Seabees were roughly 20% of UDT 11. At war's end 34 teams had been formed with teams 1–21 having actually been deployed. The Seabees provided over half of the men in the teams that saw service. The UDT uniform had transitioned from the combat fatigues of the NCDUs to trunks,
swimfins,
diving masks and
Ka-bars. The men trained by the OSS had brought their swimfins with them when they joined the UDTs. They were adopted by the other teams as quickly as Supply could get them. During WWII the Navy did not have a
rating for the UDTs nor did they have an insignia. Those men with the CB rating on their uniforms considered themselves Seabees that were doing underwater demolition (Fig. 11). They did not call themselves "UDTs" or "
Frogmen" but rather "Demolitioneers" which had carried over from the NCDUs and Lt Cdr Kauffman's recruiting efforts from the Seabee dynamiting and demolition school. The next largest group of UDT volunteers came from the joint Army-Navy
Scouts and Raiders school that was also in Fort Pierce and the
Navy's bomb disposal school in the Seabee-dominated teams. For the Marianas operations of Kwajalein,
Roi-Namur, Siapan, Tinian,
Eniwetok, and Guam, Admiral Turner recommended sixty Silver Stars and over three hundred
Bronze Stars with Vs for the Seabees and other service members of UDTs 1–7 That was unprecedented in U.S. Naval/Marine Corps history. For UDTs 3 and 4 every officer received a silver star and all the enlisted received bronze stars with Vs for Operation Forager (Guam).As the first to often make amphibious landings, the UDTs began making signs to welcome the Marines, indicating they had been there first, to foster the continued friendly rivalry. In keeping with UDT tradition, UDT 21 created a sign to greet the Marines landing in Japan. For
Operation Beleaguer UDT 9 was deployed with the
III Amphibious Corps to Northern China. In 1965 the UDT 12 put up another beach sign to greet the Marines at
Da Nang.
Operation Crossroads UDT 3 was designated TU 1.1.3 for the operation. On 27 April 1946, seven officers and 51 enlisted embarked at CBC Port Hueneme, for transit to Bikini. Their assignment was to retrieve water
samples from
ground zero of the Baker blast.
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. During the "Forgotten War" the UDTs fought intensely, employing demolition expertise gained from World War II and using it for an offensive role. Continuing to use water as cover and concealment as well as an insertion method, the Korean Era UDTs targeted bridges, tunnels, fishing nets, and other maritime and coastal targets. They also developed a close working relationship with the
Republic of Korea Underwater Demolitions Unit (predecessor to the Navy Special Warfare Flotilla), which continues today. 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 dived on . 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 Koreans' fishing capability. The Navy needed to determine its role within the special operations arena. In March 1961,
Admiral Arleigh Burke, the
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. Per Chief of Naval Operations' direction to, "...establish special operations teams as a separate component within Underwater Demolition Units ONE and TWO...", the new SEAL Teams would be formed entirely of personnel transferred from
Underwater Demolition Teams. UDTs, which had already gained extensive experience in
commando warfare in
Korea, would continue alongside the SEAL Teams until their redesignation in 1983. The first two teams were formed in January 1962 and stationed 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. The SEALs mission was to conduct counter guerilla warfare and clandestine operations in maritime and riverine environments.''According to founding SEAL team member
Roy Boehm, the SEALs' first missions were directed against
communist Cuba. These consisted of deploying from submarines and carrying out beach reconnaissance in a prelude to a proposed US amphibious invasion of the island. On at least one occasion, Boehm and another SEAL had 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 later involved in the CIA sponsored
Phoenix Program where it targeted
Vietcong (VC) infrastructure and personnel 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 VC was direct. Unlike the conventional warfare methods of firing artillery into a coordinate location, the SEALs operated close to 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 VC referred to them as "the men with green faces," due to the
camouflage face paint the SEALs wore during combat missions. In February 1966, a small SEAL Team One detachment arrived in South Vietnam to conduct direct action missions. Operating from
Nhà Bè Base, near the Rung Sat Special Zone, this detachment signalled the beginning of a SEAL presence that would eventually include 8 SEAL platoons in country on a continuing basis. SEALs also served as advisors for
Provincial Reconnaissance Units and the Lein Doc Nguio Nhia, the Vietnamese SEALs. Later awards would bring the total to three Medals of Honor and five Navy Crosses. SEAL Team One was awarded three Presidential Unit Citations and one Navy Unit Commendation; SEAL Team Two received two Presidential Unit Citations. By the end of the war, 48 SEALs had been killed in Vietnam, but estimates of their kill count are as high as 2,000. The Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, displays a list of the 48 SEALs who lost their lives in combat during the Vietnam War.
Early administration and reorganization From their founding in 1962 until 1968, SEAL Team members did not receive a distinct Navy Enlistment Classification (NEC) code. Instead, personnel attached to SEAL Team ONE or TWO were classified as 5321 Underwater Demolition Team Swimmers or 5322 Underwater Demolition Team/EOD Swimmers. In 1968, NEC 5326 Combatant Swimmer, SEAL Team and 5327 Combatant Swimmer, SEAL Team/EOD Technician were introduced. These classifications fell under component NEC 5321 (and 5322 for EOD), with 5326 and 5327 requiring the Army Airborne course (2E-F1/011-F1), receipt of the superseding component NEC, and six months on-the-job training with a SEAL Team to receive the secondary code. In 1968, the first qualification insignia were approved for both Underwater Demolition Team and SEAL Team personnel. These insignia were the same, save for the SEAL insignia having an eagle perched atop the trident. In March 1972, both insignia were superseded with the
Naval Special Warfare insignia, which adopted the SEAL design in its entirety. In August of that year, the silver enlisted insignia was replaced by a gold one, thus becoming the only gold insignia badge worn by both officer and enlisted personnel. By 1975, personnel awarded the defunct
UDT badge could apply for the Special Warfare Insignia to replace the discontinued decoration. Per SEAL veteran and future Navy Commander Tim Bosiljevac:
By the early 1970s, since all frogmen were parachute qualified, the UDT and SEAL symbols were merged as one. The design which remained was the original SEAL design...The breast insignia could only be worn by those men who graduated from BUD/S and had additionally served a six month minimum probationary period within an active SEAL or UDT unit...The UDT/SEAL breast Insignia was too large and stood out too loudly, just like the men who wore it. Encountering such an attitude, frogmen wore it much more proudly.On 1 May 1983, UDT–11 was redesignated as SEAL Team Five, UDT–21 was redesignated as SEAL Team Four, UDT–12 became
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One (SDVT–1), and UDT–22 was redesignated as
SDVT-2. SEAL Team Three, was established 1 October 1983 in Coronado, California.
United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) was established in April 1987 and its Naval component,
United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM), also known as NSWC, was established at the same time. Similar administrative changes continued through the 1990s and the 2000s. This is most apparent with the consolidation of Navy Enlistment Classification (NEC) codes. Over the years, various "combatant swimmer" NECs existed. This included the 5321 (UDT Swimmer), 5322 (UDT Swimmer/EOD Technician), 5323 (SEAL Delivery Vehicle Pilot/Navigator/DDS Operator), and 5326 (Combatant Swimmer, SEAL Team). By the 1990s, the Navy would start referring to these NECs using the umbrella 532X "Special Warfare Combatant Swimmer" code. In 2006, the designation process was again consolidated through the creation of the Special Warfare Operator (SO) rate. This rate would use the historic Underwater Demolition Team insignia design as its rate mark identifying all enlisted Navy SEALs. Due to the 1962 formation of SEAL Team ONE and TWO from Underwater Demolition Team personnel, the shared
BUD/S training pipeline, the unified "
SEAL Trident" in 1972, the redesignation of Underwater Demolition Teams as SEAL Teams in 1983, the evolution of the 532x SEAL classification code, and through the adoption of the legacy UDT insignia heraldry as the Special Warfare Operator rate mark in 2006, UDT members are recognized as contemporary SEAL veterans. In 2017, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO extended this recognition to
World War II Scouts and Raiders veterans when retired Petty Officer 1st Class, Bruce E. McCormick, was presented the Special Warfare (SEAL) insignia.
Grenada Both SEAL Team Four and SEAL Team Six, the predecessor to
DEVGRU, participated in the US invasion of Grenada. The SEALs' two primary missions were the extraction of Grenada's Governor-General, Sir
Paul Scoon, 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. On 24 October 1983, twelve operators from SEAL Team Six and four Air Force Combat Control Team members (CCT) conducted a predawn combat airborne water insertion from
C-130 Hercules aircraft with Zodiac inflatable rubber boats 40 kilometers north of Point Salines, Grenada. The team inserted with full combat gear in bad weather with low visibility conditions and high winds. Four SEALs drowned and were never recovered. SEALs split into two teams and proceeded to their objectives. After digging in at the Governor's mansion, the SEALs realized they had forgotten to load their
cryptographic satellite phone. 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 gunship fire support. The SEALs were pinned down in the mansion overnight and were relieved and extracted by a group of 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-60 armored personnel carriers, 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 aircraft.
Iran–Iraq War 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
EOD technicians 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 takedown of the
Iran Ajr. Evidence gathered on the
Iran Ajr by the SEALs later allowed the US Navy to trace the mines that struck . This chain of events led 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 commandos took part in combat operations such as the liberation of the capital city.
Panama The United States Navy contributed extensive special operations assets to Panama's invasion, codenamed
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 swam underwater into the harbor on
Draeger LAR-V
rebreathers and attached
C-4 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, including Chief Petty Officer
Donald McFaul, and thirteen wounded.
Persian Gulf War In August 1990, SEALs were the first western forces to deploy to the
Persian Gulf as part of
Operation Desert Shield. They infiltrated
Kuwait the capital city within hours of the invasion and gathered intelligence and developed plans to rescue US embassy staff should they become hostages. SEALs were also the first to capture Iraqi Prisoners of War when they assaulted nine Kuwaiti Oil platforms on 19 January 1991. On 23 February 1991, a seven-man SEAL team launched a mission to trick the Iraqi military into thinking an amphibious assault on Kuwait by coalition forces was imminent by setting off explosives and placing marking buoys 500 meters off the Kuwaiti coast. The mission was a success and Iraqi forces were diverted east away from the true coalition offensive. The SEALs were first into Kuwait City in their
Desert Patrol Vehicles when it was recaptured.
Somalia Intervention On 6 December 1992, as part of
Operation Restore Hope, U.S. Navy SEALs and Special Boat crewmen from Naval Special Warfare Task Unit TRIPOLI began a three-day operation carrying out reconnaissance operations in the vicinity of
Mogadishu airport and harbor; ahead of UNITAFs deployment to the country. They suffered only one casualty, who was injured by an IED. In August 1993 a four-person DEVGRU SEAL sniper team was deployed to Mogadishu to work alongside
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 SEALs would be later awarded the Silver Star in recognition of their bravery while Navy SEAL
Howard E. Wasdin would be awarded a Purple Heart after continuing to fight despite being wounded three times during the battle.
War in Afghanistan Invasion In the immediate aftermath of the
September 11 attacks, Navy SEALs quickly dispatched to
Camp Doha, and those already aboard U.S. 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 entered Afghanistan to conduct the SR of what would become
Camp Rhino, as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A). These early stages of OEF were commanded by a fellow SEAL,
Rear Admiral Albert Calland. cave complex. As part of the CJSOTF (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force) under the command of General
Tommy Franks at
CENTCOM, SEALs from DEVGRU were part of Task Force Sword, which was established in early October 2001. It was a
black SOF (Special Operations Forces) unit under direct command of
JSOC. It was a so-called hunter-killer force whose primary objective was to capture or kill senior leadership and HVT within both al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Sword was initially structured around a two-squadron component of operators from Delta Force (Task Force Green) and DEVGRU (Task Force Blue) supported by a Ranger protection force team (Task Force Red), ISA signals intercept and surveillance operators (Task Force Orange) and the 160th SOAR (Task Force Brown).
Task Force K-Bar was established on 10 October 2001, it was formed around a Naval Special Warfare Group consisting of SEALs from SEAL Teams 2, 3 and 8 and Green Berets from 1st Battalion,
3rd SFG; the task force was led by SEAL Captain
Robert Harward. The task force's principal task was to conduct SR and
SSE missions in the south of the country. Other Coalition SOF-particularly
KSK,
JTF2 and
New Zealand Special Air Service were assigned to the task force. As part of the JIATF-CT (Joint Interagency Task Force-Counterterrorism)—intelligence integration and fusion activity composed of personnel from all of Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan-participating units—SEALs from DEVGRU were part of Task Force Bowie, they were embedded in the task force in AFOs (Advanced Force Operations). The AFOs were 45-man reconnaissances units made up of Delta Force recce specialists augmented by selected SEALs from
DEVGRU and supported by
ISA's technical experts. The AFOs had been raised to support TF Sword and were tasked with intelligence preparation of the battlefield, working closely with the CIA and reported directly to Task Force Sword. The AFOs conducted covert reconnaissance—sending small two or three-man teams into al-Qaeda 'Backyard' along the border with Pakistan, the AFO operators would deploy observation posts to watch and report enemy movements and numbers as well as environmental reconnaissance; much of the work was done on foot or
ATVs. SEALs were present at the
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in November 2001 alongside their counterparts from the British
SBS. Chief Petty Officer
Stephen Bass was awarded the
Navy Cross for his actions during the battle. Before the US Marines landed at
Camp Rhino in November 2001, a SEAL recce team from
SEAL Team 8 conducted reconnaissance of the area, they were mistakenly engaged by orbiting
AH-1W attack helicopters, but the SEALs managed to get a message through to the Marines before they suffered casualties. 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.
Post-invasion cave complex In January 2002, following the
Battle of Tora Bora, another series of caves was discovered in
Zhawar Kili, just south of
Tora Bora; airstrikes hit the sites before SOF teams were inserted into the area. A SEAL platoon from SEAL Team 3, including several of their Desert Patrol Vehicles, accompanied by a German KSK element, a Norwegian SOF team and
JTF2 reconnaissance teams spent some nine days conducting extensive SSE, clearing an estimated 70 caves and 60 structures in the area, recovering a huge amount of both intelligence and munitions, but they didn't encounter any al-Qaeda fighters. 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 Norway, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Denmark. Task Force K-Bar conducted combat operations in the massive cave complexes near 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. In February 2002, 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. In March 2002, SEALs from DEVGRU, SEAL Teams 2, 3 and 8 participated extensively in
Operation Anaconda. During what would become known as the
Battle of Takur Ghar, whilst inserting from an MH-47E Chinook, PO1
Neil Roberts from DEVGRU, was thrown from his helicopter when it took fire from entrenched al Qaeda fighters. Roberts was subsequently 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. and STG2
Matthew Axelson in Afghanistan, both of whom were killed in action Later in 2002, CJSOFT became a single integrated command under the broader
CJTF-180 that commanded all US forces assigned to OEF-A, it was built around an Army Special Forces Group (composed of soldiers from National Guard units) and SEAL teams. A small JSOC element (formerly Task Force Sword/11) not under direct CTJF command—embedded within CJSOFT, it consisted of a joint SEAL and Ranger element that rotated command, and was not under direct ISAF command, although it operated in support of NATO operations. In June 2005, Lieutenant
Michael P. Murphy was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor after his four-man reconnaissance counterinsurgency team was almost wiped out during
Operation Red Wings. After the four-man team lost
Danny Dietz, he put himself in open view to call in the QRF. He soon after died from injuries sustained.
Matthew Axelson also died on this operation. The QRF never reached the scene; it was struck by an RPG killing eight Navy SEALs and eight
Army Night Stalkers.
Marcus Luttrell was the only survivor from this operation. , 30 August 2012. In early 2010, Brigadier General
Scott Miller took command of CJSOTF-Afghanistan and assigned virtually all SOF in the theatre to a new counterinsurgency role that would become known as the ALP/VSO Program (Afghan Local Police/Village Stability Operations), the SOF in Afghanistan were organized into battalion level SOTF (Special Operations Task Forces) each with a geographic area of responsibility-the SEALs were given southeast Afghanistan. To increase security of their assigned VSO village, a SEAL Platoon in
Chora District,
Uruzgan Province built a wall constructed of of
HESCO barriers to divert insurgent movements away, this proved successful and eventually the Afghan villagers took ownership of it. SEALs and other SOTF still conducted Direct Action missions, but now partnered with Afghan forces. On 6 August 2011, seventeen U.S. 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 of the SEALs belonged to the
Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Two others were SEALs assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit. A total of 30 Americans and eight Afghans were killed in the crash, making it the single largest loss of U.S. lives in the Global War on Terrorism. On 16 August 2012, SEALs in Uruzgan Province conducted a joint operation into the
Shah Wali Kot Valley where they suffered the loss of a Black Hawk helicopter when it was struck by an insurgent
RPG, the crash killed 11 servicemen (seven US and four Afghan). In December 2012, SEALs from DEVGRU rescued a US doctor who had been kidnapped a few days earlier. However, during the operation the unit suffered a fatality, Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque. Senior Chief
Edward Byers was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during this mission. In May 2013, Rear Admiral
Sean Pybus, commander of Navy Special Warfare, stated that the unit would cut in half the number of SEAL platoons in Afghanistan by the end of 2013. Pybus also added that the unit is already "undergoing a transition back to its maritime roots" by placing more emphasis on sea-based missions after being involved in mostly landlocked missions since 2001.
Iraq War Invasion after its capture For the
2003 invasion of Iraq, a squadron from
DEVGRU operated as part of Task Force 20. Their role was to conduct heliborne direct action raids, particularly against HVTs. The Naval Special Operations Task Group was assigned to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was built around a core of SEAL Teams 8 and 10, Polish
GROM,
Royal Marines from
40 and
42 Commando under the command of
3 Commando Brigade and attached
US Psy Ops and civil affairs teams. The Naval Task Group was principally tasked with the capture of the port of
Umm Qasr, Iraq's only deep-water port; the oil pipeline facilities of the
Al-Faw Peninsula; and the two off-shore platforms the pipelines fed. Once these initial target sets were secured, the Task Group would support conventional forces in the south, conducting reconnaissance and raiding activities. Aviation support was provided by both Marine air of the 15th MEU and
20th Special Operations Squadron. Several days before the beginning of the invasion, 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, SEALs from SEAL Team 8 and 10 (31 SEALs, 2
Navy EOD a USAF combat controller and several Iraqi interpreters) moved to seize the MABOT oil terminal whilst GROM operators assaulted the KAAOT Oil Terminals. The terminals were quickly seized with no casualties, and explosives which were found on the terminals were made safe by GROM operators. The shore-based pumping stations (known as MMS-Monitoring and Meter Stations) and their pipelines on the
Al-Faw Peninsula were
seized by 12 SEALS from SEAL Team 3, who were mounted in DPVs. They took off from Kuwait and were inserted under Iraqi anti-aircraft fire by MH-53 helicopters. The target area was 'softened up' by
JDAM bombs dropped from
B-52s on Iraqi bunkers, trenches and dugouts around the oil facilities. After a brief firefight in which the SEALs killed 1 Iraqi soldier and captured 13, the SEALs secured the MMS and the pipelines and were relieved by Royal Marines from 40 Commando. The SEALs advised the Marines, helping coordinate
AC-130 Spectres fire support onto Iraqi forces. The other shore-based pumping station at Umm Qasr was secured by SEALs and Royal Marines; before they landed, AC-130 Spectres and
A-10As engaged a nearby
SAM installation and a responding Iraqi mechanized unit. The SEALs secured the facility itself whilst the Royal Marines cleared Iraqi bunkers, killing several Iraqi soldiers. Other Naval Task Group operations included elements of three SEAL platoons in GMV trucks and DPVs seizing the al Zubayr MMS, whilst
I MEF attacked the Rumaylah Oil Fields north of al-Faw. SEALs and
Special Boat teams helped secure the Khawr Abd Allah and Khawr Az Zubyar waterways, which enabled humanitarian supplies to be delivered to the port of Umm Qasr. SEALs from the unit that secured the al-Faw MMS also conducted reconnaissance on the Shat Al Arab waterway, which was later secured by British forces. SEALs were also involved in various VBSS missions with British and Australian forces to seize Iraqi craft carrying seaborne mines. Coalition military planners were concerned that retreating Iraqi forces would destroy the Mukatayin hydroelectric dam, located 57 miles northeast of Baghdad, in an attempt to slow advancing US troops. In addition to restricting the manoeuvre 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 team of SEALs from SEAL Team 5 and Polish GROM was called in to seize the dam. This force was flown several hours by six US Air Force
MH-53J Pave Lows; the force consisted of 20 SEALs (with an extra six SEAL snipers in one helicopter carrying the SEAL command and control element) and two EOD operators along with 35 GROM operators to the dam. The SEALs employed DPVs into blocking positions to defend against counterattack 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 (the SEAL unit at the al-Faw MMS lost all but two DPVs when they were bogged down in the oily mud) 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 troops guarding the dam surrendered without a fight, and with the exception of a GROM
soldier who broke an ankle during the insertion, no casualties were sustained in the operation. After several hours of searching the dam for remaining hostile forces or any explosives, the SEALs secured the dam and held it for five days until they were relieved by advancing elements of the US Army. During the
Battle of Basra, SEALs along with the
Brigade Reconnaissance Force and
539 Assault Squadron RM attempted a waterborne approach to
Basra via the Shatt al-Arab waterway but were intercepted by
Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol craft and did not want to engage them so they withdrew. On 6 April 2003, after relocating further up the waterway they successfully infiltrated via the waterway, using SEAL UAVs they called in "show-of-force" and an airstrike by a USMC
Harrier on Iraqi troops, the SEALs then headed to "
Chemical Ali's" house with SSE teams to find traces of chemical weapons. SEALs carried out missions around
Nasiriyah, carrying out reconnaissance on surrounding villages and engaging enemy strong points bypassed by the US Marine advance. Charlie Platoon, SEAL Team 3, later operated ahead of the Marine advance carrying out similar missions. SEAL and GROM units continued to cooperate throughout the rest of the invasion phase, with raids and anti-sniper missions in
Baghdad.
Post-invasion Iraq , the second Navy SEAL killed in Iraq. This photo was taken during an extraction after a firefight, and the smoke was used to conceal their movements from the enemy. Following the invasion, SEAL platoons rotated through
Iraq, conducting overwatch for US and Iraqi patrols and directly mentoring local Iraqi forces; they also conducted surveillance and sniping missions into known trouble spots. In September 2004, a SEAL sniper element was tasked with establishing an overwatch and surveillance position overlooking
Haifa Street, they were inserted by
Bradley IFVs from a unit of the
9th Cavalry Regiment, however they were spotted and engaged by insurgents. The SEALs notified the Bradleys, they drove back, fired on the insurgents and set up a cordon for the SEALs to be extracted, one Bradley was destroyed by a car bomb, there were no casualties, and the SEALs were extracted. In the interim between the First Battle of Fallujah and
Second Battle of Fallujah, insurgents in
Fallujah knew that the coalition assault was inevitable and under the guidance of the influx of foreign fighters, began to build defensive networks throughout the city-ranging from fortified buildings, trench lines,
berms, strategically placed
car bombs and
IEDs. In preparations for the second battle, SEALs conducted reconnaissance near the berms and tested out reports that the insurgents were equipped with night-vision equipment, they proved this by throwing an infrared chemical light into the street which drew small arms fire. SEALs along with the
5th SFG,
Marine Force Recon and
Det One and other JSOC elements were heavily involved in shaping operations prior to 7 November
D-DAY when coalition forces entered the city. The SOF shaping included sophisticated feints to mislead the insurgents as to the direction of the final assault, close target reconnaissance and direct-action missions where a logistics node or IED factory was targeted. When the offensive on the insurgents in the city began, many of the US Marine companies had SEAL sniper teams attached to them, mainly from SEAL Teams 3, 5 and 10. From 2005, SEALs were heavily committed to western Iraq in
Al Anbar Governorate,
AQI terrorists who escaped Fallujah had relocated to
Ramadi. A SEAL Task Unit was co-located with the Marines at
Al Asad Airbase and sent elements to Ramadi and
Habbaniyah, the SEALs were initially tasked with target development for the Marines and providing sniper overwatch for their patrols. The SEALs were already training an Iraqi Army unit in Habbaniyah, although
FID was their main focus until later that year. A SEAL Task Unit generally comprised two individual SEAL Platoons: each Platoon was made up of seven-man squad elements commanded by a
junior officer, three of these Task Units (although a fourth was often added) along with a Special Boat Team detachment and a Headquarters Team (including integral intelligence, targeting and EOD personnel) made up a Naval Special Warfare Squadron. According to
Dick Couch, the SEALs began FID with two Iraqi units-the Army Scouts who conducted conventional reconnaissance missions, and the SMP (Special Missions Platoon), a locally formed unit that would later fight alongside the SEALs. Despite several challenges, the SEALs were soon conducted operations with partnered units, particularly in Special Reconnaissance, focusing on the surveillance aspect, whilst conventional US Army or Marines would conduct raids and arrests. The typical loadout of the SEALs in Ramadi included the M4 carbine, optimized for close quarter battle with a 10-inch barrel equipped with a 6-inch sound suppressor, Surefire flashlight and EOTech sight, vertical foregrip, and seven magazines. As the SEALs were beginning to make headway in Ramadi, AQI was starting to infiltrate the area by targeting local
Sheikhs and convincing them to allow jihadists to marry into local tribes, thus cementing their powerbase and Sheikhs that resisted these advances were met with typical AQI brutality. Al-Qaeda's efforts to install a
Sharia-style shadow government in Ramadi led to AQI's downfall-when in the first half of 2006, in the run-up to the
Second Battle of Ramadi SEALs, increasingly partnered with conventional forces of the
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division which was planning the offensive. SEALs along with the Scouts and SMP, would conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and sniper overwatch tasks; with their own targeting cell, they also began conducting raids on local insurgent leaders. The 1st BCT began the concerted offensive to clear Ramadi of AQI fighters; on 29 September 2006, whilst at a rooftop overwatch position, Petty Officer
Michael A. Monsoor died after leaping upon an enemy grenade during a rooftop firefight, two SEALs on the roof were badly wounded from the grenade fragments and their local Iraqi Scouts ran back into the cover of the building, a fourth SEAL (only lightly wounded), managed to radio his colleagues and get the Scouts to return fire. A SEAL element in a second overwatch position immediately ran through heavy fire to reach Monsoor (whom later died from his wounds in the back of a Bradley IFV) and the wounded SEALs, Monsoor was later awarded the Medal of Honor and the Silver Star. The advances by conventional forces and the SEALs in Ramadi, combined with the brutal tactics of AQI, helped to increase recruitment in a local police initiative-the programme was designed to bring the local Sheikhs' militias into the Iraqi Security Forces. These volunteers would serve locally in their communities to defend them against al-Qaeda, a month after the kidnapping and murder of Sheikh Khalid by AQI (which proved to be the tipping point), the Sheikhs signed a declaration agreeing to fight AQI and by the closing of 2006, even former insurgents were joining the local police (later known as the
Anbar Awakening) by the end of the battle, some 1,100 terrorists were killed. In Fallujah, the SEAL Task Unit were also heavily involved in fighting. In one joint operation to capture an AQI leader, they entered the target building and were engaged resulting in an Iraqi Scout being killed and a SEAL severely wounded, two SEALs returned fire and entered the building, both SEALs entered different rooms, in one room the SEAL encountered three insurgents who opened fired at close range, another SEAL across the hallway was struck in the head and killed, the SEAL in the room with the insurgents killed all three. In September 2009, in a nighttime raid in Fallujah, SEALs captured
Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi (nicknamed the "Butcher of Fallujah"), a prominent al-Qaeda terrorist who was the mastermind behind the
2004 Fallujah ambush. Al-Isawai made accusations of mistreatment while in custody, and testified in April 2010 at the ensuing
courts-martial against three SEALs (all of whom were acquitted). Iraqi authorities later tried and executed al-Isawi by
hanging at some point before November 2013. SEALs remained employed throughout the Iraqi Campaign as Task Units or Task Elements until its close in 2011.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines OEF-P was established in 2002 to conduct long-term partnered operations with both Philippine Army special operations and intelligence units, as well as police units, to counter the threat posed by the
ASG and
JI terrorist groups. Much of this work has been assigned to 1st SFG; SEALs and
USAF Special Operations who have also had a long-term presence in the Philippines. There are few confirmed operational details about the SEALs and Green Berets conducting partnered operations, although elements are partnered with Philippine Army and SOF; there have been mentions of Green Berets and SEALs wounded. On 21 June 2002, SEALs in
RIBs supported the
Philippine Naval Special Operations Group in the operation that killed
Abu Sabaya, a senior leader in the ASG. A US Predator UAV marked the HVT with an infrared laser as he tried to escape in a smugglers boat; the MH-47Es from the 160th SOAR used search lights mounted on their helicopters to pinpoint the target's boat while operators from the Philippine Naval Special Operations Group opened fire on the boat killing the terrorist leader and capturing four other terrorists with him.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa As part of OEF-HOA, Naval Special Warfare Unit 10 are deployed to
Camp Lemonnier,
Djibouti, under the command of SOCCE-HOA (Special Operations Command and Control Element-Horn of Africa) which commands all
SOCOM units assigned to training or operational missions in the region. Special operations carried out in Somalia are conducted under the codename: Operation Octave Dune, as part of the overall effort in Somalia, which is known as Operation Octave Shield. Before
Djibouti became the epicentre for counter terrorism operations in Africa, unilateral operations were launched from temporary forward locations in friendly nations such as Kenya, or from US Navy ships. The earliest known operation in Somalia was known as Operation Cobalt Blue: In 2003, SEALs using
SEAL Delivery Vehicles swam ashore along the Somali coastline and emplaced covert surveillance cameras. Known as cardinals, the cameras were designed to watch likely target locations for wanted terrorists as al-Qaeda and its affiliates began to regroup in the country, however the cameras only took one image a day and captured very little. CJSOTF-HOA (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Horn of Africa) developed a rescue plan called Operation Mystic Talon, in case any CIA SAD or ISA operators were captured in the region, the plan required a SEAL platoon with Air Force Special Operations assets that, if necessary, would fight their way into Somalia, recover the hostage and fight their way out, should a mission need to be launched before a dedicated JSOC task force could be deployed to the region.
Maersk Alabama hijacking On 12 April 2009, in response to a hostage taking incident off 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 pirates and their hostage were being towed in a lifeboat approximately 100 yards behind when each of the pirates were killed by a different
DEVGRU sniper with a single shot to the head.
Death of Osama bin Laden In the early morning of 2 May 2011
local time, a team of Navy SEALs of the
Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), previously called "SEAL Team 6", along with a
Belgian Malinois Military Working Dog (named "Cairo"), supported by
Special Activities Division officers on the ground, killed
Osama bin Laden in
Abbottabad, Pakistan about from
Islamabad in a
CIA operation. 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. The official name of the military operation was
Operation Neptune Spear. The model of the compound used in the
60 Minutes documentary was donated by CBS to the
Navy SEAL Museum.
Morning Glory oil tanker On 16 March 2014, thirty U.S. Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 2 took control of , a tanker full of oil loaded from a rebel-held port in
Libya. The raid by Navy SEALs took place in international waters off the coast of Cyprus; the raid was a success, preventing a Libyan splinter militia group selling nationalized Libyan oil on the black market.
Operation Inherent Resolve As part of
Operation Inherent Resolve's Iraq Campaign, there are at least 100 SEALs as part of a Special Operations advise and assist mission to
Peshmerga and
Iraqi Security Forces in combating
ISIS. The Navy SEAL operation in northern Iraq is called Task Force Trident. On 3 May 2016, Petty Officer 1st Class
Charles Keating IV was killed by ISIS small arms fire near the town of
Tel Skuf during an ISIS assault on a Peshmerga position. He was a member of a 20-man Quick Reaction Force (QRF) ==Personnel==