Combat Swimmer

Memoirs of a Navy Seal

By: Captain Robert A. Gormly, USN - Ret.

Narrated by: Adams Morgan

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Subtitled "Memoirs of a Navy Seal", Captain Robert A. Gormly tells his amazing story as the leader of the US Navy SEALs, taking us into the night, into the water and into battle on some of the most hair-raising missions ever assigned. Rising through the chain of command within the SEALs from platoon leader to commanding officer, Gormly's journey began with a chance meeting on a Virginia beach. Qualifying for the Navy's elite Underwater Demolitions Unit -- the precursor of the SEALs -- Gormly became an expert at underwater reconnaissance and guerrilla-style warfare. As a member of the newly formed SEAL Team Two, Gormly was trained to a fine fighting edge just in time for the war in Vietnam.

The SEALs created a legend that would grow throughout the war -- and earn an enemy bounty for anyone who could capture or kill a US Navy SEAL. But behind the myth and mystique was a remarkable fighting machine, a team of soldiers who knew their job and maintained their discipline in the face of firefighters, ambushes, and missions gone horribly wrong. In Gormly's vivid, gut-wrenching descriptions, the Mekong comes alive, as hours of careful stalking explode into incredible fusillades of violence -- including one in which Gormly's hand was nearly shot off. His unprecedented acts of heorism and daring brought Gormly recognition as well as numerous awards for both the success of his strikes and his ability to bring his men back alive.

In a career that included two tours of duty in Vietnam, as well as top-secret missions in the Persian Gulf, Gormly examines war from a strategic point of view as well as from his own personal experience. With insight and eloquence, he goes on to chronicle SEAL life after Vietnam, including what is perhaps the most graphic description ever of SEAL action in the chaotic invasion of Grenada.

©1998 by Robert A. Gormly (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Bob Gormly tells his story with remarkable wit, wisdom, drama, and grace. Combat Swimmer is a superb and fascinating story about the US Navy SEALs, from one of the best of the breed." (Hans Halberstadt, author of Inside the US Navy SEALs)

Narrator

At times I felt that Winnie The Pooh was narrating. Overall good stuff but the narrator was not right for this genre.

Good Book...

Grenada account is very interesting. What a life this guy had! Gormly also appears and is mentioned in the book Kill Bin Laden by Dalton Fury. Just a testament to how deeply important to the Special Forces in general Gormly was. He is truly an accomplished "operator". The Vietnam accounts were the best part of this book in my opinion.

Excellent

Great book, easy to get sucked in from the get go. excellent Book, although the microphone was off for a little bit.

Always an interesting story!

It never fails to amaze me when I delve into a story concerning the lives of our nation's special warfare members and this one is no different. From his days as a UDT Replacement trainee, Vietnam and through Desert Storm, Captian Gormly recounts his years as a Navy SEAL and how he survived and thrived in a tough community. An easy to read and enjoyable yarn of a retired frontman well worth the time investment.

Loved it.

Loved the witty humor and the way the stories were framed. Great info from how the Seal teams started

Good listen

This was an excellent book about UDT and SEALS despite the poor narration. Besides mispronunciations, noises in the background, and a rather dull reading voice it still managed to be a good book. This is an interesting counter-point to Richard Marcinko's accounts on the same subject.

Narrator has English accent

The narrator’s accent throws me off the story as he has a slight English accent. Otherwise, great story!

Good book poor narration.

Good story, but don’t author’s listen to the narration before signing off on it? If I had to hear the narrator say “hello” instead of “helo ” one more time, I wouldn’t have been able to finished the book.

Interesting recounting

I enjoyed this presentation of the facts of the earlier SEAL team experience in VN and elsewhere.
The revelations regarding Marcinko were surprising given the near hero status usually granted to him. I had just sort of accepted that not knowing the other side of the story.
One thing I found a little off-putting was the reader’s diction and pronunciation of various terms. Example: referring to rotary wing aircraft as “hello” vice the usual hēlo (long e). There were several more, but that recurred numbers of times and I never was able to filter it out. A small thing I guess.
I found myself wishing the author had presented the story. Other books wherein the author read the story had the element of realism added when the author’s been there - done that inflections were kept in the end product. Like a chuckle in the voice when recounting something funny or familiar.
All i all though, enjoyable and interesting.

Ausome... What a great audio !

This could be named "SEALS... the real story" UN-edited by Steve Marchanko