English subtitles for clip: File:US Army Special Forces Dive Team-1956.ogv

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Life rafts play a big role in amphibious work.

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First we made some runs towed at high speed by an LCP(R).

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In combat situations,
towing can be used to move the life rafts within paddling distance of shore.

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Then we cut away from the towing boat,
and paddle in on our own.

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Hour after hour,
as the sun mounted higher over the Pacific,

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we practice stroking along through the bobbing,
pitching ocean waves.

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Perhaps the combat situation calls for us to make a covert landing,
where even small life rafts might be noticed by the enemy.

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So,
a landing craft speeds our raft close to the enemy shore and,

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on signal,
we go into the water to swim the rest of the way.

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The other side of the coin,
recovery,

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is a lot trickier.

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From a speeding landing craft,
it's like scooping up fish with a net.

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And once in a while,
one gets away.

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It takes perfect coordination of good eye,
and a mighty strong back.

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Parachute recovery is another of our jobs.

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Caught in a sudden wind,
two jumpers are carried out to sea.

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"Go get 'em" is the order.

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One trooper landed not far from the LCP(R),
and almost immediately we were closing in on him.

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Paddling into position,
one of us dove off the raft to swim the rest of the way to the shoot.

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It takes a lot of know-how to help the paratrooper without becoming entangled in the sodden,
water-soaked web of the shoot.

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At the same time,
a few hundred yards away,

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other special operations men were hauling in the second paratrooper.

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Outside of a saltwater dunking,
he's none the worse for wear.

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And his shoot too will live to fly again another day.

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All this rugged training spells out why amphibious forces are relied on for so many big jobs.

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Come along on a simulated mission against a mock enemy known as aggressor.

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0600 hours.
We scrambled down to a landing craft a few miles offshore from an aggressor held island.

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0615 hours.
Aboard a submarine nearing the island,

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more men from our group are ready for their part in the mission.

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0630 hours.
The motors on the submarine are cut.

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Men of the Army's special operations detachment,
ascend the ladder to the decompression chamber.

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It's still early dawn as the submarine moves up to the surface,
and one by one,

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the specially trained soldiers come out of the chamber onto the deck.

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Navy men keep an alert eye,
and finally the last of the amphibious detachment is out of the submarine.

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By 0645 hours,
the party from the submarine is en route to a previously designated offshore point.

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There,
a rendezvous will be made with a special operations man from the landing craft.

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0700 hours.
Underwater demolition teams leave the landing craft.

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It is an eerie nightmarish scene as,
like strange giant fish,

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they glide gracefully in toward the aggressor held island.

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From the shore,
no sign of the oncoming attack.

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No sign,
no sound,

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no smell for the aggressor guard to notice.

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No time to lose now.

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By 0715,
depth charges are planted on the surf-covered beach.

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And the attacking unit jumps aboard life rafts,
to clear the island before the explosion.

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0730 hours,
and right on schedule...

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It may still be early morning,
but off the coast of Okinawa,

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a big day's work has been done by the fighting frogman,
of the Army's special operations detachment.