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| Advanced SEAL Delivery Vehicle School | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | Advanced SEAL Delivery Vehicle School |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Special operations forces |
| Role | Underwater demolition |
| Garrison | Naval Amphibious Base Coronado |
| Nickname | ASDVS |
Advanced SEAL Delivery Vehicle School is a specialized United States Navy training establishment focused on clandestine submersible operations and Naval Special Warfare techniques for United States Navy SEALs, Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen, and allied personnel. The school integrates doctrine from Naval Special Warfare Command, professionalizes skills associated with the SEAL Delivery Vehicle lineage, and supports deployments tied to theaters such as Indo-Pacific Command, United States European Command, and United States Central Command. It operates alongside institutions like Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Training, Naval Special Warfare Center, and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.
The school's origins trace to post‑World War II developments in Underwater Demolition Teams, early frogman experimentation influenced by actions in the Pacific Theater (World War II), and Cold War imperatives after incidents like the Soviet submarine competitions. During the Vietnam War era the need for covert insertion led to programs connecting to SEAL Team One and SEAL Team Two, and later to procurement efforts involving manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin and designers linked to Electric Boat. In the 1980s and 1990s the school evolved in response to lessons from Operation Urgent Fury and Operation Just Cause, adapting to requirements seen in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. Post‑9/11 operations including Operation Iraqi Freedom and counterterrorism missions shaped curriculum adjustments, while interagency coordination with Central Intelligence Agency maritime units and allied services such as Royal Navy special forces informed doctrine.
The school's mission is to train operators in clandestine delivery, recovery, and maintenance of crewed submersibles supporting Maritime Special Operations. It provides tactical instruction for insertion techniques used in operations resembling Operation Neptune Spear planning phases and supports contingencies coordinated with commands like United States Special Operations Command and task forces under Joint Special Operations Command. The role encompasses doctrine generation, tactics development, and support to acquisition programs tied to platforms influenced by prototypes from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency projects and industrial partners such as General Dynamics.
Administratively the school falls under Naval Special Warfare Command authorities and coordinates with units including SEAL Team Six (Naval Special Warfare Development Group), SEAL Team One, SEAL Team Three, and Naval Special Warfare Center. It liaises with fleet commands such as U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. Fleet Forces Command for deployment tasking. Oversight and personnel policies reflect standards promulgated by Chief of Naval Operations directives and integrate support from Naval Sea Systems Command for technical sustainment.
Curriculum elements include advanced small‑boat operations reflecting techniques from Special Boat Team 20, navigation linked to practices used in Amphibious Ready Group planning, and underwater demolition methods historically associated with Underwater Demolition Team 1. Instruction covers submarine lock‑in/lock‑out procedures paralleled in Submarine Squadron 11 operations, hyperbaric and diving medicine akin to protocols from Naval Hospital San Diego, and electronics maintenance influenced by standards from Naval Air Systems Command. Training incorporates scenario exercises similar to those run during exercises such as RIMPAC, Cobra Gold, and Exercise BALTOPS, and includes joint training with allied units like Special Boat Service and Marine Raider Regiment elements.
Facilities include wet and dry training bays, recompression chambers modeled on systems used by Naval Medical Center San Diego, and shore‑side maintenance depots coordinated with Norfolk Naval Shipyard and industrial partners such as Huntington Ingalls Industries. The equipment suite comprises variants of crewed submersibles influenced by historic SEAL Delivery Vehicle designs, propulsion and battery systems traceable to contractors like Boeing and Rolls-Royce Marine, mission support craft comparable to Mark V Special Operations Craft, and dive gear aligned with manufacturers used by Navy Experimental Diving Unit. Instrumentation for navigation and communications integrates technology stacks with suppliers that have supported programs for Defense Intelligence Agency maritime platforms.
Selection pathways require candidates to have qualifications from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Training or equivalent ratings from Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen pipelines, meet physical standards set by Navy Personnel Command, and clear security requirements administered under guidelines coordinated with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Qualification certifications reference standards similar to those used by Submarine Force divers and the Navy Diver community, while medical screening follows protocols used by Naval Special Warfare Center and aviation medicine practices from Naval Aerospace Medical Institute.
Alumni and personnel associated with the school's mission have supported high‑profile maritime and littoral operations, working alongside operators in events with operational links to Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and bilateral missions supporting partners during Syrian Civil War contingencies. Notable figures with careers intersecting school training include veterans of SEAL Team Six, leaders who later assumed roles within Naval Special Warfare Command and strategic positions at United States Special Operations Command. The school's influence extends to doctrine cited in after‑action reviews from operations such as Operation Gothic Serpent and collaborative maritime interdiction efforts with the Coast Guard.