One of the elite Special Forces in the world, the US Navy SEALs has their own small black book of abbreviations, which can be quite incomprehensible for civilians. The abbreviations are related to the SEAL programs, courses, type of training, units and platoons, and much more. Here are some of the widely used Navy SEAL abbreviations:
|
ABBREVIATION |
What it means to the SEALs |
| SEAL | Stands for Sea, Air, and Land |
| UDT | Underwater Demolition Team. The first SEAL unit consisted of men from US Navy’s UDT |
| USNSWC | United States Naval Special Warfare Command. The USNSWC is based at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in San Diego, California and provides training to SEALs |
| OSS | Office of Strategic Services. Operational swimmers from OSS have joined various SEAL Platoons. Some of the current Navy SEAL missions have also been assigned to the OSS operational swimmers. |
| ST-1 | Seal Team One |
| ST-2 | Seal Team Two |
| ST-3 | Seal Team Three |
| ST-4 | Seal Team Four |
| ST-5 | Seal Team Five |
| ST-6 | Seal Team Six |
| ST-7 | Seal Team Seven |
| ST-8 | Seal Team Eight |
| ST-10 | Seal Team Ten |
| DEVGURU | Short for Development Group. Was known as ST-6 earlier |
| NSWC | Naval Special Warfare Center situated at Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, California. This is where the Basic Underwater Training for SEALs is conducted. |
| NAB | Naval Amphibious Base situated in Coronado, California |
| BUD/S | Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL. The toughest training program for SEALs |
| SDVT | SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams. They are used for insertion and extraction of SEAL teams |
| ASDS | Advanced SEAL Delivery System. This is a small submarine that is operated by the US Navy and the US Special Operations Command and provides transportation to SEALs and other Special Forces units. |
| SOCOM | Special Operations Commands. They oversee various Special Operations and Task Force Units including SEALs. The headquarter is at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. |
| SWCC | Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen. SWCC maintains and operates high performance boats that are used for providing support to SEAL teams. There are three SWCC teams:
SBT-12: Special Boat Team – HQ at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California SBT-20 – HQ – Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia SBT-22 – HQ – John C. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. SBT 22 specializes in riverine warfare. |
| TRIDENT | The Navy SEAL badge and logo. |
| VBSS | Visit, board, search, and seizure. This is an important training for Navy SEALs and has been designed to help them capture boats, ships, and private vessels. |
| HALO / HAHO | High Altitude Low Opening / High Altitude High Opening. These are parachute jumps at different altitudes that every Navy SEAL has to master. Most aircraft jumps are from 35,000 feet and the parachute has to be deployed only when a SEAL is 1000 feet from the ground. |
| SOP | Standard Operation Procedure. All SEAL platoons have their own SOP, which essentially consists of planning an operation and executing it in the fastest and most efficient manner. |
| PRODEV | Professional Development Phase. This is a part of the SEAL Platoon Training. |
| SERE | Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. Training for SEALs in enhancing survival skills, evading capture, and the US Military Code of Conduct. |
