NWP 3-05 Naval Special Warfare

This navy warfare publication describes the nature, forces, organization, and employment of naval special warfare (NSW).



Naval special warfare is a relatively small, maritime special operations force (SOF) consisting of sea-air-land commandos (SEALS), special warfare combatant-craft crewmen, Reservists, combat support (CS) and combat service support (CSS) personnel, as well as civilian support staff.



NSW constitutes 11 percent of special operations forces and less than 2 percent of United States Navy (USN) forces. NSW costs 3/10ths of one cent (0.3 percent) of every United States (U. S.) defense dollar.



Naval special warfare origins go back to World War II (WWII) naval combat demolition units (NCDUs), underwater demolition teams (UDTs), and other special-purpose maritime organizations. In 1962, the first SEAL teams were established. Since 9/11, NSW has grown capacity and added substantial capability, including intelligence gathering and analysis, logistical support, and tactical mobility.



The current NSW organization is based around eight SEAL teams, one SEAL delivery vehicle team (SDVT), three special boat teams (SBTs), and several supporting organizations. These teams and supporting commands are organized into six NSW groups, a training command, and a tactical development group.