9781422285107

diers who took on missions behind enemy lines in the Vietnam War. Special Forces soldiers earned 17 Congressional Medals of Honor during that conflict. Here Come the SEALs In 1961, during a famous speech to Congress, President John F. Kennedy spoke of dreams such as landing a man on the Moon. In that same ad- dress, Kennedy also noted the need to strengthen the United States’s military forces. Kennedy said he would earmark more than $100 million to help the military’s Special Forces units. The following year, in 1962, the United States Navy SEALs were established as part of the U.S. Special Operations Command. SEALs con- duct small-unit, maritime military missions. Navy SEALs are trained to be at full strength in various environments (Sea, Air, and Land), from which they took the group’s unique name. They have become one of the most famous and recogniz- able Special Forces.

14