Special Operations.Com
Naval
Special Warfare Command
The Naval Special Warfare Command was commissioned
April 16, 1987 at Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado,
California. It is the Navy component to the
United States Special Operations Command which is
headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa,
Florida.
Naval Special Warfare represents one of the most
responsive, versatile and effective force packages
available to today's theater and operational commanders.
With 5,000 total personnel - 2,300 of whom are SEALs
along with 600 Special Warfare Combat Crewmen (SWCC)
- and an annual operating budget representing approximately
15 percent of USSOCOM's total operating budget, NSW
forces are busier than ever answering calls from around
the globe.
The mission of Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command
is to prepare NSW forces to carry out assigned missions
and to develop special operations strategy, doctrine,
and tactics. Commander, Naval Special Warfare
Command exercises operational control of all U.S.-based
forces and is responsible for the administration,
training, maintenance, support and readiness of all
active duty and reserve Naval Special Warfare personnel.
Naval Special Warfare Command is comprised of six
major component commands. NSW Group ONE and
Special Boat Squadron ONE in Coronado, and NSW Group
Two and Special Boat Squadron Two in Little Creek,
Virginia are its major operational components.
These components deploy forces (SEAL Teams, SEAL Delivery
Vehicle Teams and Special Boat Units) worldwide to
meet the training, exercise, contingency. and wartime
requirements of theater commanders. Deployed
NSW forces receive in-theater support from permanently
deployed NSW units located in Stuttgart, Germany;
Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico; Rota, Spain; Guam; and
Bahrain.
Primary mission areas include unconventional warfare,
direct action, special reconnaissance, and foreign
internal defense. They also conduct security
assistance, counterdrug operations, personnel recovery
and hydrographic reconnaissance. In December
1995, Navy SEALs conducted the hydrographic reconnaissance
and developed the hydrographic survey charts which
enabled Army engineers to determine the feasibility
of building a bridge across the Sava River so that
U.S. forces could travel from Croatia into war-torn
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Gathering accurate information
about beaches and shorelines, SEALs are also able
to provide vital information to forces planning and
conducting amphibious assault missions and other inshore
operations.
Additionally, Naval Special Warfare Development Group,
located in Little Creek, manages the test, evaluation
and development of technology applicable to Naval
Special Warfare forces. This command also develops
maritime ground and airborne tactics for Naval Special
Warfare and possible Department of Defense-wide application.
An adjunct of this Group is NSW's elite counterterrorist
unit, also known by the same name, but referred to
as "Dev Group", and based in Dam Neck, Virginia.
Lastly, Naval Special Warfare Center at NAB Coronado
is the schoolhouse for basic and advanced NSW training.
(Sources: US Navy Special Warfare Public Affairs
and other open sources)
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