45th ANNIVERSASRY of the SEALs

I had the opportunity to interview some World War II and post WW II Scouts, Raiders, Naval Combat Demolition Units and UDT members down at the UDT/SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, Florida, in 1997. These were the SEALs forerunners. I also was able to get a interview with Roy Boehm, the “father” of the modern Nay SEALs.

I was fortunate to have kept these interviews on tape. A story on the NCDU, UDT, Scouts and Raiders appeared in an issue of Sport Diver magazine (I was managing editor at the time) along with some excellent WWII photography. The full interview with Boehm appeared in Soldier of Fortune magazine not long after.

Here’s a snippet from the Boehm — who called me a Blanket Head when he found out I was an Army LRRP — interview regarding his take on Red Cell (OP-O6D: the “never existed” operational unit tasked with terrorism operations against US Military bases and assets, that may — or may not — have infiltrated the White House on one mission, and were fond of driving motor scooters up to Navy brass stationed overseas and putting a — to paraphrase — “You’re dead, asshole. Love, the Red Brigade” bumper sticker on their foreheads), its founders Admiral James “Ace” Lyons and Commander Richard “Dick” Marcinko, unconventional warfare and terrorism.

“In order to change a conventional Navy [to an nonconventional force] you had to break the rules. Marsinko and Ace Lyons broke the rules. He [Marcinko] went into Seal Team 6 and broke the rules … I admire Dick. He has the two items need to change a conventional Navy to unconventional warfare. He had balls … Ace Lyons came aboard had the guts to back him at CNO level … If they left that [Red Cell,] in force instead of watering it down because it was killing other people's careers. If they'd have left that in force we wouldn't have the terrorist problem we have today.”

Anyway … the present day SEALs 45th anniversary is January 1 (Teams One in the Pacific Fleet and Two in the Atlantic Fleet; 1962), so here’s to them that are, them that were and them that didn’t come home.