U.S. NAVY SEALs 1/6 VERYHOT

The United States Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) forces are the elite Special Operations Forces of the U.S. Navy, employed in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, Counter-Terrorism, and special reconnaissance operations. 
 

 
 Those qualifying to become Navy SEALs are authorized, after completing a specialized program known as SQT (SEAL Qualification Training) and a probationary period,  to wear and display the Special Warfare Badge, also known as the SEAL Trident. This badge (sometimes called “the Budweiser” for its resemblance to the Anheuser-Busch eagle logo) serves as the insignia for the SEALs as a whole and is the largest and most recognizable warfare insignia among U.S. Special Operations Forces. It is usually worn along with the U.S. Navy paratrooper wings, which are awarded after 10 jumps. During the Vietnam, SEAL members wore “tiger stripe” camouflage uniforms, often with civilian blue jeans and “coral” sneakers, for patrol missions. On base, they wore standard uniforms with a black beret during the early years (when they patrolled alongside the Swift and STAB boat units of the “Brown Water Navy”) and tiger-striped “boonie” hats in later years. Currently, they wear variations of the U.S. Marine Corps MARPAT camouflage and RAID BDUs. Only men may apply to become SEALs.

Concurrently, Naval Operations Support Groups were formed to aid UDTs, SEALs, and two other unique units—Boat Support and Beach Jumpers—in administration, planning, research, and development. During the Vietnam war, UDTs performed reconnaissance missions and SEALs carried out numerous offensive operations.

    
History

• Spring 1943: The first group of volunteers selected from the Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees). They were organized into special teams called “Navy Combat Demolition Units” (NCDUs) and were trained at Waimanalo, Hawai'i and Fort Pierce, Florida. The units reconnoitered and cleared beach obstacles for troops going ashore during amphibious landings, and evolved into Combat Swimmer Reconnaissance Units, often known as frogmen. Some of these frogmen were recruited from breath-holding divers who dived for abalones on the California coast before the war. The NCDUs distinguished themselves during World War II in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
• 1947: The Navy organized its first underwater offensive strike units.
• 1950 June – 1953 June: During the Korean Conflict, these Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) took part in the landing at Inchon as well as other missions including demolition raids on bridges and tunnels accessible from the water. They also conducted limited minesweeping operations in harbors and rivers.
• 1960’s: Each branch of the armed forces formed its own counterinsurgency force. The Navy used UDT personnel to form units called SEAL teams.
• 1962 January: SEAL Team ONE was commissioned in the Pacific Fleet and SEAL Team TWO in the Atlantic Fleet. These teams were developed to conduct unconventional warfare, counter-guerrilla warfare and clandestine operations in both blue water and brown water environment.
• 1963: First Vietnam war-detachment of elements of SEAL Team One in Da Nang, Vietnam to serve under the command of the CIA-COS.
• 1964: Seals became a component of the military-CINC of Vietnam’s theatre.
• 1967: The Naval Operations Support Groups were renamed “Naval Special Warfare Groups” (NSWGs) as involvement increased in special operations.
• 1983: Existing UDTs were renamed as “SEAL teams” or “SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams” and the requirement for hydrographic reconnaissance and underwater demolition became “SEAL missions”.
• 1987: SEAL team SIX became DEVGRU (DEVelopment GRoUp).
• 1984-04-16: The Naval Special Warfare Command was commissioned at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego, California. Its mission is to prepare Naval Special Warfare forces to carry out their assigned missions and to develop special operations strategy, doctrine, and tactics.
• 2002 March; Operation Anaconda in the US invasion of Afghanistan.
• 2003 March; participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• 2003 to 2010 Irak  and Afghanistan and sometimes arround  ...

 Navy SEAL Teams and Structure

A Navy SEAL Platoon consists of 16 men (2 officers, 14 enlisted men). This can be easily split into 2 squads or four 4-man fire teams for operational purposes. The size of each SEAL “Team” is larger, ranging between eight to ten Boat Teams per SEAL Team.

As of 2006, there are eight confirmed Navy SEAL Teams. The original SEAL Teams in the Vietnam War were separated between West Coast (Group ONE) and East Coast (Group TWO) SEALs. The current SEAL Team deployments are from Teams 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10. The Teams now deploy as Naval Special Warfare Squadrons. Any Team can deploy anywhere in the world. Each of these 8 teams is commanded by a Navy Commander (O-5), and has a number of operational SEAL platoons and a headquarters element.

• “Little Creek” is a naval base in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Team	Base	Platoons	Operating Area	Notes
ONE	Coronado, Ca	6
TWO	Little Creek, Va	6		It was the only SEAL Team with an arctic warfare capability.
THREE	Coronado, Ca	6
FOUR	Little Creek, Va	6		The only SEAL Team with a viable standing language capability, Spanish.
FIVE	Coronado, Ca	6
SIX	Damneck, Va	classified	.	Decommissioned - DEVGRU
SEVEN	Coronado, Ca	6	.	A newly commissioned SEAL Team.
EIGHT	Little Creek, Va	6
TEN	Little Creek, Va	6	.	A newly commissioned SEAL Team

 

Training and Requirements

Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training is conducted at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado (San Diego, CA) and lasts 26 weeks. Assignment to BUD/S is conditional on passing the PST, which requires the following minimums:

• 500-yard swim using breast or side stroke in under 12:30
• At least 42 push-ups in 2 minutes
• At least 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes
• At least 6 pull-ups (no time limit)
• Run 1.5 miles in boots and long pants in under 11:30
• Members’ vision must be 20/200 uncorrected or correctable to 20/20. SEAL candidates may qualify for PRK or LASIK surgery to correct their vision
• Asvab Requirements: GS+MC+EI=165 or VE+MK+MC+CS=220
• Age Requirements: 28 years or less (waivers for 29-30)

Again, the above are the minimum requirements necessary to qualify for BUD/S. Prospective trainees are expected to far exceed these minimums. Competitive scores are as follows:

• 500-yard swim using breast or combat side stroke in less than 10:00
• 100 push-ups in 2 minutes
• 100 sit-ups in 2 minutes
• 20 pull-ups (no time limit)
• Run 1.5 miles in boots and long pants in under 9:30

Upon arrival at Naval Special Warfare Command, check-ins for BUD/S are immediately placed into a pre-indoc phase of training known as “PTRR”, or Physical Training Rest and Recuperation. PTRR is also where all of the “roll-backs” are placed while waiting to be put into a class. Once additional medical screening is given, and after enough BUD/S candidates arrive for the same class, organized physical training begins.

BUD/S consists of an" Indoctrination Course”, known as INDOC, followed by three phases, covering physical conditioning (eight weeks), diving (eight weeks), and land warfare (nine weeks) respectively. Officer and enlisted personnel go through the same training program, and it is designed to develop and test their stamina, leadership and ability to work as a team.

First Phase (Basic Conditioning) - 8 weeks - First Phase Trains, develops, and assesses SEAL candidates in physical conditioning, water competency, teamwork, and mental tenacity. This phase is eight weeks long. Physical conditioning with running, swimming, and calisthenics grows harder and harder as the weeks progress. You will participate in weekly four mile timed runs in boots, timed obstacle courses, swim distances up to two miles wearing fins in the ocean, and learn small boat seamanship.

The first three weeks of First Phase will prepare you for the fourth week, better known as "Hell Week." During this week, you will participate in five and one-half days of continuous training, with a maximum of four hours sleep total. This week is designed as the ultimate test of one's physical and mental motivation while in First Phase. Hell Week proves to those who make it that the human body can do ten times the amount of work the average man thinks possible. During Hell Week, you will learn the value of cool headedness, perseverance, and above all, TEAMWORK. The remaining four weeks are devoted to teaching various methods of conducting hydrographic surveys and how to create a hydrographic chart.

BUD/S is known for Hell Week. During this period, from Sunday evening until Friday afternoon, trainees get a total of approximately four hours of sleep, (exactly how much depends upon the schedule set by the instructors, and how closely the trainees can be kept to that schedule) while subjected to intense physical stress. Trainees are almost always wet and sandy and develop what is known as the “Hell Week shuffle”, which is a way of walking that keeps salt-stained clothing away from chafed skin. The last day of Hell Week is known as “So Sorry Day”, during which the BUD/S students are made to crawl and slither their way through scum-covered water in the “demo pits” as automatic weapons fire blank rounds over their heads and artillery simulators explode around them.

Second Phase (Diving) - 8 weeks - Diving Phase Trains, develops, and qualifies SEAL candidates as competent basic combat swimmers. This phase is eight weeks long. During this period, physical training continues and becomes even more intensive. Second Phase concentrates on combat SCUBA. You will learn two types of SCUBA: open circuit (compressed air) and closed circuit (100% oxygen). Emphasis is placed on long distance underwater dives with the goal of training students to become basic combat divers, using swimming and diving techniques as a means of transportation from their launch point to their combat objective. This is a skill that separates SEALs from all other Special Operations forces.

Third Phase (Land Warfare) - 9 weeks - Third Phase trains, develops, and qualifies SEAL candidates in basic weapons, demolition, and small unit tactics. This phase of training is nine weeks in length. Physical training continues to become more strenuous as the run distance increases and the minimum passing times are lowered for the runs, swims, and obstacle course. Third Phase concentrates on teaching land navigation, small-unit tactics, patrolling techniques, rappelling, marksmanship, and military explosives. The final three and a half weeks of Third Phase are spent on San Clemente Island, where students apply all the techniques they have acquired during training.

 
SEAL training and duty is voluntary. Many BUD/S students find that they do not have the desire to continue to endure the physical and mental strain of training, and subsequently Drop On Request, or DOR, from the course. The tradition of DOR consists of dropping one's helmet liner next to a pole with a brass ship’s bell attached to it, and ringing the bell three times. Classes typically lose around 70–80% of their trainees — either due to DORs or injuries sustained during training. The Navy will not release exact numbers, either percentages or raw figures, of the attrition rate for BUD/S. Most trainees are eliminated prior to completion of Hell Week and far fewer “brown shirts” (those who have made it through Hell Week wear brown t-shirts instead of white) quit the BUD/S program.

There is no way to predict what percentage of trainees will DOR during BUD/S. SEAL instructors say that in every class, approximately 10 percent of the students simply do not have the physical ability to complete the training. Another 10–15 percent will definitely make it through unless they sustain a serious physical injury. The other 75–80 percent is “up for grabs” depending on their motivation. There has been at least one BUD/S class where no one has completed the program.

A trainee who DOR’s from First Phase before the completion of Hell Week must start from the beginning of INDOC if they subsequently reapply to the BUD/S program and are accepted. They must complete Hell Week again. Trainees who rolled back after completing Hell Week due to injury or another factor are rolled into whatever day of training a board of instructors and other individuals deem necessary. Some are back to day 1–1 of 1st Phase, while others may be rolled into day 5–1. Any BUD/S trainee who drops on request after Hell Week goes through the same out processing as a trainee who quits before or during Hell Week. If they reapply to BUD/S, they must also complete Hell Week again.

There are many SEALs who have attempted BUD/S two or even perhaps three times before successfully completing training. There is only one person who has successfully completed Hell Week three times. He completed training after his third application to BUD/S.

After BUD/S, students must then attend the Navy’s Strategic Air Operations (SAO) school in the desert outside of San Diego. Until 2003, the Army trained Navy Special Warfare teams to freefall. The new school allows more SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen (SWCC) to become free-fall and HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) qualified than ever before. Upon completion of the three-week SAO school, they receive their Naval Special Warfare Classification (NEC) code. Finally, the last requirement before going to a team requires students to go through SEAL Qualification Training, or SQT, which is a 15-week course. This course is also conducted in and around the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. After completion of SQT training and a probationary period, students are then considered SEALs and are awarded the SEAL pin, or Trident. Upon assignment to a team, the new SEALs undergo more advanced training during the 18 month work-up to their first 6 month deployment and are not considered experienced until having completed at least three deployments.

HALO jump

HALO/HAHO are acronyms that describe methods of delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion. HALO (High Altitude-Low Opening)/ (High Altitude Low Oxygen) and HAHO (High Altitude-High Opening) are also known as Military Free Fall (MFF).

In the HALO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a low altitude after free-falling for a period of time, while in the HAHO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a high altitude just a few seconds after jumping from the aircraft. HALO techniques date back to 1960 when the U.S. Air Force was conducting experiments that followed earlier work by Colonel John Stapp in the late 1940s through early 1950s on survivability factors for high-flying pilots needing to eject at high altitudes. In recent years, the HALO technique has been practiced by civilians as a form of skydiving. HALO is used for delivering equipment, supplies, or personnel, while HAHO is generally used only for personnel.

In typical HALO/HAHO insertions, the troops are dispatched from altitudes between 25,000 feet (7,600 m) and 35,000 feet (11,000 m).

The origins of the HALO technique date back to 1960 when the U.S. Air Force was conducting experiments that followed earlier work by Colonel John Stapp in the late 1940s through early 1950s on survivability factors for high-flying pilots needing to eject at high altitudes. Stapp, a research biophysicist and medical doctor, used himself as a human guinea pig in rocket sled tests to study the effects of very high g-forces. Stapp also solved many of the issues involved in high altitude flight in his earliest work for the Air Force, and subjected himself to exposure to altitudes of 45,000 feet (14,000 m). Subsequently, he helped develop pressure suits and ejection seats, which have been used in jets ever since. As part of the experiments, on August 16, 1960, Colonel Joseph Kittinger performed the first high altitude jump at an altitude of 19.5 miles (31.4 km) above the Earth's surface.

However, the technique was used for combat for the first time during the Vietnam War in Laos by members of MACV-SOG. SEAL Team SIX of the United States Navy expanded the HALO technique to include delivery of boats and other large items in conjunction with parachutists.

The technique is used to airdrop supplies, equipment, or personnel at high altitudes when aircraft can fly above surface-to-air missile (SAM) engagement levels through enemy skies without posing a threat to the transport or load.

For military cargo airdrops, the rigged load is pulled from the aircraft by a stabilizing parachute. The load then proceeds to free-fall to a low altitude where a cargo parachute opens to allow a low-velocity landing. Military personnel will later move to the landing point in order to secure the equipment or to unpack the supplies.

In a typical HALO exercise, the parachutist will jump from the aircraft, free-fall for a period of time at terminal velocity, and open his parachute at a low altitude. The combination of high downward speed, minimal metal and forward air-speed serves to defeat radar, enabling a stealthy insertion.

 HAHO

The HAHO technique is used to airdrop personnel at high altitudes when aircraft are unable to fly above enemy skies without posing a threat to the jumpers. In addition, HAHO parachute jumps are employed in the covert insertion of military (generally special forces) personnel into enemy territory, in circumstances where the covert nature of an operation may be compromised by the loud noise of parachutes opening at low altitude.

In a typical HAHO exercise, the jumper will jump from the aircraft and deploy the parachute at a high altitude, 10–15 seconds after the jump (typically at 27,000 feet (8,200 m) or so). The jumper will use a compass or GPS device for guidance while flying for 30 or more miles.

The jumper must use way points and terrain features to navigate to his desired landing zone, and correct his or her course to account for changes in wind speed and direction. If deploying as a team, the team will form up in a stack while airborne with their parachutes. Usually, the jumper in the lowest position will set the travel course and act as a guide for the other team members.

M4A1 carbine 

M4 carbine with older style M203 40mm grenade launcher.

M4A1 carbine with RIS-mounted forward handgrip
and the AN-PVS4 night vision sight

Colt M4 and M4A1 carbine 
Assault rifle (USA)

The Colt company developed various carbine versions of the basic AR-15 / M16 rifle since 1970s. These carbines were intended for all markets - military, law enforcement, civilian. US Military (and some other armies, most notably - Israeli Self-Defense Forces) had adopted the Colt CAR-15 Commando and XM-177 carbines during the 1970s and 1980s. But early in 1990s the old idea of replacing the pistols in the hands of the troops with some more effective, shoulder fired weapon, rise again in the heads of the US Military. In fact, this idea can be dated back to the US M1 Carbine of 1941, but good ideas never die.

So, in the 1994, US Army adopted the Colt Model 720 selective-fire carbine (basically, a shortened M16A2 rifle), as the US M4 Carbine. This weapon was intended to replace in service some M9 pistols, as well as some aged M3A1 submachine guns and some M16A2 rifles.

New weapon was much more handy and comfortable to carry, than the long M16A2 rifle, so the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) put its eye on the M4 as a possible universal weapon for all Special Operations community. For this purpose M4 was latter modified with the M16A3-style flat-top receiver with integral Picatinny-type accessory rail instead of the M16A2/M4-type integral carrying handle. The other change in the M4A1, when compared to M4, is that its trigger unit is modified to fire full-auto instead of the three shots bursts.
 

Specially for the SOCOM M4A1s US Naval Surface Warfare Center developed a SOPMOD M4 kit, that consisted of the M4A1 carbine equipped with Rail Interface System (RIS) instead of the standard handguards. The kit also includes a variety of the add-on goodies, such as various sights (ACOG 4X telescopic, ACOG Reflex red-dot, detachable back-up open sights), laser pointers (visible and infra-red), detachable sound suppressor (silencer), modified M203 40mm grenade launcher (with shortened barrel and improved sights). The kit also included a detachable front grip and tactical light.

From the first sight, the M4A1 SOPMOD is an ideal Special Operations weapon - handy, flexible, with good firepower. But the latest experience in the Afghanistan showed that the M4 has some flaws. First of all, the shorter barrel commands the lower bullet velocities, and this significantly decreased the effective range of the 5.56mm bullet. Second, the M4 barrel and the forend rapidly overheats. Third, the shortened barrel resulted in the shortened gas system, which works under greater pressures, than in M16A2 rifle. This increases the rate of fire and produces more stress on the moving parts, decreasing the reliability. While adequate as a Personal Defense Weapon for the non-infantry troops (vehicle crews, clerks, staff officers etc), M4A1 is, by some accounts, less than ideal for the Special Operations troops, at least in its present state. The idea of the complete re-arming of the US Army with the M4 as a money-saving measure, also is somewhat dubious.

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 838 mm (stock extended); 757 mm (stock fully collapsed)
Barrel length: 370 mm
Weight: 2.52 kg without magazine; 3.0 kg with magazine loaded with 30 rounds
Rate of fire: 700 - 950 rounds per minute
Maximum effective range: 360 m

 

SDV

The SEAL Delivery Vehicle or (SDV) is a manned submersible and a type of Swimmer Delivery Vehicle used to deliver United States Navy SEALs and their equipment for special operations missions.

SDVs carry a pilot, co-pilot, and combat swimmer team and their equipment to and from maritime mission objectives on land or at sea. The pilot and co-pilot are often a part of the fighting team. The SDV has compressed air to extend the range of a swimmer's own air tank or retreater

.

The SDV is used primarily for covert or clandestine missions to denied access areas (either held by hostile forces or where military activity would draw notice and objection).

It should not be confused with the larger, dry submersible called the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). The SDV is flooded, and the swimmers ride exposed to the water, breathing from the vehicle's compressed air supply or using their own SCUBA gear. (The ASDS is dry inside, with a full life support and air conditioning system.)

The SDV is lithium-ion battery powered and equipped with propulsion, navigation, communication, and life-support equipment. The Mk 8 Mod 1 SDV can deliver several fully equipped SEALs to the mission area, be "parked" or loiter in the area, retrieve the SEALs, and return home.

The Mark 8 Mod 1 SDV is currently the only SDV employed by US military. Other operational vehicles included the now retired MK 6, MK 7, and the Mk 11. The Special Boat Service of the British Royal Marines operates three Mk8 Mod 1 vehicles . SDVs are generally launched from a Dry Deck Shelter on the back of a submarine, or from amphibious carriers (surface craft) equipped to launch and recover the SDV. It can also be airdropped (unmanned) into an operational area from a C-130 Hercules.

History

The SDV program dates back to World War II, when various sleds and vehicles developed for use by the Underwater Demolition Teams. After the war development continued in a garage-shop fashion by various UDT units, and included various "Marks" as the MK V, VII, VII, and XII. Intermediate numbers were assigned to some vehicles that never made it off the shop floor. All were of flooded design^.

The wet vehicle SDV program (officially named the Swimmer Delivery Vehicle, sometimes erroneously designated as the SEAL Delivery Vehicle after the Swimmer Delivery Vehicle Teams were renamed SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams) currently centers on the MK VIII MOD 1, was first established in 1975 for use among UDT/SEAL teams. The early MK8 MOD 0 SDVs had a PRC104 UHF ultra high frequency radio for use underway. The newer model MK8 MOD1 has a dual sliding canopy and quick release hatch.

.