SEAL Teams in Vietnam
... were actually deployed (88). The SEALs were initially deployed in and around Da Nang, training the South Vietnamese soldiers in combat diving, demolition and guerrilla/anti-guerrilla tactics. “As the war continued the SEALs found themselves positioned in the Rung Sat Special Zone where they were to disrupt the enemy supply and troop movements, and into the Mekong Delta to fulfill riverine (fighting on the inland waterways) operations” (Marcinko 212). The brown water of the Delta provided the foundation for the development of SEAL riverine operations. The SEALs adapted quickly and with deadly results. “The braces, inlets, and estuaries intermingled and entwining left a broad area for both the North and South to operate in. The SEALs and Brown Water Navy boat crews made it their job to win this part of the war, impeding as much as possible the movement of troops and supplies coming from the North” (Marcinko 212). The SEALs teams experienced this war like no other infantry unit ever had before. Combat with the Vietcong was very close and personnel. Unlike the conventional warfare methods which deal with firing from a distance, firing artillery into a coordinate location, or dropping bombs from thirty thousand feet, the SEALs operated within inches of their targets. SEALs had to kill at close range and respond without hesitation or be killed them selves. Theirs were the most effective anti-guerrilla and guerrilla actions in the war. Another key component that the SEAL teams faced in the war was their use of the latest and most high tech weapons, and using them in expert attacks. The SEAL teams used the most advanced yet mobile weapons known to warfare. Every SEAL in Vietnam was equipped with three basic sidearms which are the colt 45, the berretta, and the most popular H & K assault pistol. “More importantly each SEAL operator is armed with the assault rifle, and sub machine guns, among them the most famous, and dangerous the m16” (Miller 94). Other weapons include grenades, and grenade launchers, heavy machinery, and simple knives, and swords. Included in their arsenal is their mobility, especially parachuting. Parachuting is a versatile and highly effective method of insertion for the commando. “The SEALs used this skill in all of its many manifestations: Low altitude static line jumps, High Altitude/Low Opening Freefall (HALO), High Altitude/High Opening Freefall (HAHO), as well as fast roping, rappelling, SPIE rig (Special Insertion/Extraction Rig), and numerous other tricks of the trade. The airdrop was first used by SEALs in Vietnam and is still plays a key role in SEAL training today, as now each SEAL boasts over 1000 jumps” (Dockery 197). To top it all off each SEAL is his own personal weapons because each one is trained in boxing as well as six different types of hand to hand combat. “These forms of hand to hand combat includes: karate, judo, and taekwondo. This training makes them the deadliest force on the earth” (Watson 79). The final and probably one of the most important components of the Navy SEALs being in Vietnam was their ability to find out information from the other side. “Numerous accounts of acquiring enemy information were credited to the SEALs covert operations. From this information we learned many things that the Vietcong soldiers were planning to do” (Miller 112). Another aspect of this skill is that SEALs were often recognized for is their kidnapping of many soldiers and even some suspected civilians and through using questioning and force were able to find important information about the Vietnamese’ plans. According to Kevin Dockery “SEALs were very good at appearing in the middle of the night out of no where and, and especially at ambush. Their ambush and priso...