Land
SEALS operate in all climates and all terrains. Each Team specializes in a particular region of the world - their "AO," or Area of Operations. Special tactics, techniques and gear have been developed over the years to enable the SEALs to excel in any environment - jungle, arctic, woodland or desert. Here we will outline all the unclassified equipment load outs for the teams in the various locations these items are needed. Items on this page are still under construction - please be patient!
DESERT OPERATIONS
The purview of SEAL Teams THREE (Middle East) and EIGHT (Mediterranean and Africa). The SEALs proved themselves in this climate during the Gulf War an in Somalia. Overcoming the heat and arid climate poses special challenges. Mobility is a key factor, and Special Warfare relies on the Desert Humvee and the Desert Patrol Vehicle to move over long distances in the desert. Camouflage is also a challenge, as the desert provides little cover and concealment. Camouflage Netting is a must, as well as observation posts and a strong communications plan. Desert ops require stamina and a good working knowledge of the principles of hydration and survival in a temperate environment.
Additionally, many team members attend basic and advanced language courses in Farsi and Arabic. This gives them the ability to converse at a base-line level to natives, which comes in handy if on a Foreign Internal Defense Mission. Often the forward deployed element will be assigned to a Naval Special Warfare Task Unit, which is comprised of members from the SEAL Team and the Naval Special Warfare Detachment nearest the deployment (Det Baharain for example). The NSWTU can be on land, or as in the case of the 87/88 operations in the Persian Gulf from a barge, surface vessel or submarine. The platoons utilizing the desert equipment such as the Humvee and Desert Patrol Vehicle will normally operate from a land based NSWTU due to the logistical complexity of coordinating an airdrop of this equipment.
DESERT OPERATIONS
The purview of SEAL Teams THREE (Middle East) and EIGHT (Mediterranean and Africa). The SEALs proved themselves in this climate during the Gulf War an in Somalia. Overcoming the heat and arid climate poses special challenges. Mobility is a key factor, and Special Warfare relies on the Desert Humvee and the Desert Patrol Vehicle to move over long distances in the desert. Camouflage is also a challenge, as the desert provides little cover and concealment. Camouflage Netting is a must, as well as observation posts and a strong communications plan. Desert ops require stamina and a good working knowledge of the principles of hydration and survival in a temperate environment.
Additionally, many team members attend basic and advanced language courses in Farsi and Arabic. This gives them the ability to converse at a base-line level to natives, which comes in handy if on a Foreign Internal Defense Mission. Often the forward deployed element will be assigned to a Naval Special Warfare Task Unit, which is comprised of members from the SEAL Team and the Naval Special Warfare Detachment nearest the deployment (Det Baharain for example). The NSWTU can be on land, or as in the case of the 87/88 operations in the Persian Gulf from a barge, surface vessel or submarine. The platoons utilizing the desert equipment such as the Humvee and Desert Patrol Vehicle will normally operate from a land based NSWTU due to the logistical complexity of coordinating an airdrop of this equipment.
