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"We work in small teams and depend on each other a lot, a whole lot," said Petty Officer 1st Class Victor Wilson, a member of SEAL Team Five. "WE can't have anybody wimping out."

Trusting a teammate to do his part is important to the special camaraderie that develops within a team. "We trust each other with our lives," Victor said. A snort of laughter burst out from across the room, as a voice called out "Yeah, Vic. I don't trust them with my money, my car or my girl, but I trust them with my life."

Whether performing hydrographic mapping, locking out of a submarine escape trunk or swimming up an enemy's beach for reconnaissance, team members literally place their lives in each others' hands. Working together is concept that is taught in basic training and reinforced over and over again throughout a SEAL's career. "You learn you're not an individual, but a cog in a well-oiled machine," Bill said. "You are dependent on other guys and they are dependent on you."

Specially trained SEALs use SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDV's) to cover vast distances underwater, undetected.

Tied together by a six-foot line, dive-buddies work as a single unit to accomplish the job. If one part breaks down, the unit cannot function. "We were attempting to plant limpet mines on a ship during a practice swim when my dive-buddy's diving rig flooded out," Bill said.

Diving with the LARV-5 Draeger, a front-mounted rebreathing rig, flooding meant a "caustic cocktail" for his partner. This is a particularly nasty mixture of fumes that results when the chemicals in the tank mix with water. At the very least, it causes an extremely bad taste and mild burns in the diver's mouth. In a worst-case scenario, a diver could die from the caustic fumes burning his lungs.

Bill was able to help his dive-buddy to the surface before any serious injury occurred. "Luckily, we were near a pier when his rig flooded. We were able to surface under the pier and remain hidden."

To surface during a combat swim is the last thing divers are supposed to do, as it not only alerts lookouts to their presence, but also endangers other, undetected teams.

Navy SEALs often use the cover of darkness to approach targets silently over and/or under the water.

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