Dennis Chalker (born July 28, 1954) is a retired

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

, inventor and author who has written six books about the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

SEALs Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

Career

Chalker began his military service with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, serving in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

from 1972 till 1975. Upon discharge he tried his hand at a few civilian jobs and found them less than challenging. Chalker then joined the

in 1977. Chalker graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training BUD/S class 101 in Coronado, Ca. Following SEAL Tactical Training and completion of a six month probationary period, he received the NEC 5326 as a Combatant Swimmer (SEAL), entitled to wear the

Special Warfare Insignia The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The Budweiser", recognizes those members of the United States Navy who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) trai ...

. Chalker initially served with SEAL Team ONE and was later hand-selected by Commander

Richard Marcinko Richard Marcinko (November 21, 1940 – December 25, 2021) was a United States Navy SEALs, U.S. Navy SEAL Commander (United States), commander and Vietnam War veteran. He was the first commanding officer of United States Naval Special Warfare D ...

in 1980 to become a

plankowner A plankowner"U.S. Navy Style Guide", Navy.mil website (also referred to a plank ownerCutler and Cutler, p 167 and sometimes a plank holder) is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard Cutt ...

of the Navy's first dedicated counter-terrorist unit,

SEAL Team Six The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...

. As a member of SEAL Team Six, he participated in

Operation Urgent Fury The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...

in the US Invasion of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. His team reached then Governor General Paul Scoon's mansion and held it for an entire day while being attacked by a force of Grenadians and Cubans. As a SEAL, Chalker saw action in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

(recounted in his book ''One Perfect Op''),

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. When Marcinko was tasked to select members for a new unit to test security at US Naval bases against the threat of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, he once again chose Chalker as one of the founding members in 1985. This unit was called Naval Security Coordination Team, also known as

Red Cell Red Teams or Red Cells are United States government terms for the National Security Co-ordination Team (NSCT). These teams or units are designed to test the effectiveness of American tactics or personnel. In 1984, Red Cell was formed after Richa ...

. Chalker transitioned back to SEAL Team SIX in 1987 which was renamed as Naval Special Warfare Development Group. His final duty station was as the Command Master Chief at the Naval Special Warfare Center for BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs) Training in

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...

. While serving as Command Master Chief of BUD/S, Chalker was hired as a technical advisor for '' The Rock'', a 1996

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television Film producer, producer. He has been active in the genres of Action film, action, Drama film, drama, Fantasy film, fantasy, and Science fiction film, science fi ...

film. Chalker was also used as an onscreen extra during the movie's swim and dive sequences. This led to a position as Director of Operations with Global Studies Group, Inc. (GSGI), upon his retirement from the US Navy. GSGI is a combination security and training company owned by former US Navy SEAL

Harry Humphries Harry R. Humphries (born November 17, 1940) is a former United States Navy SEAL who currently works as a consultant and actor on Hollywood films. After graduating from Admiral Farragut Academy and attending Rutgers University in New Jersey, Hum ...

that specializes in bringing modified (civilian version) SpecOps tactical skill training to law- enforcement agencies and Hollywood movie productions.Waterman, Steve. "Brown Water to Silver Screen: Story & Photos". ''Soldier of Fortune Magazine'',54-57, 67-69. July 1997. Chalker is credited for inventing and developing a tactical

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

and

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

single-point

sling sling may refer to: Places *Sling, Anglesey, Wales *Sling, Gloucestershire, England, a small village in the Forest of Dean People with the name * Otto Šling (1912–1952), repressed Czech communist functionary Arts, entertainment, and media * ...

known as the Chalker Sling while at SEAL Team Six. The Chalker Sling attaches the long gun to the shooter via a harness which enables the operator to quickly transition to a secondary weapon or perform another task while using both hands and keeping the weapon in a close-ready position as the weapon "hangs" from the chest, leaving just enough slack to be able to quickly bring it to firing position with little effort. Since retiring from the Navy, Chalker has authored six books, three fiction and three non-fiction with

Kevin Dockery Kevin Dockery (born January 8, 1984) is a former American football cornerback. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Mississippi State. Dockery has also been a member of the St. L ...

about life as a Navy SEAL.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

* Chalker, Dennis C. ''One Perfect Op: an Insider’s Account of the Navy Seal Special Warfare Teams'' / by Dennis Chalker with Kevin Dockery. 1st ed. New York: Morrow, c2002. xiii, 332 p. ; 25 cm. (acid-free paper) * Chalker, Dennis C. ''Hell Week: SEALS in Training'' / Dennis Chalker with Kevin Dockery. New York : Avon Books, 2002. 375 p. ; 18 cm. * Chalker, Dennis C. ''The United States Navy SEALs Workout Guide: the Exercise and Fitness Programs Based on the U.S. Navy SEALs and BUD/S Training'' / Dennis C. Chalker, with Kevin Dockery. 1st ed. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1998. xxii, 183 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

Fiction

* Chalker, Dennis C. ''The Home Team: Undeclared War'' / Dennis Chalker with Kevin Dockery. New York: Avon Books, c2004. 392 p. ; 18 cm. *Chalker, Dennis C. ''The Home Team: Hostile Borders'' / Dennis Chalker with Kevin Dockery. New York: Avon Books, c2005. 362 p. ; 18 cm. * Chalker, Dennis C. ''Home Team: Weapons Grade''

References

External links