Murdock
Member
While not a SEAL, I was assigned as assistant operations officer in Naval Special Warfare Group Two in Little Creek, VA from 1986-1988.
The 686 was standard issue at that time and as suggested above was used for operations conducted primarily in the water. At the time the other option was the M9 9x19mm for dryer missions. As it was expressed to me, the revolver was preferred due to concern about lubricants washing off during time in the water. The corrosion resistance of stainless is of course a no-brainer.
A number of the guys privately owned the SIG P226, and I knew of at least two CZ75's in private hands. Most of the guys appeared to be happy with what Uncle Sam provided.
Another use to which the 686 was put was training for close quarters battle (CQB). The guys used to cut the plastic bullet tips off of plastic simunitions ammo, and replace the plastic bullet with a paraffin wax one. Then they would run around the offices in SEAL Two shooting each other. These were days that when we needed information or something from the team we had them come up to the Group office instead of going down there, where it was feeding time at the zoo.
After doing a training mission in Norway one year, one of my SEAL colleagues was prevailed upon by a Norwegian commando officer to buy a M686 for him and ship it to Norway. Apparently the Norwegian was impressed with the Smiths the SEALs used on that mission. My buddy said the paperwork to make the export legal was a real headache, but he got it done.
The 686 was standard issue at that time and as suggested above was used for operations conducted primarily in the water. At the time the other option was the M9 9x19mm for dryer missions. As it was expressed to me, the revolver was preferred due to concern about lubricants washing off during time in the water. The corrosion resistance of stainless is of course a no-brainer.
A number of the guys privately owned the SIG P226, and I knew of at least two CZ75's in private hands. Most of the guys appeared to be happy with what Uncle Sam provided.
Another use to which the 686 was put was training for close quarters battle (CQB). The guys used to cut the plastic bullet tips off of plastic simunitions ammo, and replace the plastic bullet with a paraffin wax one. Then they would run around the offices in SEAL Two shooting each other. These were days that when we needed information or something from the team we had them come up to the Group office instead of going down there, where it was feeding time at the zoo.
After doing a training mission in Norway one year, one of my SEAL colleagues was prevailed upon by a Norwegian commando officer to buy a M686 for him and ship it to Norway. Apparently the Norwegian was impressed with the Smiths the SEALs used on that mission. My buddy said the paperwork to make the export legal was a real headache, but he got it done.
