United States Navy SEALs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids U.S. Navy SEALs |
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The Special Warfare insignia, or "SEAL Trident."
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| Active | 25 May 1961;– present |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| Type | Special Operations Forces SEa, Air, Land |
| Role | Primary tasks:
Other roles:
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| Size | ~2,500 |
| Part of |  United States Naval Special Warfare Command United States Special Operations Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Coronado, California Little Creek, Virginia |
| Nickname(s) | The Teams, The Green Faces |
| Motto(s) | "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday" "It Pays to be a Winner" |
| Engagements | Vietnam War Multinational Force in Lebanon Operation Urgent Fury Achille Lauro hijacking Operation Just Cause Operation Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope Battle of Mogadishu Operation United Shield Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Red Wings Operation Iraqi Freedom Maersk Alabama hijacking Death of Osama bin Laden |
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's special forces. Their acronym is derived from their ability to operate at sea, in the air, and on land. In the War on Terrorism, SEALs have been utilized almost exclusively for land-based missions. All SEALs are male members of the United States Navy. The CIA, more specifically its Special Activities Division, often recruits operators from the SEAL Teams. Joint Navy SEALs and CIA operations go back to the famed MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. Joint operations have continued, as seen in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the finding and killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
The Navy SEALs were formed in the second world war. The United States Navy found the need for covert, elite operations. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
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World War II
The first group included Phil H. Bucklew, the "Father of Naval Special Warfare," in whose honor the Naval Special Warfare Center building is named. Started in October 1942, this group saw action in November 1942 during Operation Torch, the first allied landings in Europe, on the North African coast. Scouts and Raiders also helped during landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, and southern France.
A second group of Scouts and Raiders was started on 7 July 1943. Their first mission, in September 1943, was at Finschafen on New Guinea. Later operations were at Gasmata, Arawe, Cape Gloucester, and the East and South coast of New Britain.
The third Scout and Raiders organization operated in China. Scouts and Raiders were to fight with the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, or SACO. They conducted a patrol of the upper Yangtze River in the spring of 1945 and, disguised as coolies, conducted a detailed three-month patrol of the Chinese coast from Shanghai to Kitchioh Wan, near Hong Kong.
Vietnam
President John F. Kennedy, aware of the situations in Southeast Asia, recognized the need for special operations in the fight against guerrilla warfare. In a speech to Congress on 25 May 1961, Kennedy spoke of his respect for the United States Army Special Forces. In the speech he announced his intention to spend over $100 million to strengthen U.S. special operations forces and expand American capabilities in unconventional warfare. Some people have assumed this was the start of the SEALS, but they had already long been active.
Images for kids
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NCDU 45, CEC Ensign Karnowski, Chief Carpenters Mate Conrad C. Millis, MM2 Equipment Operator Lester Meyers, and three sailors. The unit received a Presidential Unit Citation with Ens. Karnowski earning the Navy Cross & French Croix de Guerre with Palm, while MM2 Meyers received a Silver Star.
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Seabees in both UDT 3 and 4 made signs to greet the Marines assaulting Guam. Lt. Crist confiscated this sign. However, Team 4 was able to leave theirs on the beach for the Marines to see that the Seabees had been there first. UDT 4 posted this sign again on the Hotel Marquee for its 25-year reunion.
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UDT members using the casting technique from a speeding boat
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SEALs on patrol in the Mekong Delta
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1st Presidential Unit Citation awarded to SEAL Team TWO for extraordinary heroism in Vietnam from July 1967 to June 1969.
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Presidential Unit Citation awarded to SEAL Team TWO for extraordinary heroism in Vietnam from July 1969 to June 1971.
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Members of SEAL Team 4 immediately before the start of Operation Just Cause
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Task Force K-Bar SEALs at one of the entrances to the Zhawar Kili cave complex
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Task Force K-Bar SEALs searching munitions found in the Zhawar Kili cave complex
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A US Navy SEAL, assigned to Special Operations Task Force-South East, greets children in a village in Uruzgan Province, 30 August 2012.
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US military security personnel on the Al Basrah Oil Terminal after its capture
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U.S. Navy SEALs conducting training with SCAR rifles.
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SEAL Team 5 conducts an exercise in a Combat Rubber Raiding Craft in 2000.
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A member of the U.S. Navy Parachute Demonstration Team, the "Leap Frogs", returns to earth after a successful jump.
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US Navy SEALs and GROM—Polish naval warfare team members—practicing boarding skills near Gdansk, Poland, 2009
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SEAL Tridents
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SEALs prepare for a training mission aboard the USS George Washington
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A SEAL "Leap Frogs" parachute team high above San Diego
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SEALs move down the Bassac River in a Seal Team Assault Boat (STAB) in Vietnam, 1967
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Two SEALs aiming their weapons
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SEALs during a VBSS training in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
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SEAL team members participate in a tactical warfare training
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SEALs climb a caving ladder during a VBSS training
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A SEAL Team coming out of water
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A SEAL during the sun set
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A SEAL takes up a defensive position in a village in northern Zabul province, Afghanistan, 10 April 2010
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SEALs demonstrate winter warfare capabilities.
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A SEAL platoon performs a land warfare demonstration
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See also
In Spanish: SEAL para niños
