Free Republic

Richard Marcinko, who has died at the age of 81, made his mark on the US military as founding commander of Seal Team Six, one of America's elite special forces units which would later carry out a deadly raid on Osama Bin Laden. A Vietnam War veteran, he led the group for its first three years, and was awarded more than 30 medals and citations during his career with the US Navy. His direct and abrasive leadership style brought him great success but often caused conflict with superiors...

LONDON, April 26 (IranMania) - Thousands of religious hardliners chanting "Death to America" gathered in Iran's central desert to celebrate a failed US hostage rescue mission 26 years ago, AFP reported. The anniversary of the US military debacle came amid a mounting war of words with Washington, reported to be mulling the use of force to rein in the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear programme. Iranian officials used the occasion to tell US leaders that they risked yet more "divine intervention" if they dared to again set foot on Iranian soil. "The Tabas incident should act as a reminder to US...

The first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six - the US military's vaunted counter-terrorism unit that would hunt down and kill Osama Bin Laden - died Sunday at age 81. Richard 'Dick' Marcinko was tasked with designing the counter-terrorist team after the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Marcinko, along with another Navy representative, was on a task force to help free the American hostages in Iran, but were unsuccessful. The mission, known as Operation Eagle Claw, highlighted deficiencies within the US military command structure and revealed the need for a full-time counter-terrorist team. Marcinko launched the United States' third SEAL...

For those who have been there, Hell Week is a sleepless, bitter cold, gritty, soaking wet, hell on earth where exhausted candidates – pumped full of antibiotics to ward off a variety of infections – survive on sheer heart, tenacity, seemingly incomprehensible physical courage, and about 5,000-7,000 calories per day (given they can muster enough strength to consume them). Hell Week is a short span of eternity at Coronado, California where the SEAL hopeful comes to a reckoning of the soul. Here, he “realizes,” according to Commander Richard Marcinko (USN, ret.), “the body is only tissue and the mind/brain can...

SHARKMAN OF THE DELTA An exclusive interview with retired Navy SEAL Commander Richard "Rogue Warrior" Marcinko By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Commander Richard Marcinko (U.S. Navy – ret.) is a mythical figure in Naval and military circles. Ask any sailor in the American Navy - or any special operations commando from any branch of service - and they will readily admit that Marcinko is one of the most influential SpecOps officers to have ever worn the uniform. Affectionately referred to as "the Sharkman of the Delta" (a throwback moniker to his days as a Navy SEAL in Vietnam), Marcinko is...

July 21, 2004, 8:36 a.m.Hey, Sailors! A fuller look at the servicemen in Iraq. By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Stories from the front are often misreported: Not intentionally, but combat correspondents often apply the title "soldier" or even "Marine" loosely to those engaged in the fighting on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, many of the combatants on the ground are neither soldiers nor Marines, but sailors who have been directly involved in some of the most bitter ground combat in the ongoing war on terror. For instance, when elements of the 4th Marine Regiment were ambushed...