2020 Florida family trip - part 5: birthplace of the Navy SEALs - Vietnam to 9/11 - Travel With Us

The start of the conflict in Vietnam started in the mid-1950s, but the Marines first waded ashore in March 1965. The SEALs were probably first sent there in 1965 too. For them, this was a jungle war. Camouflaging their faces to keep them out of sight earned them the nickname of Men With Green Faces from the Viet Cong. After the end of the war in the mid-1970s, the SEALs started going on other missions. If you’re like us, you may remember hearing about these missions but don’t remember the details!

Image result for men with green faces — This picture of a camouflaged SEAL is from the internet; wish I had taken a snapshot of the one in the museum since it was so intimidating.

Vietnam War

Movement in most of South Vietnam was limited to waterways since the southernmost part of the country was at or below sea level. The enemy always seemed to melt away after an attack, so pursuing them with traditional means didn’t work. The SEALs were tasked with locating the enemy, reporting enemy movements, and disrupting their infrastructure.

The SEALs fought in the deltas, the rice paddies, and the rivers. Quickly adapting to enemy practices, they used small teams of 4 to 6 men, light weapons, and special equipment to hunt down and capture the intelligence they needed to locate and destroy key personnel of the Viet Cong command structure.

The SEALs had to be as cunning and shrewd as their enemy, so they stayed camouflaged and heavily armed with a variety of weapons. Often the enemy wouldn’t know they were close until they were an arm’s length away. The Viet Cong so feared the camouflaged SEALs that they called them “the devils with green faces.”

These tools of war helped the SEALs fight. Since the Vietnamese traditions held that symbolism of the spade meant death and ill-fortune, the SEALs would leave the ace of spades behind so the enemy would know who was responsible for the dead. The garrote was a quiet weapon that the SEALs used when they found the Viet Cong.

Support for the SEALs came from many sources: Army artillery, Air Force close air-support, medical evacuation by Army unarmed helicopters, and naval gunfire from off-shore ships. Two support units that were really appreciated were the Brown Water Navy and the Seawolf helicopter gunships.

The Navy Mobile Riverine Forces, or the Brown Water Navy, were made up of small, shallow water craft. Most popular were the PBRs (Patrol Boat Riverine) that were lightweight but could carry lots of weapons. Their two 216-horsepower water jet engines allowed easy maneuverability in the Vietnam waterways. PRBs were used by the SEALs for insertion and extraction inside enemy territory. A picture of a PBR is in the last post about the Navy SEALs when we’re walking around outside.

The “Seawolves” were an all-volunteer U.S. Navy helicopter squadron to support Naval Special Warfare and Mobile Riverine Forces. They functioned effectively in a quick reaction, close air-support role.

As we were walking through this exhibit on the Vietnam War, Barney saw these two pieces of firepower that he remembered fondly from his days shooting off everything that went Boom! when he was in the Marine Corps.

Such “fond” memories for him.

cold war

While forces were being deployed in Southeast Asia, the ongoing tension from the Cold War between the United States (and our allies) and the USSR was going on from the end of WWII in 1945 to 1990. During this time, the U.S. military developed the Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) for use in Soviet-occupied Western Europe to prevent the Soviets from acquiring critical assets or for crippling any Soviet invasion force. This was new information for us!

This 50-lb backpack nuke with an explosion equivalent of between 10 tons and 1 kiloton (for comparison, the Hiroshima bomb was 15 kiloton) could have affected people with a deadly dose of radiation out to a 1/4 mile away from a SADM detonation. Oh my, a death warrant for them?

SEALs trained in parachuting, scuba diving, and even skiing with the SADM on their backs for high-risk tactical strikes against key infrastructure, including power plants, rail lines, bridges, and dams. To be successful, the SEALs would have to infiltrate behind enemy lines, sneak up on an enemy location while carrying the bulky weapon, set it, wait for it to explode, and then return to a friendly, or unoccupied, NATO nation. Seems like they would have been affected by the radiation.

Thankfully a Soviet invasion of Western Europe didn’t occur, and SADMs were never implemented! Wonder what happened to them?

hostage rescue in Iran – 1979

On November 4, 1979, up to 3000 militant Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 63 Americans as hostages. In April 1980, after trying negotiations, President Carter decided to launch a risky military rescue mission known as Operation Eagle Claw. If he had been successful, he might have been re-elected when he ran against Ronald Reagan.

An elite rescue team was to go into the embassy compound, but a severe desert sandstorm caused several helicopters to malfunction, which meant the mission had to be aborted since they rescuers didn’t have enough helicopters to get everyone out. Also, during a refueling in the desert, a helicopter veered into a large transport plane, and 8 American servicemen were killed.

The rest of the forces quickly left Iran, and President Carter publicly took responsibility for the mission failing instead of blaming the military. Good for him.

While a courageous try, the mission was a failure and highlighted problems in military command structure; it also emphasized the need for joint planning and training. As a result, the Joint Special Operations Command was established, and SEAL Team SIX was developed as an elite counter-terrorism force.

The U.S. military did learn from its mistakes.

UDTs decommissioned – 1983

During WWII, thirty 100-man Underwater Demolition Teams were formed, but only 4 teams survived the postwar period. These 4 team were reorganized on the West and East Coasts under Amphibious Forces Pacific and Atlantic. After the Korean War, they were decommissioned and renamed.

In 1962, the first SEAL Teams were selected and commissioned from UDT personnel. Both groups served in Vietnam.

In 1983, all UDTs were decommissioned and re-designated SEAL & SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams (SDVT). Now it’s all SEALs.

Grenada – 1983

In 1983 the U.S. invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada because of the growing alliance of the leftist government with Cuba and the Soviet Union, especially because of a growing threat to nearly 1000 American medical students living there.

The goal was to oust the People’s Revolutionary Government, protect the U.S. citizens, and restore a lawful government. In 8 days, all military objectives had been secured, and hostilities were declared over on the 9th day.

The SEALs’ 2 missions were to extract the Grenada Governor and capture Grenada’s only radio tower. The SEALs performed exceptionally during pre-assault reconnaissance operations and were able to rescue and evacuate the Governor. However, 4 members of the SEAL team were killed.

Bolovia – 1987

SEAL Team 4 was sent to Bolivia and other South American countries in 1987 to disrupt the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of cocaine in several South American countries.

In conjunction with the DEA and State Department, the SEALs spent 3-1/2 months in South American training foreign counterparts and local law enforcement officials in riverine operations and small-unit tactics.

Naval Special Warfare has a long history of action in Central and South America. Navy SEALs took part in operations attempting to capture such notable guerrilla warfare leader Che Cuevara and drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Gulf operation for Iranian oil fields – 1987

The two operations of Earnest Will and Prime Chance were intertwined, but Prime Chance was a secret operation. Earnest Will was the widely publicized reaction to Kuwaiti pleas for help

The 8-year Iran-Iraq war started in 1980. In 1987 during the Tanker War phase (that lasted for 14 months), the U.S. military found that it needed to protect U.S. flagged tankers from Iranian naval attacks while the tankers were being escorted through the Persian Gulf. The last straw, so to speak, was when the U.S. flagged Kuwaiti oil tanker, Bridgeton, struck an Iranian underwater mine.

Operation Earnest Will was the largest naval convoy operation since WWII. This was the first tactical operation of the U.S. Special Operations Command that involved Navy SEALs, Special Boat Units, and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (“Nightstalkers”) aviators all working together.

Operation Prime Chance lasted almost 2 years and had Army helicopters flying at night, slipping to and from navy frigates’ and destroyers’ flight decks, and from leased barges, under the cover of darkness on search-and-destroy missions. The helicopter pilots often flew some 30 feet above the water and became the first to use night vision goggles and forward-looking infrared devices in combat. Navy SEALs and explosive ordinance disposal personnel also operated from the barges.

SEALs conducted Search and Seizure missions to stop the clandestine Iranian mining and small boat attacks.

On April 14, 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine that had been placed there several months earlier by an Iranian minelayer ship. Just 4 days later, the U.S. Navy retaliated in a campaign called Operation Praying Mantis that was the largest U.S. Naval surface engagement since WWII. Navy SEALs and U.S. Marines simultaneously attacked 2 Iranian oil platforms. A few defenders opened fire on the U.S. warships, but the U.S. vessels returned fire, silencing the guns.

After Operation Praying Mantis, Iran backed off from engaging the U.S. military.

This medical kit was first used in the 1987 operations.

Panama invasion – 1989

The United States invaded Panama to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega who had been indicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges and was accused of suppressing democracy in Panama and endangering U.S. nationals.

While this operation only lasted for 1 month, it was one of the first times that all elements of the Naval Special Warfare units were included. The Navy SEALs had 2 missions to prevent his possible escape: scuttle a boat in Balboa Harbor that might be used and disable Noriega’s Learjet at Paitilla Field in case he tried to escape by air. Their task was named *Operation Nifty Package*.

The Balboa Harbor attack marked the first publicly acknowledgement of a SEAL combat swimmer mission since WWII. At the start of the mission, 4 SEALs wearing rebreathers swam underwater and attached satchels of C4 to Noriega’s personal gunboat, Presidente Porras, destroying the craft.

The mission at the airport didn’t go so well. Already behind schedule when the 48 SEALs landed, they came under withering fire from the Panamanian Defense Forces stationed there. While Noriega’s plane was eventually destroyed, 4 SEALs died and many more were wounded.

This chair from the headquarters of the Panamanian Defense Forces was a war trophy. Captain Woolard had been ordered to take down the HQ on Flamenco Island, but when the SEALs searched it, no one was there.

They left the vast armory, ammunition stockpile, and liquor collection in place, but took the chair as a souvenir.

So what happened to Noriega? Here’s the info from Wikipedia.

“Military operations continued for several weeks, mainly against military units of the Panamanian army. Noriega remained at large for several days, but realizing he had few options in the face of a massive manhunt and a $1 million reward for his capture, he obtained refuge in the Vatican diplomatic mission in Panama City. The U.S. military’s psychological pressure on him and diplomatic pressure on the Vatican mission, however, was relentless, as was the playing of loud rock-and-roll music day and night in a densely populated area. The report of the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff claimed that the music was used principally to prevent parabolic microphones from being used to eavesdrop on negotiations, and not as a psychological weapon based around Noriega’s supposed loathing of rock music. Noriega finally surrendered to the U.S. military on 3 January 1990. He was immediately flown to the U.S.”

Desert Shield & Desert Storm – 1990 & 1991

Here’s some background from Wikipedia:

Desert Shield

“On 2 August 1990 the Iraqi Army invaded and occupied Kuwait [because of oil pricing and production disputes], which was met with international condemnation and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. Together with the UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, American President George H.W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition, forming the largest military alliance since WWII. The great majority of the coalition’s military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost.

“The war marked the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network CNN.

Desert Storm

“The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991, continuing for five weeks. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased its advance and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi Arabia’s border. Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.”

In August 1990, SEALs were some of the first units to the Persian Gulf to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraqi aggression and expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait. They infiltrated the capital city of Kuwait within hours of the invasion, gathered intelligence, and developed plans to rescue U.S. Embassy staff if they became hostages.

The conflict name was changed to Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991, when open combat started. SEALs captured the first Iraqi Prisoners of War when they assaulted 9 Kuwaiti oil platforms on January 19. On February 23, a 6-man SEAL team launched a mission to deceive the Iraqi military into thinking an amphibious assault on Kuwait by coalition forces was imminent. They set off explosives and placed marking buoys 500 meters off the Kuwaiti coast. This successful mission diverted Iraqi forces east, away from the true coalition offensive.

Somalia – 1992

The battle of Mogadishu is probably one of the saddest in U.S. military history.

The U.S. entered Somalia in December 1992 to stop the imminent starvation of hundreds of thousands of people. In August 1993, a 4-man Naval Special Warfare Development Group sniper team was sent to Mogandishu to join the Rangers in search of warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid who was responsible for killing and mutilating multiple Pakistani peace keepers.

This battle, known as *Black Hawk Down* from the Black Hawk helicopters used in the raid, began on October 3, 1993, when the Rangers received information that some of Aidid’s top men were meeting in a house next to the Olympic Hotel in downtown Mogadishu. The raid turned into the most intensive urban combat by Americans since Vietnam. The firefight lasted more than 17 hours and was one of the most bloodiest in decades; it resulted in the death of 18 American soldiers and more than 500 local Somali militia and citizens.

The deaths of the locals inevitably contributed to the hostility toward the U.S. soldiers whose bodies were seen being dragged through the streets.

So what happened to Aidid? On July 24, 1996, he and his men clashed with the forces of former allies Ali Mahdi Muhammad and Osman Ali Atto, and Aidid suffered a gunshot wound in the battle. He later died from a heart attack on August 2, either during or after surgery to treat his injuries.

Haiti – 1994

In September 1994, the U.S. intervened in Haiti for 6 months to remove the military regime installed during the 1991 Haitian coup d’etat that overthrew President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The invasion had been planned using a forcible entry (some of the main force was just hours from reaching Haiti and some had already infiltrated), but it was averted at the very last minute. An agreement had been reached with the leaders of Haiti to step down and leave the country. The elected officials, including President Aristide, were allowed to return.

Since the change in mission happened so quickly, the operation changed from combat to peacekeeping and nation building. A number of Special Operations units were involved, including the SEALs.

Bosnia – 1997

During NATO’s intervention in the Bosnian War, Navy SEALs operated alongside other forces to find and apprehend persons indicted for war crimes so they could be sent to The Hague, Netherlands, to stand trial.

In December 1997, a C-141 cargo jet with several 8′ tall metal containers touched down in Bosnia. The containers were actually modern day Trojan horses since they were filled with Navy SEALs. Handlers whisked them to a nearby hanger to avoid notice by Russian “allies” on the base. After being unpacked in safety, they headed to safe houses in the countryside. Their mission was to apprehend these war criminals who had been hiding in plain sight among the general population.

In February 1998, Navy SEALs apprehended Blagoje Simic, called “the Hitler of Bosnia.” While they successfully apprehended him, they were delayed in leaving by an impromptu paramilitary checkpoint. The SEALs rammed the checkpoint barricade with their car and then swapped cars in the countryside, speeding to a secret airfield where Simic was picked up and flown to The Hague to await trial for crimes against humanity.

Simic was sentenced to prison for 17 years, an appeals court reduced the time to 15 years, and in 2007 Simic was transferred to the United Kingdom to serve his term.

Want to know more about the current life of the Navy SEALs after 9/11? Start reading the next post.

2020 Florida family trip – part 5: birthplace of the Navy SEALs – Vietnam to 9/11

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