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U.S. Navy SEAL

United States Navy SEALs
US Navy SEALs insignia.png
The U.S. Navy's Special Warfare insignia, also known as a "SEAL Trident", worn by U.S. Navy SEALs.
Active 1 January 1962 – present
(55 years, 1 month)
Country  United States of America
Branch  United States Navy
Type Special operations force
Role Direct Action
Counter-Terrorism
Special Reconnaissance
Size 8,985 positions authorized
Part of United States Special Operations Command Insignia.svg U.S. Special Operations Command
US NSWC insignia.jpg U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command
Garrison/HQ Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
Nickname(s) "Frogmen", "The Teams", "The Men with Green Faces"
Motto(s) "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday", "It Pays to be a Winner"
Engagements

The United States Navy's "Sea, Air, and Land" Teams, commonly abbreviated as the Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting small-unit military operations that originate from, and return to, a river, ocean, swamp, delta, or coastline. The SEALs are trained to operate in all environments (Sea, Air, and Land) for which they are named.

As of 2016, all active SEALs are currently male and members of the U.S. Navy. The CIA's highly secretive and elite Special Operations Group (SOG) recruits operators from SEAL Teams, with joint operations going back to the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. This cooperation still exists today, as evidenced by military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The modern day U.S. Navy SEALs can trace their roots to World War II. The United States Navy recognized the need for the covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses. 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, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint U.S. Army-Marine-Navy unit.

Recognizing the need for a beach reconnaissance force, a select group of Army and Navy personnel assembled at Amphibious Training Base Little Creek, Virginia on August 15, 1942 to begin Amphibious Scouts and Raiders (joint) training. The Scouts and Raiders mission was to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing, and guide the assault waves to the landing beach.


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