The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), commonly known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six (ST6), is the United States Navy's secretive tier-one special mission unit (SMU). DEVGRU are the former SEAL Team Six, which grew from a maritime counter-terrorist unit into a sort of naval equivalent of Combat Application Group (CAG) or (Delta Force) . They are structured in a similar manner to the Army unit, specialist DA and recce elements, and the two units are considered interchangeable by JSOC. Most details regarding DEVGRU is highly classified and details of its activities is not commented on by either the White House or the Department of Defence. DEVGRU's base is located at Dam Neck Annex, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.[1]
| Naval Special Warfare Development Group | |
|---|---|
 SEAL Team Six unit patch
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DEVGRUFINALLOGOsml_copy.jpg | |
| Active | 1987 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Special Operations |
| Role | Maritime Counter-terrorism |
| Part of | United States Naval Special Warfare Command United States Special Operations Command Joint Special Operations Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Dam Neck Annex, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia |
| Nickname(s) | DEVGRU, SEAL Team Six |
| Engagements | SEAL Team Six Operation Urgent Fury TWA Flight 847 Hijacking Achille Lauro Hijacking DEVGRU Operation Just Cause Operation Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope Operation Gothic Serpent Manhunt for Serbian war criminals Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Captain Scott P. Moore |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Shoulder Flash | File:DEVGRU Shoulder Flash copy.png |
History
The origins of ST6 can be traced to the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed 1980 attempt to rescue American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Iran.[2] [3][4] .[4] During the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, Marcinko was one of two Navy representatives for a Joint Chiefs of Staff task force known as the TAT (Terrorist Action Team). The purpose of the TAT was to develop a plan to free the American hostages held in Iran which culminated in Operation Eagle Claw. In the wake of the operation's disaster at Desert One, the Navy saw the need for a full-time dedicated Counter-Terrorist Team and tasked Marcinko with its design and development.
Marcinko was the first commanding officer of this new unit which he named SEAL Team Six (at the time, the US Navy had only two SEAL teams. Marcinko purportedly named the unit Team Six in order to confuse the Soviets into believing that the United States had three other SEAL teams that they were unaware of). The men in the unit were handpicked by Marcinko himself from across the US Navy's Special Operations personnel. SEAL Team Six would be known as the US Navy's premier counter-terrorist unit. It has also been compared favorably to the US Army's Delta Force.[1][3] Marcinko held the command of SEAL Team Six for three years from 1980-1983 instead of what was typically a two-year command in the Navy at the time.[4] SEAL Team Six was formally created in October 1980, and a progressive work-up training program made the unit mission-ready six months later. Prior to this, the existing SEAL teams had already begun counter-terrorism training, including 12 platoons in SEAL Team One on the West Coast. On the East Coast, however, elements of the SEAL Team Two had taken the issue one step farther. They formed a dedicated two platoon group known as "MOB Six" (Mobility Six) in anticipation of a maritime scenario requiring a counter-terrorism response and had begun training to that end. At the time, only two SEAL Teams were in existence; popular knowledge backed up by actual SEAL claims say that the name was chosen to confuse Soviet intelligence as to the number of SEAL Teams in operation. It became officially operational in 1981.[4][5]
In 1987, a new unit was formed, given the official title of 'Naval Special Warfare Development Group' (NAVSPECWARDEVGRU, or DEVGRU) after SEAL Team Six was dissolved. Reasons for the disbanding are varied, ranging from operational security that Richard Marcinko divulged in his Autobiography, the team's reputation surrounding the mis-appropriation of unit funds by unit members that resulted in charges leveled at ST6 founder and now-public figure Richard Marcinko and other members of the unit.[4] Whatever the truth behind these, the name "SEAL Team Six" is often used in reference to DEVGRU because of their similarities as a maritime counter-terrorism unit.[5]
Recruitment, Selection & Training
In the early stages of creating SEAL Team Six, Richard Marcinko handpicked the first plankowners of the unit after assessing their Navy records and be personnally interviewed by the units creator and commanding officer Richard Marcinko. Another former member of the unit, Chuck Pfarrer critised Marcinko's methods of selection. He mentions that front running candidates were rejected and the worst "shit-birds" candidate taken. It seemed that there was no ryme or reason as to who would be inducted and who would not. However, things started to become more structured when the command when Robert Gormly took over from Dick Marcinko. As with most aspects of the unit being highly classified, information regarding the process of recruitment and selction for the NSWDG is also scarce. All applicants come from SEAL and United States Navy EOD, unless applying for support positions (in which there have been open advertisements on the web for support personnel). It can be inferred from the quality of their pool of applicants that those considered are in peak physical condition, maintain an excellent reputation as an operator within the Naval Special Warfare community, have done two operational deployments with a SEAL Team (approximately six-eight years) where an operator will have picked up invaluable experience. As a result the candidate will usually be in his 30's. As ST6 was recruiting the best and brightest SEALs from the regular teams, this created animosity between the unit and the "regular" teams that their best SEALs were being poached for the unit. Those who pass the stringent recruitment process will be selected to attend a seven month Operators Training Course. Candidates will join the units training wing known as “Green Team”. The training course attrition rate is extremely high, at least half the class will fail the course. During one selection course, out of the original 20 candidates, only 12 completed the course. An extremely good SEAL operator in a regular SEAL team can fail to get into the Development Group. It is presumed that the unit's assessment process for potential new recruits will be completely different to what a SEAL operator has come across in his career and will test the candidates mental capacity rather than his physical condition as he will have already completed Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL (BUD/S).
Candidates will be put through a variety of advanced training courses, that can include courses led by civilian instructors. These can include Close Quarter Battle (CQB), Advanced Driving, Advanced Diving, and Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape. All candidates must perform at the top level during selection and the unit instructors evaluate the candidate during the training process. Any candidate not performing to the highest level will be returned to his previous unit.
Roles & Responsibilities
When SEAL Team Six was first created it would be devoted exclusively to counter-terrorism with a world-wide maritime responsibilty. It's objectives would include targets such as ships, oil-rigs, naval bases or other civilian or military bases that were accessable from the sea or inland waterways. SEAL Team Six would also be tasked in carrying out out reconassiance security assessments on US military bases and US Embassy's in hotspots around the world. After SEAL Team Six was disbanded and renamed the official designation of the NSWDG is to test, evaluate and develop technology and maritime, ground and airborne tactics applicable to Naval Special Warfare forces such as Navy SEALs.[6][7] DEVGRU and the Army's 1st SFOD-D train together and deploy together on counter-terrorist missions usually a part of a joint special operations task force (JSOTF). [1][5]
Couch, Dick (2005). The Finishing School: Earning the Navy SEAL Trident. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0609810464. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)</ref>[8]
An executive order by President Clinton added Naval Special Warfare Development Group to those units exempt from the contents of Posse Comitatus Act Title 5, Section 7103 of the US Code.[9]
Operational Deployments
The majority of the operations assigned to the NSWDG are classified and may never be known to the public. However, there are operations that the unit has been involved in information regarding these activities have been made public.
Operation Urgent Fury
Main article : Operation Urgent Fury
On October 13, 1983, the Grenadian Army, controlled by former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, overthrew the government of Grenada in a bloody coup d'état, creating a Communist regime. The severity of the violence, coupled with Coard's hard-line Marxism, caused deep concern among neighboring Caribbean nations, as well as in Washington, D.C. Adding to the US's concern was the presence of nearly 1,000 American medical students in Grenada.
The new leader of the Grenadian government, Maurice Bishop, aligned Grenada with Cubans, Soviets, and communist organizations. The Reagan administration reviled the leftist government for being too closely allied to Cuba and the Soviet Union.[10] On October 25, Reagan decided to act and United States invaded the small island of Grenada.
SEAL Team Six's Assault Group Three was to conduct a static line drop with boats a few miles away from the Grenadian coast.[11] One of two C-130 cargo planes transporting the SEALs to their drop point veered far off course. A rain squall accompanied by high winds broke out just before the SEALs conducted the drop. Four out of the eight SEALs that made the drop drowned and were never seen again.[11] After the disastrous insertion, Assault Group Three was told to stand-by and began preparing for the next mission. The next mission was to go the governor's mansion and secure Governor-General Paul Scoon, protect him and his family and move them out of the combat area.[12] A second mission was to capture and secure Grenada's only radio station so that it couldn't be used by the local military to incite the population or coordinate military actions.[12] There was almost no intelligence for either of these operations.[11]
Governor-General's Mansion
To reach the governor-general's mansion, the SEALs were flown in on Blackhawk helicopters at night, and fast-roped to the ground.[11] As they approached from the back of the mansion, the team found Scoon hiding. The SEALs then continued to clear the rest of the house and began to set up a perimeter to ensure security.[11] Soon the mansion started to take fire from men armed with AK-47s and RPGs. As the incoming fire started to increase, Governor-General Scoon and his family were moved to a safer location in the house. After the incoming fire had decreased, three men wearing Cuban uniforms approached the mansion, all of them carrying AK-47s. The SEALs shouted for the three men to stop where they were. When the three men heard the yells, they raised their weapons. The SEALs opened fire on the Cubans and killed them almost instantly.[11]
Soon afterward, two BTR-60PBs rolled up to the mansion's gates. One of the BTRs at the mansion's front gate opened fire. Just as the SEALs were about to fire a LAW, the BTR backed off and left with the other BTR.[11] When the SEALs had inserted on to the compound, they left behind their long range SATCOM radio on a helicopter.[11] The only communications the team had were through MX-360 radios. The team used the radios to communicate with a SEAL command post on the island to call in air strikes. As the radios started to die, communications with the SEAL command post became weak. Once all the radios had finally died and the SEALs urgently needed air support, the SEALs used a regular house phone to call JSOC.[11] JSOC was able to get a AC-130 Spectre gunship hovering over the SEALs' position to provide air support.
When morning came, a group of Force Recon Marines arrived to escort the SEALs, Governor-General Scoon, and his family to a helicopter extraction point. As the team left the compound, they noticed splattered blood and discarded weapons all around. The helicopter finally arrived and extracted everyone to safety.[11]
Radio Station
Assault Group Three and another squad from SEAL Team Six flew to the radio station on a Pavehawk helicopter.[13] The helicopter took small-arms fire on the insertion. Once the team unloaded it overran the radio station compound. The SEALs were told to hold the station until Governor Scoon and a broadcast team could be brought in.[11] After the team took control of the compound, it was not able to make radio contact with the SEAL command post. The SEALs set up a perimeter while they continued to try to make radio contact. As this was happening, a BTR-60 rolled up to the compound and 20 Grenadian soldiers disguised as the station workers piled out.[13] The soldiers carried weapons even in disguise.[13] The SEALs ordered the soldiers to drop the weapons. The soldiers opened fire but were shot down almost instantly. Afterwards the SEALs continued laboring to make radio contact when another BTR and three trucks were spotted coming towards the station.[13]
The trucks carried a dozen soldiers each. The SEALs quickly conducted a defensive maneuver as the soldiers flanked the building. The BTR covered the front entrance with a 20 mm cannon. The incoming fire on the SEALs position was becoming devastatingly heavy and the SEALs were running out of ammunition. The SEAL team new that there only option was to change their original plan of holding the radio station and instead destroy the radio trasister and head to the water following their pre-planned escape route out behind the station across a broad meadow that led to a path that cut between cliffs and a beach. [13] The meadow was terribly exposed to Grenadian fire. The team leapfrogged across the exposed ground and took heavy fire. The team finally reached the end of the field, cut through a chain-link fence and ran into dense brush. The SEALs quickly followed the path to the beach. One SEAL had been wounded in the arm. The Grenadians were still in pursuit, so the SEALs waded into the water and began swimming parallel to the shore until they found cliff ledges to conceal themselves.[13] The SEALs remained hidden until long after the Grenadians had given up the search. Once the SEALs were convinced that the Grenadians had given up, the team jumped back into the water and swam out to sea. Although one SEAL had been wounded in the arm and was bleeding, there was a worry that it would attract sharks to the area but despite this they had no other option but to keep swimming. The SEALs were in the water close to six hours before a rescue plane spotted them and vectored a Navy ship to pick them up.[13]
Somalia, Task Force Ranger
ST6 was also involved in Somalia in 1993 when a Special Operations task force (Task Force Ranger) was tasked in apprehending several Tier One HVTs of Somali warlord Muhammad Farrah Aideed. The current commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Admiral Eric T. Olson
is a former Commander, Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Admiral Olson was Operations Officer of JSOC during Task Force Ranger. John Gay, Howard Wasdin, Homer Nearpass, and Richard Kaiser from Six were part of the HumV convoy that was part of the plan in the Battle of Mogadishu.
Operation Enduring Freedom
In Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) U.S. Special Operations forces have led the fighting.[6] During the crucial Battle of Takur Ghar Navy SEALs from DEVGRU participated in one of the most violent battles of Operation Anaconda. Late at night on March 2 2002 a MH-47 Chinook helicopter piloted by the 160th SOAR was carrying a team of Navy SEALs over the mountain of Takur Ghar. As the helicopter was nearing its landing zone both the pilots and the men in the back observed fresh tracks in the snow, goatskins, and other signs of recent human activity. Immediately, the pilots and team discussed a mission abort, but it was too late. An RPG struck the side of the aircraft, wounding one crewman, while machine gun bullets ripped through the fuselage, cutting hydraulic and oil lines. Fluid spewed about the ramp area of the helicopter. The pilot struggled to get the helicopter off the landing zone and away from the enemy fire. Neil C. Roberts, a SEAL DEVGRU operator, was poised to exit the ramp when the aircraft was hit and he slipped on the oil as the helicopter took off. He was thrown from the helicopter dropping about 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3.0 m) to the snowy ground below. Roberts immediately engaged Al-Qaeda forces with a pistol and two grenades. He survived at least 30 minutes before he was shot and killed at close range.<
Another controversal side of operations in Afghanistan was the hunt for HVTs within Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In one instance informants spoted Ayman al-Zawahiri in a medical clinic in Gardez, Afghanistan. Members of the Special Forces (United States Army) were only five minutes away from the target, but they were ordered to stand down so JSOC could deploy SEAL Team Six to raid the clinic and capture or kill al-Zawahiri. But the SEAL team was located much further away and too much time elapsed while preparing for the raid, allowing al-Zawahiri to escape. In 2004, the Washington Post mentions this as one of a series of incidents in which Green Berets units were passed over and opportunities to get important High Value Targets were lost.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
DevGru's contingent (Task Force Blue) part of TF 145, TF 6-26 and TF 121 have conducted controversial operations in Iraq that led to the capture of the late Saddam Hussein and the death of the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.<
Rescue of Captain Richard Phillips
It is rumoured that DevGru were involved in the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali Pirates.
Current Role
The Development Group is active in both the Global War on Terror and operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. DEVGRU has worked closely with the Army's Delta Force, as well as civilian government agencies in special task forces (TF) to kill or capture the leaders of terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and insurgent/terrorist groups in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Philippines, Pakistan and counter-proliferation.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b
Emerson, Steven (November 13, 1988). "Stymied Warriors". New York Times.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Fallows, James (December 13, 1981). "IRAN FROM FIVE AMERICAN VIEWPOINTS". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Halloran, Richard (November 16, 1986). "U.S. MOVING TO EXPAND UNCONVENTIONAL FORCES". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d
Marcinko, Richard (1993). Rogue Warrior. Pocket. ISBN 0671795937.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Gerth, Jeff (June 8, 1984). "U.S. MILITARY CREATES SECRET UNITS FOR USE IN SENSITIVE TASKS ABROAD". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b , it is presumed this is only a small part of it's tasking. Its full mission tasking is classified but is thought to include preemptive, pro-active counter-terrorist operations as well as assassination or recovery of high value targets (HVTs)from unfriendly nations and counter-proliferation.Shanker, Thom (August 12, 2002). "RUMSFELD WEIGHS NEW COVERT ACTS BY MILITARY UNITS". New York Times.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^
"Frequently Asked Questions". LT Michael P. Murphy USN. United States Navy. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^
Bowden, Mark (2001). Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Signet. ISBN 0451203933.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Clinton, President William. "Executive Order 12171--Exclusions from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program". U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Smith, Michael (2007). Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312362722.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k
Chalker, Dennis (2002). One Perfect Op. Avon Books. ISBN 0380809206.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Pfarrer, Chuck (2004). Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL. Random House. ISBN 0891418636.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Couch, Dick (2001). The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228. Crown. ISBN 0609607103.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)
References
- Marcinko, Richard (1993). Rogue Warrior. Pocket. ISBN 0671795937.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - K. Shipler, David (November 26, 1985). "TERROR: AMERICANS AS TARGETS". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Gormly, Robert (1999). Combat Swimmer: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL. Onyx. ISBN 0451193024.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - MacPherson, Malcolm (2006). Roberts Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan. Dell. ISBN 0553586807.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Pfarrer, Chuck (2004). Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL. Random House. ISBN 0891418636.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Chalker, Dennis (2002). One Perfect Op. Avon Books. ISBN 0380809206.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)