TV SERIES · 2017– · USA
SEAL Team
70 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (70)
- #001
Tyler Gray, who plays Trent, also known as Bravo 4, is a former U.S. Army Ranger. He served as a sniper in the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He passed the Rangers' post selection and was selected for Delta, also known as CAG (Combat Applications Group), a Special Missions Unit and the Army equivalent of DEVGRU (Naval Special Warfare Development Group). He was medically discharged in 2005 after injuries caused by an improvised explosive device. His injuries are visible on his right forearm.
- #002
More than 75 U.S. military veterans were hired for background character and stunt work.
- #003
U.S. Navy SEAL Mark Semos wears many hats while working on SEAL Team: stuntman, consulting producer, actor, but mainly a writer, and he has written several episodes.
- #004
"Going Winchester" means running out of ammunition.
- #005
The character Jason is based on Mark Owen, the pseudonym of a Navy SEAL Tier One leader who wrote two books, one of them about the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.
- #006
The Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) system that the Blackhawk uses to rescue Bravo Team in Season 2, Episode 21 was a first for network television and had not been done on air before.
- #007
Some of the nicknames Sonny gives Clay: Blondie, Wonderboy, Dum-dum, pin-up girl, GQ, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Covergirl, Bam-Bam, Ken Doll, Goldilocks, Romeo, Captain America, Chucklehead, Fabio, Young Buck, Sleeping Beauty, Coppertone, Blondzilla, the Lost Jonas Brother, Frodo, Mohandas Blondie, Blondie 5G, Blondie Wilkes Booth, Blondini.
- #008
Scenes from S2x15 were filmed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, on active duty with the United States Marine Corps.
- #009
In SEAL Team 6, the most basic principle of assault training is "follow your shot," meaning an operator who fires at a target must make sure the target no longer poses a threat. As you move, your teammates beside and behind you will cover all the other possible angles and areas of a room.
- #010
The U.S. military's most elite special operations units are part of a group called Tier One Special Mission Units (SMU), which fall under the authority of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Tier One SMU units carry out the most complex, secret and dangerous missions requested within JSOC; their missions are usually highly classified, and these units specialize in tasks such as counterterrorism, hostage rescue, special reconnaissance and direct action against high-value targets. Tier One SMUs consist of: the Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force), called Task Force Green by JSOC; the Navy's Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), also known as SEAL Team Six, called Task Force Blue; and the Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron (24 STS), called Task Force White. These teams all have similar, complementary skill sets and also have their own unique specialties, and they often work together on missions. Delta Force is mostly used for direct action on targets, SEAL Team Six is used for reconnaissance and counterterrorism, and the 24th STS generally provides parachute rescue and tactical air control.
- #011
From before 2011, U.S. Military Special Operations Forces began wearing the four-tube Panoramic Night Vision Goggle (PNVG), which provides a wider field of view and depth perception to avoid hitting walls, trees and obstacles.
- #012
In Military Planning Circles, the different phases of a mission are tracked using a "Mission Status Tracking Board" or "Synchronization Matrix." In the simplest terms, it can be placed on a whiteboard or listed in a spreadsheet-type document, where it is highlighted when completed and projected onto a screen. Milestones or Checkpoints in a given mission are assigned a "proword" (Procedure Word). The Milestone names appear to be chosen at random in alphabetical order by the people running the mission (spouses' names, dog breeds, sports teams, cities/states, college mascots, candy bars, alcoholic drink names, etc.). The milestones themselves represent a significant task in the mission. For example: * Entry (Infiltration) * Start Patrol * At Target * Outer Cordon Set * Inner Cordon Set * Assault Force Entry into the Compound, * Begin Clearing Buildings * Buildings Cleared * HVT (High Value Target) killed or captured * SSE (Sensitive Site Exploitation) * Patrol Exit * Exit (Exfiltration).
- #013
One of Admiral William McRaven's new directives required a more thorough post-operation review to document and justify combatant deaths. Previously, command needed only a frontal shot and a profile of each dead militant. The new rule required a complete photographic accounting of who was killed, photos of the entire body, where the target was when he fell, which weapons he was holding, the operator's point of view while firing, and other atmospheric details. This directive had a fundamental purpose: to protect U.S. forces from unjustified killing accusations made by Afghan government officials. The photos and other review documents could be shared with local authorities to justify the operations.
- #014
No single military unit represents more American military achievement or heroism than SEAL Team 6, officially designated the Naval Special Warfare Development Group and known in military language as DevGru, Team 6, Command and Task Force Blue. Its operators are part of an elite, secret cadre. The men who make it through the grueling training represent roughly the top 10 percent of all SEALs. They are taught to live for one another and, if necessary, to die for one another. The extreme risks they take forge extreme bonds. When the Afghan war began, SEAL Team 6, with more than 200 SEAL operators, was the lesser-known of the U.S. military's elite "special mission" units. Created in 1980 and based at the Dam Neck Annex of the Oceana Naval Air Station near Virginia Beach, the command prided itself on a culture of nonconformity with the larger military. The unit's name is part of the U.S. attempt to conceal its capabilities. At the time of its founding, the Navy had only two SEAL (Sea, Air and Land) assault teams, but founding officer Commander Richard Marcinko hoped the number six would lead the Soviet military to overestimate the Navy's SEALs.
- #015
On the second floor of the SEAL Team 6 headquarters at the Dam Neck naval annex, a computer known as the "ops computer" stores classified data on every mission the unit has completed over the past decade. There, commanders returning from deployment hand their hard drives to technicians who transfer PowerPoint presentations, post-action reports and photographs of every operation a squadron carried out overseas. The database contains photographs of people killed by SEAL operators during their missions and other mission documents.
- #016
David Boreanaz plays Master Chief Petty Officer Jason Hayes. Master Chief is the E-9 pay grade rank, the highest rank/grade an enlisted service member can reach in the Navy. On his former series Bones, Boreanaz played retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major Seeley Booth. Sergeant Major also holds the E-9 pay grade and rank and is the highest grade an enlisted soldier can reach. The two ranks in the different military branches are similar.
- #017
The cast and crew flew to Puerto Rico to shoot the location footage and scenes of the multi-episode Season 2 story.
- #018
Cake Eater is a derogatory term used, usually by enlisted SEALs, to refer to SEAL officers. Unlike enlisted personnel, an officer can choose whether to go into the field on an operation or stay behind and supervise from a distance. So they can have their cake (be a SEAL) and eat it too (not take the same risks as enlisted troops).
- #019
Bravo Team members and their related roles (early seasons): Bravo Actual — the Officer in Charge or Responsible Officer, held by Blackburn in earlier seasons and later by Soto; Bravo 1 — Jason Hayes; Bravo 2 — Ray Perry; Bravo 3 — Sonny; Bravo 4 — Trent; Bravo 5 — Brock; Bravo 6 — Clay Spenser.
- #020
Green Team is similar to a farm team or the minor leagues in baseball; it serves to train and select SEALs who want to become members of a Tier One SEAL Team.
- #021
Kinetic Op, or Kinetic Operations, is another expression for lethal or violent operations. That is, killing an enemy rather than, for example, disrupting an opposing side's communications equipment, disarming them or eliminating their ability to fight.
- #022
A Nine-Line Medical Evacuation (Medevac) Request consists of the following: Line 1. Location of the pickup site. Line 2. Radio frequency, call sign and suffix. Line 3. Number of patients by priority: A — Urgent; B — Urgent Surgical; C — Priority; D — Routine; E — Convenience. Line 4. Special equipment required: A — None; B — Hoist; C — Extraction equipment; D — Ventilator. Line 5. Number of patients: A — Litter; B — Ambulatory. Line 6. Security at the pickup site (in peacetime — number and type of wounds, injuries and illnesses): N — No enemy troops in the area; P — Possible enemy troops in the area (approach with caution); E — Enemy troops in the area (approach with caution); X — Enemy troops in the area (armed escort required). Line 7. Method of marking the pickup site: A — Panels; B — Pyrotechnic signal; C — Smoke signal; D — None; E — Other. Line 8. Patient nationality and status: A — US Military; B — US Civilian; C — Non-US Military; D — Non-US Civilian; E — EPW (Enemy Prisoner of War). Line 9. NBC contamination (in peacetime — terrain description of the pickup site): N — Nuclear; B — Biological; C — Chemical.
- #023
In some of the early episodes of Season 3, certain scenes were actually filmed in Belgrade, Serbia.
- #024
As a civilian, you can request to join the SEALs before enlisting in the SEAL challenge contract (the Seaman to SEAL program). The SEAL challenge contract guarantees you the opportunity to become a SEAL candidate and, when you enlist, entitles you to certain bonuses and benefits.
- #025
Smoke control is defined as "immediately killing/neutralizing a nearby enemy or threat, usually with a large volume of weapons fire, through an act of extreme violence." The term comes from the practice of using an aerosol spray known as smoke control spray to test the effectiveness of smoke alarms.
- #026
ATAK is the abbreviation for Android Team Awareness Kit, an application or app that runs on a smartphone. It is a geospatial infrastructure and military situational awareness application that provides precision targeting, surrounding terrain formation intelligence, situational awareness, navigation and data sharing.
- #027
In the early years of the war, SEAL Team 6 had an inflexible standard: shooting unarmed people was forbidden, and anyone who did so had to show that the target displayed hostile intent. Operators and officers took pride in their ability to kill only those considered threats. If a SEAL could not justify the threat after a shooting, he was quietly removed from the unit. But even this rule evolved over time. SEALs were given wide latitude as long as they could explain why they made the decision to shoot an unarmed person.
- #028
ACE stands for Ammunition, Casualties, Equipment, as in an ACE count.
- #029
For Navy SEALs, the bone frog tattoo is a sign of respect for fallen comrades, in honor of their sacrifice.
- #030
HUTS stands for Hostages, Unknowns, Terrorists and Shooters, as in a HUTS count.
- #031
A ghost plane, also known as a rendition aircraft, is an aircraft used by national governments to transport prisoners internationally. Rendition, or extraordinary rendition, refers to the practice of secretly sending a foreign criminal or terrorism suspect to a country with less strict regulations on the humane treatment of prisoners to be interrogated.
- #032
Cank is military slang meaning, briefly, to cancel.
- #033
"Pipehitter," or Special Forces operator, is a variation of the term "Union of Pipefitters."
- #034
The pilot episode was filmed in New Orleans in March 2017 and early April.
- #035
SO1 is a Special Warfare Operator, First Class.
- #036
CAS is short for Close Air Support. The term CAS wheel refers to the orbit aircraft use to neutralize multiple targets.
- #037
Troops In Contact, or TIC, is a direct and violent engagement with an enemy.
- #038
Jason applied Quikclot powder to treat a wound. Quikclot is an antihemorrhagic that stops bleeding.
- #039
David Boreanaz has been a main character on a series for 27 years. He began as a main character for 2 seasons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) and got his own spin-off, Angel (1999). That series ended in 2004, and a year later he took a role in Bones (2005). After Bones ended, that same year he took a role in SEAL Team, where he remained until 2024 [as of June 2024] — that is, from the fall of 1997 to 2024.
- #040
OMPF is short for Official Military Personnel File.
- #041
Kristy Swanson, who played Julia Logan in four episodes, was Buffy in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film. She turned down the role in the Buffy TV series, in which David Boreanaz (Jason Hayes) played Angel.
- #042
OPTEMPO is short for Operational Tempo, high or low. It describes a service member's pace of work, whether that work is combat patrols, PowerPoint slides or training.
- #043
Team leader Jason is a medic, and the name Jason means "healer."
- #044
Throughout the series, Jason Hayes has nervous tics when he feels vulnerable (especially when he speaks of a teammate who died or was wounded). He rubs his palm against his thigh and then looks at it, as if he were trying to wipe blood off his hand. He actually does this at the start of episode 1, when a team member is killed.
- #045
In military planning, a branch is a contingency plan or course of action that changes a force's mission, position, orientation or direction of movement to help the current operation succeed based on expected events, opportunities or disruptions caused by enemy action. Sequel operations are future operations that anticipate possible outcomes such as the success, failure or stalemate of the current operation.
- #046
Other nicknames Sonny uses for Clay: 1. Blond Delicious 2. Evel Clay-nievel 3. Christie Brink-Clay 4. Rip Blond Winkles 5. Professor Clay-vier 6. Clay-va Fawcet 7. Inspector Clay-seau 8. Blond Dahlia 9. Clay-vy Crockett 10. Earnest Heming-clay 11. Herc-clay-les 12. Y. P. Clay 13. Rita Clay-worth 14. Patrick Clay-ze.
- #047
A. J. Buckley (Sonny Quinn) and Alona Tal (Stella) played recurring characters on Supernatural (2005). They played Ed Zeddmore and Jo Harvell, respectively.
- #048
Target Package is short for Target Information Package. It is a more specific case of an Intel Information Package, or Intel Package.
- #049
A hunter-killer team is a team that splits the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" between two or more people. In the case of a two-person sniper team, one carries the rifle and is the shooter, while the other uses special optical equipment known as a spotter to track potential targets as well as wind and elevation.
- #050
Ray said Taliban infantry displayed a low port and good trigger discipline: * Low Port rifle position — only one hand is on the rifle, and the free hand can be used to lightly strike, guide or examine the documents of Enemy Prisoners of War. High Port means both hands are on the rifle, especially in rough terrain while on patrol * Trigger Discipline — the only time you put your hand on the trigger is when you are ready to use the rifle.
- #051
SDV — SEAL Delivery Vehicle — is a small submarine that can carry up to six people, used to deliver Navy SEALs and their equipment on special operations missions where stealth and zero visibility are critical. The SDV is unpressurized; the SEAL breathes from pressurized air tanks carried in the SDV. It is launched from a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS), a removable module attached to a submarine's airlock that allows SEALs to enter and exit the SDV while the submarine is underwater. SDVs are usually deployed from specially modified attack submarines, but can also be deployed from a surface ship. Missions requiring SEALs to conduct underwater SDV deployments are usually launched from USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), a specially modified Seawolf-class attack submarine. Jimmy Carter is 30 meters longer than other submarines of its class, with a special Multi-Mission Platform (MMP) added to its midsection; the MMP allows rapid deployment of divers, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and special operations equipment such as the SDV, which can be carried in the MMP without the need for a Dry Deck Shelter. However, with only a few hours of work (adding a DDS), any submarine can be modified to deploy an SDV; sometimes, if the mission is in an area Jimmy Carter cannot reach in time, SDV missions are launched from other submarines. SDV missions are also occasionally launched from Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, since these are designed to operate deeper and more quietly than attack submarines and can provide SEALs with greater stealth.
- #052
"Fatal funnel" or "death funnel" is a term for the area within the opening of an entry point where most deaths occur during an active threat situation. More specifically, it is the cone-shaped path emerging from an entryway (such as a room's doorway) where attackers are most vulnerable to defenders, essentially "framed" by the surrounding walls and lacking both effective cover and covering fire.
- #053
A doctor in the navy or naval forces is known as a corpsman.
- #054
Moral injury is defined as the damage a warrior does to his conscience while carrying out his duties — that is, the shame that follows you when you leave the battlefield.
- #055
The team appears to carry at least three types of grenades: * Flash Crash grenade — a grenade simulator or a variant of the stun grenade * Bunker Buster — appears to be another name for a thermobaric device * Fragmentation — an explosive charge with a core that has a metallic outer casing, which forms "frag" when the explosive core is detonated.
- #056
Bracketing is the concept of determining the range of a target by firing two preliminary shots, one near the target and one beyond it.
- #057
A rejected agent is an asset or intelligence source deemed unreliable for one or several reasons, usually fabrication, and who must not be consulted in any way or form.
- #058
PID is the abbreviation for Positive Identification.
- #059
BIP is the abbreviation for Blow in Place.
- #060
HME is the abbreviation for Homemade Explosive, in which diesel fuel can be used as a propellant.
- #061
Action Violence refers to sudden and explosive force.
- #062
Ray and Sonny are also the names of two operators in the film Act of Valor (2012).
- #063
SSE is the abbreviation for Sensitive Site Exploitation.
- #064
DRMO is the abbreviation for the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office, as in the DRMO auction, a defunct agency that disposed of non-working or obsolete equipment. The office's responsibilities were taken over by the Defense Logistics Agency, or DLA for short.
- #065
THREATCON is the abbreviation for THREAT CONdition.
- #066
CTR is the abbreviation for Close Target Reconnaissance.
- #067
Max Thieriot (Clay Spenser) played Seth Plummer in the 2005 film The Pacifier, in which Vin Diesel's character is a Navy SEAL. Twelve years later, Max Thieriot's character in this series is a Navy SEAL.
- #068
Sonny's nicknames for Clay: 1. Blond Delicious 2. Evel Clay-nievel 3. Christie Brink-Clay 4. Rip Blond Winkles 5. Professor Clay-vier 6. Clay-va Fawcet 7. Inspector Clay-seau 8. Blond Dahlia 9. Clay-vy Crockett 10. Earnest Heming-clay 11. Herc-clay-les 12. Y. P. Clay 13. Rita Clay-worth 14. Patrick Clay-ze 15. Blond Cena 16. Obi-Wan-Clay-nobi.
- #069
Neil Brown, Jr. ("Ray Perry") and Beau Knapp ("Drew Franklin") played members of an Army platoon sent to Baghdad in the 2017 war thriller Sandcastle. The film also stars Henry Cavill and Nicholas Hoult.
- #070
Before 2006, the Special Operator rating (job) did not exist in the U.S. Navy. SEALs still had to maintain the rating qualification they held for promotions. If a Culinary Specialist (cook) joined the SEALs, he had to preserve his ability as a Navy cook. Since 2006 this is no longer required, and a SEAL's new rating is SO (Special Operator).
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