Sea
Water is the most demanding and unforgiving element to work in or on. A Navy commando needs to be physically and mentally prepared to face the unpredictable twists and turns that Mother Nature and Murphy conspire to throw at him. Navy commandos also require durable and proven equipment, which enables them to project their power and unique talents from a launch platform onto enemy land or harbors.
SEALs depend on a large inventory of surface craft to transport them to their target. They also have, at their disposal, subsurface SEAL Delivery Vehicles that are launched from Dry Deck Shelters. This section will review some of the unclassified boats and dive gear used in the Teams.
Naval Special Warfare Combatant Craft
Surface craft of all sizes and for all sorts of missions - from littoral warfare to SEAL insertion - are maintained by NSW Combatant Craft crewmen. SEAL platoons also use rubber zodiacs for over-the-hoizon infiltration, along with several other tools of the trade that are exhibited here.
Subsurface Warfare
When the UDT finally embraced Lambertsen's Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU), they did it with gusto. The U.S. Navy SEALs have since performed extensive testing and experimentation of the use of dive gear in a combat role.
SEAL members acted subjects for early Experimental Dive Unit tests, which aided in the development of the U.S. Navy Dive tables for both open and closed circuit diving. In conjunction with their French counterparts, the SEALs developed the tactics and skills for combat diving and underwater navigation that have been adopted as the "industry standard" by Naval Commandos from around the world. The British Special Boat Squadron, the elite Naval component to the legendary Special Air Service (SAS), uses the SEAL Delivery Vehicles. These vehicles are so versatile and sturdy that they have been almost unchanged since their development in the early eighties. This year they underwent a major upgrade, particularly in the navigation, propulsion and sonar systems. We will take a look at all of this gear in this section as the site grows.
