United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy SEALs [ siːlz ] are a special unit of the US Navy . They are subordinate to the United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM) , which has its headquarters in Coronado , California and is itself part of the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) .
The term "SEAL" is an acronym from the words Se a, A ir, L and (sea, air, ground), which express the locations of the special unit. It also corresponds to the English expression for seal / seal and is also pronounced that way.
The unofficial motto of the unit is: The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday (German: "The only easy day was yesterday").
history
prehistory
The origin of the US Navy SEALs lies in the Navy Combat Demolition Units (NCDU) , which were actually a pure ordnance clearance service of the Navy, whose task was to clear up beaches , especially before landings, such as during Operation Overlord and to clear possible obstacles or barriers. The members of the NCDU consisted mostly of engineer battalions ( SEABEES ) of the United States Navy . There were two different teams - the NCDUs, which were mainly deployed in Europe, and the UDTs (Underwater Demolition Teams), which worked in the Pacific war zone. The UDTs differed from the NCDUs mainly in their lighter equipment, so the UDTs often only wore swimming trunks and fins during simple missions. In Japan, the UDTs were involved in almost every landing operation, and their strength at the end of the war was about 3,000 men. During the war in Korea , however, they often operated on land.
In the Cuban Missile Crisis , the failed landing at the Bay of Pigs showed that the CIA was unable to carry out special operations at the time. To remedy the deficit, US President John F. Kennedy ordered the creation of special military units. The US Navy then began setting up its SEAL teams. The designation SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) identified the environments in which they will later operate. Finally, on January 1, 1962, SEAL Team 1 was set up in Coronado, California on the Pacific coast and Team 2 in Little Creek, Virginia on the east coast. Many members of the UDT were taken over directly, but the UDT still existed. The number of members was initially low, with ten officers and fifty SEALs each. Immediately after they were set up, they bought a lot of equipment and practiced old and developed new tactics and techniques.
Vietnam War
Starting in 1963, initially under the command of the local CIA - residents as instructor of South Vietnamese troops particularly the "Vietnamese SEALs" Lien Doc Nguoi Nhia (LDNN) and reconnaissance units (Provincial Reconnaissance Units) in Da Nang used, the SEALs were in 1964 the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), subordinated to the military high command for Vietnam , and were therefore direct combatants in the Vietnam War for the first time . In doing so, they acquired an excellent reputation as fighters and were very much feared by opponents of the war, if they were perceived as an independent unit at all. In addition to their original duties, they were instrumental in the CIA-led Phoenix program , the targeted liquidation of communist leadership cadres behind enemy lines, which killed around 6,500 (according to US sources) people. In February 1966, the SEAL Team ONE was ordered to South Vietnam and took part in operations in the Nhà Bè area south of Saigon (today Ho Chi Minh City). The last SEAL platoon left Vietnam on December 7, 1971, the last trainers in March 1973. The total number of SEALs deployed in Vietnam was no more than 200 soldiers and about 30 officers.
Dissolution of the UDTs
From May 1983 combat swimmers split up into Navy SEAL units.
The Goldwater-Nichols Act and its appendix, the Nunn-Cohen Amendment , put the special forces of the USA on their own financial basis and separated them through their combination in the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) (Eng. "US High Command for Special Operations ") ) from their maternal armed forces . As a result, they no longer had to compete with their armed forces for budgets and henceforth could no longer be treated financially “neglected”. As a result of these measures, a de facto sub-armed force was created in which all special operations forces of the US military are combined.
The Navy established the US Naval Special Warfare Command ( NAVSPECWARCOM or NAVSOC ) on April 16, 1987 at Coronado Naval Base near San Diego , California . From now on, the new high command was responsible for the readiness, training and availability of all special operations forces in the Navy and acts as the maritime component command of the superordinate US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), in which all military special operations forces of the United States are united.
After the Cold War until today
Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti and Liberia
The SEALs were in Panama from 1989 to 1990, in the Persian Gulf from 1987 to 1991 during Operation Earnest Will, and in Somalia ( Operation Restore Hope ), Bosnia ( Operation Joint Endeavor ), Haiti ( Operation Uphold Democracy ) and Liberia ( United Nations Mission in Liberia ) in action.
Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom)
2,002 SEALs took as part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) South of the Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in part and in 2003 they were on a larger scale in the invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) to secure the oil terminals and port facilities in Umm Qasr used . In September 2008 around 20 Navy Seals, supported by helicopters and a so-called gunship (a heavily armed aircraft) of the AC-130 Specter type , were deployed in South Waziristan in Pakistan against possible Al Qaeda fighters.
In 2008 Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in Afghanistan on June 27 and 28, 2005. The guided missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) was named after him. The soldier Michael Anthony Monsoor was also posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2008 for his service in Iraq.
On August 6, 2011, according to the ISAF, 30 US soldiers (including 22 Navy SEALs), seven Afghan soldiers and an interpreter were killed when a CH-47F Chinook transport helicopter was shot down in the Sayd Abad district of Wardak province . The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Horn of Africa
On April 12, 2009, Richard Phillips , captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama , who was held captive on a lifeboat by four Somali pirates , was freed by a SEAL team, killing three of the four pirates.
Pakistan
On May 2, 2011, the then most wanted terrorist in the world, Osama bin Laden , who was also responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , was shot dead by members of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group in Abbottabad . The action 's code name was Operation Neptune's Spear . Four helicopters as well as 25 soldiers and a dog were used, whereby one helicopter had to make an emergency landing during the 40-minute mission and was then destroyed by its own soldiers.
Levant Sea near Cyprus
The United States Special Operations Command Europe ordered the storming of the stateless tanker Morning Glory on the orders of US President Barack Obama , following a request from the Libyan and Cypriot governments to the USA . Navy SEALs took off from the destroyer Roosevelt on the evening of March 16, 2014 and were able to take control of the tanker in international waters south of Cyprus . Militias in Libya wanted to use the tanker to export crude oil on their own. A few days earlier, three armed insurgents had brought the ship under their control at the oil terminal of al-Sidr . The ship used to sail under the North Korean flag. The destroyer Stout accompanied the tanker back to Libya.
Yemen
In Wadi al Kifah in al-Baida Governorate in Yemen, the US forces attacked a base of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) with combat drones (UCAV) and Apache attack helicopters . 41 al-Qaeda fighters and 14 civilians die. Among those killed are the leaders Abdulraouf, Sultan al-Zahab and Saif Alawai al-Jawfi. Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens is killed and three other US soldiers injured in the crash of an MV-22 Osprey .
Somalia
On May 5, 2017, Navy SEAL Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken was killed and two others injured during an operation in Barii in the Shabeellaha Hoose region against the Islamist al-Shabaab militia.
assignment
The SEALs can be used for naval , airborne and ground combat . Her range of tasks includes reconnaissance and defense against enemy intelligence, direct combat missions , unconventional warfare , counter-terrorism , supporting other US authorities in the fight against international drug trafficking , as well as liberation and rescue operations . Unconventional warfare includes numerous covert operations in enemy-controlled or politically difficult environments, including guerrilla warfare against important targets behind enemy lines, psychological warfare and sabotage . Above all, they are designed for maritime and coastal surroundings, for undetected movement to the target through the water, lightning-like operations and rapid retreat on the waterway. This is intended to give them access to objects that larger units cannot reach, or can only reach after heavy fighting. In addition, the concept of the Navy SEALs attaches great importance to the cooperation with a large number of other military branches and functionality under operational conditions from peacetime to conflict to war. It is primarily important to the SEALs that they are not discovered during the mission and that they have opportunities to retreat. The operation is usually carried out in small teams; the firepower varies depending on the job.
organization
The approximately 2500 Navy SEALs and 600 support teams ( Special Warfare Combatant Crew , SWCC) are subordinate to the United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM) and are divided into four Marine Special Warfare Groups (NSWG) with the Headquarters Coronado (focus on the Pacific , Middle East and Korea ) and Little Creek, Virginia (focus on Europe , South and Central America , Mediterranean area ) for special task forces one and two and identical headquarters, but different focus areas for special task groups three and four.
Special task group one comprises the four odd-numbered SEAL teams, group two the four even-numbered SEAL teams, each team consisting of eight platoons . The personnel strength per platoon is 16 men, the total operational strength 128. The special task force in Little Creek is purely administratively assigned a fifth team and the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) . However, as a pure anti-terrorist unit, it is subordinate to the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) together with the Delta Force . In addition, there are several small command cells stationed around the world that are intended to enable the SEALs to be deployed quickly.
The Marine Special Operations Command also includes logistics and command troops as well as units with special boats ( Special Boat Teams , SBT). The latter are equipped with specially equipped boats and are operated by so-called Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC). The boats include the Mark V Special Operations Craft (MKV SOC) , an aluminum boat for coastal patrols and as a platform for special operations, as well as other boats from rigid inflatable boats to smaller patrol boats ( Special Operations Craft Riverine , SOCR) made of aluminum for river operations. All boats are used to bring the SEALs or other special units to their locations and provide operational support there. The SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams (SDVT) bring the SEALs to their locations in special submarines . For air transport, the SEALs use the capacities of the Navy, the Air Force and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) .
In March 2016, 21 African Americans were members of the United States Navy SEALs, which is less than 2 percent. In this context, an expert from the Pentagon spoke in 2015 of potential that the special forces would lose.
Structure of the SEAL teams
| badge | team | Surroundings | Dislocation | headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
SEAL team ONE | Jungle, desert and urban | Western pacific | Coronado , California |
 |
SEAL Team THREE | Desert and Urban | middle East | |
 |
SEAL Team FIVE | Arctic, desert and urban | Korea | |
 |
SEAL Team SEVEN | Jungle, desert and urban | Western pacific |
- Naval Special Warfare Unit 1, Guam
- Naval Special Warfare Unit 3, Bahrain
| badge | team | Surroundings | Dislocation | headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
SEAL Team TWO | Desert and Urban | Northern Europe | Little Creek, Virginia |
 |
SEAL Team FOUR | Middle and South America | ||
 |
SEAL Team EIGHT | Mediterranean / Southern Europe | ||
 |
SEAL Team TEN | Mediterranean / Southern Europe |
- Naval Special Warfare Unit 2, Stuttgart, Germany
- Naval Special Warfare Unit 10, Rota, Spain
| badge | team | Surroundings | Dislocation | headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE | undersea | Pacific (ASDS worldwide) | Pearl Harbor , Hawaii |
 |
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO | undersea | Atlantic and Mediterranean | Little Creek, Virginia |
| badge | team | Surroundings | Dislocation | headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Special Boat Team 12 | maritime and close to the coast | Pacific and Middle East | Coronado, California |
 |
Special Boat Team 20 | maritime and close to the coast | Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East | Little Creek, Virginia |
 |
Special Boat Team 22 | Inland waters | worldwide | John C. Stennis Space Center , Mississippi |
Subordinate to the United States Joint Special Operations Command
| badge | team | Surroundings | Dislocation | headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
NAVSPECWARDEVGRU ehm. SEAL TEAM SIX |
Specialized in everything | worldwide | Dam Neck, Virginia |
requirements
In order to be admitted to the BUD / S course at all, the prospective SEAL must meet the following basic requirements:
- US citizen
- Maximum age 30 years
- No significant criminal record, no drug addiction
- Diver medical and psychological examination
- Full visual acuity (minor corrections are allowed)
- No color blindness
- Passing a sporting aptitude test divided into:
Potential SEAL candidates are expected to do better in the sporting aptitude test.
Recruitment and training
The 1st phase
The first part of the basic training lasts nine weeks and physical skills are taught in this basic training. Endurance runs and other strength, diving and swimming exercises are rehearsed. Obstacle courses and boat exercises are also made. The conclusion of this first phase is the legendary Hellweek, in which future SEALs are pushed to the limit of their physical capabilities. Constant swimming, running and paddling exercises are just as important as contact with explosives , for example crawling under machine gun fire. During the Hellweek, 60% of the participants often leave the course early. However, if you have to stop training due to illness, you can resume it at the same point next year. After the Hellweek light duty follows, including measuring beaches. In addition, the prospective SEALs receive extensive weapons training.
The 2nd phase
In the second phase, the participants learn to dive with open and closed breathing circuits and underwater navigation. There is a basic training in the swimming pool, which is later deepened in the open sea.
The 3rd phase
The third phase is characterized by extensive infantry training, in which, among other things, knowledge of domestic and foreign weapons is imparted. Enlightenment and combat with pioneering tools are also learned. The things learned will later be deepened on the island of San Clemente. After this third phase, the SEALs will acquire the parachutist badge at Fort Benning . Now the SEALs are being relocated to the different units and are given their final touches there. After another six months, the SEALs get their badge, the Trident, and can now call themselves SEALs. Nevertheless, the training is not yet finished, because a SEAL continues to train until the end of his career and, for example, earns the airborne scout badge.
equipment
Boats
In addition to the extensive standard equipment of the US armed forces, the SEAL teams can fall back on developments specially tailored to their needs. The NAVSPECWARCOM has commissioned these four watercraft:
The Mark V speedboat is used for the transport of Special Operations Forces (SOF), but mainly for the transport of SEALs. The boats are used for embarkation and disembarkation of emergency teams but also for coastal patrol trips. The Mark V is the latest Special Operations Craft (SOC) introduced for Naval Special Warfare (NSW) with the Special Boat Teams (SBR). Thanks to the efforts of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the Special Operations Acquisition Executive (SOAE), the first MARK V were put into service just 18 months after the start of the development phase.
The Special Operations Craft Riverine (SOC-R) is also a new boat that is subordinate to the Special Boat Units. It was developed as a speedboat with high cargo and weapon capacity. Also of importance was the ability to operate on rivers deep inland for rapid deployment of ground troops. The SOCR is 9.50 m long and 2.75 m wide. With a draft of only 20 cm, it is ideal for use on shallow rivers. Two diesel engines with 440 hp each provide enough thrust to quickly accelerate to the maximum speed of around 42 knots (approx. 78 km / h). The aluminum hull makes the boat very light, but still robust. It can easily carry up to 9,300 kg of personnel, weapons and ammunition. Because of its small size, it can be air-laid using helicopters such as the CH-47 or CH-53. The hull of the boat has mounting options for ballistic protection plates as well as for various weapons. Weapons such as the M2 .50 caliber machine gun, Mk-19 grenade launchers, and 7.62 mm miniguns are usually mounted.
Small submarines
The SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) MK8 - also known as the Swimmer Delivery Vehicle - is a miniature submarine that can be used to bring a small team ashore without being noticed. The SDV does not have a pressure chamber, but the SEALs in the flooded cell are supplied via a breathing air system. The SDV can transport a maximum of four divers over a distance of 8 to 12 kilometers. The SDV is powered by a lithium-ion battery and is equipped with an electric drive as well as navigation and communication electronics. SDVs are usually transported piggyback on submarines such as the Los Angeles class to their area of operation. So-called dry deck shelters can be mounted behind the tower on the back of the submarine , which contain a dry lock to the boat, an “SDV hangar” and a dedicated pressure chamber. The SEALs on board can prepare in this lock in the dry and only have to use their closed-circuit breathing apparatus immediately before flooding.
The Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) is a miniature submarine about 20 meters long with a displacement of about 70 tons. It is operated by a crew of two. A lithium-ion battery provides enough energy to enable an operational radius of around 200 km at a speed of almost 7.5 knots (14 km / h) and a diving depth of 200 feet (61 m). In the dry pressure chamber, up to 14 soldiers with light luggage or 8 soldiers with standard equipment, diving equipment and weapons can be transported. The ASDS has a lock (so-called lock-in-out chamber, LIO), which enables SEALs to be deposited under water and picked up again without having to flood the entire submarine. In addition, the ASDS has passive and active sonar as well as navigation and communication equipment. After the first studies for the ASDS were commissioned in 1983, various designs were worked out in the late 1980s with the aim of developing a submersible means of transport that can transport special maritime forces over long distances without being noticed. In contrast to the Seal Delivery Vehicle (SDV), the dry diving cell is designed to avoid long periods in cold sea water. Construction of the first ASDS began in 1996 and the unit received the vehicle in 2000. It cost approximately $ 300 million and exceeded initial estimates by $ 140 million. Construction costs of around 125 million dollars each were estimated for the five planned submarines. However, the production of the second ASDS was interrupted in December 2005; in April 2006 the entire order was finally canceled and the program discontinued. The only completed ASDS was used in several exercises starting in 2003. However, it burned down completely on November 9, 2008 after a fire broke out on board while the batteries were being charged. The ASDS was written off due to the estimated $ 237 million repair cost.
museum
Founded in 1985, the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in North Hutchinson Island , Florida is the only museum dedicated to the Navy SEALs. Among other things, it shows the equipment of the Navy Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) and SEAL teams. The museum is run by the non-profit organization UDT-SEAL Museum Association, Inc. It will soon be under the sponsorship of the US Navy. The MP Tim Mahoney (D-FL16) brought on June 19, 2007 at the 110th Congress, the legislative initiative HR 2779 with 44 supporters. The initiative was discussed on October 13, 2007 and a majority passed. The legislative initiative was approved by the House of Representatives on October 1, 2007 and passed unanimously by the Senate on October 31, 2007. The President signed it on November 13, 2007 ( Public Law No: 110-115 ).
- Christopher Cassidy (* 1970), NASA astronaut
- Chris Kyle (1974-2013)
- Marcus Luttrell (* 1975)
- Michael Anthony Monsoor (1981-2006)
- Michael P. Murphy (1976-2005)
- Richard Marcinko (* 1940)
- Robert O'Neill (* 1976)
- William Shepherd (* 1949), former NASA astronaut and first ISS commander
- Ryan Zinke (born 1961), former United States Secretary of the Interior
- Jocko Willink (* 1971)
Media reception
- Navy Seals - The toughest elite force in the world (feature film)
- The Jane Files (feature film)
- Tears of the Sun (feature film)
- Act of Valor (feature film)
- Zero Dark Thirty (Feature Film)
- Lone Survivor (feature film)
- Captain Phillips (feature film)
- American Sniper (feature film)
- Blindspot (TV series)
- 13 Hours (feature film)
- Hawaii Five-0 (TV Series)
- Six (TV series)
- SEAL Team (TV series)
See also
- Special Warfare Insignia (SEAL Trident)
- United States Navy Parachute Team
- Gun divers
literature
- Mir Bahmanyar: US Navy SEALs. Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-807-3 .
- Mir Bahmanyar, Chris Osman: SEALs The US Navy's Elite Fighting Force. Osprey Publishing, 2008, ISBN 1-84603-226-1 .
- David Bohrer: US Elite Associations. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-613-02151-X .
- Dick Couch: The Sheriff of Ramadi: Navy SEALs and the Winning of al-Anbar. US Naval Institute Press, 2008, ISBN 1-59114-138-9 .
- Dick Couch, Cliff Hollenbeck: To Be A US Navy Seal. Zenith Imprint, 2003, ISBN 0-7603-1404-7 .
- Kevin Dockery: Special warfare special weapons. The arms and equipment of the UDT and SEALs from 1943 to the Present. Chicago, ISBN 1-883476-00-3 .
- Edwin P. Hoyt: Seals At War - The Story of US Navy Special Warfare. Dell Books, 1993, ISBN 978-0-440-21497-7 .
- Richard Marcinko: Rogue Warrior. New York 1993, ISBN 0-671-00982-6 .
- Darryl Young: The Element of Surprise - Navy Seals in Vietnam. Ivy Books, 1990, ISBN 0-8041-0581-2 .
- Christoph Rojahn: Military anti-terrorist units as an answer to the threat of international terrorism and an instrument of national security policy - the example of America. Munich 2000, ISBN 3-89675-841-1 .
- Charles W. Sasser: Encyclopedia of The Navy SEALs. Facts on File, 2002. ISBN 0-8160-4569-0
- Hartmut Schauer: US Navy SEALs. Motorbuchverlag Stuttgart 2000. ISBN 3-613-01864-0
Web links
Official sites
- SEALS + SWCC Scout Team (official site) (English)
- US Naval Special Warfare Command website (official site )
- Navy Fact File: Navy SEALs. San Diego: Naval Special Warfare Command; Public Affairs Office, United States Navy ( Memento of March 3, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (English)
Other English language sites
- SEALs at globalsecurity.org (English)
- Couch, Dick: SEALs: 50 Years and Counting , in: Naval History Magazine , Volume 26, Number 1, February 2012
- Lee Ann Obringer: How the Navy SEALs Work.
German-language pages
Remarks
- ↑ (Eng. "The only easy day was yesterday")
- ↑ (Eng. "It pays to be a winner")
- ↑ See the team's logos under Organization
Individual evidence
- ^ The United States Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL). In: shadowspear.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2007 ; accessed on February 5, 2009 .
- ↑ a b c “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday” - NAVY SEALS (SEA, AIR & LAND). (PDF; 2.57 MB) In: navy.com. United States Navy , March 2018, accessed May 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Tom Clancy's interview with Gen. ( ret. ) Henry H. Shelton , p. 92, Tom Clancy, John Gresham: Special Forces - The special forces of the US Army. Heyne, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-453-86912-5 .
- ^ President Bush authorizes the use of ground troops in Pakistan , on wsws.org
- ↑ ISAF: ISAF Mourns Loss of 38 Killed in Helicopter Crash. ( Memento of the original from January 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Times: Osama bin Laden is dead.
- ↑ Bin Laden shot in head by US Navy seals. ( Memento of the original from May 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ US special forces kill Osama bin Laden.
- ^ Taz.de: Tankers stormed by US soldiers. 17th March 2014
- ↑ AFP: '57 dead 'in first US raid on Qaeda in Yemen under Trump. Yahoo, January 29, 2017, accessed January 29, 2017 .
- ↑ AFP: UPDATE: Navy SEAL killed in Yemen was William 'Ryan' Owens, 36th San Diego Union Tribune, January 30, 2017, accessed January 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Navy SEAL Killed, 2 SEALS Wounded in Somalia Gunfight. In: nbcnews.com. May 5, 2017, accessed May 7, 2017 .
- ↑ DoD Announces Navy Casualty - Release No: NR-165-17 Navy SEAL Killed, 2 SEALS Wounded in Somalia Gunfight. In: defense.gov. May 5, 2017, accessed May 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g Structure. (No longer available online.) In: navyseals.com. United States Naval Special Warfare Command , 2019, archived from the original on December 14, 2018 ; accessed on May 5, 2019 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Stephen Brown: It's Tough Enough to Be a Navy SEAL But Even More Challenging to be an African American. digitalafro.com, March 11, 2016, accessed on November 3, 2018 .
- ↑ Tom Vanden Brook: Pentagon's elite forces lack diversity. usatoday.com, August 6, 2015, accessed November 3, 2018 .
- ↑ thomas.loc.gov ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Library of Congress> THOMAS Home> Bills, Resolutions> HR2779. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
- ↑ www.govtrack.us HR2779 (English). Retrieved October 24, 2009.
- ^ Mahoney Navy SEAL Bill Passes House: Congressman Tim Mahoney. Representing Florida's 16th Congressional District. October 24, 2009, archived from the original on May 11, 2008 ; accessed on August 26, 2014 (English).
