Overall attrition then was much like today, 65 to 75%. It was officially called “Introduction Week,” but it has never been called anything but “Hell Week.” Kauffman and his officers went through the first “Hell Week”, establishing the precedent which still stands today that officers and enlisted men demonstrate the same capabilities and endure the same hardships. In preparing for the training program, Kauffman requested the Navy S&Rs to compress their own eight-week physical training program into a single week’s schedule. In July 1943, the first NCDU class commenced training under the leadership of LCDR Draper L. North Beach, a wilderness of palmettos, sand flies, and mosquitoes, became the exclusive domain of the S&Rs, NCDUs and the JANET Board. It was here that practically all of the conventional amphibious training took place. South Beach, which had only a dozen or so permanent structures, became a tent city for trainees.

The barrier islands at Fort Pierce, called North Beach and South Beach, were divided by a deepwater inlet that gave passage for ocean going vessels of moderate draft to the local port facilities on the lagoon known as Indian River. Both conducted projects involving experimentation, development and realistic testing of equipment and techniques. Projects of a Navy character were assigned to the Naval Research Demolition Unit (NRDU), and those, which were of particular interest to the Army, were assigned to the Engineer Board, Fort Pierce Project. Its purpose was to coordinate service responsibilities relating to the breaching of beach and underwater obstacles incident to an amphibious landing. Additionally, Naval Beach Battalions, Joint and later Navy Scouts & Raiders (S&Rs), and Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs), the forerunners of the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs), were trained at this location.Īs a direct result of an agreement between the Chief of Staff, United States Army and Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, the Joint Army-Navy Experimental Testing (JANET) Board was established on 2 November 1943 at USNATB. Training included instruction in the operation of all types of landing craft, including LSTs, LSMs, LCTs and on down to LCVPs. Naval Amphibious Training Base (USNATB), Fort Pierce, Florida. In early 1943, the Navy took over certain sections of the barrier islands off Florida’s East Coast and established the U.

The Origin of The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museumīy Captain Norm Olson (SEAL), USN, Retired

Service: A Navy SEAL at War summ