Saturday, May 18, 2013

Day 112, May 18

While folks at home did everything they could to support the armed forces, the military realized that they needed to fight this war in new and innovative ways.

The modern-day U.S. Navy SEALs can trace their roots to World War II. The United States Navy recognized the need for the covert reconnaissance of landing beaches and coastal defenses. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida.  The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint Army-Marine-Navy unit.

The first group included Phil H. Buckley, the "Father of Naval Special Warfare," after whom the Naval Special Warfare Center building is named. Commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942 during Operation Torch on the North African coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, and southern France

The acronym SEAL comes from the words sea, air, and land, paying tribute to the SEAL's ability to operate in any environment and get the job done. 


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