Seals, or SEAL Team 6
After the publication of the American "green berets", I received numerous requests to tell about similar structures of the American army. Especially often asked to talk about the detachment "Delta". However, it seemed to me more appropriate to talk about the fleet analogue of the Delta, known to most readers under the name "fur seals". More precisely, the elite "sea lions" codenamed SEAL Team 6.
It’s not even the case that there are much more materials on Delta, and those who are really interested in this topic will be able to “dig up” the necessary information on their own. An army unit that lives by army law is more predictable than one that is a "ghost." The secrecy level of the 6 Team is such that even in the American press there are not so many materials. Most Americans talk about "cats" on the basis of knowledge obtained from feature films and interviews of former "cats" that sometimes come up in the press. And the very existence of this detachment can always be questioned.
Publicly, the Pentagon denies having such a unit. SEAL Team 6, this is exactly the name of this top-secret unit, is shrouded in such a veil of secrecy that sometimes it is surprising that there are messages on this topic. There are no divisions, but, for example, there is an interview with a fighter from this division who "personally killed Osama bin Laden". Therefore, if you look at media reports for the last 10-15 years, it becomes clear that the veil of secrecy is tearing. The desire to earn money on the PR of their exploits and talk about their own heroic life prevails over promises to be silent.
And the increase in the number of units is not conducive to secrecy. What the two know knows the pig. And according to the estimates of the same American and our experts, today the number of 6 Team has grown to 300 commando people and to 1500 service personnel. True, the "seals" themselves do not call themselves commandos. Moreover, they do not like this name in principle. Between themselves and in the documents, which sometimes "pop up", the soldiers of the detachment are called operatives.
Hence, a competent analyst can already conclude that Team 6 is not a purely naval structure. It is rather a symbiosis naval intelligence and the CIA. With an appropriate attitude. I mean not only the restrictions imposed by military orders and charters, but also the ability to act "at one’s own discretion", which gives membership of the CIA.
History detachment began not so long ago. First of all, the very name of SEAL is interesting. It comes from a combination of three English words - Sea, Air, Land. That is how the team of divers was called during the Second World War. However, it is impossible to consider the diving team as a prototype of the unit being described. It is rather one of the methods of camouflage adopted in reconnaissance and sabotage units during the Cold War.
By the way, the 6 Team (Team 6) from the same song. The Americans, already during the formation of the detachment, understood that the Soviet intelligence officers would soon learn about the "kittens." In fact, at the time of the creation of the 6 Team in the United States, there were only two SEAL units. Therefore, it would be logical to call the squad Team 3.
When did the "seals" appear? According to some data from open sources, the detachment was formed immediately after the failure of the special operation to rescue 53 hostages in the US embassy in Tehran (Operation "Eagle's Claw"). Let me remind you, it happened in 1980 year. And the operation of the elite special forces of the US Army ended then a complete collapse. A military helicopter with special forces crashed into a plane on the ground and exploded. Killed 8 special forces. The Pentagon was then placed in a very delicate situation.
The naval commanders thought in the same way. It was necessary to urgently create a structure that could quickly and by any means solve the issues of combating terrorism. The goal, as you see, is a good one, but it was entrusted to realize it by a rather ambiguous person - a commander (corresponds to the Russian naval rank of second rank captain) Richard Marcinko. During the Vietnam War, Marsinko earned a reputation as a rather cruel and merciless officer. (By the way, for those who are interested in his biography: Marcinco wrote the book "Warrior-Plut.")
The 6 Team Headquarters is located at the Dam Neck branch of the Oceana Naval Air Station, south of Virginia Beach. It is there that today is the majority of "sea lions". To cover the base in the same place and other army units.
The commander did not particularly care about the observance of army regulations and orders. The first detachment was formed according to the principle of personal courage (especially in the Vietnam war), friendship between the fighters and ... readiness to carry out any command order.
How do they become members of the 6 Team? Usually the selection procedure is as follows. In the seals divisions that perform normal tasks, after several years of service, casting is held for those who want to go to the 6 Team. There are three such places in the USA. They are perfectly "tracked" by numbers. "Even Numbers" is located in Virginia Beach. The base of "odd numbers" in San Diego. Third place - Hawaii. There is another "secret" of the US Navy - the base of submarine mini-boats. Typically, the dropout rate when passing 50 tests and above.
The officers of the Team usually come for one or two terms of the contract. And changes often enough. Although, according to some information, there are cases of returning to the Team several times. This practice reduces the importance of the officer corps somewhat, but raises the importance of sergeants.
According to the officers of the unit, many soldiers, and especially sergeants, tend to exaggerate their own role. Marcinko laid this style of service. Everyone can be everyone.
But on the other hand, this style of service generates some bravado from the 6 Team. All other SEAL units are “white” or “standard” for them. Although, in fairness, it should be said that they perform the same tasks. However, any operative from the Team will always say: "If you need to take away the atomic bomb from the bad guys, or save the prisoners in the war zone, then only we can do it ..."
That is how two squads (assault groups) of the 6 Team were created. The names they received by the colors of the American fleet. Blue and gold. By the way, at the same time fighters from the "blue" appeared. The fact is that the "Blue" group has chosen the Jolly Roger as its symbol. It is clear that the "pirates" soon became quite famous. They even got the unofficial name “Bad in the Blue”.
In order for you to understand the system of training detachments, it is enough to cite a couple of well-known open source examples. The state police kept several hundred protocols on the members of the Team for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. And in the accident database there are a lot of acts on the write-off of equipment, which the operatives broke during their training.
A former member of the Team, and now a congressman from Montana, Ryan Zinke recalls one of the exercises in which he took part in the preparations for the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992. Then he accompanied the commander of the exercises, the American admiral.
"When we opened the door, what I saw resembled Pirates of the Caribbean."
- Is that my fleet? Are these guys my fleet? The admiral asked me. "
Indeed, for the naval admiral what he saw was a shock. The top secret, most prepared unit of the naval special forces looked like gangsters from a Hollywood film. Long hair, earrings in the ears, beards ... And an appropriate attitude to the form of clothing. Each of the fighters dressed to perform "their" task.
After this episode, the detachment underwent a most severe reorganization. Team composition Team 6 "thinned" thoroughly. And at all levels. Many officers and even admirals were transferred to other units or dismissed from military service. This also affected the non-commissioned officers. These reorganizations created SEAL Team 6 in its current form.
Today a lot is known about the detachment. Everything you read above is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact that some soldiers of the detachment "opened their mouths," especially after the operation to eliminate bin Laden, became the basis for initiating a multitude of criminal cases on charges of treason. Readers will probably remember two names: Matt Bissonnet (the author of two books about his service in the Team) and Robert O'Neill (the one who claims that he killed bin Laden). Both today are charged for this article.
After some excursion into history, probably, it is necessary to tell about the peculiarities of this unit’s actions in a combat situation. What is the difference between teams from the "white fur seals"? And they really are. And quite substantial.
Most strongly SEAL Team 6 "inherited" in Afghanistan. Therefore, the analysis of actions in this country, in my opinion, will be most indicative of an understanding of the work of this special unit.
First of all, about the principles of the work itself. Those that were laid by the founder. The first, which is fundamental for the operatives of SEAL Team 6, is in the words of one of the former officers of this unit: "If you feel threatened for just a second, it means that you will kill someone."
This principle acts strictly. As, however, and in other special divisions. "Doubt - shoot." Moreover, none of the commandos will not pass by the already killed enemy without a control shot. For a formal report of the operation, the feeling of being threatened is enough to justify any loss.
True, in official papers, if it comes to killing civilians, the picture is created perfectly perfect. For example, I’ll quote the words of one of the commanders of the team: "Do I think something bad was happening? Did I think that there were more murders than necessary? Naturally. I think the natural response to the threat was to eliminate it; and only then you wondered: “Didn’t I overestimate her?” Do I think that guys deliberately killed those who didn’t deserve it? No, I somehow find it hard to believe. ”
The second principle of the Team’s work was best expressed by the retired admiral, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, James Stavridis: "If you want a squad to sometimes conduct activities that violate international law, you definitely don’t need publicity."
William Banks, an expert on national security issues at Syracuse University, wrote more specifically about this: "If you are not on the battlefield, then you are not responsible."
It was not in vain that I cited these two principles as the basis on which all further actions of the detachment are superimposed. The Americans often use the latest advances in technology to create a picture of an "honest" war for the whole world. Remember TV reports about the use of precision bombs. When the entire flight of the bomb is broadcast live on television. Remember footage from drones, which show the effective work of American units anywhere in the world.
Not passed this bowl and SEAL Team 6. Some operations are controlled by headquarters at Dam Neck or by the overseas operations coordination center using drones. And, as a rule, end in failure. But those that are held according to the established scheme are often successful.
Operations are usually performed at night. Not only pistols and rifles with silencers are used, but also cold weapon. Operatives make their way to places of concentration or residence (which was done much more often in Afghanistan) and simply cut out everyone.
I think here it is necessary to tell about one scandalous operation “Bad guys in blue”, which was held at the very end of their stay in Afghanistan in 2008. And entered the history of the detachment codenamed "Panther".
The "bad guys" were then in the Afghan province of Helmand. One of the most difficult militarily and still considered the support of the Taliban. The main population of the province is Pashtuns. It is in this province that the largest plantations of opium poppy are located. Southern border province, which always and everyone was causing a lot of trouble.
So, at the beginning of 2008, the elders of one of the Pashtun villages addressed the commander of the coalition forces with a complaint that the "seals" had destroyed several peaceful dehkans. Just like that, without any reason. The complaint was submitted to Captain Scott Moore, who commanded the "seals" division.
Moore demanded an explanation from the unit commander who directly conducted the “Panther”, Captain Peter Weili. As always happens in such cases, "civilians were not killed." I am not me, and the horse is not mine. To which Moore demanded the Operations Center conduct its own investigation.
The result of the investigation were shocking facts of ordinary Americans. "Seals" destroyed all the men in the village! Base? They had weapons at home. In addition, another unflattering episode has surfaced. It became known that one of the Team was cutting the throat of a dead Afghani. As one of the Blue commanders, Captain Slabinski, commented on this episode, “he seemed to have crippled the body” ... By the way, to Slabinski himself, the investigators also had questions. The fact is that, according to the testimony of some operatives, it was this commander who ordered the killing of all without dismantling men.
The thing in the end was "hushed up." No commands Slabinski did not give. And the operative who cut the corpse, it turns out, just took off the equipment from the victim. But, until now, there is no exact information about the number of dead Afghans, nor about the goals of the operation, nor about the exact place of burial of the corpses.
Up to this point, I wrote about well-known episodes of SEAL Team 6 activities. And now it is time to touch on another side of the work of this squad. The fact is that, in addition to the “Blue” and “Golden” mouths, another team is part of the Team - the “Black” company.
The story of the emergence of this squad as part of Team 6 is quite interesting. Originally it was a team of high-profile snipers. And the task of this team was to ensure the actions of the operatives with fire support. Accordingly, team members were assigned to perform specific tasks to the Blue or the Golden Companies.
The transformation of the team of snipers in the "Black" company "contributed" Saudis. More precisely, those who organized and carried out terrorist attacks in the US 11 September. Immediately after these events, it was decided that a purely intelligence unit should be part of the SEAL Team 6. The preparation of future operations of the Team not only does not exclude, but also fully justifies the conduct of intelligence.
Today, operatives from the "Black" company are scattered around the world. They are in American embassies not only in Africa, Latin America or Asia, they are in European embassies. It is not excluded that we have such specialists.
According to the stories of some of the former members of the Team, hundreds of Black operatives are using diplomatic channels not only to collect and send intelligence information, but also to deliver weapons and equipment to the necessary countries. In addition to the official "roof", the operatives of the "Black" company work under the guise of local residents. In the same Afghanistan, there are often reports of local media about the capture and destruction of incomprehensible scouts.
In addition to agents, operatives, "Black" company uses the technical means of intelligence. From specially equipped cars to yachts and other supposedly civilian ships, which are actually floating espionage stations. UAVs have become commonplace.
There are only a few cases when operatives from the "Black" company used weapons. According to internal orders, the use of weapons by operatives of this unit is possible only in emergency cases. And any such case is considered in detail by the command as a serious emergency.
But there is something in the “Black” company that is not found anywhere else and which causes undisguised envy of other operatives. Women serve in this detachment! Moreover, women operatives work not only on their own, but, more often, for a couple with men. The tandem raises less questions from the special services of the state where the pairs are located. And in the case of finding interest in one of the operatives, the work does another. The first "plays the fool." In the American special services, this tactic is called "softening."
Today the “Black” company is a rather serious intelligence structure. The coming to power of Donald Trump made the work of some US intelligence agencies quite problematic. And most American politicians understand that this is just the beginning. It is doubtful that the president will simply retreat. His positions are too strong. The security service worked too well. Too little dirt is stored in the "vaults".
And the policy of orientation to internal affairs proclaimed by Trump speaks for itself. Little by little, the American army will wind down its operations abroad. However, American interests outside the US have not been canceled. Business, and therefore politicians, will require operations to ensure the "contractual capacity" of leaders of other states. Wants this Trump, or does not want. America wants to advertise its presence, or does not want.
Whatever it was, but for today the “Black” company is already quite numerous. More than a hundred operatives. On the number of units to provide information, alas, not yet. And the company is constantly increasing.
In general, the squad SEAL Team 6 continues its activities in all corners of the world. With their problems, victories and defeats. And you can not discount it. The above-mentioned congressman from Montana, Ryan Zinke, once said an interesting phrase: "When I was in business, we were always looking for war. And these guys were finding." I think it's better not to say.
It’s not even the case that there are much more materials on Delta, and those who are really interested in this topic will be able to “dig up” the necessary information on their own. An army unit that lives by army law is more predictable than one that is a "ghost." The secrecy level of the 6 Team is such that even in the American press there are not so many materials. Most Americans talk about "cats" on the basis of knowledge obtained from feature films and interviews of former "cats" that sometimes come up in the press. And the very existence of this detachment can always be questioned.
Publicly, the Pentagon denies having such a unit. SEAL Team 6, this is exactly the name of this top-secret unit, is shrouded in such a veil of secrecy that sometimes it is surprising that there are messages on this topic. There are no divisions, but, for example, there is an interview with a fighter from this division who "personally killed Osama bin Laden". Therefore, if you look at media reports for the last 10-15 years, it becomes clear that the veil of secrecy is tearing. The desire to earn money on the PR of their exploits and talk about their own heroic life prevails over promises to be silent.
And the increase in the number of units is not conducive to secrecy. What the two know knows the pig. And according to the estimates of the same American and our experts, today the number of 6 Team has grown to 300 commando people and to 1500 service personnel. True, the "seals" themselves do not call themselves commandos. Moreover, they do not like this name in principle. Between themselves and in the documents, which sometimes "pop up", the soldiers of the detachment are called operatives.
Hence, a competent analyst can already conclude that Team 6 is not a purely naval structure. It is rather a symbiosis naval intelligence and the CIA. With an appropriate attitude. I mean not only the restrictions imposed by military orders and charters, but also the ability to act "at one’s own discretion", which gives membership of the CIA.
History detachment began not so long ago. First of all, the very name of SEAL is interesting. It comes from a combination of three English words - Sea, Air, Land. That is how the team of divers was called during the Second World War. However, it is impossible to consider the diving team as a prototype of the unit being described. It is rather one of the methods of camouflage adopted in reconnaissance and sabotage units during the Cold War.
By the way, the 6 Team (Team 6) from the same song. The Americans, already during the formation of the detachment, understood that the Soviet intelligence officers would soon learn about the "kittens." In fact, at the time of the creation of the 6 Team in the United States, there were only two SEAL units. Therefore, it would be logical to call the squad Team 3.
When did the "seals" appear? According to some data from open sources, the detachment was formed immediately after the failure of the special operation to rescue 53 hostages in the US embassy in Tehran (Operation "Eagle's Claw"). Let me remind you, it happened in 1980 year. And the operation of the elite special forces of the US Army ended then a complete collapse. A military helicopter with special forces crashed into a plane on the ground and exploded. Killed 8 special forces. The Pentagon was then placed in a very delicate situation.
The naval commanders thought in the same way. It was necessary to urgently create a structure that could quickly and by any means solve the issues of combating terrorism. The goal, as you see, is a good one, but it was entrusted to realize it by a rather ambiguous person - a commander (corresponds to the Russian naval rank of second rank captain) Richard Marcinko. During the Vietnam War, Marsinko earned a reputation as a rather cruel and merciless officer. (By the way, for those who are interested in his biography: Marcinco wrote the book "Warrior-Plut.")
The 6 Team Headquarters is located at the Dam Neck branch of the Oceana Naval Air Station, south of Virginia Beach. It is there that today is the majority of "sea lions". To cover the base in the same place and other army units.
The commander did not particularly care about the observance of army regulations and orders. The first detachment was formed according to the principle of personal courage (especially in the Vietnam war), friendship between the fighters and ... readiness to carry out any command order.
How do they become members of the 6 Team? Usually the selection procedure is as follows. In the seals divisions that perform normal tasks, after several years of service, casting is held for those who want to go to the 6 Team. There are three such places in the USA. They are perfectly "tracked" by numbers. "Even Numbers" is located in Virginia Beach. The base of "odd numbers" in San Diego. Third place - Hawaii. There is another "secret" of the US Navy - the base of submarine mini-boats. Typically, the dropout rate when passing 50 tests and above.
The officers of the Team usually come for one or two terms of the contract. And changes often enough. Although, according to some information, there are cases of returning to the Team several times. This practice reduces the importance of the officer corps somewhat, but raises the importance of sergeants.
According to the officers of the unit, many soldiers, and especially sergeants, tend to exaggerate their own role. Marcinko laid this style of service. Everyone can be everyone.
But on the other hand, this style of service generates some bravado from the 6 Team. All other SEAL units are “white” or “standard” for them. Although, in fairness, it should be said that they perform the same tasks. However, any operative from the Team will always say: "If you need to take away the atomic bomb from the bad guys, or save the prisoners in the war zone, then only we can do it ..."
That is how two squads (assault groups) of the 6 Team were created. The names they received by the colors of the American fleet. Blue and gold. By the way, at the same time fighters from the "blue" appeared. The fact is that the "Blue" group has chosen the Jolly Roger as its symbol. It is clear that the "pirates" soon became quite famous. They even got the unofficial name “Bad in the Blue”.
In order for you to understand the system of training detachments, it is enough to cite a couple of well-known open source examples. The state police kept several hundred protocols on the members of the Team for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. And in the accident database there are a lot of acts on the write-off of equipment, which the operatives broke during their training.
A former member of the Team, and now a congressman from Montana, Ryan Zinke recalls one of the exercises in which he took part in the preparations for the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992. Then he accompanied the commander of the exercises, the American admiral.
"When we opened the door, what I saw resembled Pirates of the Caribbean."
- Is that my fleet? Are these guys my fleet? The admiral asked me. "
Indeed, for the naval admiral what he saw was a shock. The top secret, most prepared unit of the naval special forces looked like gangsters from a Hollywood film. Long hair, earrings in the ears, beards ... And an appropriate attitude to the form of clothing. Each of the fighters dressed to perform "their" task.
After this episode, the detachment underwent a most severe reorganization. Team composition Team 6 "thinned" thoroughly. And at all levels. Many officers and even admirals were transferred to other units or dismissed from military service. This also affected the non-commissioned officers. These reorganizations created SEAL Team 6 in its current form.
Today a lot is known about the detachment. Everything you read above is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact that some soldiers of the detachment "opened their mouths," especially after the operation to eliminate bin Laden, became the basis for initiating a multitude of criminal cases on charges of treason. Readers will probably remember two names: Matt Bissonnet (the author of two books about his service in the Team) and Robert O'Neill (the one who claims that he killed bin Laden). Both today are charged for this article.
After some excursion into history, probably, it is necessary to tell about the peculiarities of this unit’s actions in a combat situation. What is the difference between teams from the "white fur seals"? And they really are. And quite substantial.
Most strongly SEAL Team 6 "inherited" in Afghanistan. Therefore, the analysis of actions in this country, in my opinion, will be most indicative of an understanding of the work of this special unit.
First of all, about the principles of the work itself. Those that were laid by the founder. The first, which is fundamental for the operatives of SEAL Team 6, is in the words of one of the former officers of this unit: "If you feel threatened for just a second, it means that you will kill someone."
This principle acts strictly. As, however, and in other special divisions. "Doubt - shoot." Moreover, none of the commandos will not pass by the already killed enemy without a control shot. For a formal report of the operation, the feeling of being threatened is enough to justify any loss.
True, in official papers, if it comes to killing civilians, the picture is created perfectly perfect. For example, I’ll quote the words of one of the commanders of the team: "Do I think something bad was happening? Did I think that there were more murders than necessary? Naturally. I think the natural response to the threat was to eliminate it; and only then you wondered: “Didn’t I overestimate her?” Do I think that guys deliberately killed those who didn’t deserve it? No, I somehow find it hard to believe. ”
The second principle of the Team’s work was best expressed by the retired admiral, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, James Stavridis: "If you want a squad to sometimes conduct activities that violate international law, you definitely don’t need publicity."
William Banks, an expert on national security issues at Syracuse University, wrote more specifically about this: "If you are not on the battlefield, then you are not responsible."
It was not in vain that I cited these two principles as the basis on which all further actions of the detachment are superimposed. The Americans often use the latest advances in technology to create a picture of an "honest" war for the whole world. Remember TV reports about the use of precision bombs. When the entire flight of the bomb is broadcast live on television. Remember footage from drones, which show the effective work of American units anywhere in the world.
Not passed this bowl and SEAL Team 6. Some operations are controlled by headquarters at Dam Neck or by the overseas operations coordination center using drones. And, as a rule, end in failure. But those that are held according to the established scheme are often successful.
Operations are usually performed at night. Not only pistols and rifles with silencers are used, but also cold weapon. Operatives make their way to places of concentration or residence (which was done much more often in Afghanistan) and simply cut out everyone.
I think here it is necessary to tell about one scandalous operation “Bad guys in blue”, which was held at the very end of their stay in Afghanistan in 2008. And entered the history of the detachment codenamed "Panther".
The "bad guys" were then in the Afghan province of Helmand. One of the most difficult militarily and still considered the support of the Taliban. The main population of the province is Pashtuns. It is in this province that the largest plantations of opium poppy are located. Southern border province, which always and everyone was causing a lot of trouble.
So, at the beginning of 2008, the elders of one of the Pashtun villages addressed the commander of the coalition forces with a complaint that the "seals" had destroyed several peaceful dehkans. Just like that, without any reason. The complaint was submitted to Captain Scott Moore, who commanded the "seals" division.
Moore demanded an explanation from the unit commander who directly conducted the “Panther”, Captain Peter Weili. As always happens in such cases, "civilians were not killed." I am not me, and the horse is not mine. To which Moore demanded the Operations Center conduct its own investigation.
The result of the investigation were shocking facts of ordinary Americans. "Seals" destroyed all the men in the village! Base? They had weapons at home. In addition, another unflattering episode has surfaced. It became known that one of the Team was cutting the throat of a dead Afghani. As one of the Blue commanders, Captain Slabinski, commented on this episode, “he seemed to have crippled the body” ... By the way, to Slabinski himself, the investigators also had questions. The fact is that, according to the testimony of some operatives, it was this commander who ordered the killing of all without dismantling men.
The thing in the end was "hushed up." No commands Slabinski did not give. And the operative who cut the corpse, it turns out, just took off the equipment from the victim. But, until now, there is no exact information about the number of dead Afghans, nor about the goals of the operation, nor about the exact place of burial of the corpses.
Up to this point, I wrote about well-known episodes of SEAL Team 6 activities. And now it is time to touch on another side of the work of this squad. The fact is that, in addition to the “Blue” and “Golden” mouths, another team is part of the Team - the “Black” company.
The story of the emergence of this squad as part of Team 6 is quite interesting. Originally it was a team of high-profile snipers. And the task of this team was to ensure the actions of the operatives with fire support. Accordingly, team members were assigned to perform specific tasks to the Blue or the Golden Companies.
The transformation of the team of snipers in the "Black" company "contributed" Saudis. More precisely, those who organized and carried out terrorist attacks in the US 11 September. Immediately after these events, it was decided that a purely intelligence unit should be part of the SEAL Team 6. The preparation of future operations of the Team not only does not exclude, but also fully justifies the conduct of intelligence.
Today, operatives from the "Black" company are scattered around the world. They are in American embassies not only in Africa, Latin America or Asia, they are in European embassies. It is not excluded that we have such specialists.
According to the stories of some of the former members of the Team, hundreds of Black operatives are using diplomatic channels not only to collect and send intelligence information, but also to deliver weapons and equipment to the necessary countries. In addition to the official "roof", the operatives of the "Black" company work under the guise of local residents. In the same Afghanistan, there are often reports of local media about the capture and destruction of incomprehensible scouts.
In addition to agents, operatives, "Black" company uses the technical means of intelligence. From specially equipped cars to yachts and other supposedly civilian ships, which are actually floating espionage stations. UAVs have become commonplace.
There are only a few cases when operatives from the "Black" company used weapons. According to internal orders, the use of weapons by operatives of this unit is possible only in emergency cases. And any such case is considered in detail by the command as a serious emergency.
But there is something in the “Black” company that is not found anywhere else and which causes undisguised envy of other operatives. Women serve in this detachment! Moreover, women operatives work not only on their own, but, more often, for a couple with men. The tandem raises less questions from the special services of the state where the pairs are located. And in the case of finding interest in one of the operatives, the work does another. The first "plays the fool." In the American special services, this tactic is called "softening."
Today the “Black” company is a rather serious intelligence structure. The coming to power of Donald Trump made the work of some US intelligence agencies quite problematic. And most American politicians understand that this is just the beginning. It is doubtful that the president will simply retreat. His positions are too strong. The security service worked too well. Too little dirt is stored in the "vaults".
And the policy of orientation to internal affairs proclaimed by Trump speaks for itself. Little by little, the American army will wind down its operations abroad. However, American interests outside the US have not been canceled. Business, and therefore politicians, will require operations to ensure the "contractual capacity" of leaders of other states. Wants this Trump, or does not want. America wants to advertise its presence, or does not want.
Whatever it was, but for today the “Black” company is already quite numerous. More than a hundred operatives. On the number of units to provide information, alas, not yet. And the company is constantly increasing.
In general, the squad SEAL Team 6 continues its activities in all corners of the world. With their problems, victories and defeats. And you can not discount it. The above-mentioned congressman from Montana, Ryan Zinke, once said an interesting phrase: "When I was in business, we were always looking for war. And these guys were finding." I think it's better not to say.
Information