Combat Swimmer

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Bob Gormly tells his story with remarkable wit, wisdom, drama, and grace.
Combat Swimmer
is a superb and fascinating story about the U.S. Navy SEALs, from one of the best of the breed.”

—Hans Halberstadt, author of
U.S. Navy SEALs
,
U.S. Navy SEALs in Action
, and
Inside the U.S. Navy SEALs

“
Combat Swimmer
is a ‘from the ground up' story, taking the reader from fire ants to firefights, from compelling patriotism to government failures, all told by a survivor of the most dangerous kind of combat.”

—Roger C. Dunham, author of
Spy Sub: Top Secret Mission to the Bottom of the Pacific

“
Combat Swimmer
is a gripping, stroke-by-stroke, firsthand account of Navy SEALs.”—Gerald Astor, author of
The Mighty Eighth
and
Crisis in the Pacific

“Gormly is a warrior for the working day . . . . In a harsh world, it will comfort many to know that men with Gormly's spirit, character, and patriotism wear this company's uniform.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Gormly tells it like it was, not hiding his mistakes and the tragedies that go hand in hand with combat and military training . . . a quick, fun read.”

—
Soundings

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Published by NAL Caliber, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published in Dutton and Onyx editions.

 

First NAL Caliber Trade Paperback Printing, August 2010

Copyright © Robert A. Gormly, 1999

eISBN : 978-1-101-45994-2

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S
ince I retired, many of my former SEAL shipmates have asked me when I was going to write a book. Other former SEALs have written accounts of their careers, but only one has offered a commanding officer's perspective. I want to provide the reader not only with “war stories” but with serious analyses of events in the evolution of SEALs into the best fighting force in the U.S. military. My story in many ways mirrors the story of the Naval Special Warfare program. I have been fortunate enough to participate in the forefront of what has become one of the most sought-after officer career programs in the Navy.

The Vietnam War is forever etched in the minds of my generation. Reflecting back, I think our cause was just, but the way we went about it was flawed. SEALs who fought in Vietnam were professional military men, not draftees; the war just didn't affect us as it did others. I'd like to illustrate what we professionals achieved in the Vietnam War.

The complete story of SEAL Team Six has not yet been told; it may never be. Much has been written about the command in the years since it was formed. For three years I commanded SEAL Team Six, and I think the brave and dedicated men I served with deserve recognition.

I was fortunate enough to have four SEAL command tours. Timing, not talent, was responsible for that. I also commanded two SEAL platoons and a SEAL team in combat, and was lucky to have survived a number of close calls. I like to tell people who hear me groan every time I move that if I had thought I'd live this long, I'd have taken better care of my body when I was young!

Any success I had during my SEAL career was a direct result of the truly outstanding people I worked with and for. Most SEALs I've known were not Rambo types. The ones who thought they were usually fell by the wayside. Instead, most SEALs were hardworking, highly trained, extremely motivated men who did dangerous jobs well but never thought of themselves as particularly special. I've tried to make this their story as much as mine, describing as well as I can remember who participated in various events. If I've included anyone who wasn't with me at a particular time, or excluded anyone who was, I apologize for the oversight. Also, in some cases I've chosen to not use the full names of certain people still involved in SEAL activities.

Some key people have helped me in this effort. My wife, Becky, and my son, Kevin, provided much-needed proofreading, and suggestions that have improved the quality of my work. My daughter, Anne, provided encouragement and support. My agent, Andrew Zack, gave me guidance and assistance beyond that normally expected of an agent, and my editor, Todd Keithley, brought my sometimes disjointed thoughts into focus. Hans Halberstadt, a friend and fellow author, provided encouragement and advice when I was about to throw up my hands in frustration. One of my former officers and a good friend, Lieutenant Commander MacKenzie (Mac) Clark, USN (Retired), provided initial editorial assistance and advice. Commander Tim Bosiljevac, author of
SEALs: UDT/SEAL Operations in Vietnam
and a hard-charging SEAL officer, provided me copies of many of the Mission Reports I wrote during my Vietnam deployments. I used these “Barndance Cards,” as they were called, to verify my memory.

Despite all the help I've received writing this book, I take full responsibility for the content.
Combat Swimmer
is my recollection of what I consider the most significant events in my naval career. I've tried to be as accurate as possible, and any errors of fact are unintended.

“Lock and load” is a command used on all U.S. military firing ranges. Literally, it means “Get ready to fire,” but lock and load is more than that; it's a mind-set. It is the realization that you have to be ready to go into combat at a moment's notice. You stay ready—you stay locked and loaded.

For SEALs, combat comes in many forms and at any time—often when no other U.S. forces are committed. The lock-and-load mind-set begins the day a prospective SEAL steps across the threshold of our basic training facility. SEALs stay locked and loaded as long as they're in a SEAL Team. Most military units train for combat under as realistic conditions as possible, but most don't have the sense of urgency found in SEAL Teams. There's one difference between SEAL training missions and actual combat: we don't kill the enemy in training.

 

I
n
Sea Lion
's forward torpedo room, I had just finished briefing my men for the mission. U.S.S.
Sea Lion
was a World War II-vintage fleet submarine that had been converted for swimmer operations. It was gliding through the water at six knots, thirty feet below the surface, maneuvering to our launch point.

I looked around the room at the twenty-four other men from Underwater Demolition Team 22. Dressed like me in black wet suits with Mark 6 diving rigs on our backs, they were standing close together between two racks of torpedoes. We all held swim fins and face masks. Over our diving gear each of us wore a rolled-up life jacket with an emergency flare attached. Around our waist was a weight belt loaded with thirty pounds of lead weights. On one leg we each wore a diving knife. None of us had firearms. We wouldn't need them on this mission. If we had to shoot someone, the mission would fail. We'd pick up the rest of our mission equipment from external storage lockers on the submarine deck after we locked out. The forward escape trunk, through which we were exiting the sub, was barely big enough to handle a pair of swimmers and the trunk operator.