Inside SEAL Team Six(59)

Usually we’d use only hand and arm signals and radio communications, when they worked. If we needed to communicate something between squads or boat crews, we’d talk in a whisper. SEALs are expert at sneaking in and out of an area completely undetected. We do it all the time.

All of us learned about forty-five hand and arm signals in BUD/S. There are signals meaning I see enemy personnel; I see a danger area; stop; listen; enemy hutch three hundred meters to my three o’clock; and many more. They’re pretty basic, but in the pitch-darkness, they don’t work. That’s when we use a low whisper passed down the patrol formation.

In the PLO we’d discuss the challenge and reply we’d use to identify friendly forces. For instance, if you moved into a wood line and heard someone say, “Three,” you’d answer, “Four.” Because the code was seven.

We might simply use a red lens flashlight, but most often we used NVGs and IR, since we did practically everything in the dark.

SEALs are experts at inserting, causing all sorts of destruction, and then leaving the enemy to wonder, What the hell happened? It always sickens me when I’m in the field and see a bunch of MRE wrappers. It signals to the enemy that the U.S. military was here. Large, inexperienced units tend not to worry about leaving their trash behind for the enemy to find.

SEALs typically don’t cook in the field, because we don’t want to be detected by smell. That’s why we don’t use soap, shampoo, or cologne before going on an op.

We don’t break branches, and we don’t leave tracks. We also use the cover of darkness, when it’s available.

We avoid crossing bridges and walking through open areas. Do our best to stay off roads or open trails. And we try to move so that we can’t be tracked. No footprints. No turning over rocks. Move carefully through vegetation. No scrapes or broken branches.

Movement is always limited by weather and the type of terrain.

As for direction finding, our point man, rear security, and patrol leader generally use GPS, but the system fails on occasion due to equipment malfunction, cloud cover, or poor safelight reception. So, in spite of the technology at our fingertips, we still train and rely on good old-fashioned maps and compass techniques. We all know how to ascertain time and direction by looking at the sun, moon, or stars.

Our point man focuses on the sounds, or lack of sound, from native animals and birds. He knows that when birds fly off, it might mean movement nearby. He also listens for geese, dogs, or other animals that can give away position.

If we heard a dog barking or another animal making noise, we had to know what to do. Usually we either laid low in hopes it would move on or had specific plans and methods for taking out early-​warning creatures.

Included in every PLO was a list of contingency plans—the what-if list. What if you’re delayed on your insertion, someone is wounded, or a helo or insertion vehicle goes down?

What do we do if we’re compromised? What happens if you run into an enemy patrol? What happens if you’re separated from your squad or platoon? What do you do if you encounter extreme weather?

Every single operator has a primary and secondary duty. If the point man went down, rear security took his place. If the medic was incapacitated, someone was designated to take his place too.

We always had a loss-of-comms plan. What do we do if we can’t establish comms with one another, or with HQ?

We had procedures for calling in air support and rendezvousing with another patrol, unit, vehicle, or vessel. These were also discussed in the PLO.

We’d talk about what to do if we encountered the enemy or surprised a local unit. And how to behave if we were captured.

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A cover for status might be: I’m working as a counselor for the U.S. embassy. Since I was a medic, I always used to say I was helping out at a certain relief agency that was providing medical support to the locals. It worked like a charm.

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