User Guide

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DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO WEAR
THE TRIDENT OR SWCC PIN?
THE REAL WORK—FIND, FIX AND FINISH
T
he terrorist attacks on America September 11, 2001 and the escalation of
large-scale, indiscriminate attacks worldwide demands that the U.S. military
adapt to this new kind of war being waged. To meet
the challenge, Special Operations has become the
force of choice to combat terrorism, and Naval
Special Warfare is leading the fight. At the tip of the
NSW spear are SEALs (sea, air, land) commandos
and SWCCs (Special Warfare Combatant-craft
Crewmen), boat warriors who operate and maintain
the state-of-the art, high performance surface craft
used in overseas coastal patrol and interdiction, and
in support of maritime special operations missions.
Naval Special Warfare employed the largest number of
SEALs and SWCCs in its history during Operation
IRAQI FREEDOM. NSW forces were instrumental in
numerous special reconnaissance and direct action
missions including securing oil infrastructures and off-
shore gas and oil terminals to avoid ecological catastrophe;
clearing strategic waterways to enable the first
humanitarian aid to be delivered to the vital
port city of Umm Qasr; capturing high value
targets; carrying out raids on suspected
chemical, biological and radiological sites; and
conducting the first successful POW rescue
since WWII. They are known for their trigger
discipline—no SEAL or SWCC operators were
injured or killed in accomplishing these missions.
During Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in
Afghanistan, Naval Special Warfare conducted
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ARE YOU INTERESTED
IN A SEAL CAREER ?
SOCOM2 manual_rev1.qxp 10/30/03 4:24 PM Page 44