Fear Fest: Demo Dick Marcinko. Makes Jack Bauer His Bitch.
OCTOBER 17th, Dick Marcinko
“Award of 50,000 piasters to anyone who could kill First Lieutenant Demo Dick Marcinko, a grey-faced killer who had brought death and trouble to the Chau Phu Province during the Lunar New Year.”
-Viet Cong Wanted Poster
If you don’t know who Dick Marcinko is, shame on you. All those phony Chuck Norris facts could truthfully apply to this man. Let’s just say that Demo Dick, as he was known, is a true American hero and move on.
There are many things about Marcinko that would qualify him for Fear Fest status. Number one on that list would be that this is the man that started Seal Team 6. I’m sure the rest of the list is still classified, but we might as well toss in there that he was technical advisor on “24”. That’s right, fictional hero Jack Bauer is a cheap knock off of the real thing.
Marcinko got his start in the UDT, underwater demolition teams. He then made the move to Frogman, the precursor to the SEAL teams. During the Vietnam War, he was constantly dropped behind enemy lines to sow discord, strike secure targets, sabotage the enemy supply lines, and train insurgent friendlies. He did his job so well that wanted posters went up for his death.
After completing two tours in Vietnam, Marcinko was assigned to Cambodia as a Naval Attaché in 1973. In layman’s terms, he was an official cover spy. He taught to locals tactic to defend themselves, gave them insight on how their enemies fought, and trained them in conventional, and non-conventional warfare. Following his 18 months in Cambodia, he returned home to assume command of the US’s west coast SEAL team, SEAL team 2.
1979 was an interesting year for Marcinko. He assisted in the Iran hostage crisis which gave birth to Operation Eagle Claw. After the horrible failure, Marcinko pitched the idea of another team dedicated to training for missions in hostage rescue and special tactics. SEAL team 6 was born. Marcinko named it Team 6 even though there were only two teams at the time just to fuck with the Russians. SEAL commanders usually serve two year terms. Marcinko served for three. You’d think creating the most badass clandestine fighting force in our countries history would be the defining feather in his cap, but no, there’s more.
Marcinko was tasked with implementing a system of checking security and protocols for the Navy. He created Naval Security Coordination Team OP-06D, more commonly known as Red Cell. Under his direction, Marcinko was able to obtain gain access to nuclear submarines. Assassinate high ranking officers (They would put a post-it note of cars saying “You’ve just been assassinated” as they walked or drove by), obtain nuclear launch codes, and even broke into Air Force One.
Marcinko made his share of enemies on both sides of his wars. His work with Red Cell embarrassed a lot of people. Following his work with the team, he was accused of, and convicted of misappropriations of funds and sent to prison. In his autobiography “Rogue Warrior” Marcinko assures the reader that the investigation was a witch hunt to punish him. He goes on to say how he was not worried about prison, as it is similar to military life, but “God help the man that fucks with me.”
Red Cell and Marcinko’s imprisonment were used by Hideo Kojima as the basis for the Metal Gear 2 villains. In the game an organization known as Dead Cell, famous for its testing of military security, goes rogue after their commander is imprisoned. I’m not saying that Marcinko and his men has various super powers like those in the game, but I’m not about to say they don’t either.
THE ANSWER: You are alive right now because Dick Marcinko doesn’t want you dead. I’m not claiming that he’s a murder crazed psychopath, hell-bent on killing everything. Quite the opposite, he’s calm, focused and driven. What I’m trying to say is that even though the man is 70 years old, he could still kill you if he wished it so. Don’t piss off Demo Dick.