navy seal team six, otherwise known as naval special warfare development group (devgru)… commissioned by us naval special warfare command, it is a special unit inside of an already highly-specialized unit and comprised of hand-selected seals from pre-existing seal teams commanded by the jsoc…
apollo
one of the most highly talked-about branches of us armed forces, it falls under the same umbrella as the elite group of the army’s delta force… it’s also a “tier one” specialized mission unit and to those who fear them, a global hunting machine…
st6 is categorized by four line squadrons:
- gold squadron
- silver squadron
- blue squadron
- red squadron
each navy seal team six-line squadron consists of 50 operators and is divided into three troops… st6 troops are then classified and divided into elite units of the deadliest snipers known to mankind and are deadly stealth water and ground assaulters…
seal team six: history
the history of seal team six dates back to the annihilation of “operation eagle claw,” us sof rescue mission in 1980 to rescue american hostages being held prisoner by iran… this saw a need for a special rescue unit, and seal team six was born, commanded by richard marcinko, it was deployed in 1981…
seal team six’s remit also included ship-boarding operations and maritime counter-terrorism that was disbanded in 1987 and was handed off to the new seal team eight, and under the command of the naval special warfare development group (devgru), albeit new, it carried on many of the same traditions as seal team 6…
the acronym actually means sea, air, and land forces that evolved from world war II and the frogmen of the navy and marines and decades later arose from the depths of the sea to seal team six…
below are three primary missions and roles for seal team six:
- special reconnaissance: navy seal team six (devgru) operators and typically trained as special reconnaissance, intelligence, and surveillance operators; however, they are highly trained snipers and a global hunting machine and man’s worst nightmare…
- close protection: seal team six is known for having close protection and security details for vips like foreign diplomats and presidents, especially if they are visiting the united states…
- counter-terrorism: devgru is an expert in maritime counter-terrorism (mct) and professional hostage and rescue units that eliminate terrorists on oil platforms, passenger ships, and cargo ships but can take on broader ct tasks…
the primary focus of seal team six since 2001 has been focused on operations in afghanistan and surrounding areas but they can also deploy more pre-emptive operations…
the global hunting and killing of osama bin laden
on september 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on washington d.c. and the twin towers in new york city shook the world and pointed american authorities and intelligence from devgru to osama bin laden, the founder of al qaeda and the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks… he was known for hiding out in caves in remote indigenous areas of pakistan…
where did osama bin laden live?
osama bin laden was a slick and shady character and elusive terrorist who hid as a fugitive for the last 5-years of his life in abbottabad, a tattered compound with multiple wives and children about one mile away from the military academy in kakul… however, bin laden had a building constructed that was lavish inside and lacked windows…
how did osama bin laden die?
according to military reports, about 24 seal team six members stormed osama bin laden’s compound in abbottabad, pakistan during the early morning hours of may 2nd, 2011… a massive firefight took place and lasted about 40 minutes, resulting in the capture and death of 22 people and bin laden was buried in the deep blue sea…
while many of seal team six’s operations remain classified, many have been publicized and confirmed with the pinnacle of the global hunting and killing of the al-qaeda leader osama bin laden…
here are the other notable missions made known by devgru:
- operation urgent fury 1983: this was an u.s. invasion of grenada and involved the communist takeover of the government in a small caribbean nation in october of 1983…four members perished during a helicopter drop but they did recover paul scoon, the governor general who was facing execution and escaped out to sea with him…
- operation just cause 1989: devgru worked with the delta force and other us armed forces to capture the dictator manuel noriega in december of 1989 during the invasion of panama…
- operation pokeweed 1990: in 1990 devgru set out to apprehend pablo esobar, a dangerous colombian drug lord… they returned to panama during a top-secret mission but due to poor intelligence, this is one time that seal team six failed…
- battle of mogadishu 1993: an us-led mission that was deployed in october of 1993 called “operation gothic serpent” and was designed to capture mohamed farra aidid, a somalian warlord… it was later adapted into the book and movie “ black hawk down…”
- bosnian war criminals 1998: in 1998, devgru was sent to apprehend a bosnian war general named radislav krstic and a number of other bosnian war criminals after the massacre in 1995 in screbrenica… they tracked them down and took them to stand trial at the hague in the former yugoslavia…
- the attempted rescue of linda norgrove 2010: devgru was deployed in 2010 in afghanistan to a taliban compound where a kidnapped scottish aid named linda norgrove was being held… she was placed in the line of fire by the taliban and the onslaught of the u.s. armed forces and died by a grenade thrown by a seal member…
in addition to the global hunting and killing of osama bin laden in 2011, devgru from 2001 to the present time has been involved in a number of conflicts in iraq and afghanistan, targeting numerous taliban and al-qaeda figures… they also work with the cia’s “special activities division” that deploys covert paramilitary operations…
today’s primary role and functions of the navy seal teams
today’s devgru is involved in several global hunting missions and deployed to secret bases in afghanistan and the badlands of somalia… they go on clandestine raids under the cover of darkness and prefer to use primeval tomahawks and customized carbines as their favorite weapons of choice…
globally, they have been hunting criminals that the united states want dead and operate in many undercover deployments such as disguising themselves as commercial fishing boats to undercover agents at foreign embassies and civilian workers of front companies and are a part of the mystery that blankets the mystery of the seal team six…
navy seal team six is one of the least scrutinized and most secretive branches of the u.s. military and has been transformed into a global hunting machine…
BY APOLLO THE OLYMPIAN
