SEAL Team 6 is a United States Navy special mission unit that was formally commissioned in November 1980. It was created to be the U.S. Navys premier hostage rescue and counter-terrorism unit, and has been compared to the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force. SEAL Team Six started with 75 shooters, and was dissolved in 1987. A new unit named the "Naval Special Warfare Development Group" was formed, essentially as SEAL Team Six's successor.
There have been controversies surrounding SEAL Team 6, including allegations of war crimes and a rogue culture that operated outside of the Navy’s established mechanisms for command and investigation. In 2013, some family members of the 17 SEAL Team 6 commandos who were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan during a helicopter flight to help Army claimed that President Obama "put a target on their backs".
SEAL Team 6's official purpose is to test, evaluate, and develop technology and tactics for all Naval Special Warfare forces. Its operations are classified, though it is commonly understood that it engages in dangerous, complicated, and sensitive actions around the world. Its members are not publicly identified because of the covert nature of their work.
In summary, SEAL Team 6 is a United States Navy special mission unit that was created to be the U.S. Navy's premier hostage rescue and counter-terrorism unit. It has been involved in controversies and its operations are classified.
