Osprey Publishing,
Midland House, West Way,
Botley, Oxford
OX2 0PH
United Kingdom
Originally published 2008. Soft cover version published 2011. 256 pages

With the U.S. Navy SEALs suddenly being cast into the spotlight following the hugely successful raid and killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden, this book is sure to find an even larger audience.

You know the SEALs (SEa, Air and Land) are a force to be respected when an Army guy writes a book praising them.

SEALs – The Navy’s Elite Fighting Force is co-authored by Mir Bahmanyar and Chris Osman. Bahmanyar previously served with the US Army 75th Ranger Regiment, while Osman is a former Marine and Navy SEAL.

The bulk of this book is based on personal interviews with current and former SEALs. Consequently, the bulk of the accounts are from the last two decades. Not every action is covered, as they did not interview anyone involved in operations in Somalia, the Philippines, etc. As well, many SEAL operations are still classified. However, plenty of first person accounts from Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as action from the former Yugoslavia are given. Yes, the “frogmen” even see action in landlocked countries such as Afghanistan.

Part I deals with Command Structure, as well as Training. I found the Command Structure portion to be somewhat dry reading, but that is to be expected. The Training segment is the real eye opener. This is where you really gain an appreciation for just how tough the BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL) course is. It is 26 weeks in length, and there is roughly a 75 – 80% dropout rate for most classes. One photo shows about two dozen helmets in a row, representing those that quit. The photo was taken three days into the course. Special attention is given to the notorious “Hell Week”, in which recruits are allowed only four hours sleep in total from early Sunday morning until late Friday night.

Richard Whiteside, a former SEAL officer, offers a very detailed account of his own training from Aug 1975 to Jan 1976. Following the 16 pages of recollections from Whiteside, Chris Osman gives his own nine pages of memories from his training in 1997 and 1998.

The book details the training that follows the BUD/S portion. The student then goes on to do additional training such as parachute, cold weather, etc.

Part II Small Wars 1989-2003 deals with various operations in Panama, Bolivia, and the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia.

Part III Global War on Terrorism: Afghanistan 2001-2007 follows the reaction to the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. It ends with a detailed account of operation Redwing, in which 11 SEALs and 8 Army Night Stalkers (160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment Airborne) lost their lives on June 28, 2005. The only SEAL member to survive was Marcus Luttrell, who also wrote a Forward for this book. This is the largest loss of life for Naval Special Warfare Command since World War II.

Part IV Global War on Terrorism: Iraq 2003-2007 is the largest chapter. Much of it revolves around SEAL sniping action. Kyle (no last name given) is quoted extensively, based on interviews given to Bahmanyar and Osman in 2007. Kyle has the highest kill score in SOCOM (Special Operations Command) at time of printing, at 137, including one at 1,600 yards.

As this book relies heavily on first person interviews, it does tend to jump around somewhat. It does not read like an academic history volume. Rather, it reminds me of listening in on veterans swapping combat experiences over a few beers. As such, this book does not give an all encompassing history lesson of the entire battle plan. Instead, you get a glimpse of street to street fighting as told by those that were there.

One thing that stands out was how several members made harshly critical comments towards the senior leadership. One said that that SEAL Team 3’s leadership “was the most f***ed-up ever.” The endnotes mentioned that several SEALs made the same point.

Another quote attributed to a British Marine officer was that the SEALs are “lions led by dogs.” Other comments mention that certain upper ranks are more concerned with promotions than military objectives.

The final page of Part IV ends with the future of the SEALs. Most SEALs interviewed do not believe that the U.S. can win the War on Terrorism, despite overwhelming force. No military can win without clearly defined political objectives, no matter how honorably the armed forces serve.

Following Part IV is a sizable Appendix section listing the organization of Naval Special Warfare Command, Seal equipment and weapons, and ending with Appendix 5, a list of all Frogmen, UDTS, and SEALs killed in action from WW2 to present.

Overall, I found this book to give a unique insight into the life of a SEAL. Between the interview quotes, and the many high quality color photos (many with faces digitalized for security), the reader is given a glimpse into a very secretive group. As well, the book features many sidebars that help to fill in details. I would have preferred a more detailed index, as well as a list of all the many initial and acronyms that the military loves to use. Aside from that, this is a book that anyone at all interested in the SEALs should have.

By Kevin Dockery

Vietnam was the first war zone where the US forces began making real use of suppressed weapons in combat. All of the US services fielded some suppressed weapons at one time or another during the Vietnam War. Originally, the vast majority of these weapons were WWII designs that had been stored away since their use by the OSS during that conflict.

Since there was a stigma attached to suppressed weapons in combat, some high-ranking officers and politicians considered them just weapons for assassins, not combat soldiers. When the Navy SEALs asked for a suppressed handgun to be designed, the request was couched in careful terms. The need was voiced for a means of quietly eliminating guard dogs. The planned use for the new suppressed pistol resulted in its now famous nickname – the Hushpuppy.

Developed in the 1966-1967 time frame, the Hushpuppy was based on the Smith and Wesson Model 39. A longer barrel, higher sights, elimination of the magazine safety, and a few other changes were done to adapt the weapon to its new configuration.

The biggest change was the removal of the standard slide stop and its replacement with a special, extended version, the slide latch. The slide latch has a right and left side component, both of which have a raised triangular front tip. When the rear of the latch is depressed, the front tips engaged into triangular cuts on either side of the slide. With the slide latch engaging the cutouts in the slide, the action remains locked during firing. This makes the hushpuppy a single-shot, manual repeater, but also eliminates the sound of the action cycling when fired.

The new weapon was called the 9mm Pistol Mark 22 Mod 0. To suppress the sound of firing, the Mark 3 noise suppressor was designed. The Mark 3 suppressor is a simple muzzle can containing a spring retainer and suppressor insert. The insert is the heart of the suppression system.

Contained within the 2-inch sealed aluminum capsule of the suppressor insert are four spaced 1/4-inch thick soft urethane plastic disks. The first bullet passing through the insert makes the hole that the subsequent projectiles will pass through. When the sound of firing raises to an unacceptable level, or after 24 shots have been fired through it, the suppressor insert is simply replaced, effectively refurbishing the suppressor.

To maximize sound suppression of the admittedly specialized weapon, the Mark 144 9mm round was developed. The Mark 144 round was a special, heavy-bullet subsonic round. The green tip of the Mark 144 round indicated that it was loaded with a 158-grain full jacketed bullet that had a nominal muzzle velocity of 965 fps. The Mk 144 cartridge was reportedly developed under navy contract by the Super Vel cartridge company. The first production run was for 7,000 rounds, the second being for 12,000 rounds. By 1970, the Navy put out a bid for a further 30,000 rounds of Mk 144 ammunition, but this was picked up by other companies.

To refurbish the Hushpuppy in the field, the Navy packaged the Mark 26 9mm Pistol Accessory Kit Mark 26 Mod 0. Along with a new suppressor insert, the Mk 26 kit came complete with 24 rounds of Mk 144 ammunition. In addition to the ammunition and suppressor insert, the Mk 26 kit had specialized plugs, caps, and disks, that could be used to waterproof the Hushpuppy so that it could be transported underwater, either assembled or the pistol and suppressor separated, to a depth of 200 feet.

The chamber plug in the Mk 26 kit was a plastic “round” with am O-ring in the center of its body. With the chamber plug in place, and a white, plastic muzzle plug disk over the front of the Mk 3 suppressor, the Hushpuppy could be carried underwater assembled and sheathed in its holster.

Coming up to the surface, all a Navy SEAL would have to do is pull back the slide of the Hushpuppy, automatically ejecting the chamber plug. Slipping the slide forward would chamber one of the waterproofed Mk 144 rounds in the Hushpuppy’s magazine. The plastic muzzle plugs were designed to be safely fired through.

The Hushpuppy would put 8 shots into an 8-inch circle at 25 yards. Roughly converted from the original measurements, the sound of the unsuppressed Hushpuppy was 160-decibels, the sound of the unlocked suppressed pistol firing was 133 decibels. With the slide latch engaged and firing Mk 144 ammunition, the Hushpuppy had a peak sound pressure of 129 decibels. Usually, the target would never hear the shot.

All told, only between 100 and 120 Hushpuppies were ever made for the Navy. The SEALs first started fielding the new pistols in late 1967. By 1968, each deploying SEAL platoon had at least one Hushpuppy assigned to it. Production never really met the demand for the weapon. In 1970, SEAL Team Two acquired 45 more Hushpuppies to support their operations in Vietnam – they always wanted more.