Special Boat Squadron - ONE
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1978-2002
- Special
Boat Squadrons |
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Special Boat Squadron -1 |
 In
October 1978, Coastal River Squadron ONE became
Special Boat Squadron ONE, spawning three
commissioned units -Special Boat Unit ELEVEN (NRF),
located at Mare Island, Vallejo, California; Special
Boat Unit TWELVE (Active Duty); and Special Boat
Unit THIRTEEN (NRF), both located at Coronado,
California. In August 1993, the newest addition to
the Special Warfare Craft inventory came in the form
of the Patrol Coastal (PC) ships. The PCs are
designed for fast maneuverable littoral warfare,
capable of long range and extended operations. The
PCs proved their worth on their maiden cruise when
they deployed to Haiti for Operation SUPPORT
DEMOCRACY in 1994; they performed invaluable service
in every mission area, from coastal patrol and
interdiction to SEAL support.
In July 1994, Special Boat Squadron ONE reached a
new milestone, elevation to Echelon III status and
assumption of major command duties and
responsibilities.
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Sparks in the
Wilderness -
Special Boat Units Between Vietnam and
Desert Shield by Lt. Phil G. Garn
The period following the end of American
involvement in Vietnam in the early
1970's and deployment to Desert Shield in
1990 was a particularly challenging
time for all of Naval Special Warfare and
the Special Boat Units in particular. With
an odd mix of active and
reserve, SEAL and Surface personnel, aging
and ill-conceived craft; they struggled
against the tide of Eurocentric Cold War
during this bleak era in the wilderness. The
sparks of tradition, experience,
professionalism and enthusiasm bridged this
sad gap delivering units
ready to deploy, fight. and win.
Read more here.
(added 12-06-06) |
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03-10-07
Mal Flisk
I was SOC and went to sailing school at the
San Diego Recruit training base with Matt
and a bunch of other guys. I had told the LT
that I already had a skippers license for
sailing vessels up to 100', and he told me
to stay quiet as I would get a weeks worth
of sailing in San Diego harbor for free
during duty hours. They insisted we might
have to prize crew some dhow or something if
we went to the Gulf.
More Mal History Here |
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SPECIAL OPERATIONS
CREW/TACTICAL OPERATIONS CREW 1981-1993
In 1981 with Special Boat Units now being commanded
by SEALs, the utilization of Combatant Craft in NSW
ops were being studied to integrate them into
Emergency Contingency Plans. In 1981 a clear
weakness was shown that the Boats of the SBUs at the
time were not a rapid deployable asset. . .
Read more here |
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SBU-13 SPECIAL OPERATIONS CREW 1981-1984
a personal account from a SOC crewman
When the SOC instruction mandating SOC got
to SBU-13 in 1981 it created quite a buzz in
the command. The Active side had begun
choosing SOC Team members already. I was
chosen to be part of the SOC Reserve crew. I
felt honored to be chosen for only the best
qualified were being picked for this new
concept. The original SOC Reserves from
SBU-13 were. . .
Read more here |
Jim Gray, Author, SOC getting
ready to hit the surf zone at
Coronado. |
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All SOC were SERE qualified |
Mad Dog Evanouski SOC firing the Stoner LMG,
note oddly
enough his old Vietnam tiger stripes blend well with the
desert. |
Exercise Specter Strike 1982 SOCs used SPETAR
Target boats as indigenous craft for the exercise.
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SBU-11 SOC on San Niclolas Island. |
Zodiac at sea rendezvous with PB MKIII from
SCI SOCs Berry, Johnson, Lipe, LTJG Eberleine, Gray |
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3 SOC and ROK/UDT
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PKM, ROK/UDT interpreter SOCs Bill Lipe, and
Doc Greenough and PKM crewmembers |
a South Korean PKM the type craft SOC rode
on. |
Gray on South Korean PKM |
a ROK/ PKM combatant craft off coast at
sunset our ops mostly at night |
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SOC-13 patch made in Korea |
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(03-10-08)
The Tactical Operations Crew (TOC) at
SBU-13 1990
by
Phil G. Garn
San Pedro Harbor was hazily quiet
at two in the morning, but not completely still. The
cabin cruiser, Crazy Baby, idled forward
gradually creeping along side an out bound coastal
tanker steaming toward the outer harbor. Inside the
old pleasure boat, a swimmer pair fixed the
anti-tampering devices to the limpet mines then
finished donning their re-breathers, drawing the
first draughts of rubber flavored air.
Read it here |
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SBU-12 TOC
OPERATIONS 1988-1990 by LCDR Jack Spratt ret.
SBU-12 TOC teams were staffed by the HSB crews. The
concept of TOC was to create the capability to us
Indigeous craft if necessary in a combat
environment. The use of Indigenous craft may come
from renting, buying, stealing,or working with
trusted agents. This to allow the movement of Naval
Special Warfare forces to go unnoticed and
unfettered.
We conducted training every chance we got, most of
it was using was covert or clandestine inflitration
and actual use of Civilian craft of the Coast Guard
Auxcilary. Lt Garn's story about MARDEZ90 is a great
example of SBU-12's training as well.
We never got to employ our TOC skills in Desert
Storm, although a number of abandoned indigenous
craft in Kafji, and we developed a couple of
contingency plans to use them if necessary. |
LT Jack Spratt in Operation
Desert Shield/Storm. Note his GREAT personal
unoffical OIC pin with wings on his hat.
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