Special Operations.Com

VERY SHALLOW WATER MINE COUNTERMEASURES DETACHMENT

(VSW MCM DET)

The VSW MCM DET logo is made of components of the three elite naval organization’s emblems:

U.S. Marine Corps Reconnaissance:

Explosive Ordnance Disposal:

Early Years Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) Emblem:

ORGANIZATION

Officer in Charge, Very Shallow Water Mine Countermeasures Detachment reports to Commander Mine Warfare Command located at Corpus Christi (TX) operationally, and to Commander, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group ONE located in San Diego (CA) administratively.

VSW MCM DET is composed of four elite naval organizations, Navy SEALS, Navy Special Boat Unit (RIB crews), Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units and U.S. Marine Corps reconnaissance teams and is the nation’s leading authority in clearing boat lanes of mines in the VSW zone. The EOD unit includes four bottlenose dolphins.

HISTORY

When the Navy faced the relatively primitive Iraqi mine threat in the Gulf War, it did not have the expertise to carry out the very difficult MCM mission in the VSW zone. Determined to “fix” the VSW MCM problem quickly, then Chief of Naval Operations ADM Jeremy M. Boorda established the VSW MCM Test Detachment in Coronado on 1 January 1996. The “test det” included dolphins assigned from the Navy’s marine mammal program and volunteers from the three elite organizations. This one-of-a-kind type of operation experimented with equipment, tactics, and ideas to find mines in the VSW area. Twenty-one months of testing resulted in the decision to establish the VSW MCM DET permanently and the command was officially established on 1 October 1997.

MISSION

To provide a small cadre of specially trained and equipped forces to conduct low-visibility mine exploration and reconnaissance operations in the VSW zone (40 to 10 feet). Development and maintenance of the following operational capabilities will remain the focus of the VSW MCM Detachment: