The return to Great Power competition is forcing the Navy to reintegrate Seals into the Big Navy. They are going to be spending more time on ships and operating on them and from them in support of naval operations.
A historic exercise shows how Navy SEALs will keep aircraft carriers in a high-end fight
In February, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group got to work with Naval Special Warfare in a "historic" and pioneering exercise.
During the composite unit training exercise, about 100 SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) from SEAL Team 10 and Special Boat Team 20 trained alongside conventional Navy forces.
The training was a glimpse of how the Navy could operate in a potential conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Composite unit training exercise
Big Navy and special operations
Naval Special Warfare is composed of the SEAL Teams and the Special Boat Teams.
Navy SEALs primarily conduct special reconnaissance and direct-action operations, such as raids and ambushes. The Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) who make up the Boat Teams specialize in over-the-beach direct-action operations, coastal reconnaissance, and Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) missions.
Historically, Naval Special Warfare's integration with the Navy's conventional forces, sometimes called Big Navy, has been varied, dependent on the commanders in charge at the time and overall operational demands.
Before the September 11 terrorist attacks, SEAL platoons would embark on Navy ships for six-month rotations called "Arc Light." During these deployments, SEALs would be on standby to conduct VBSS operations against a suspect or enemy ships or to react to an emergency, such as the evacuating a US Embassy or getting Americans and other civilians out of a hotspot.
"I wouldn't say often, but we did work with them," a former SWCC operator said of the integration.The South China Sea is packed with small man-made islands that the Chinese military has been fortifying for years to back up Beijing's claims over the sea, which have been widely rejected. This is the ideal operational environment for special-operations units.
"I won't be surprised if SEALs and SWCCs start riding around on Navy ships in theater. It certainly won't be a morale booster, but it may be what's required in this new era of great-power competition," the former SWCC operator said.
The Chinese military could put more than 750 vessels of various sizes and capabilities to sea in the event of conflict. Consequently, the US military can't waste resources, meaning it will need increased cooperation between different elements of a service as well as among the services themselves.