Continuing to capture my older articles, here's a review of Robert Gormly's Combat Swimmer. It's lowkey one of the better SEAL books as Gormly was not nearly the self-promoter that some other SEALs have been. But it's a great read.
Interesting to see how I tried to read between the lines and identify the divisions within the SEAL community; it was quite the supposition on my part and perhaps not my place, and yet it does intrigue and hint at unwritten contexts.
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Combat Swimmer
by Bernard Dy
Article Type: Book Review
Article Date: December 11, 2001
Combat Swimmer: Memoirs of a Navy SEAL
by Captain Robert Gormly, USN (ret.)
The first ninety-five percent of Robert Gormly's Combat Swimmer is a solid memoir of a United States Navy SEAL. It's interesting, honest, amiable, and told professionally, but otherwise comparable to its peers. Then Gormly throws an epilogue at the reader that, given recent events, absolutely floors them and indicates Gormly possesses a deeper wisdom than the rest of the book indicates.
What is amazing is that Gormly wrote Combat Swimmer in 1998. At the time of this review, in November 2001, the world's eye is on terrorism driven by Islamic fundamentalists. The events of September 11, 2001 do not require repeating here, but Gormly's 1998 epilogue is strikingly prophetic.
| Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism, and drugs - these are the enemies of democracy in the twenty-first century. We must deal harshly with them. Maybe deadly force sounds outlandish because these three evils haven't been viewed as a real problem by the average American; each has always been perpetrated on the other guy. But not anymore. Like the drug scourge, international terrorism sponsored by Islamic fundamentalists has invaded our country. It's time that our national leadership stop viewing drugs and international terrorism in America as simply law enforcement issues - the problems are more complex and far reaching. |
Gormly was probably not alone in supposing such dreadful potential, but contrasted with the rest of Combat Swimmer, it adds impact and makes the book perhaps a more important read today than when first published. What a way to end!
This does not mean Combat Swimmer's first two hundred fifty pages lack merit. Gormly tells his story with the demeanor of a kind uncle. He's calm and controlled and doesn't seem excitable. Some will notice the book has no credited ghost writer and a few might wonder if using one would have lent the story a more luxurious style or urgent pace. Perhaps, and other veterans have certainly taken that path. Some that didn't probably should have; the grandest Tuskeegee Airman of them all, Benjamin Davis, is probably a wonderful man, but reading his autobiography can be an exercise in patience. And it requires little imagination to guess where the professional athlete biography market would be without ghosts.
The tactic, however, has dangers. Too heavy an embellishment by the ghost can obscure the voice of the storyteller, and exaggerations might be closer to fiction than non-fiction. Gormly's work is comfortably between the extremes. If Combat Swimmer reads more like a memoir intended for his descendants than a bestseller, then it also benefits from a gentle earnestness, a sense of moderation, and the rare virtue of restraint. Such traits are easily identified in the text but especially when compared to other SEAL memoirs.
| Since I retired, many of my former SEAL shipmates have asked me when I was going to write a book. Other former SEALs have written accounts of their careers, but only one has offered a commanding officer's perspective. |
SEAL officer Roy Boehm wrote his memoir, First SEAL, only just before Combat Swimmer arrived, so this quote from the preface probably refers to Richard Marcinko, the garrulous former SEAL known as the Rogue Warrior. Gormly is subtle enough to avoid stating it directly, but clearly sees his story as a counter weight to Marcinko's adventures. Some readers may have found the Rogue Warrior's outspoken nature unbecoming of a model Navy officer, even if also a force behind his success. Gormly is the opposite that makes both men seem more human by reminding that everyone has a place and all have strengths and weaknesses.
“If ‘Combat Swimmer’ reads more like a memoir intended for his descendants than a bestseller, then it also benefits from a gentle earnestness, a sense of moderation, and the rare virtue of restraint.”
Honesty survived the inevitable struggle Gormly likely endured when electing to mention Marcinko by name. Most of the book recounts Gormly's experience becoming a SEAL and serving as a team leader during the Vietnam Conflict, including the standard recollection of the legendary and grueling SEAL training regimen. Gormly describes his Vietnam experience well, selecting passages carefully that reveal tactical and strategic lessons. It is after Vietnam when Marcinko becomes more prominent in the story.
| Throughout my command of [SEAL Team] Six he [Marcinko] was on the OPNAV staff, meaning he worked for the Chief of Naval Operations. There, he attempted to discredit me among senior Navy officers in the Pentagon. |
Gormly handles the topic evenly when he could have gloated. He is quick to identify that he and Marcinko started as acquaintances, if not outright friends. Marcinko's involvement in political machinations to protect himself at the expense of Gormly is probably recorded in annals of a military court. Even with the backing of such legal material, Gormly eschews the opportunity to berate or insult.
Marcinko is strangely one of few famous SEALs mentioned in Combat Swimmer. James Watson is identified, as are several of the men Gormly served with and some officers for whom he worked. Here, questions about divided loyalties in the proud but sometimes fragmented SEAL lineage are natural. With Marcinko having written an introduction in Roy Boehm's book, and Boehm indicating in the book a typical disdain for bureaucratic types, it's easy to guess where some of the sides might be. Readers can identify differences between those in the Gormly and in the Marcinko/Boehm camps, but only those close to the involved know the official details. Who is right or wrong is a matter of opinion, but it's probably fair to say that any organization needs both the chaotic hard chargers and the careful thinkers to be successful. It's also likely that Gormly isn't quite the rear echelon careerist Marcinko might accuse him of being, but someone that better managed the transition from field soldier to high level officer, particularly in peace time. It just seems a touch odd that in Gormly's long career, some other noted SEALs are without mention.
Perhaps this is more of Gormly's subtle wisdom at work. He appears to appreciate the value of discretion, and to understand the necessity of politics. His post-Vietnam experiences include stints as a policymaker influencing the command structure of the United States Special Forces. Gormly fought in some of the administrative battles to gain teams like the SEALs and the Army's Special Forces a dedicated authority, the Special Operations Command (SOCOM), that could run these elite forces more efficiently than their regular service branches. Elite teams support their parent branches, but Gormly illustrates how an independent SOCOM hierarchy is valuable in joint service operations. Gormly further reveals some of his political skills when he continually pays respects to the tremendous perseverance of his wife.
Many of Gormly's points, and not just those in the epilogue, are hauntingly familiar and pertinent to current events. For example, Gormly mentions the confusion of night combat, and the reader recalls the recent spotlight on Senator Bob Kerrey, a SEAL accused of slaughtering civilians during a night mission in Vietnam. Gormly also reiterates the story of a mission that taught him SEALs should always operate near water, for purposes suited to their capacity, and with the right training. It is a lesson painfully relearned in post-Vietnam missions and one supporting his argument for experienced SOCOM leadership.
“Many of Gormly's points…are hauntingly familiar and pertinent to current events.”
A few missing items proved to be minor annoyances. Military history books often include maps and Combat Swimmer would have benefited from them. In addition, some charts of where the SEALs and other Special Forces sit in the military system would help portray Gormly's climb through the ranks and the position of the SOCOM. There are some photos, nicely synchronized to the book's chronology.
Is Combat Swimmer the book to read if you could only read one book about the SEALs or Vietnam? That is a hard question to answer, but Gormly's memoir deserves consideration. Although David Hackworth was in the Army and not a SEAL, I think the best soldier's memoir including action in Vietnam is still About Face, a grand piece important on many levels. Hackworth's analysis on Vietnam is more insightful and detailed and he was closer to the heart of the conflict than Gormly, though both agree on many issues. The SEAL perspective is one available in many books, but it is easy to recommend Roy Boehm's First SEAL because of Boehm's role in founding the SEALs, his battle recollections, and his insight to the mindset typical of the SEAL operator. Marcinko's Rogue Warrior is also useful in this regard. Gormly too had success as an operator and in shaping the SEAL command and Combat Swimmer is a fine complement to any of the above volumes, bolstered by its astute observations about terrorism and guerilla warfare.
It's a book many political leaders should read and holds good advice for all. Several gaps between the major events in Gormly's substantial career lead readers to believe there is much unsaid and maybe still classified. Perhaps time will grace SEAL enthusiasts with a second Gormly volume. I'll end with something from Gormly's post-mortem about the 1985 Achille Lauro incident, yet another quote that echoes loudly in the present.
| To me, the most significant aspect of our action was that it showed the world that the United States of America was willing to take extraordinary steps to apprehend and prosecute international criminals. |
Relevance to Combat Simulations:
Unless someone builds a SEAL/Vietnam mod for a first-person shooter, the best way to appreciate some of the action Gormly describes is through the classic SEAL Team by Electronic Arts. It's an oldie though, and might be hard to find. A wargame perspective on unit actions in Vietnam can be found in John Tiller's Squad Battles: Vietnam from HPS Simulations. Perhaps some tinkering with the Talonsoft Campaign Series engine or the Art of War engines could also produce wargame recreations of Gormly's engagements.
Availability:
Combat Swimmer is available from Amazon.com in paperback and hardcover.
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