U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William S. Parker
navspecwarcom year in review
this spread, Clockwise from top left: A U.S. Navy SEAL participates in special operations urban combat training. The training exercise familiarizes special operators with urban environments and tactical maneuvering during night and day operations. • An East Coast-based U.S. Navy SEAL practices shooting drills at the Naval Special Warfare Eagle Haven Indoor Shooting Range at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va. • A Naval Special Warfare (NSW) member attached to Special Operations Task Force-Southeast (SOTF-SE) prepares to leave Forward Operating Base Camp Ripley to conduct a clearing operation, Tarin Kowt district, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2012. NSW members partnered with Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to conduct the clearing operation in the SOTF-SE area of responsibility.
With that post-Afghanistan environment, how critical is the non-SOF support (medical, aviation, logistics, etc.) to SEALs? I am very appreciative of the support we receive from the Navy. Our success is due, in part, to the work of dedicated sailors, mission specialists skilled in explosive ordnance disposal, intelligence, communications, training, logistics, maintenance, medicine, and other combat support services. We could not do ALL that we do without them. Does NSW have an adequate training infrastructure to support the future operational environment? If not, what elements would you like to see introduced to facilitate training? We are in good shape right now, consistently graduating 200-300 SEAL enlisted, 70 SEAL officer candidates a year. Our numbers for SWCC [Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen] (70 per year) are healthy, too. The schoolhouse leadership meets periodically with SEALs and SWCCs who are receiving the graduates and operators returning from advanced training to get feedback and to determine if anything needs to change. BUD/S [Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training] graduates are assimilating well with the teams; they seem to have the right characteristics for success and they remain teachable. One area we are focused on is in rebuilding our maritime capability – more specifically, our combat swimming capability. This year, we www.defensemedianetwork.com
57