Platoon Training
Land Warfare training occurs again out at Niland or Camp A.P. Hill (sometimes at a different location like Camp Roberts in CA. , if the teams want a change of scenery). This starts with the basics, once again, in small unit tactics and builds to Full Mission Profiles conducted in a simulated combat environment.
This training is as close to a 24-hour a day work schedule that you can get (besides being on a submarine). Training begins immediately after breakfast at 6:00 a.m., and it continues until about 12:00 or 1:00 a.m. the following morning. There are breaks for lunch and dinner – and, if it gets above 105 degrees during the day, the platoon will seek shelter in the classroom for some academic classes.
The platoon will shoot thousands and thousands of rounds during this training and will blow up more demolitions than you could imagine. Immediate Action Drills are again a favorite of the SEALs and are the most intense portion of the training. Navy SEAL tactics cannot be discussed in this publication, due to their sensitive nature and to protect the troops; suffice it to say that SEAL IADs are unique and have been said to mislead an enemy force into believing that they are up against a whole company (100 men) of Army GIs. There are some great books on the market by Vietnam era SEAL vets. Darryl Young's ‘The Element of Surprise’ is excellent as is Dick Couch's SEAL Team ONE. See the Navy SEAL Books section of this publication for a quick look at the other good ‘been there, done that’ SEAL books.
Land Warfare training ends with a week long Field Training Exercise where the platoon is put in semi-isolation in a simulated combat environment. Each squad will conduct several independent missions - usually a special reconnaissance, stand-off weapons direct action raid, body snatch, point ambush or combat search and rescue (CSAR-downed pilot rescue). The platoon combines to conduct a platoon-size direct action mission, which is supported by helicopter assets, Desert Patrol Vehicle (only if a Desert Platoon), and incorporates much of the training accomplished during the Land Warfare phase of training. This mission is very comprehensive and, if the platoon is detected by the training cadre, they are ‘contacted’ with enemy fire from which they must utilize the fire and maneuver Immediate Action Drills learned during training and evade the pursuing force.
