Synopses & Reviews
Chapter One Chief TorpedomanJames C. Tipton
U.S.N. (Ret.)"J. C. Tipton was one of the very few individuals Roy Boehm confided in at all about the creation of the SEALTeams, and what he confided was only enough for Tiptonto complete his job. This made Tip, as he is known to hisTeammates, one of the very few enlisted men to have adirect hand in the creation of the SEALs. Responsible forcreating more than one legend in the Teams, J. C Tiptonhelped write the beginning of the SEAL story itself.In my whole life, I've only held about three real jobs, cowboy, sailor, and magistrate. The first job came easy, since I was raised in Arizona and my father and grandfather were both cowboys. The switch from a desert to the ocean took a little more work.At the time of my joining the service in 1952, I was looking for a fast way out of town. I was more than a little tired of breaking horses, especially since the last one had almost broken me -- twice. The Navy recruiting station was the only one open at the time, so it was the Navy that got me.Even though I had not yet graduated high school, I did so well on the placement tests when I entered the Navy that I was selected for the NAVCAD Naval Cadet program and could have been sent to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. My career in the Navy would have been a different story and I would have been an officer except that I just didn't do well enough on the later NAVCAD tests.Instead of becoming an officer, I stayed in San Diego for a while pumping gas. Here I was, a seaman recruit, and all I had to do was fill up government vehicles at the base gas station. But that job wasn't going to last. They sent me to this office on the base where a lieutenantcommander asked me what did I have against submarines."Not a thing," I answered. "What are they?"That ended that conversation. The next day I found myself on my way to New London, Connecticut, to attend submariners school. That was quite a jump, from San Diego, California, to Connecticut. That was just about as far as I could get and still stay in the forty-eight states.Submarine school wasn't any particular problem, and soon after graduation I was assigned to the USS "Trigger. The "Trigger was kind of a showboat rather than a working fleet submarine. The boat was the new "Trigger and our commissioning skipper was Ned Beach. Beach was senior to the submarine squadron commander, but he had been made our skipper because he was the last skipper of the old "Trigger.The "Trigger was one of the original fast attack subs, just a small boat but with plenty of legs and teeth. But we didn't get to use either her full power or torpedoes much. Instead, the "Trigger spent most of her cruises testing gear for the new "Nautilus atomic submarine. The "Nautilus hadn't been finished yet, and a lot of the equipment we had on board the "Trigger was experimental.In between my time on the sub, I played basketball on the base, was pretty good at it, and managed to stay in fairly good shape. On one sub cruise down in St. Thomas, I had met Pat Patterson, Tex Hager, and a couple of other guys from the UDT. They were operating off our submarine for a while, and I managed to hit it off pretty well with them. The guys took me out fishing on one of their PRs short for LCPR or Landing Craft, Personnel, Reconnaissance , we drank beer, and they gave me a face mask. I thought this was a lot of fun.Pat Patterson and Iwere both torpedomen, only I still played with the steel fish and he just swam in the water. Flat out, I asked Pat, "Just what do you guys do, anyway?""You're looking at it," Pat answered. "We drink beer and fish."That's for me, I thought, and decided to volunteer for UDT training. Back at the sub base I was putting in my volunteer chits regularly but never did hear anything back. Our basketball team did very well that year -- we won the SUBLANT Atlantic Submarine Command championship and were all invited to a big celebration party. Tradition was that we would take our skipper and executive officer with us to the party.Captain Calvert was the "Trigger's skipper by that time, and our exec's name was Adams. At the party, Mr. Adams asked me, "Well, how do you like the "Trigger?"This was a little odd, but I answered him, "I love it, it's a fine boat. ""I'm glad to hear that," Adams said, "and I knew you did. That's why I have been tearing up all of those chits you've been putting in for UDT.That really set me off. I called that officer a bald-headed son of a bitch as well as a few other choice names. That isn't quite the way an enlisted man is supposed to address an officer, but nothing more was said about the incident after Adams walked away. But the next morning, I was told to report to the skipper's stateroom right away. That was the point where I realized I was walking to my courtmartial and that would be the end of any Navy plans I might have.Once in the stateroom, Captain Calvert said, "I understand something of the situation here. I knew nothing about any of this or what Mr. Adams was doing, and I am apologizing for him. I just happen to have an old friend that is a commandingofficer at one of the UDT Teams in Little Creek. I have called him and there is a class starting next week. You're in it and I am having you flown down."
Synopsis
They were selected for their commitment and uncommon bravery, and for skills that far surpassed those of ordinary soldiers. They operated in "Teams' of up to 200 officers and men, taking the firefight to the enemy's most fiercely protected strongholds -- winning the battles only they could win. They earned the eternal respect of a nation, and they recall with pride their remarkable exploits in a war lesser men would sooner forget. THE TEAMS is an explosive account of the SEALs in action -- told in the words of the men whose awesome courage under fire and breathtakingly unconventional combat techniques changed the way ground war will forever be waged. Detailed and blisteringly authentic, here are unforgettable first-hand stories of everything from BUD/S training to "black ops," related with remarkable candor by six fighting men who helped write the glorious legend in blood and fire...and who were then, and will always be, proud to be call SEALs!
About the Author
Kevin Dockery is the military historian and field curator for the UDT/SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida. He lives in Michigan.
Bill Fawcett is the author and editor of more than a dozen books, including You Did What?, It Seemed Like a Good Idea, How to Lose a Battle, and You Said What? He lives in Illinois.