110 articles
For the past 30 years, the SEAL Teams have had had an agreement with Washington State to be permitted to train on five of their State Parks. Recently, the Navy presented a proposal to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, seeking access to 29 State Parks for training purposes. These State Parks, many of […]
Read part I here. A few hours later we were allowed back onto the range, cleared hot to commence our night shoot. There was still fire in the valley and it had spread across the terrain, but it was considered under control. As before, we shot into the night, firing all of our weapons, including […]
It was Summer 2012, and I was in the Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) phase of the SWCC training pipeline. Part of CQT included going to Camp Pendleton, CA, to partake in two weeks of weapons training; the first week was dedicated to small arms and the second week to heavy weapons. The first week went […]
In recent years, the special operations community has been experiencing a noticeable withdrawal of operators from the military. This alarming pattern is being seen across all branches, proving it is not an isolated incident. The question is, why is this happening? To answer this question, the first thing that needs to be understood is what […]
Have you ever heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, this adage comes to mind when I think about the M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun and the M79 grenade launcher. Both of these weapons have a very long, respected history and are still in service. They have been used by […]
When people hear of Navy SEALs or Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC), most think of a scene of guns blazing, cool ass night vision goggles, and fast helicopters and boats slipping through the dark night. In reality, Naval Special Warfare has many different mission sets, including Foreign Internal Defense (FID). FID may not be the […]
So, there we were. It was late winter and we were doing helicopter insert/extract training, known as helocasting, in the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The water was somewhere around 45 degrees. It was cold enough that we were wearing our dry suits instead of wet suits. The dry suits we wore were essentially onesies, with […]
Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWWCs) pride themselves in being subject matter experts and jacks of all trades simultaneously. As all special operations units do, SWCCs operate in small groups in harsh and remote environments. This unique mission set requires operators to become very good at their respective jobs because most likely, they won’t have any […]
First off, let me preface this article with the fact that I definitely don’t think I’m some gift from God that has come down from the heavens to judge others and act like I know everything. I do feel very fortunate and lucky to have accomplished and experienced the things that I have so far […]
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States was thrust into a war that it hadn’t necessarily planned on participating in. America realized very quickly that the Pacific battlefield would be an island-hopping campaign. This would include attacking and harassing supply chains and combatant ships. This mission profile was a perfect fit for […]
There is a certain culture found in the special operations community. These guys are considered to be some of the toughest, strongest, smartest, and most capable individuals in the U.S. military. It is common knowledge that if you need to make a bad guy disappear or to rescue someone from a hostile environment, that one […]
Facing a concerning shortage in special operations personnel, the U.S. military grapples with the reality that, despite the high costs and rigorous standards of training, fewer young Americans are stepping up to join the elite ranks, possibly due to growing societal comfort and diminishing physical and mental aptitude.