Richard Marcinko

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Richard "Dick" Marcinko (born November 21, 1940 in Lansford , Pennsylvania ) is a former United States Navy SEAL and author. He has several nicknames such as “Rogue Warrior”, “Demo Dick”, “Shark Man of the Delta” and “The Geek”.

Career

After graduating from Admiral Farragut Academy in Tom's River , New Jersey , Marcinko joined the US Navy in 1958 . After basic training, he was sent to a naval base in Naples as a teletype operator . There he got into a fight with another soldier and beat him ready for hospital. In the hope of punishing Marcinko with it, his superiors sent him to the training of the combat swimmer units UDT , but thereby fulfilled a long-cherished wish. During his time at UDT-21, Marcinko was encouraged by his supervisor to go to officers' school. After graduation in December 1965, he moved to SEAL Team 2 in June 1966 and was deployed in the Vietnam War.

Vietnam

On May 18, 1967, Marcinko led his team on a mission on Iloilo , where they killed numerous Viet Cong fighters and destroyed six enemy sampans . The US Navy described the operation as "the most successful SEAL operation in the Mekong Delta". Shortly thereafter, Marcinko received both the first of four Bronze Stars and a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with a silver star from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . After returning to the United States, Marcinko was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade .

After a few months in the USA, Marcinko returned to Vietnam with SEAL Team 2. During the Tet Offensive he supported the Special Forces in Châu Đốc with his unit . What began as a street fight ended as a rescue operation for American nurses trapped in church and hospital.

After a second stationing in Vietnam and two years on the staff as well as being promoted to Lieutenant Commander , Marcinko was sent to Cambodia in 1973 as a military attaché . A year and a half later he was ordered back to the USA and took over command of SEAL Team 2.

SEAL Team Six

During the hostage-taking in Tehran, Marcinko advises a task force on the development of a strategy for the liberation of the American hostages, which culminates in Operation Eagle Claw and ultimately in a disaster. Those in charge of the Navy now see the need for a professional anti-terrorist unit and entrust Marcinko with its planning and development.

Marcinko becomes the first commander of the new unit, which he calls SEAL Team Six, even though the USA only had two SEAL teams at this point. With the wrong numbering he wants to trick other nations into believing that the USA has three SEAL teams, unknown to them, in action. Marcinko personally selects all members of his unit and gives the SEAL-Team Six the reputation of the top anti-terrorist unit in the US Navy. The team is variously compared to the US Army's Delta Force units . Marcinko commanded this team from 1980 to 1983.

Red Cell

After leaving SEAL Team Six, Marcinko is tasked with creating a unit that will test the Navy for vulnerabilities in relation to terrorist attacks. In 1984 he founded the Naval Security Coordination Team OP-06D, for which he hired twelve members of SEAL Team Six and one member of the Marine Force Recon . The unit is given the unofficial name “Red Cell”, which means something like “Red (read: communist) cell”.

Marcinko's team is examining the safety of naval bases, nuclear submarines, warships, civil airports and an American embassy to determine the state of the art in the Navy against terrorist attacks. He manages to infiltrate high-security facilities that are considered impregnable, such as submarines, ships and even the US presidential aircraft, Air Force One , and leave them undetected. He claims that Red Cell successfully stole nuclear equipment from US Navy bases, thus proving the possibility of scenarios for the hijacking of nuclear-powered submarines for the purpose of using them as dirty bombs , or by mildly torturing responsible crew members in possession of the launch codes for to get the cruise missiles carried.

Former Red Cell members claim the drills were just a cover-up to move SPECWAR members to locations around the world for covert operations against real terrorist groups.

Civil life

Since retiring from the US Navy, Marcinko has made several military-themed documentaries, including a documentary on Red Cell in which he accused many of his former superiors of being responsible for his convictions for embezzlement of funds and funds. Marcinko has also written his autobiography Rogue Warrior as well as various fictional follow-up novels.

Marcinko currently serves as CEO of Red Cell International, a private security consulting firm in Washington, DC. He is spokesman for the Maritime Training Academy of inflatable boat manufacturer Zodiac and was a consultant on the production of TV series 24 .

Together with the software company Bethesda Softworks , Marcinko produced the computer game Rogue Warrior , published in November 2009 . He also worked for the US knife manufacturer Strider Knives on the development of two combat knives.

criticism

Marcinko has served a prison sentence for fraudulent purchase of hand grenades. In his autobiography, he claims to be the victim of a conspiracy related to his work with Red Cell. The fraud affair was only intended to highlight the gaps within the military security apparatus.

Military awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Marcinko, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Marcinko, Dick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer, Navy SEAL and author
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Lansford , Pennsylvania