Years ago we had a chance to sit down for an interview with Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko when he was in town for an event in New York City. It was great to get his candid take on why he joined the U.S. Navy, UDT/SEAL training, combat in Vietnam, how SEAL Team Six started, women in the SEALs and much more.

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During this portion of his interview, Dick Marcinko discusses how the Navy first developed the SEALs and the types of missions they were involved in. The SEALs were largely created in response to President Kennedy’s request to have unconventional warfare capabilities in every branch of the military. He describes the SEALs as being a new toy for the Navy to play with and their roles were not as clearly defined as they are today.