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Revelling in his reputation as a loose cannon, Marcinko prized loyalty to himself and promoted a code of silence when things went wrong
Dick Marcinko talks about their operations against Air Force One security when they put a 500lb bomb close to the aircraft. When it was discovered EOD failed to account for it being boobytrapped. Dick also has a lot to say about the misuse of SEAL Teams as door kickers and the detrimental effect it will have on their core skills in waterborne operations.
In part seven of the Dick Marcinko interviews, Dick tells us about the formation of Red Cell, a command set up to test the defensive capabilities of military and government installations against terrorist attacks. Rather than employ the expertise and gear available to a SEAL Team in testing these facilities, Marcinkos team operated with nothing more on hand that a good "Second Story Man" would have at his disposal.
His rogue leadership style and bravado helped fuel the unit's reputation as the elite of the elite, but it also alienated superiors.
Richard Marcinko, a self-styled "rogue warrior" who in 1980 became the first commander of Navy SEAL Team 6, an elite Special Operations force whose legend he fueled as the best-selling author of books drawn from his derring-do, died Dec. 25 at his home in Warrenton, Va. He was 81.