Special Ops: Four Accounts of the Military's Elite Forces

by Orr Kelly

  Details of the charges against Marcinko and Charles M. Byers are taken from the indictment issued by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the July 1989 term.

  Further details revealed by the Naval Investigative Service investigation are contained in a series of fact sheets issued by the NIS and the U.S. attorney’s office between July 1989 and 9 March 1990, when Marcinko was sentenced.

  Quotations from Hamilton, Mason, and Captain Robert Gormly are taken from the transcript of the trial of Marcinko and Byers.

  The investigation was also described to me in an interview by Clifford R. Simmen, who headed the probe.

  Comdr. Jack Schropp, who is retired, described his concern about SEAL Team Six in a telephone interview from his home in Petaluma, California.

  Weyers, cited above, told me during an interview of his problems with Team Six.

  Vice Adm. J. A. Lyons, now retired, was interviewed at his home in northern Virginia.

  Capt. George Vercessi, now retired, told me of his involvement with Red Cell and Marcinko during an interview in his Washington office.

  The officer whose call to the office of the inspector general that apparently kicked off the probe of Marcinko and SEAL Team Six requested that his name not be used because he feared that if his name were printed, it would create needless turmoil in the SEAL community.

  John Mason acknowledged, while being questioned during the trial of Marcinko and Byers, that he had been removed from the rifle team because he had falsified his score.

  The catalogue describing the various types of grenades made by Byers’s Accuracy Systems was included in the evidence obtained during the investigation and was found stored in the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

  12. A TINY LITTLE ISLAND

  The best overall account of the Grenada operation is contained in Maj. Mark Adkins, Urgent Fury: The Battle for Grenada, Lexington, Massachusetts: D. C. Heath, Lexington Books, 1989. Despite the secrecy surrounding the use of SEALs and other special operations forces in Grenada, Adkins provides a remarkably detailed description of the battle.

  I have relied on his account of the operation but supplemented that with interviews with SEALs who were either on the ground in Grenada or were familiar with the conflict from their conversations with SEALs who were involved. For many years, even most SEALs were kept in the dark about their organization’s involvement. Finally, in 1989, six years later, a briefing for SEAL officers was conducted at Coronado by three officers who had participated as members of SEAL Team Six.

  Beginning at the time of the battle, and continuing for a number of years, there were newspaper and magazine articles and broadcast news reports about various aspects of the operation. Among those consulted were: John G. Fialka, “In Battle for Grenada, Commando Missions Didn’t Go as Planned,” Wall Street Journal, 15 November 1983; Anon., “New Barracks at Norfolk Named in Memory of SEAL Schamberger,” Navy Times, 3 September 1984; Frank Greve, “A Report of U.S. Military Ineptness in Grenada,” Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 October 1984; Charles Mohr, “U.S. Concealed Grenada Losses, Report Charges,” New York Times, 22 October 1984; Tom Brokaw and Fred Francis, “U.S. Casualties in Grenada,” NBC “Nightly News,” 22 October 1984; Walter Andrews, “Weinberger Refutes Claim of Unreported Deaths in Grenada,” Washington Times, 24 October 1984; Robert C. Toth, “U.S. Elite Troops Lack a Mission, Experts Charge,” Los Angeles Times, 18 November 1984; Richard Whitmire, “Elite Force’s Grenada Role at Issue,” USA Today, 26 October 1984; Deborah G. Meyer and Benjamin F. Schemmer, Interview with Noel C. Koch, Armed Forces Journal International, March 1985; Charles Mohr, “Commando Squad Is Trained to Kill With Full ‘Surprise, Speed, Success,’” New York Times, 21 June 1985; Tom Diaz, “Parachutes Blamed in Divers’ Drowning,” Washington Times, 11 July 1985; Lt. Col. Gary L. Bounds and Maj. Scott R. McMichael, “Elite Forces,” ARMY, November 1985; Sen. William S. Cohen (R-Me), “Fix for an SOF Capability That Is Most Assuredly Broken,” Armed Forces Journal International, January 1986; John Dancy, “Move to Streamline Special Operations Forces,” NBC’s “Today” show, 15 May 1986; David C. Morrison, “The ‘Shadow War,’” National Journal, 10 May 1986; “Navy Seals: Special Warriors,” All Hands, December 1987; Christopher K. Mellon, “The Low Frontier: Congress and Unconventional Warfare,” remarks at the National War College, 11 January 1988; James M. Perry and John J. Fialka, “As Panama Outcome Is Praised, Details Emerge of Bungling During the 1983 Grenada Invasion,” Wall Street Journal, 15 January 1990; Bill Salisbury, “War Beneath the Waves—You Know Ken,” San Diego’s Weekly Reader, 5 October 1990.

  13. TARGET: MANUEL NORIEGA

  This chapter, an expansion of chapter 1 describing the attack on the Paitilla Airfield in Panama, relies on the same basic sources and additional information.

  A number of newspaper and magazine articles reported on the involvement of the SEALs in the Panama operation. Because of the secrecy surrounding much of what occurred during Operation Just Cause, many of these reports lack important details or, in some cases, are simply wrong.

  In this account I have relied primarily on interviews with SEALs who were either involved in the Panama operations or are familiar with them from sources within the SEAL community. This basic information was backed up, in a number of instances, by the citations for the many medals issued after the attack.

  Carley, cited above, gave me a good description, in an interview, of the sinking of the Presidente Porras by four combat swimmers under his command.

  Among the articles consulted were: Charles W. Corddry, “SEALs Reportedly Hunted Noriega,” Baltimore Sun, 21 December 1989; Bill Gertz, “Assault on Paitilla Airport Costs Elite Navy Unit 4 Dead,” Washington Times, 22 December 1989; Douglas Jehl and Bob Secter, “Invasion Was Coup for No One,” Los Angeles Times, 27 December 1989; David Evans, “Military Experts See Flaws in Attack Plan,” Chicago Tribune, 24 December 1989; Bernard E. Trainor, “Flaws in Panama Attack,” New York Times, 31 December 1989; Barbara Amouyal, “F-117A Stealth Fighter Draws Fire Despite Success in Panama,” Defense News, 1 January 1990; Bill Gertz, “Pentagon Investigates Possible Security Leak by Troops in Panama,” Washington Times, 5 January 1990; William Branigin, “U.S. Agent Rescued from Panama Cell Minutes Before Anti-Noriega Offensive,” Washington Post, 1 January 1990; Douglas Waller, John Barry, Christopher Dickey, and Spencer Reiss, “Inside the Invasion,” Newsweek, 25 June 1990; James Bennet, “Mission Improbable: Why—10 years after Desert One—the U.S. Still Isn’t Ready to Fight the War Against Terrorism,” Washington Monthly, June 1990; Larry Bonko, “‘Just Cause’ Lives: SEALs Honored for Heroism in Panama,” Virginian Pilot and Ledger Star, 5 January 1991.

  Other information about the Panama invasion was provided by Maj. Gen. Hugh L. Cox, deputy commander in chief of the Special Operations Command, before a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee on 7 March 1990.

  Gen. James J. Lindsay, then commander of USSCOM, discussed the operation in congressional testimony and in a meeting with the Defense Writers’ Group in Washington on 31 January 1990. His description of the purpose of the SEALs’ involvement at Paitilla is drawn from a transcript of that meeting with reporters.

  LeMoyne and Worthington, cited above, provided their comments on the Paitilla operation in interviews.

  Stubblefield’s letter, as noted above, was not provided by Stubblefield, but a number of copies were circulated within the SEAL community, and one of them was made available to me by another source. Stubblefield, in an interview, confirmed the thrust of the letter. Capt. Raymond C. Smith, Jr., confirmed in a telephone interview that he had forwarded Stubblefield’s letter with a favorable endorsement.

  14. TO THE PERSIAN GULF—AND BEYOND

  The buildup of SEAL forces and their operations in the Gulf War were described to me in an interview at Coronado by Lt. Tom Deitz and Chief Warrant Officer Roger Hayden.

  Captain Smith, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Task Group, Central
, in Saudi Arabia, discussed the Gulf War in a telephone interview and outlined the operations carried out under his command in a twenty-six-page summary of operations. Biographical information on Smith is contained in a biography made available during the ceremony when he left his post as commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group One in July 1991.

  In an address at the change-of-command ceremony, Smith referred to the presence of a SEAL delivery vehicle unit in the Gulf but neither he nor other officials in Coronado would provide any details of its use.

  Capt. Thomas N. Lawson, deputy commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, shared his thoughts on the future role of the SEALs during an interview in Coronado.

  The shortage of language specialists was pinpointed in Conduct of the Persian Gulf Conflict: An Interim Report to Congress, released by the Pentagon in July 1991. The report includes a seven-page section on the participation of special operations forces in Desert Storm and briefly describes the role played by naval special warfare forces.

  The new 170-foot PC ship now coming into use and other new equipment were described to me by Lt. Comdr. Walter S. Pullar III, assistant chief of staff for program objectives memoranda for the Naval Special Warfare Command, in the course of two interviews in Coronado.

  A number of SEALs shared with me their thoughts on whether SEALs in the future should plan for multiplatoon operations. Admiral Flynn, in an interview, raised the other question described in this chapter of whether the eight-man squad is too small a unit to operate effectively in the conflicts in which the SEALs might find themselves involved in the future.

  I used the quote from Stubblefield expressing his concern about the “gunfighting mentality” because it was a colorful description of the problem. But I heard the same concern expressed by a number of other SEALs from different generations. Doug Fane, cited above, had much the same thing to say concerning his experiences in the Korean War, as did Warrant Officer George Hudak, a Vietnam veteran involved in training would-be SEALs.

  Index

  Abalone, 103

  Abrams, Gen. Creighton W., 146

  AC-130 gunship, 265

  Accuracy Systems, 232, 311

  Acheson, Chief Bill, 31

  Achille Lauro, 216, 310

  Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS), 199, 289

  Aerojet General, 187

  Afrika Korps, 8

  AK-47 assault rifle, 136–37

  Alexander the Great, 49

  Alexandria, 182, 183

  Alligator, 133

  Amoy, 58

  Amphibious landing, 279–80

  Amtracs, 5

  Anderson, Adm. George, 88

  Andrews, J. H. (“Hoot”), 90, 301

  Anzac Cove, 9

  Aqua Ho motor, 69

  Aqua-lung, 65, 66

  AR-15 rifles, 89–90

  Arabian Sea, 209, 212

  Army, 7th Division, 29

  Army Airborne School, 108

  Arthur, in attack on Tirpitz, 184

  ASDS. See Advanced SEAL Delivery System

  Assassination, 287

  Baghdad, 278

  Bailey, Larry W., 141, 142, 206, 305

  Banks, Robert H., 308

  Barn-dance cards, 132

  Barnes, James, 132

  Battle of the Central Highlands, 121

  Bay of Pigs, 85, 111, 118

  Beach Jumpers, 76, 279

  Beausejour, 238, 240, 241

  Beausoleil, Chief Electronics Technician Randy L., 260

  Beirut, 221; marines and sailors killed in, 221

  Belgian gates, 23

  Bell, Ronald K. (“Ron”), 139, 216, 304

  Bethesda Naval Hospital, 229

  Betio, 5

  Bianchi, Emile, 182–83

  Bird Island, 103

  Birkey, Petty Officer, 179

  Black Ponies, 144

  Blessman, USS, 43

  Blincoe, Ralph R., 230

  Blue Spoon, 252, 255

  Board for the Correction of Naval Records, 229

  Boehm, Roy, 89, 111, 112, 130, 301, 303, 306; sets up SEAL Team Two on East Coast, 89

  Boesch, Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Rudolph E., 291

  Bomb disposal, 18–19;; school, 19, 40

  Bosiljevac, T. L., 305

  Briarpatch tango, 176

  Bridge of the Americas, 261

  British frogmen, 52

  British Royal Navy, 180

  Bruhmuller, William (“Bill”), 91–92, 137–38, 145, 153–54, 168, 301, 304

  Bucklew, Phil H., 11, 13–14, 22, 55, 60, 76, 132, 150, 296–97; model for Big Stoop in Terry and the Pirates, 57

  Bucklew Report, 306

  BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) course, 291–92

  Budweiser badge, 302

  Burke, Adm. Arleigh A., 87

  Butcher, Machinist Mate First Class Kenneth, 244

  Byers, Charles, 232, 234, 311

  Ca Mau Peninsula, 152

  Callahan, John, first commander of SEAL Team Two, 89, 111

  Cambodia, 115, 150, 151, 211; as sanctuary, 158; U.S. crosses border in force, 159

  Camp A. P. Hill, 215

  Can Tho, 148, 164

  Cannon, William T. (“Red”), 114, 139, 303

  Canton, 57

  Caribbean, 237

  Carley, Norman J. (“Norm”), 212, 218, 252, 254, 258, 259, 260, 270, 281, 310, 313

  Caron, USS, 241, 242

  Carrier Task Force, 83, 202

  Carter, President Jimmy, 208, 209, 238

  Casey, Thomas W., 2, 263

  Castro, Fidel, 85

  Caustic cocktail, 63, 66

  Central Intelligence Agency, 71, 82, 118, 270

  Chariot, 51, 184

  Charleston Navy Base, 222

  Chesapeake Bay, 190

  China, 47, 55–56

  China Beach, 119, 122

  China Lake, 189

  Chitturn, James R., 38, 297

  Cholon, 130

  Churchill, Winston, 181, 183

  Chuting Stars, 94, 301

  Clark, A. D., 90

  Claymore mines, 100

  Clifton Sprague, USS, 244

  Cohen, Senator William, 247, 313

  Colby, William, 121, 304

  Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP), 13, 33; in landing on Sicily, 13–14

  Conger, Lt. (jg), 179

  Connors, John P., 2, 264, 266, 295

  Conrad, Gunner’s Mate First Class S.C., 46

  Convair (division of General Dynamics), 188

  Coogan, Rear Adm. R. T., 202, 204

  Coral Sea, USS, 202, 203, 204, 205

  Coronado, 73, 74, 88, 90, 95, 108, 132, 141, 169, 269, 284, 290, 301

  Coronado, Hotel del, 96, 105

  Coughlin, Edward, 260

  Coulter, D. T. (“Tom”), 201, 202, 204, 205, 253, 309

  Cowan, William, 152–53, 248

  Cox, Maj. Gen. Hugh L., 314

  Cozart, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Jerome D., 74

  Crabb, Lionel, 50

  Cua Viet River, 169

  Cuba, 85, 139, 148, 192, 206

  Cuban missile crisis, 111, 114, 303

  Da Nang, 117, 121, 131, 279

  Dalai Lama, 71

  Davis, Bill, 239

  Davis submarine escape apparatus, 51

  DDS. See Dry-deck shelter

  De la Penne, Lt. Luigi Durand, 182–83

  Defense Intelligence Agency, 153

  Defense Writers’ Group, 314

  Deitz, Lt. Tom, 272, 279, 282

  Del Giudice, David, 90, 114, 115, 117, 301, 303

  Delta Force, 208, 209, 216, 220, 247, 270

  Department of State, 267

  Desert One, 209

  Desert Shield, 272, 284, 287

  Desert Storm, 285, 287, 315

  Desoto Patrol, 126

  Detachment Bravo (Det Bravo), 161, 293

  Dhahran, 272, 275

  Dien Bien Phu, 121

  DMZ (demilitarized zone between North a
nd South Vietnam), 169

  Doheny, Hull Maintenance Technician Third Class Richard, 95

  Dominican Republic, 205, 206

  DOR (Drop on Request), 98, 292

  Doubt, Dr. Thomas J., 110, 198, 302, 309

  Draeger rebreathing units, 260

  Dry, Lt. Melvin S. (“Spence”), 173, 175–76, 178, 179, 180, 284, 306

  Dry-deck shelters, 194, 289

  Dye, Photographer’s Mate Second Class Christopher, 260

  Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 53

  Edwards, Fireman Tom, 175, 178

  Eglin Air Force Base, 191

  Elson, Steve, 207, 309

  Embolism, 108

  Eniwetok, 34, 53

  Eppley, Engineman Third Class Timothy K., 260

  Erskine, Donald K. (“Kim”), 240, 241–42

  Ethiopia, 181, 182

  Explosives: primacord, 26; brisance, 102; C-4, 102, 254, 280; C-5, 102; det cord, 102; hell box, 102

  F-117 Stealth fighter-bomber, 285

  Fallon, Mark, 228

  Fane, Francis Douglas (“Red”), 60–62, 65, 66, 74, 86, 296, 316, 299; introduces commando training, 60; criticizes attacks on tunnels in Korea, 81

  Fast-attack vehicle (FAV), 283

  Fay, Comdr. Robert J., 134

  Fifth Amphibious Force, 28

  Flinn, Lt. Scott, 96–97, 105, 301

  Flynn, Cathal L. (“Irish”), 117, 119, 127, 227, 245, 248, 291, 297, 303, 304, 315

  Ford, President Gerald R., 168, 201

  Fort Benning, 108

  Fort Bragg, 219, 264

  Fort Frederick, 239

  Fort Pierce, 20, 24, 30, 31, 32, 40, 52, 61, 95

  Fort Snelling, USS, 246

  Fountain class high-speed patrol boats, 279

  Fox, Photographer’s Mate Third Class James Earl, killed in Sky Hook accident, 72–73, 300

  Frankfort Arsenal, 136

  Fulton, Robert E., Jr., 70, 73, 300

  Fulton sea sled, 75

  Gallipoli, 8

  Gap-assault teams, 22

  General Dynamics, 188

  General Electric, 187

  Gibraltar, 50–51, 182

  Goldberg, Yale, 234–35

  Gormly, Robert, 220, 223, 234