United States Navy officer (1940–2021)
Richard Marcinko (November 21, 1940 – December 25, 2021) was a U.S. Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran. He was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six. After retiring from the United States Navy, he became an author, radio talk show host, military consultant, and motivational speaker.
Early life and education.
Marcinko was born November 21, 1940, in Lansford, Pennsylvania, and was of Croatian and Slovak descent. His father was a Croat from Herzegovina—the southwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina along the border with the Croatia, which is mostly inhabited by Croats—and his mother from Slovakia. At a young age, his family moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey.
After dropping out of high school, Marcinko tried to enlist in the United States Marines, who rejected him due to a lack of a high school diploma. Marcinko successfully enlisted in the United States Navy in September 1958 as a radioman. He was accepted into the Underwater Demolition Team/ Replacement (UDTR) training in June 1961, and graduated in class 26 in October 1961. Marcinko served with UDT-21 until he was selected for an officer commission in 1965. After graduating from Officer Candidate School in December 1965, he was commissioned an ensign. He was later reassigned to SEAL Team TWO in June 1966.
He also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from the Auburn University at Montgomery and a Master of Arts degree in political science from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
Naval career.
Vietnam War.
In January 1967, Marcinko deployed to Vietnam with 2nd Platoon, SEAL Team Two for a six-month tour of duty. On May 18, 1967, Marcinko led his men in an assault on Ilo Ilo Hon (Ilo Ilo Island), where they killed a large number of Viet Cong and destroyed six of their sampans (wooden boat). This action would come to be called the "most successful SEAL operation in the Mekong Delta" by the U.S. Navy. For leading this mission, Marcinko was awarded the Silver Star, the first of his four Bronze Stars, as well as a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
Marcinko returned to Vietnam with SEAL Team Two after a few months stateside as officer-in-charge of 8th Platoon from December 1967 to June 1968. During the Tet Offensive, Marcinko ordered his platoon to assist U.S. Army Special Forces at Châu Đốc. What began as an urban street battle turned into a rescue mission of American nurses and a schoolteacher trapped in the city's church and hospital.
After completing his second tour in Vietnam and a two-year stateside staff assignment, Marcinko was promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned as the naval attaché to Cambodia in 1973. After serving in Cambodia for 18 months, Marcinko returned stateside and assumed command of SEAL Team Two from 1974 to 1976.
SEAL Team Six.
During the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, Marcinko was one of two Navy representatives for a Joint Chiefs of Staff task force known as the TAT (Terrorist Action Team). The purpose of the TAT was to develop a plan to free the American hostages held in Iran which culminated in Operation Eagle Claw. In the wake of the debacle, the Navy saw the need for a full-time dedicated counter-terrorist team and tasked Marcinko with its design and development.
Marcinko was selected by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Thomas B. Hayward as the first commanding officer of this new unit. At the time, the Navy had only two SEAL teams. Marcinko purportedly named the unit SEAL Team Six in order to confuse other nations, specifically the Soviet Union, into believing that the United States had at least three other SEAL teams that they were unaware of. He personally selected the unit's members from across the existing SEAL and Underwater Demolition Teams, including a special counter-terrorist tactics section of SEAL Team Two, codenamed MOB-6. SEAL Team Six would be the Navy's premier counter-terrorist and hostage rescue unit, like its Army counterpart Delta Force. While typically a two-year command, Marcinko commanded SEAL Team Six for three years, from August 1980 to July 1983.
Red Cell.
After relinquishing command of SEAL Team Six to Captain Robert Gormly, Marcinko was tasked by Vice Admiral James "Ace" Lyons, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, with the design of a unit to test the Navy's vulnerability to terrorism. This unit was the Naval Security Coordination Team OP-06D, unofficially named Red Cell.
Personal life.
Kickback trial and imprisonment.
Marcinko was indicted for conspiracy, conflict of interest and lying to the government on July 13, 1989, in connection with a kickback of $113,000 paid to Ramco International, a company set up by Marcinko and former SEAL John B. Mason, by Accuracy Systems, a Phoenix, Arizona-based arms manufacturer owned by Charles M. Byers. Byers was convicted of conspiracy and conflict of interest on October 20, 1989, but Marcinko was acquitted of conflict of interest.
Marcinko was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the government on January 24, 1990. The jury in that trial also acquitted Marcinko of a separate count of bribery.
On March 9, 1990, Marcinko was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 under charges of defrauding the government over the price of contractor acquisitions for hand grenades. Marcinko maintained that he was the subject of a witch-hunt for his work with Red Cell and that the fraud committed revealed the weaknesses of military security. Marcinko detailed his arrest and confinement in the last chapters of his autobiography.
Civilian life.
Marcinko published a VHS and DVD movie account of his "Red Cell" operations.
His experiences led him to write his autobiography, "The New York Times" best-selling "Rogue Warrior", and subsequent fictional sequels, most of which are co-written with ghostwriter John Weisman. With Weisman he co-authored a three-book series on leadership, management and team-building for business executives.
In 2005 he wrote an op-ed criticizing what he called "the liberals attack on the activities at GITMO prison, or Abu Ghraib detention centers", claiming that "manipulation is what has been practiced at our detention centers".
At the time of his death, he was CEO of Red Cell International and formerly of SOS Temps, Inc., a private security consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. He had a politically conservative talk radio show, "America on Watch with Dick Marcinko", which was broadcast live. He was a spokesman for the Zodiac boat company's Zodiac Maritime Training Academy, and served as a consultant on FOX's television series "24". He briefly collaborated with Strider Knives on a series of knife designs referred to as the "RW" signifying "Rogue Warrior" from 2008 to 2010.
Death.
Marcinko died from a heart attack at his home in Fauquier County, Virginia, on December 25, 2021, at the age of 81.
Awards and decorations.
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Silver Star citation.
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Richard Marcinko, United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Platoon Leader of 8th Platoon, SEAL Team Detachment Alfa, on 14 and 15 May 1968. As patrol leader, he led a squad size patrol to a known Viet Cong infiltration route through 2,000 meters of uncontested enemy terrain and established an ambush site. Three groups of Viet Cong soon approached and set up in the area. With no feasible escape route, the squad was surrounded by 85 armed Viet Cong for over four hours. Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Marcinko ordered artillery to stand by and directed air strikes on the Viet Cong within 300 meters of his own position. When the enemy force started to retreat toward the Cambodian border, he led an attack on a group of 43 Viet Cong and through bold and unselfish tactics quelled the enemy's efforts to outflank and subdue his squad. Enemy fire from a nearby tree line was countered by Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Marcinko's M-60 Machine Gun, his daring companions and the air strikes he directed on the enemy. A reconnaissance, conducted immediately after the enemy broke contact, revealed many heavy blood trails, one Viet Cong killed, and one SKS rifle abandoned and numerous bundles of hot food and clothing within 20 meters of the ambush site. A sweep held at first light brought the total assessment of losses to the enemy force to 24 Viet Cong killed, 41 Viet Cong wounded and six automatic weapons captured. His courage, valor under fire, dedication to duty and accurate prediction of the enemy's tactics were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Bibliography.
Fiction.
Marcinko's fiction adventure novels depict himself as recounting the events of the story as they happen, in a timeline with his autobiography as the starting point. John Weisman co-wrote with him from "Red Cell" to "Detachment Bravo" in 2001. Jim deFelice became his writing partner from "Vengeance" to "Blood Lies".
Video game.
Marcinko partnered with Bethesda Softworks to publish "" for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Marcinko himself is the protagonist and is voiced by actor Mickey Rourke. In the game, Marcinko is sent on a classified mission into North Korea to disrupt an anti-ballistic missile program. Released in December 2009, the game was critically panned, with critics citing poor AI, excessive use of expletives, numerous bugs, poor graphics, a short single-player mode and limited multiplayer mode. Since its release, "Rogue Warrior" has been listed as one of the worst video games of all time.
References.
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