Deathrace

Foreword

SEAL stands for SEa-Air-Land. This specialized group of fighting men was created by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1962 to meet special quick-strike needs of the U.S. Navy. Today the Navy SEALs are among the leaders of the elite special-operation forces in the world.

SEALs undergo a six-month training course that is enough to break the back and the will of all but the most dedicated, and the strongest. On average, 60 percent of those who start the SEAL training course drop out.

During the Vietnam War there were only two SEAL teams, One and Two. Each was composed of a number of fourteen-man platoons. Today SEALs function with sixteen- man platoons.

As modern warfare changed, in the eighties, the Navy realized that it had to meet the challenge. Through the Ronald Reagan administration, the Navy lobbied for more SEAL teams, pointing out the greater emphasis on "small wars" and covert operations.

By 1990 there were six SEAL teams. Teams One, Three, and Five were headquartered in Coronado, California, under the direction of the Naval Special Warfare Group One. The plan was to use these units for emergency actions in the Pacific and Far East.

Teams Two, Four, and Six were assigned to Little Creek, Virginia, under the command of NAVSPECWARGRU-TWO. They would be deployed in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

The Navy's special warfare groups are highly security conscious. They give out no press releases on SEAL actions. Most of the SEAL work is never known to the U.S. public, let alone other nations. They work quietly, often deadly, to achieve the purpose of intense national security that has been handed them.

At my latest report, there is no SEAL Team Seven in real life. That makes this series of books more interesting and exciting, since all manner of actions, problems, crises, coups, takeovers, terrorists, and "small wars" can be dealt with by a realistic prototype of an actual SEAL unit.

After the book Seal Team Seven Specter, Team Seven's Third Platoon was assigned for full-time use by the Central Intelligence Agency. They selected the best, highest rated team, and the team with the best in-action record for this task. Now SEAL Team Seven, Platoon Three, is at the top secret whispered call of Don Stroh, its CIA control.

If you have any questions about the SEALs or comments on the books, please drop me a line at Keith Douglass, 8431 Beaver Lake Drive, San Diego, CA 92119. Hope to hear from you.

Keith Douglass

December 1998