Navy SEAL unit. Basic training program for US Navy SEALs and US Army Special Forces

The US Navy SEALs have a special exercise: they tie a person's hands behind his back, tie his ankles and throw him into a 3-meter deep pool.

His task is to survive for five minutes.

As is often the case in SEAL training, the vast majority of recruits fail. Many immediately panic and start screaming to be pulled out. Some try to swim, but go under water and have to be caught and pumped out. Over the years of training, there have even been deaths several times.

But some people manage to cope with the task, and knowledge of two rather contradictory rules helps them in this.

The first rule is paradoxical: the more you try to keep your head above water, the more likely you are to drown.

It is impossible to hold yourself on the surface of the water for five minutes with your hands and feet tied. Moreover, your erratic twitching will only help you drown even faster. The trick is to allow yourself to sink to the bottom of the pool. Then you should push off with your feet from the bottom and, when you are thrown to the surface, quickly inhale and begin the whole process again.

(At the age of 8, not yet knowing about the existence of the US Navy SEALs, I was thus rescued at sea in Zatoka, when I found myself in the depths and lost the inflatable ball that I had previously held on to.) I sank to the bottom and pushed myself up and down with my feet. side of the shore. In such leaps I jumped to the shallows)

Oddly enough, this technique does not require either superhuman strength or special endurance. You don't even have to know how to swim; rather, on the contrary, you are required to not even try to do so. You should not resist the laws of physics, you should use them to save your life.

The second lesson is a little more obvious, but also counterintuitive: the more you panic, the more oxygen you need, and the more likely you are to pass out and drown. The exercise turns your survival instinct against yourself: the more intense your desire to breathe, the less ability you will have to do so. And the more intense your will to live, the more likely you are to die.

Thus, this exercise is not about physical strength or willpower. It is aimed at the ability to control oneself in a critical situation. Will a person be able to suppress his instinctive impulses? Will he be able to relax in the face of potential death? Will he be able to risk his life to achieve some higher task?

Self-control is much more important than swimming. It is more important than physical strength, endurance or ambition. It is more important than intelligence, education and how good a person looks in a luxurious Italian suit.

This skill - the ability to not give in to instincts when you want it most - is one of the most important skills that any person can develop in himself. And not only for service in the navy. Just for life.

Most people believe that effort and reward are directly related. We believe that if we work twice as hard, the result will be twice as good. And if we pay twice as much attention to our loved ones, then they will love us twice as much. And if we shout twice as loud, our words will become twice as persuasive.

That is, it is assumed that most of what happens in our lives is described by a linear graph, and that for every “unit” of effort there is a “unit” of reward.

But let me tell you (me, who was hoping that drinking twice as much Red Bull would get this article over with in half the time) - that almost never happens. Most of what happens in the world does not occur according to linear laws. A linear relationship is observed only in the most primitive, monotonous and boring things - when driving a car, when filling out documents, when cleaning the bathroom, etc. In all of these cases, if you do something for two hours, you will get twice as much as if you did it for an hour. But this is due to the fact that there is no need to think or invent.

Most often, the linear relationship is not observed precisely because monotonous mechanical actions make up a smaller part of our life. Most of our activities are complex and require mental and emotional effort.

Thus, most activities follow a diminishing returns curve.

The Law of Diminishing Returns states that, after a certain point, increasing investments do not produce equivalent returns. A classic example is money. The difference between earning $20,000 and $40,000 is huge and completely life changing. The difference between earning $120,000 and $140,000 just means that your car will have nicer seat heaters. The difference between earnings of $127,020,000 and $127,040,000 is generally within the statistical margin of error.

The concept of diminishing returns applies to most all events that are complex or new. The more often you shower, the more chicken wings you eat at dinner, the longer you adhere to the ritual of annual trips to your mother - the less significant each of these events becomes (may my mother forgive me).

Another example: productivity studies show that we are only truly effective in the first four to five hours of our workday. This is followed by a sharp decline in productivity - to the point that the difference between working for 12 hours and working for 16 hours is practically invisible (save for sleep deprivation).

The same rule applies to friendship. A single friend is always vital. Having two friends is always better than having one. But if you add a 10th to 9 friends, this will change little in your life. And 21 friends instead of 20 only brings problems with remembering names.

The concept of diminishing returns works with sex, eating, sleeping, drinking alcohol, working out at the gym, reading books, vacations, hiring employees, consuming caffeine, saving money, scheduling business meetings, studying, playing video games, and masturbating—the examples are endless. The more you do something, the less reward you get for each subsequent action. Almost everything works according to the law of diminishing returns.

But there is another curve that you have probably never seen or heard of before - this is the inverse (inverted) yield curve.

An inverted yield curve demonstrates those cases where effort and reward are negatively correlated, meaning the more effort you put into something, the less you achieve.

And it is this law that operates in the example with the Navy SEALs. The more effort you put into staying afloat, the more likely you are to fail. Likewise, the stronger your desire to breathe, the more likely you are to choke.

Perhaps now you are thinking - well, why do we need to know all this? We are not going to dive into the pool with our legs and arms tied! Why do we care about inverse curves?

Indeed, there are few things in life that work according to the law of the inverse curve. But the few that exist are extremely important. I will even dare to say that all the most important experiences and events in life work according to the law of the inverse curve.

Effort and reward are directly related when performing primitive tasks. Effort and reward operate under the law of diminishing returns when the action is complex and multidimensional.

But when it comes to our psyche, i.e. about what happens solely in our own minds, the relationship between effort and reward is inverse.

Chasing luck takes you even further away from it. The search for emotional peace only makes you more agitated. The desire for greater freedom often makes us feel even more strongly that we are not free. The need to be loved prevents us from loving ourselves.

Aldous Huxley once wrote: “The more often we force ourselves to do something against our will, the less often we succeed. Knowledge and results come only to those who have studied the paradoxical art of doing without doing, of combining relaxation with activity.”

The fundamental components of our psyche are paradoxical. This is due to the fact that when we consciously try to induce a certain mood in ourselves, the brain automatically begins to resist it.

This is the “Reverse Law”: the expectation of a positive result in itself is a negative factor; being prepared for a negative outcome is a positive factor.

This applies to most (if not all) aspects of our mental health and relationships:

Control. The more we strive to control our own feelings and impulses, the more we worry about our incontinence. Our emotions are involuntary and often uncontrollable, and the desire to take control further intensifies them. And vice versa, the calmer we are about our own feelings and impulses, the more opportunities we have to direct them in the right direction.

Freedom. Ironically, the constant desire for greater freedom places more and more barriers in front of us. Willingness to accept freedom within certain boundaries allows us to independently determine these boundaries.

Happiness. Trying to be happy makes us less happy. Reconciliation with failures makes us happy.

Safety. The desire to feel safe creates insecurity in us. Coming to terms with uncertainty makes us feel safe.

Love. The more we try to make others love us, the less inclined they will be to do so. And, more importantly, the less we will love ourselves.

Respect. The more we demand respect for ourselves, the less we will be respected. The more we respect others ourselves, the more respect we will receive.

Confidence. The more we persuade people to trust us, the less often they do so. The more we trust others, the more trust we receive in return.

Confidence. The more we try to feel confident in ourselves, the more worried and worried we become. The willingness to admit our shortcomings allows us to feel more comfortable in our own skin.

Self improvement. The more we strive for perfection, the more acutely we feel that it is not enough. At the same time, the willingness to accept ourselves as we are allows us to grow and develop, because in this case we are too busy to pay attention to secondary things.

Significance: The more significant and deep we consider our own life, the more superficial it is. The more meaning we give to other people's lives, the more important we will become to them.

All these internal, psychological experiences work according to the law of the inverse curve, because they are all generated at the same point: in our consciousness. When you desire happiness, your brain is both the source of this desire and the object that should feel it.

When it comes to these lofty, abstract, existential considerations, our brains become like a dog chasing its own tail. This chase seems quite logical to the dog - after all, if with the help of the chase he gets everything else that is necessary for his dog's life, then why should this time be different?

However, a dog can never catch its own tail. The faster she catches up, the faster her tail runs away. The dog lacks breadth of vision; it does not see that it and the tail are a single whole.

Our task is to wean our brain from chasing its own tail. Give up the pursuit of meaning, freedom and happiness, because they can only be felt when you stop chasing them. Learn to achieve your goal by refusing to pursue this goal. Show yourself that the only way to reach the surface is to allow yourself to sink.

How to do it? Refuse. Give up. Surrender. Not because of weakness, but because of the understanding that the world is wider than our consciousness. Recognize your fragility and limitations. Your finitude in the endless flow of time. This relinquishment of attempts at control speaks not of weakness, but of strength, because you are choosing to give up those things that are beyond your control. Accept that not everyone will always love you, that there are failures in life, and that you won’t always find a clue as to what to do next.

Give up fighting your own fears and insecurities, and when you think that you are about to drown, you will reach the bottom and be able to push off from it, and this will be salvation.

After publishing about the American Green Berets, I received numerous requests to talk about similar structures in the American army. People especially often asked to talk about the Delta Squad. However, it seemed to me more appropriate to talk about the naval analogue of the Delta, known to most readers under the name Navy SEALs. More precisely, about the elite of the Navy SEALs, codenamed SEAL Team 6.

The point is not that there is much more material on Delta, and those who are truly interested in this topic will be able to “dig up” the necessary information on their own. An army unit that lives by army rules is more predictable than one that is a "ghost". The level of secrecy of Team 6 is such that even in the American press there is not much material. Most Americans talk about SEALs based on knowledge gained from feature films and interviews of former SEALs that sometimes appear in the press. And the very existence of this detachment can always be questioned.

Publicly, the Pentagon denies the existence of such a unit. SEAL Team 6, as the name of this top-secret unit sounds, is shrouded in such a veil of secrecy that it is sometimes surprising that there are any messages on this topic at all. There is no unit, but, for example, there is an interview with a fighter from this unit who “personally killed Osama bin Laden.” Therefore, if you look at media reports over the past 10-15 years, it becomes clear that the veil of secrecy is being torn. The desire to make money from PR of their exploits and talk about their own heroic life takes precedence over promises to remain silent.

And increasing the number of units does not help maintain secrecy. What two people know, a pig knows. And according to the estimates of the same American and our experts, today the number of Team 6 has grown to 300 commandos and up to 1,500 service personnel. True, the SEALs themselves do not call themselves commandos. Moreover, they don’t like this name in principle. Among themselves and in documents that sometimes “pop up”, the squad’s fighters are called operatives.

From this, a competent analyst can already conclude that Team 6 is not a purely naval structure. It is rather a symbiosis of naval intelligence and the CIA. With the appropriate attitude to the matter. I am referring not only to the restrictions imposed by military orders and regulations, but also to the "discretion" that comes with being a member of the CIA.

The detachment began not long ago. First of all, the name SEAL itself is interesting. It comes from a combination of three English words - Sea, Air, Land. This is what the diving team was called during World War II. However, it is impossible to consider the diving team as the prototype of the described unit. This is rather one of the camouflage methods adopted in reconnaissance and sabotage units during the Cold War.

By the way, Team 6 is from the same song. The Americans already understood during the formation of the detachment that Soviet intelligence officers would soon learn about the SEALs. In fact, at the time Team 6 was created, there were only two SEAL units in the United States. Therefore, it would be logical to name the detachment Team 3.

When did "seals" appear? According to some information from open sources, the detachment was formed immediately after the failure of a special operation to rescue 53 hostages at the American embassy in Tehran (Operation Eagle Claw). Let me remind you that this happened in 1980. And the operation of the elite special forces of the US Army then ended in complete collapse. A military helicopter carrying special forces collided with a plane on the ground and exploded. 8 special forces soldiers were killed. The Pentagon was then put in a very delicate position.

The naval commanders thought the same thing. There was an urgent need to create a structure that could quickly and by any means resolve issues of the fight against terrorism. The goal, as you can see, is good, but its implementation was entrusted to a rather ambiguous person - commander (corresponding to the Russian naval rank of captain of the second rank) Richard Marcinko. During the Vietnam War, Marcinko earned a reputation as a rather cruel and merciless officer. (By the way, for those interested in his biography: Marcinko wrote the book “Rogue Warrior.”)

Team 6 is headquartered at the Dam Neck branch of Oceana Naval Air Station, south of Virginia Beach. This is where most of the SEALs are located today. To cover the base, other army units are also located there.

The commander did not particularly care about observing army regulations and orders. The first detachment was formed on the principle of personal courage (especially in the Vietnam War), friendship between soldiers and... readiness to carry out any order from the command.

How do you become members of Team 6? Typically the selection procedure is as follows. In SEAL units that perform routine missions, after several years of service, a casting call is held for those who want to join Team 6. There are three such places in the United States. They are perfectly “tracked” by numbers. "Even Numbers" is located in Virginia Beach. Odd Number Base in San Diego. Third place - Hawaii. There is another “secret” of the US Navy - a mini-submarine base. Typically the test dropout rate is 50 or higher.

The Team's officers usually come for one or two contract periods. And it changes quite often. Although, according to some reports, there are cases of returning to the Team several times. This practice somewhat reduces the importance of the officer corps, but increases the importance of sergeants.

According to the recollections of the unit's officers, many soldiers and especially sergeants tend to exaggerate their own role. Marcinko laid down exactly this style of service. Everyone can be everyone.

But on the other hand, this style of service gives rise to a certain bravado of Team 6. All other SEAL units for them are “white” or “standard.” Although, in fairness, it should be said that they perform the same tasks. However, any operative from the Team will always say: “If you need to take away the atomic bomb from the bad guys, or save prisoners in a war zone, then only we can do it...”

This is exactly how two detachments (assault groups) of Team 6 were created. They received their names after the colors of the American fleet. Blue and gold. By the way, it was then that the fighters from the “blue” appeared. The fact is that the “Blue” group chose the “Jolly Roger” as their symbol. It is clear that the “pirates” soon became quite famous. They even received the unofficial name “Bad Guys in Blue.”

In order for you to understand the system of training units, it is enough to give a couple of examples known from open sources. The State Police has several hundred reports on Team members for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. And in the database of accidents there are many acts on the write-off of equipment that the operatives crashed during their training.

Former Team Member and now Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke recalls one of the exercises he took part in during preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Then he accompanied the commander of the exercise, an American admiral.

“When we opened the door, what I saw reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Is this my fleet? Are these guys my fleet? - the admiral asked me.

Indeed, what he saw was a shock for the naval admiral. The top-secret, best-trained naval special forces unit looked like bandits from a Hollywood movie. Long hair, earrings, beards... And a corresponding attitude to the dress code. Each of the fighters dressed to perform “his” task.

After this episode, the detachment underwent a severe reorganization. The command staff of Team 6 has been thoroughly thinned out. And at all levels. Many officers and even admirals were transferred to other units or dismissed from military service. This also affected the sergeants. These reorganizations created SEAL Team 6 as it is today.

Today a lot is known about the detachment. Everything you read above is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact that some members of the squad “opened their mouths,” especially after the operation to eliminate bin Laden, became the basis for the initiation of many criminal cases on charges of treason. Readers may remember two names: Matt Bissonnette (author of two books about his time on the Team) and Robert O'Neill (who claims to have killed bin Laden). Both are charged today under this article.

After some excursion into history, we should probably talk about the peculiarities of the actions of this unit in a combat situation. What is the difference between the Team and the “white seals”? And they really do exist. And quite significant.

SEAL Team 6's biggest legacy was in Afghanistan. Therefore, analysis of actions in this country, in my opinion, will be most indicative for understanding the work of this special unit.

First of all, about the principles of the work itself. Those that were laid down by the founder. The first, which is fundamental to the operatives of SEAL Team 6, lies in the words of one of the former officers of this unit: “If you feel threatened for even a second, then you will kill someone.”

This principle applies strictly. As, indeed, in other special forces. "When in doubt, shoot." Moreover, not a single commando will pass by an already killed enemy without a control shot. For a formal report on an operation, the feeling of threat is enough to justify any losses.

True, in official papers, when it comes to the murder of civilians, the picture is absolutely ideal. As an example, I will quote the words of one of the Team commanders: “Do I think that something bad happened? Do I think that there were more killings than necessary? Naturally. I think that the natural reaction to the threat was to eliminate it; and only then "You wondered, 'Did I overestimate her?' Do I think the guys deliberately killed those who didn't deserve it? No, it's kind of hard for me to believe that."

The second principle of the Team's work was best expressed by retired admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis: "If you want the team to occasionally conduct activities that violate international law, you definitely don't need publicity."

William Banks, a national security expert at Syracuse University, wrote about this even more specifically: “If you are not on the battlefield, then you are not responsible.”

It was not for nothing that I cited these two principles as the basis on which all further actions of the detachment are superimposed. Americans often use the latest technological advances to create a picture of a “honest” war for the whole world. Remember the TV reports about the use of precision bombs. When the entire bomb flight is broadcast live on television. Remember the drone footage that shows the effective work of American units anywhere in the world.

SEAL Team 6 has not yet passed its fate. Some operations are controlled by the headquarters at Dam Neck or the center for coordinating overseas operations using drones. And, as a rule, they end in failure. But those that are carried out according to a well-established scheme are often successful.

Operations are usually performed at night. Not only pistols and rifles with silencers are used, but also cold. Operatives sneak into places of concentration or residence (which was done much more often in Afghanistan) and simply slaughter everyone.

I think it is necessary to talk here about one scandalous operation of the “Bad Boys in Blue”, which was carried out at the very end of their stay in Afghanistan in 2008. And it went down in the history of the detachment under the code name “Panther”.

The “bad guys” were then in the Afghan province of Helmand. One of the most difficult militarily and is still considered the support of the Taliban. The main population of the province is Pashtuns. It is in this province that the largest opium poppy plantations are located. The southern border province, which has always caused a lot of trouble for everyone.

So, at the beginning of 2008, the elders of one of the Pashtun villages approached the commander of the coalition forces with a complaint that the SEALs had killed several peaceful farmers. Just like that, without any reason. The complaint was transferred to Captain Scott Moore, who commanded the SEAL unit.

Moore demanded an explanation from the commander of the unit directly conducting the Panther, Captain Peter Whaley. As always happens in such cases, “no civilians were killed.” I am not me, and the horse is not mine. To which Moore demanded that the Operations Center conduct its own investigation.

The result of the investigation was facts that shocked ordinary Americans. "Seals" destroyed all the men in the village! Base? They kept weapons at home. In addition, another unpleasant episode “surfaced”. It became known that one of the Team cut the throat of a killed Afghan. As one of the Blue commanders, Captain Slabinski, commented on this episode, “it was like he was mutilating a corpse”... By the way, the investigators also had questions about Slabinski himself. The fact is that, according to the testimony of some operatives, it was this commander who ordered the killing of all men indiscriminately.

The matter was eventually hushed up. Slabinski did not give any commands. And the operative who cut up the corpse, it turns out, was simply removing the equipment from the dead man. But to this day there is no exact information about the number of dead Afghans, nor about the purpose of the operation, nor about the exact location of the burial of the corpses.

Up to this point, I wrote about well-known episodes of the activities of SEAL Team 6. And now it is time to touch on another side of the work of this detachment. The fact is that, in addition to the “Blue” and “Golden” companies, the Team includes another unit - the “Black” company.

The history of the appearance of this squad as part of Team 6 is quite interesting. Initially it was a team of highly skilled snipers. And the task of this team was to provide fire support for the operatives’ actions. Accordingly, team members were assigned to perform specific tasks in the “Blue” or “Golden” companies.

The Saudis “facilitated” the transformation of the sniper team into the “Black” company. More precisely, those who organized and carried out terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11. Immediately after these events, it was decided that SEAL Team 6 should be a purely reconnaissance unit. Preparation of future operations of the Team not only does not exclude, but also completely justifies reconnaissance.

Today, operatives from the Black Company are scattered throughout the world. They are in American embassies not only in Africa, Latin America or Asia, they are also in European embassies. It is possible that we also have such specialists.

According to the stories of some former members of the Team, Black Hundred operatives make extensive use of diplomatic channels not only to collect and send intelligence, but also to deliver weapons and equipment to the desired countries. In addition to the official "roof", operatives of the "Black" company also work under the guise of local residents. In Afghanistan, too, local media reports often appear about the capture and destruction of unknown intelligence officers.

In addition to operative agents, the “Black” Company uses technical reconnaissance equipment. From specially equipped cars, to yachts and other supposedly civilian vessels, which are actually floating spy stations. UAVs have become commonplace.

There are only a few known cases when operatives from the “Black” company used weapons. According to internal orders, the use of weapons by operatives of this unit is possible only in emergency cases. And any such case is considered in detail by the command as a serious emergency.

But there is something in the “Black” company that is not found anywhere else and that causes the undisguised envy of the other operatives. Women serve in this unit! Moreover, female operatives work not only independently, but, most often, together with men. The tandem raises fewer questions among the intelligence services of the state where the couples are located. And if interest is detected in one of the operatives, another does the work. The first one “plays the fool.” In American intelligence agencies, this tactic is called “softening.”

Today, the “Black” company is a fairly serious intelligence structure. The rise to power of Donald Trump has made the work of some US intelligence agencies quite problematic. And most American politicians understand that this is just the beginning. It is doubtful that the president will simply back down. His position is too strong. The security service worked and works too well. Too little incriminating evidence is stored in “storage rooms”.

And the policy of focusing on internal affairs proclaimed by Trump speaks for itself. The American army will gradually wind down its operations abroad. However, American interests outside the United States have not been canceled. Business, and therefore politicians, will demand operations to ensure the “negotiability” of the leaders of other states. Whether Trump wants it or not. Whether America wants to advertise its presence or not.

Be that as it may, today the “Black” company is already quite numerous. More than a hundred operatives. Unfortunately, there is no information yet about the number of support units. And the company is constantly growing.

In general, SEAL Team 6 continues its activities in all corners of the world. With your problems, victories and defeats. And you can’t discount it. The Montana congressman Ryan Zinke I mentioned above once said an interesting phrase: “When I was in business, we were always looking for war. And these guys found it.” I don't think there's a better way to say it.

Story

Origins

There are known cases when soldiers from the second SEAL detachment worked alone in the special forces of the South Vietnamese army. Additionally, in 1967, a SEAL unit called Detachment Bravo (Det Bravo) was created, consisting of both SEALs and members of the South Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units (PRUs).

The last SEAL units left Vietnam in December 1971, the last trainers in March 1973. The total number of "seals" involved in Vietnam did not exceed 200 soldiers and 30 officers.

Invasion of Grenada

Persian Gulf (Operation Main Chance)

Along with their English colleagues from the Special Boat Service, the Seals also took part in the Battle of Kala-i-Yangi, where SEAL Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass received the Navy Cross for outstanding heroism in battle.

On August 6, 2011, a Chinook carrying 15 members of Group 6, which killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, was shot down in Afghanistan. Everyone on the helicopter died; There were no participants in the operation to kill bin Laden among the dead. This is the largest loss of personnel for SEAL Team 6 (besides them, two “seals” from another unit were killed in the crash).

Iraq War (2003-2010)

Seven days before the landing of the main troops, a group of “seals” was engaged in hydrographic survey in the area of ​​the oil platforms of Al-Basra and Hawr El-Amaya. On May 20, 2003, both platforms, as well as the port of El Fao and the oil pipelines, were directly attacked by a force consisting of the Seals themselves, British Royal Marines and soldiers from the Polish special forces Thunder. Despite the difficulties associated with inaccurate intelligence, all targets were captured and the operation was successfully completed.

Coalition commanders in Iraq also expressed concern that retreating Iraqi troops could blow up the Mukatain dam northeast of Baghdad to slow the advance of American forces. The dam's explosion would also leave the entire region without power, and the imminent flooding would threaten the lives of civilians. Thus, it was decided to send there the joint forces of the “seal” units and the “Thunder” detachment. Having encountered no resistance from the Iraqi military, the “seals” quickly completed the capture of the dam and transferred it to the control of US ground forces.

Participation in other notable military operations

A separate regiment of the Special Forces of the Navy for combating terrorism (6th detachment of the Special Forces of the Navy, DEVGRU) conducted an operation to destroy “terrorist number one” Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.

Organizational and headquarters structure of the US Navy Special Operations Forces

The main unit within the SEAL is a separate detachment (battalion) of the Special Forces, consisting of a headquarters and 3 separate companies of the Special Forces (squadron) of 40 soldiers each. The detachment commander usually holds the rank of captain 3rd, sometimes captain 2nd rank in the US Navy.

Organizational and headquarters structure of a separate detachment of the US Navy Special Forces

The general unit of a separate naval special forces detachment (from 1st to 10th) includes: Detachment headquarters consisting of:

• squad leader
• chief of staff of a detachment with the rank of lieutenant commander (or naval lieutenant) (Operations, N3)
• operations officer (Plans and Targeting, N5)
• head of the intelligence unit (Intelligence, N2)
• Deputy detachment commander for combat training (Administrative support, N1)
• Deputy detachment commander for logistics (Logistics, N4)
• Head of the PSS/medical service of the detachment (Air/Medical, N8)

The detachment's control support group consists of two security platoons of 16-20 soldiers each with a logistics company.

3 separate companies of Special Forces (40 people l/s) consisting of:

• company commander (Navy officer with the rank of lieutenant commander) and two deputies (Navy officers with the rank of lieutenant in the Navy)

2 reconnaissance and sabotage groups (RDG) of the Special Forces (16 people l/s, divided into fire subgroups of 4-5 fighters each)

The standard number of personnel of a separate Navy Special Forces detachment with support units is up to 300 people.

Total number of special forces units of the US Navy

All Navy Special Forces units in the United States are consolidated into two separate Navy Special Forces regiments:

The total strength of the Navy's Special Forces forces is up to 10 separate Special Forces detachments (up to 3,050 l/s personnel, including up to 600 people in two companies of special delivery vehicles).

• 1st separate regiment of the Special Forces Naval Forces on the US Pacific Coast (US Naval Base Coronado, California) (1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th detachments)
• 2nd separate regiment of the Special Forces of the Navy on the Atlantic coast of the United States (US Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia) (2nd, 4th, 8th and 10th detachments).

The Navy Special Forces Reserve units include up to 325 people (17th and 18th Navy Special Forces Reserve Detachments), 125 people in the Special Delivery Equipment Reserve and 775 people in the Navy Special Forces Logistics Regiment Reserve.

Each special forces detachment of the US Navy has its own specialization in the main theater of operations. Some of the detachments are focused on operations in the Middle Eastern theater of operations and actions in desert areas, some are aimed at operating in the jungles of Indochina and South America, and at the moment, some of the detachments are undergoing retraining to be ready for operations in the Subpolar Region.

US Navy special forces delivery vehicles

For the operational and covert underwater delivery and evacuation of SEAL operators, a separate group of special delivery vehicles has been formed within the special forces of the Navy - the 3rd Special Forces Group of the US Navy. (English) Russian, which includes SDVT-1, which is armed with special underwater carriers of the Mark 8 Mod 1 type. To ensure the delivery and landing of SEAL detachments on the coast and their evacuation after completion of the mission, the US Navy Special Forces also includes a separate detachment of landing vehicles SWCC ( Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen (English) Russian). The mission of the detachment's three flotillas of landing craft and light boats is to deliver personnel to coastal sea areas, provide fire cover for departing SEAL teams in coastal areas, detain and inspect light vessels, search and rescue in coastal areas, reconnaissance and patrolling of the coastal zone and inland rivers.

Separate regiment of the Navy Special Forces for combating terrorism at sea

Selection and preparation

The selection of candidates for the “seals” is made from among volunteers no younger than 18 and no older than 28 years old; only male US citizens are allowed to serve. Of course, the candidate must have excellent health, both physical and mental, since due to the nature of his service, sometimes the “seal” has to spend a long time in a confined space or under water, where even a ray of daylight cannot penetrate. Very often you have to perform one or another task alone, without the support of comrades, while being waist-deep in swamp slurry.

From the very beginning, volunteers who fully satisfy all formal requirements and do not show any obvious physical or mental abnormalities are subjected to a whole series of tests, on the basis of which an expert commission of experienced psychologists and doctors makes an initial selection. Those who successfully pass the initial requirements enter the naval training centers of special forces.

First of all, cadets are prepared for the loads that await them throughout the year. This is a seven-week course of general physical training and training in special swimming techniques. At this stage, cadets get acquainted with new methods of physical development, train the respiratory system and endurance. And even if the candidate is a world champion in swimming, he will be taught this all over again. They learn to swim for many hours and in strong storms. At any water temperature, even if it turns into ice before our eyes. With a load. And even being tied hand and foot. The goal of this stage is to accustom the combat swimmer to the water so much that it does not cause him not only the slightest inconvenience, but that he feels like a fish in it.

“We train these people to see water as the only safe environment,” the instructors say during the training. In all other branches of the military, even in the Marine Corps, personnel are trained on the basis that the water element is dangerous for humans. But what is our advantage? When we are discovered, pursued or fired upon, we go into the water, to our home, where the enemy usually loses us.
This is followed by nine weeks of the first period of direct combat training and live training. Moreover, every week the loads, already very heavy, become even stronger, acquiring a specific focus. For example, in the first week cadets need to swim three hundred meters in a certain time, in the second week the same three hundred meters must be swam in full uniform and equipment, with all equipment and weapons. Further the task becomes even more complicated. The same distance with all the equipment must be overcome, towing a load weighing 40-50 kg, and then do the same thing, only this time against the current. Further, the distance increases, but the time in which it must be overcome remains the same. The same can be said about land tests. True, here the task is complicated by the fact that the instructors deliberately give somewhat illogical orders, which should be carried out without hesitation, without any breakdowns or hysterics, and without going into confrontation with the authorities. Thus, the psychological suitability of the future combat swimmer is tested.

There are also special tests that help determine a cadet’s intelligence and his ability to think in non-standard situations. For example, it is necessary, without special equipment, to penetrate an object that is located behind a high hill covered with forest. Of course, you can go around the hill, as most cadets do. But it's not that simple. The hill is surrounded on all sides by a swamp... So the soldier stands in thought: whether to climb the hill, or crawl through the swamp. In addition to all sorts of natural obstacles that must be overcome, there are also a huge number of traps set up by experienced instructors. At the most inopportune moment, when the cadet has almost reached the top of the hill and is holding on to a rock ledge, an explosion of a training grenade or a smoke bomb explodes right in front of his nose, or, worst of all, bullets begin to whistle above his head. But in addition to physical activity, cadets master the skills of sniper shooting and demolition, radio communications and terrain orientation. In a word, everything that is not done in water (although this does not mean that this is done only on land).

The preparation stage, which the “seals” themselves call “hell week,” deserves special attention. It lasts only five days, but this is enough to fully experience all the “joy” of serving as a SEAL. During this time, cadets have the right to sleep only 4 hours, and then either standing or up to their necks in a fetid swamp. At the same time, the load increases every day and reaches such a limit that three instructors work with one group (each of whom has a medical certificate), who constantly replace each other. By the end of the week, the loads acquire, frankly, a sadistic character. And in such a situation, future “seals” must not only fight the water element, but also defeat it and, what is much more difficult, themselves, their fear and their pain.

The US Navy SEALs, formerly known as SEAL Team 6, also known as Navy SEALs, now known as DEVGRU SEALs, best known for the assassination of Osama bin Laden, have been transformed by management into a global assassination tool with limited external control.

Despite the fact that the Navy SEAL special forces unit is subordinate to the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), it is structurally part of the US Navy or Coast Guard.

Their activities are aimed at carrying out sabotage, eliminating enemy command units, reconnaissance operations, rescuing hostages, and countering maritime terrorism and piracy. In many ways, Navy SEALs are similar to the Ground Forces unit Delta Force, which we wrote about earlier.

In order not to get confused in the names, you should know that Navy SEAL those. US Navy SEALs is the unofficial name of the special forces, which is firmly entrenched in colloquial speech. Until 1987, the group was called SEAL Team 6, after which the official designation of this special forces appeared as “Naval Special Rapid Deployment Group” ( U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, abbreviation NSWDG or DEVGRU). Therefore, to eliminate confusion in abbreviations, the combined designation DEVGRU SEAL is used, and the special unit continues to be called briefly US Navy SEALs - Navy SEAL.

However, the combined name of these special forces is increasingly used - SEAL DEVGRU- one of the most closed paramilitary communities in the US Armed Forces.

History of the creation and activities of the US Navy SEALs

The predecessors of the Navy SEAL were the Underwater Demolition Teams and the Naval Combat Demolition Units, which operated during World War II, conducting sabotage on land and at sea, carrying out reconnaissance from the sea of ​​coastal fortifications and other operations.

After the outbreak of the Cold War and the Caribbean crisis, the governing body of the US Armed Forces, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff, reported to the President of the United States, at that time John Kennedy, on the need to create a special unit for sabotage combat on the basis of the US Navy. This need was caused by the growing threat of attacks from the USSR and Cuba; the unit could show its usefulness in Vietnam.

In 1980, the SEALs failed Operation Eagle Claw in Tehran. After this, the question was raised about creating a special anti-terrorist squad within the US Navy SEAL unit. This issue was assigned to Richard Marcinko, the initiator of the creation of the anti-terrorism unit, one of the members of the Special Operations Command. It was he who was also appointed the first commander of the Sixth Mobile Detachment of the US Navy Special Operations Forces - SEAL Team 6.

Over time, the functions of the SEAL DEVGRU function were expanded, from sabotage at sea and land, hijacking ships and freeing captured ships to conducting reconnaissance operations, rescuing hostages, and eliminating US enemies.

The number six in the name of the unit remains a mystery, just as the activities of such a unit today are a mystery. At the time of the creation of the sixth detachment, the structure of the US Navy MTR already had two detachments and the new unit should have received serial number three, but this did not happen.

Among the territories where the US used Navy SEAL may be noted, the Vietnam War (1962-1973), the invasion of Grenada (1983), Operation Main Chance in the Persian Gulf (1984), Operation Just Cause for the invasion of Panama (1989-1990 gg.), Operation Desert Storm, the war in Afghanistan (from 2001 to the present), the Iraq War from 2003 to today and the most famous Operation Neptune Spear to eliminate Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Specifics of activity

The modern SEAL DEVGRU unit has practically unlimited capabilities, and the priority purpose of the unit has become the implementation of operational preemptive attacks, special counter-terrorism operations of increased importance and secrecy, missions to prevent the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist organizations, rescue missions from zones of war, conflicts and crisis situations of objects and people of increased value and importance.

SEAL Team 6/SEAL DEVGRU prepared and executed deadly missions in complete secrecy in the barren territories of Somalia. During operations in Afghanistan, the unit took part in combat so close that they returned to base covered in blood that was not their own. On secret raids in the dead of night, their weapons of choice ranged from individual carbines to primitive tomahawks.

In many parts of the world, they operated espionage stations disguised as commercial boats, posed as civilian employees of front companies, and conducted undercover operations in embassies for foreign and domestic intelligence, keeping tabs on those the United States was trying to kill or arrest.

All of the above examples of operations are only a small part of the secret history of SEAL Team 6/SEAL DEVGRU of the US Navy, one of the most secretive, least researched special military units of the US Armed Forces. Once reserved for specialized but extremely rare operations, the small unit known for eliminating terrorist Osama bin Laden has been transformed over more than a decade of combat into a global instrument of destruction of US enemies.

The role and nature of SEAL DEVGRU's activities reflect America's new approach to warfare, in which conflict is characterized not by battlefield victories and defeats, but by the relentless killing of perceived enemies.

Almost everything about a secret special unit called SEAL DEVGRU, is shrouded in secrecy - the Pentagon has never publicly acknowledged that the so-called unit exists. But an examination of the evolution of SEAL Team 6, conducted by The New York Times, dozens of interviews with current and retired special forces operators, other entities in the US Armed Forces, as well as reviews of acts of the American administration, show a much more complex, provocative history of the US SEAL DEVGRU/SEAL unit. Team 6.

In SEAL DEVGRU operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the main goal was to exhaust the enemy and destroy the highest priority targets in the person of enemy commanders. These activities, according to the command, caused significant damage to terrorist networks. In operations on the territory of other states, Navy SEALs carried out primarily reconnaissance missions, but even there they did not disdain killing. The main reconnaissance unit was the sniper unit SEAL Team 6. The unit has repeatedly provided support to other special forces, in particular Delta, and assisted in the implementation of CIA operations, for example, as part of Operation Omega Program.

At the same time, quite often, information comes up about an excessive desire to kill in SEAL Team 6. One of the hostages, a US citizen, did not understand after his release why US Navy SEALs didn't they leave at least one jailer alive?

Any suspected use of excessive force was reviewed internally and was rarely referred to US Navy investigative agencies for investigation. After all, every fighter, or as they are usually called within the unit, is an operator, worth his weight in gold, because a lot of time, money and effort are invested in him.

Some have noted that SEAL Team 6's capabilities are misused and are often used in warfare with mid- and low-priority fighters. Some even worry that the elite special forces may lose their elite spirit in this way. However, no matter what, SEAL DEVGRU, like Delta Force, prove themselves to be fearless warriors in all the hot spots to which the US government sends them, Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria.

SEAL DEVGRU operations, in cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency, supported by US Air Force drones, provide a lower-cost alternative to fighting a deep invasion war with the main forces of the US Army.

The only thing that prevents the public glorification of the exploits of the Navy SEALs, and at the same time the debate about the consequences of their special operations, is the complete secrecy of information about the SEAL DEVGRU special forces unit.

As noted earlier, the Pentagon refused to comment on the existence of SEAL DEVGRU. Special Operations Command, under whose operational subordination they operate Navy SEAL, also declined to comment on the activities of the US Navy SEALs. The official position of the command is limited to the proposal that since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, SOF fighters “have participated in tens of thousands of operations and missions in a large number of “geographic theaters”, while they have consistently remained faithful to the highest demands put forward by the Armed Forces of the United States of America ".