Meet Dick Marcinko

First Commander of SEAL Team 6

Richard “Dick” Marcinko was a Navy man for over 30 years, having experience in a wide range of billets requiring Special Warfare expertise. The majority of these were in direct combat roles or crises management positions in direct support of the United States President and Secretary of Defense. During two tours in Vietnam serving as a Navy SEAL, he received the Silver Star, four Bronze Stars with a Combat V, two Navy Commendation Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. After Vietnam, he served as a Naval Attaché to Cambodia, advising and actively assisting the Cambodians in their fight with the Khmer Rouge. He then became the commanding officer of SEAL Team Two, assisted in the planning and training for the Iranian hostage dilemma, was the primary action officer for the maintenance of special warfare/unconventional warfare plans worldwide, served as the Navy representative to assist in the establishment of Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), and handled the daily intelligence for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans and Policy. Marcinko created and commanded SEAL Team Six, which engaged in highly classified counter-terrorism missions from Central America to the Middle East, the North Sea to Africa and beyond, and established itself as the world’s foremost counterterrorism unit. He later was named officer-in-charge of a second counter-terrorism unit, Red Cell. Marcinko’s experiences led to The New York Times best-selling autobiography, “Rogue Warrior,” as well as subsequent fictional novels in a series called “Rogue Warrior.” Additionally, he has written three management and leadership books, hosts a politically conservative talk radio show, “America on Watch with Dick Marcinko,” and is President of Richard Marcinko, Inc., a motivational and team-building company which boasts several Fortune 500 company clients.