How US Special Forces Invented a Secret Technique to Infiltrate Enemy Positions From the Sea

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Fluctus channel. Moving a special operations team from a distant warship to a hostile shoreline requires a craft that is small, portable, and difficult to detect. The Combat Rubber Raiding Craft, commonly called the CRRC, answers that requirement with an inflatable hull, removable floor, outboard motor, and enough capacity to carry a compact team with weapons and mission equipment. The widely used Zodiac F-470 is approximately 15 feet 5 inches long. Depending on configuration, it can carry a small crew and raiding element, commonly around eight operators with equipment. Its reinforced transom can accept a single 35 to 55 horsepower outboard motor or twin 35 horsepower engines. Many military versions use a 55-horsepower engine with a protected pump jet arrangement, reducing the danger from an exposed propeller in shallow water. Before launch, Marines or sailors inflate each chamber and inspect valves, seams, floor sections, grab lines, lifting points, fuel hoses, navigation equipment, and emergency gear. The motor is attached and tested, fuel is secured, and loads are distributed so the bow does not ride too high or bury into waves. Weapons, radios, demolition equipment, and waterproof bags are tied down because anything dropped in darkness may be impossible to recover. Aboard USS Ashland, crews moved CRRCs through the well deck and into the sea. The well deck can be flooded, creating an internal harbor protected by the ship's hull. Boat teams start engines, receive permission to launch, release securing lines, and move down the flooded dock. Once outside, multiple craft form their assigned order while maintaining enough distance to avoid collision. Submarines offer a more concealed starting point. A boat can transport personnel far from friendly bases while remaining hidden beneath the surface, then surface or use a dry deck shelter to support small craft operations. Official doctrine describes CRRCs being deck-launched and recovered from surfaced attack submarines or moved through shelter-equipped submarines. This reduces the distance operators must travel in exposed rubber boats and allows infiltration from directions an opponent may not expect. During training with USS Georgia, Marines rehearse the demanding transfer between a submarine and CRRCs. The submarine maintains controlled speed and heading while personnel move equipment topside. The craft is positioned, inflated or readied, lowered into the water and held by lines. Operators board in sequence, balance the load, start the motor, and release only when the boat commander confirms readiness. Recovery reverses the sequence without allowing the craft to strike the submarine's hull. Surface ships provide similar reach with greater support. During Valiant Shield 2016 and a small boat raid from USS San Diego, teams prepared inside the ship before CRRCs departed through the well deck. The boats accelerated toward the objective, navigated in formation, and approached from the sea. After the raid, they returned to the ship, entered the well deck, secured engines, and transferred personnel and equipment back aboard. CRRCs also support specialists who are not conducting raids. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Divers use them as compact platforms for transporting personnel, breathing equipment, or gear, near-under quip, sonar, and demolition gear near underwater hazards. Underwater construction teams employ similar craft during surveys, repairs, and training such as Cobra Gold 2020. The shallow draft lets the boat reach locations inaccessible to larger vessels. Helocasting creates another delivery method. A helicopter flies low over water while a prepared CRRC and its operators enter the sea. The team regroups, writes or boards the craft, starts the motor, and continues toward the objective. This combines aviation speed with a small boat's low profile. Navigation is conducted with compasses, GPS receivers, charts, and timing points. Crews minimize light and radio traffic, using hand signals when practical. The commander compares fuel, distance, and sea state, because enough fuel must remain for the return journey. If an engine fails, paddles, another CRRC, or the ship may provide recovery. Regular drills make launching and beaching appear simple, But cold water, darkness, surf, and heavy equipment can punish one missed step. Whether emerging beside a submarine, leaving a flooded well deck, or entering after a helicopter drop, the CRRC succeeds through simplicity. It carries only a small force, but it gives that force surprise, mobility, and access to shorelines where a large landing craft would announce its arrival. After reaching the operating area, Marines may shift from covert movement to boarding a vessel. Marine Expeditionary Units organize maritime raid forces around reconnaissance personnel, infantry, security elements, intelligence specialists, EOD technicians, and supporting air or boat crews. One important mission is Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, known as VBSS. Training starts with rehearsal. Before a raid, Marines build or use a mock vessel to practice ladders, narrow passageways, doors, stairwells, and compartment searches. Leaders divide the force into boat teams, boarding elements, security groups, and command personnel. Every operator learns the route, identification procedures, communications plan, rules of engagement, and emergency actions before approaching a moving ship. A support vessel such as a destroyer lowers a rigid hull inflatable boat using a davit or crane. The boat crew checks fuel, steering, radios, navigation lights, weapons, medical equipment and recovery lines. Once the RHIB reaches the water, sailors release the lifting points, start the engines and move clear before the boarding team embarks or begins the approach. The chase demands precise boat handling. The target vessel may roll, create wake, and present few safe boarding points. The coxswain adjusts speed until the RHIB matches the ship's movement. Team members remain low and hold secure positions while carrying armor, weapons, and climbing equipment. A poorly timed turn could trap the boat against the hull or throw personnel into the sea. During training involving the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and USS Lewis B. Puller, Marines and sailors rehearsed the complete sequence. The RHIB closed on the larger ship and held position while the boarding element transferred to a ladder. The first climbers established security at the entry point, allowing additional members to follow. Once aboard, the team moved methodically rather than rushing blindly into unknown compartments. Searchers clear exterior decks, passageways, machinery areas, living spaces, and cargo sections according to the plan. Crew members are gathered, identified, and monitored while documents or suspicious material are examined. A security element protects the boarding point and watches the surrounding sea. If evidence is discovered, specialists photograph, label, and control it so the operation can support legal or military objectives. Exercises such as Alligator Dagger test these skills under pressure. Teams repeat approaches, ladder climbs, searches, detainee handling, casualty response, and withdrawal until individuals from different units operate as one force. Mistakes during training are reviewed before another attempt begins. When sea conditions or vessel design make boatboarding difficult, Marines can infiltrate from the air. A helicopter places personnel by fast rope onto a clear deck, allowing the team to bypass the waterline. Air insertion is faster but more visible and depends on weather, rotor clearance, and control of the landing area. Boats and helicopters, therefore, provide complementary solutions for the same problem. Placing a trained boarding force onto a vessel that may not cooperate. The withdrawal is planned before the first boat launches. Boarding teams return to the ladder, account for personnel and equipment, descend into the RHIB, then signal the coxswain to disengage. The principle behind a maritime raid also applies inland. arrive unexpectedly, secure critical infrastructure and open a route for a larger force. Airfield seizure gives commanders access to runways that can receive troops, fuel, vehicles, ammunition and humanitarian supplies. The first force must move quickly because an airfield is large, exposed and filled with potential hazards. During Operation Swift Response, paratroopers Troopers prepared aboard transport aircraft, while loadmasters and jumpmasters checked equipment, static lines, and exit procedures. Approaching the drop zone, troops stood, connected, inspected one another, and waited for the final command. They exited in rapid succession, allowing parachutes to spread across the sky before descending near the airfield. After landing, each paratrooper releases the harness, secures the parachute, recovers equipment and moves toward the assembly area. Small units establish security, identify friendly personnel and advance toward assigned objectives. One group may control the runway, another the terminal or control tower, while others block roads and search buildings. inspect pavement and remove obstacles before aircraft are allowed to land. Helicopter insertion offers greater precision. Aircraft fly toward predetermined landing zones and touch down briefly while troops exit from doors or rear ramps. The helicopters depart quickly, reducing their exposure as soldiers form security and move toward the runway. Rehearsals teach teams to avoid rotors, maintain spacing, recognize signals, and clear the landing zone without delay. At Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, an airfield seizure exercise combined assault forces, aircraft, vehicles, and command teams. Troops advanced across the installation, secured key areas, searched structures, and created conditions for follow-on operations. Controllers introduced simulated threats and casualties, forcing leaders to communicate while the plan changed around them. Securing the runway is only the beginning. At Iwo Jima, Marines practiced seizing an airfield and establishing a Forward Arming and Refueling Point, or FARP. After ground forces controlled the area, aviation support Marines moved fuel systems, pumps, hoses, grounding equipment, fire protection, and ammunition into position. The temporary site allowed aircraft to refuel and rearm closer to the operating area instead of returning to a distant permanent base. FARP personnel establish traffic flow, so arriving aircraft do not interfere with fuel, storage or ground teams. They test fuel, connect hoses, control ignition sources, position extinguishers, and communicate with pilots through standardized signals. land, receive fuel or weapons, complete safety checks, and depart for another mission. Every minute saved extends operational reach. Airfield seizure connects assault and logistics. Capturing pavement has little value unless specialists inspect, defend, supply, and operate it for arriving forces. From an inflatable boat beside USS Georgia to a RHIB chasing a suspect vessel and paratroopers descending over an airfield infiltration succeeds through timing and coordination the platforms differ but the logic remains constant deliver a small force where it is least expected secure the objective and create access for those who follow that is the end of this video i hope you enjoyed it make sure to subscribe to this channel so you don't miss any of our new content thank you