Navy and Novels: The Story of "Old Ironsides"

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29 June 2026

The Story of "Old Ironsides" - The USS Constitution

AS WE PREPARE TO CELEBRATE THE 250TH BIRTH OF OUR NATION, IT SEEMS FITTING TO ALLOW "OLD IRONSIDES" TO "TELL" YOU HER HISTORIC STORY:

https://allhands.navy.mil/Features/Constitution

Posted by Jamie Fredric at Monday, June 29, 2026

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ULTIMATE REPRISAL - BOOK #22 IN GRANT STEVENS' SERIES AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

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THE MAKING OF A SEAL

https://www.history.com/shows/six/articles/the-making-of-a-seal

TO ALL VETERANS:

WE WILL ALWAYS BE INDEBTED TO YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE. YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

FIVE THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE NAVY SEALS

https://www.military.com/special-operations/about-the-navy-seals.html

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CELEBRATE THE U.S. NAVY'S BIRTHDAY

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/in-photos-history-of-the-us-navy/ss-BBOfIXx?li=BBnb7Kz

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BUD/S Class 272
SEALs In Action
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ORDER OF PRECEDENCE FOR WEARING NAVY RIBBONS
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MISSION CRITICAL - (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens - Black Ops 1)

B0OK #1 in Grant Stevens Series - Ebook and Paperback

WARNING ORDER - (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens - Black Ops 2)

Ebook and Paperback

IN THE MOUTH OF THE WOLF - (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens - Black Op 3)

Ebook and Paperback

SACRIFICE OF ONE (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens - Black Ops 4)

Ebook and Paperback

LAST OP (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens - Black Ops 5)

Ebook and Paperback

SHANGHAI MISSION - (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens #6)

Ebook and Paperback

CODE NAME ANTARES - (#7 Navy SEAL Grant Stevens)

Ebook and Paperback

OPERATION GOLD EAGLE - (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens #8)

Ebook and Paperback

SILENT VENGEANCE - (Navy SEAL Grant Stevens #9)

Ebook and Paperback

THE BRATVA HEIST - #10 in Grant Stevens Series

eBook and Paperback

OPERATION EAGLE STRIKE - #11 in Grant Stevens Series - Available Now

eBook and Paperback - 290 Pages

PUNISHMENT DUE (NAVY SEAL GRANT STEVENS #12)

Available on Amazon in eBook and Paperback

TRIPLE RISK (#13 in Navy SEAL Grant Stevens Series)

Available now in eBook and Paperback (Scroll down for other books)

OPERATION GRAY WOLF - #14 IN GRANT STEVENS SERIES - AVAILABLE NOW!

AVAILABLE IN EBOOK AND PAPERBACK (Scroll down for Books #1 - #13)

PUSH TO TARGET - #15 IN GRANT STEVENS SERIES

Available on Amazon - eBook and Paperback

THE RUSSIA SANCTION - #16 IN GRANT STEVENS SERIES - AVAILABLE!

EBOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON (OR THRU GOODREADS)

OMINOUS INTENT - #17 IN GRANT STEVENS SERIES - AVAILABLE NOW!

EBOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE - NOTE: THE SERIES WILL CONTINUE!

PERILOUS AGENDA - #18

NOW AVAILABLE IN EBOOK AND PAPERBACK VERSIONS

TOXIC REVENGE - #19

GRANT STEVENS SERIES - AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

NIGHT OF CARNAGE - #20

#20 - NAVY SEAL GRANT STEVENS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

RACE TO TARGET - #21 IN GRANT STEVENS' SERIES

EBOOK AND PAPERBACK AVAILABLE! (SCROLL DOWN TO SEE BOOKS #1 - #20)

Freddie the Frog - Sammy the SEAL

Read about 'Creation' of the 'Frog'

Navy SEALs Train Olympians

http://tinyurl.com/7udfrnr

So, You Wanna be a SEAL?

http://www.navyseals.com/take-challenge

Navy Seabees

Beginning Trip Home from Afghanistan

Test Your Knowledge of Navy SEALs

http://www.navyseals.com/knowledge-test-0

Hero Ships

https://weather.com/holiday/memorial-day/news/2015-05-13-warships-memorial-day-navy#1

SEALs in Vietnam

The Pacific Command recognized Vietnam as a potential hot spot for unconventional forces. At the beginning of 1962, the UDTs started hydrographic surveys and along with other branches of the U.S. military, the Military Assistance Command Vietnam was formed. In March 1962, SEALs were deployed to South Vietnam as advisors for the purpose of training Army of the Republic of Vietnam commandos in the same methods they were trained themselves.

The CIA began using SEALs in covert operations in early 1963. The SEALs were involved in the CIA-sponsored Phoenix Program where it targeted key North Vietnamese Army personnel and Vietcong sympathizers for capture and assassination.

The SEALs were initially deployed in and around DaNang, training the South Vietnamese in combat diving, demolitions, and guerrilla/anti-guerrilla tactics. As the war continued, the SEALs found themselves positioned in the Rung Sat Special Zone where they were to disrupt the enemy supply and troop movements and in the Mekong Delta to fulfill riverine operations, fighting on the inland waterways.

SEALs on patrol in the Mekong Delta

Combat with the Viet Cong was direct. Unlike the conventional warfare methods of firing artillery into a coordinate location, the SEALs operated within inches of their targets. Into the late 1960s, the SEALs were successful in a new style of warfare, effective in anti-guerrilla and guerrilla actions. SEALs brought a personal war to the enemy in a previously safe area. The Viet Cong referred to them as "the men with green faces," due to the camouflage face paint the SEALs wore during combat missions.

SEALs continued to make forays into North Vietnam and Laos, and covertly into Cambodia, controlled by the Studies and Observations Group. The SEALs from Team Two started a unique deployment of SEAL team members working alone with South Vietnamese Commandos (ARVN). In 1967, a SEAL unit named Detachment Bravo (Det Bravo) was formed to operate these mixed US and ARVN units, which were called South Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units (PRUs).

At the beginning of 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong orchestrated a major offensive against South Vietnam: the "Tet Offensive." The North hoped it would prove to be America's Dien Bien Phu, attempting to break the American public's desire to continue the war. As propaganda, the Tet Offensive was successful in adding to the American protest of the Vietnam war. However, North Vietnam suffered tremendous casualties, and from a purely military standpoint, the Tet Offensive was a major disaster for the Communists.

Wikipedia

SEAL In Action - Interview

Excerpt from interview with Capt. M. Jukoski, Director of the Naval Special Warfare Division, Washington, D.C.:

Units in places as far flung as Scotland and the Philippines provide the numbered fleet commanders with forward-deployed SEAL Team members. "About 50 percent of the SEALs are forward-deployed with the fleet," Jukoski said. The remaining half of the SEALs are either preparing to deploy overseas or just returned from deployment.

"SEALs support amphibious operations through reconnaissance and intelligence gathering," he explained. "In support of carrier group operations, we can provide surveillance, targeting information or bomb damage assessment. We can also conduct anti-surface warfare in the form of sneak attacks on ships in harbors."

(In Beirut) "The operation included personnel from special boat units that give waterborne mobility to the SEALs," he said. "There is a special boat squadron, with its assigned special boat units, on each coast that provides this support to the SEALs. They are an integral part of the team." Duties of the boat units off the coast of Lebanon included security for ships at anchor in addition to supporting the SEALs. Boat operators are not SEAL-qualified.

Originally, SEALs operated their own boats, but in Vietnam the mobile support teams concept, using sailors familiar with small craft, was developed. The system worked so well it evolved into the special boat squadrons of today.

Story by JOC R. Barnette

All Hands Magazine, 12/87

SEALs - A Very Special Team

Most people think they know what the sea/air/land teams are all about: clandestine commandos who routinely embark on suicide missions -- deadly, daring solo saboteurs who work at night -- warriors who are special because they are willing to take incredible risks that make normal people tremble.

But the SEALs don't see themselves that way. While the first to acknowledge the inevitable danger of what they do, SEALs are also quick to point out that they seek to minimize danger, not court it. They emphasize the importance of teamwork, noting that someone determined to be a loner will turn out to be a loser. They emphasize, most of all, the importance of the mission. The crucial thing is the successful completion of the mission. For the mission to be compromised through unnecessary risk-taking by some misguided "hero" who wants to cover himself with glory by going it alone is utterly unacceptable to the SEALs.

If teamwork and adherence to sensible SOPs make up the basic structure of the SEAL organization, then proper training is the foundation upon which that structure is built.

Training, training, training. Train until you learn every skill you could conceivably need. Once you've learned those skills, train some more until you've perfected them. Then keep training. Train new members of the team. Train to learn new procedures that have been developed. Then train some more.

SEALs are never satisfied with their skills; there is always room for improvement. SEALs are consummate professionals in their total dedication to the mastery of their job. That mastery may require work that is thrilling, or it may require work that is drudgery; whatever is required is what SEALs do.

Excerpt from 'All Hands' - December 1987 - JO1 Lynn Jenkins

THE SAILOR'S CREED

I am a United States Sailor.

I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me.

I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world.

I proudly serve my country’s Navy combat team with Honor, Courage and Commitment.

I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all.

SWCC

SWCC Code and Creed

SWCC Code

I serve my Country, my Navy and my Team with Honor and integrity. I am responsible for my actions and accountable to my teammates both on and off the water. I lead by example; I am the guardian of the standard. I maintain my craft, my equipment and myself, to the highest state of readiness.

SWCC Creed

In our nation's time of need, an elite brotherhood of Sailors stands ready off distant shores and on shallow rivers. Defending freedom, they serve with honor and distinction. I am proud to be one of these Sailors.

I am a Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman: a quiet professional; tried, tested and dedicated to achieving excellence in maritime special operations. I am a disciplined, confident and highly motivated warrior.

My honor and integrity are beyond reproach, my commitment unquestioned and my word trusted. The American people depend on me to carry out my mission in a professional manner.

I maintain my craft, equipment and myself at the highest level of combat readiness. I set the standard and lead by example. I am responsible for my actions and accountable to my teammates. I challenge my brothers to perform, as I expect them to challenge me.

I am ready for war. I will close and engage the enemy with the full combat power of my craft. My actions will be decisive yet measured. I will always complete the mission. I will never quit and I will leave no one behind.

My heritage comes from the Sailors who operated the PT boats of World War II and the combatant craft of Vietnam. The legacy of these warriors guides my actions. I will always remember the courage, perseverance and sacrifices made to guarantee our nation's freedom. I uphold the honor of those who have fought before me and will do nothing to disgrace my proud heritage.

On Time, On Target, Never Quit!

EOD - Japan

Recovering Japanese 'souvenir'

EOD

Live Japanese Torpedo

Indian Head EOD Training

AH Magazine

EOD Training - Big Job

AHM - Training at Indian Head

EOD Locker

REMEMBER THE Z-GRAMS?

Grooming Standards and Uniforms

Most famous Z-gram of all is probably Z-57, which eliminates a number of specific "abrasive and demeaning" regulations and recognized "chicken regs" as a major cause of dissatisfaction in the Navy. The message liberalizes rules on hair styles, beards and moustaches, permits the wearing of clean working uniforms off-base to and from work; and rejects any rule or practice that penalizes the vast majority of Navymen because of the unreliability of a few.

Z-70 amplifies the new policies on grooming and uniforms.

Z-68 and Z-92 eliminate another naval tradition--the compulsory wear of dress uniforms on liberty--which has meant extra expense and inconvenience for countless seagoing Navymen.

These messages extend to all hands the privilege, formerly enjoyed only by officers and chiefs, of storing civilian clothing aboard ship for wear ashore. Z-12 allows enlisted men to wear civvies at all shore activities during off-dury hours.

The fact isn't announced in a Z-gram, but the Navy will have a new look when distribution of the new working blue and dress blue uniforms is completed. Many Navymen are already wearing the new working uniforms, issued in accordance with Z-77. In 1973 distribution of the new dress blues will begin. All Navymen, from recruit to admiral, will wear the same basic uniform.

AHM 1972

UDT - Freddie the Frog

Underwater Demolition Team - UDT

On 23 November 1943, the U.S. Marine landing and subsequent battle at Tarawa Atoll emphasized the need for hydrographic reconnaissance and underwater demolition of obstacles prior to any amphibious landing. After Tarawa, 30 officers and 150 enlisted men were moved to the Waimanalo Amphibious Training Base to form the nucleus of a demolition training program. This group became Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) ONE and TWO.

The UDTs saw their first combat on 31 January 1944, during Operation Flintlock in the Marshall Islands. FLINTLOCK became the real catalyst for the UDT training program in the Pacific Theater. In February 1944, the Naval Combat Demolition Training and Experimental Base was established at Kihei, Maui, next to the Amphibious Base at Kamaole. Eventually, 34 UDT teams were established. Wearing swim suits, fins, and dive masks on combat operations, these "Naked Warriors" saw action across the Pacific in every major amphibious landing including: Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Angaur, Ulithi, Peleliu, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, Zambales, Iwo Jima,Okinawa, Labuan, Brunei Bay, and on 4 July 1945 at Balikpapan on Borneo, which was the last UDT demolition operation of the war.

The rapid demobilization at the conclusion of the war reduced the number of active duty UDTs to two on each coast with a complement of seven officers and 45 enlisted men each.

The Korean War began on 25 June 1950, when the North Korean army invaded South Korea. Beginning with a detachment of 11 personnel from UDT 3, UDT participation expanded to three teams with a combined strength of 300 men. As part of the Special Operations Group, or SOG, UDTs successfully conducted demolition raids on railroad tunnels and bridges along the Korean coast. On 15 September 1950, UDTs supported Operation Chromite, the amphibious landing at Incheon. UDT 1 and 3 provided personnel who went in ahead of the landing craft, scouting mud flats, marking low points in the channel, clearing fouled propellers, and searching for mines. Four UDT personnel acted as wave-guides for the Marine landing.

In October 1950, UDTs supported mine-clearing operations in Wonsan Harbor where frogmen would locate and mark mines for minesweepers. On 12 October 1950, two U.S. minesweepers hit mines and sank. UDTs rescued 25 sailors. The next day, William Giannotti conducted the first U.S. combat operation using an "aqualung" when he dove on the USS Pledge (AM-277). For the remainder of the war, UDTs conducted beach and river reconnaissance, infiltrated guerrillas behind the lines from sea, continued mine sweeping operations, and participated in Operation Fishnet, which severely damaged the North Korean's fishing capability.

Wikipedia

Det Cord

The core of detonating cord, about the size of pencil lead, is a very high explosive called PETN. Wrapped around the explosive are layers of cotton fabric, rayon, and asphalt with a dark green, polyethylene cover. Det cord, only one quarter inch in diameter, burns at a rate of nearly twenty-six thousand feet per second.

(The use of det cord is mentioned in my novels Warning Order and In the Mouth of the Wolf and Sacrifice of One.)

Navy FA-18 Refueling by KC-135

(USAF Photo, Staff Sgt. Jason Robertson/Released)

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Jamie Fredric: TN, United States

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