The Elite Reconnaissance and Demolition Teams of WWII

The elite U.S. Navy SEALs of our nation have not always been the unconventional-warfare specialists that America possesses today. Although they officially commenced at the beginning of the Vietnam era, their roots are more properly traced to the middle of WWII. As the United States continued to increase its offensive presence in the Pacific, the Battle of Tarawa made clear the Navy’s dire need for accurate reconnaissance and secured beaches if our naval forces were to prevail in the Pacific Theatre. In light of this call for beach reconnaissance and a demolition-proficient naval force, the Navy Combat Demolition Units and Under Water Demolition Teams were established to meet this need in 1943, and remained an indispensable and elite force for the remainder of the Second World War. The idea for a naval force with a specialized amphibious mission dates back to early 1943 with the formulation of the Navy Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs). While Allied planners anticipated large scale amphibious invasions in the near future, ADM Ernest King recognized that dependable reconnaissance and cleared landing beaches would be integral for operational success for the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Fleet. With this futuristic vision, ADM King issued a two part directive to the naval special forces in May of 1943. ADM King’s twofold order was fulfilled by the establishment of two Navy demolition units: the NCDUs and later by the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs). Both of these groups became chronologically foundational to our nation’s future special forces. While the NCDUs’ primary purpose was to fulfill an “urgent requirement,” the UDTs seen later in the Pacific Theatre would exist for the “training of permanent Navy Demolition Units” in the future. CAPT Metzel, one of ADM King’s close advisers, called upon former United States Naval Academy graduate and revered bomb disposal officer LCDR Draper Kauffman to start a training program for developing specialized demolition teams. Due to the secret nature of this initiative, the Navy did not even reveal to LCDR Kauffman the goal toward which he was working. However, CAPT Metzel did leave him with this: During the next few years we will be making amphibious landings all over the world. If the enemy has any sense at all, he will protect his beaches with obstacles which will stop our landing craft ashore and force us to disembark our soldiers…where they will either drown or lose their equipment. Your job is to put a stop to this. Get together some men and train them to get rid of these obstacles…This is an emergency and we don’t have much time.
As a result, CAPT Metzel’s vague orders gave LCDR Kauffman the freedom to hand-pick the best men for his teams (predominately Seabees), and where he would train them. In light of the demolition students’ need to train year round, the Naval Amphibious Training Base, located in Fort Pierce, Florida, was chosen as his training grounds; by June 1943, the first Navy Demolition Combat Unit was born. Because LCDR Kauffman started with a clean slate for his demolition school, it is no surprise that many of his evolutions were “literally developed as the men went through them.” Undoubtedly, the demolitionists whom LCDR Kauffman selected were the best in their field, and the instructors chosen to train these men were not an exception to this precedent. Experts from the Bomb Disposal School, the Mine Disposal School, proficient divers, and mine engineers were all exclusively picked for this high security project. In order to ensure that LCDR Kauffman possessed men who were wholly dedicated to their mission and their teammates, he created Indoctrination Week as a way to distinguish “the men from the boys” amongst enlisted and officers alike. A physically and mentally stressful week like this either brought sailors and officers close together, or effectively weeded out the 30-40 percent that did not