Kelly - Special ops: four accounts of the militarys elite forces

Special Ops

Four Accounts of the Militarys Elite Forces

Orr Kelly

CONTENTS

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

Brave Men, Dark Waters copyright 1992 by Orr Kelly

Never Fight Fair! copyright 1995 by Orr Kelly

Hornet copyright 1990 by Orr Kelly

From a Dark Sky copyright 1996 by Orr Kelly

Cover design by Amanda Shaffer

ISBN: 978-1-5040-4745-6

This edition published in 2017 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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Brave Men, Dark Waters

For my parents

Charles Jhon and Edith Orr Kelly

Preface

This book was written specifically to fill a gap in U.S. military history. Earlier books have described the feats of the Underwater Demolition Teams in World War II and the operations of the SEALs in Vietnam. But no single book has pulled together in one place the fascinating story of the navys frogmen and other members of the navys special warfare community, from the beaches of Normandy and Saipan to the brilliant deception carried out by six SEALs as the allies began their ground assault on Saddam Husseins dug-in forces in February 1991.

One of the first stops in my research effort was the Navy Library, at the Washington Navy Yard. There, Gina Akers was especially helpful in guiding me to the unit histories of the UDT and SEAL teams and to the librarys extensive collection of oral histories, most of them acquired from the Naval Institute.

My search of the paper trail also took me to the office of Current News at the Pentagon. Denise Brown was, as usual, most helpful in making available everything in that offices extensive collection of newspaper and magazine articles about naval special warfare.

William Arkin, of Greenpeace, also gave me access to a large selection of articles, congressional testimony, and official reports he had collected over a period of years. Although his primary interest had been in gathering information about the SEALs training in the use of small nuclear devicesan assignment they no longer havethe material he had pulled together contained a good deal of general information about the SEALs and their activities. Similarly, Jeffrey Richelson, of the National Security Archive, let me look through the news clippings, congressional testimony, and other information he had gathered about special operations forces.

I am especially indebted to Lt. Comdr. Sankey Blanton, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has made a hobby of collecting books about naval special warfare. He provided me with a detailed bibliography and loaned me a number of books, such as those describing British and Italian underwater operations during World War II, that would simply have been unavailable from any other source.

The office of the navys chief of information, Rear Adm. Brent Baker, was, as usual, most cooperative in helping me arrange interviews with members of the naval special warfare community. Bakers predecessor, retired Rear Adm. Jimmie Finkelstein, also put in a good word for me in key places. I was assisted first by Lt. Mark Walker, until he was sent off to the Persian Gulf, and then by Lt. Dane LaJoie. I also benefited from the assistance of Comdr. J. F. Zakem, special assistant for public affairs to the secretary of the navy.

Also especially helpful were Comdr. Robert Pritchard, public affairs officer for the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California, and Lt. Ed Balaban, public affairs officer for Naval Special Warfare Group Two at Little Creek, Virginia. Before Pritchard came on the scene at Coronado, Lt. Comdr. Robert Tillman, the flag secretary, had the added duty of dealing with the press. On my first visit to Coronado in the fall of 1990, Tillman not only helped me through the usual round of interviews, but also arranged for me to make an overnight visit to the SEALs training site at San Clemente Island. My escorts on that trip were Lt. Comdr. Richard Sisk and Chief Petty Officer Jeff Green. Green, a weapons expert, guided me in test firing all the weapons in the SEAL arsenal, with the exception of the special .50-caliber sniper rifle, and sent me away with a colorfully bruised right shoulder.

Three other public affairs officers who proved most helpful were Frank Gregory and Ken Hoffman at the Naval Coastal Systems Center in Panama City, Florida, and Gary Comerford of the Naval Investigative Service in Washington.