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"Surprise is a very important objective in our missions," Victor said. Bill agreed, adding, "to hit undetected and move out to the rendezvous point for extraction is our goal. You are usually OK if you can accomplish both objectives. If you lose one or the other, you're in trouble."

Although undetected and with the advantage of surprise still on his side, Bill couldn't finish the mission without his dive-buddy. "We were so close to our target, I could have easily left my dive-buddy at the pier and finished the job myself. All I had to do was dive under and attach the Limpet to the ship. But that goes against everything we are taught. You never go anywhere without a buddy," Bill said.

By the book.

As if danger from the enemy is not enough to contend with, there are the dangers of diving itself, such as bends or oxygen poisoning. Not to mention other ocean inhabitants.

One SEAL remembered meeting a large barracuda on one dive When the barracuda brushed past him, the SEAL said he grabbed onto his dive-buddy. "I'll never forget that moment. Two SEALs holding onto each other for dear life. All I could see were two giant eyes staring out from behind his mask. And I know that's all he saw of me."

Having encountered numerous sharks, one only two feet away, Bill has decided sharks aren't that aggressive and their reputation is mostly hype.

Since most of the SEALs' missions take place in the middle of the night, they also must often contend with paralyzing cold and complete darkness. "You can get pretty clausty (claustrophobic), pretty fast," Bill said. Even with the insulating layer of water between the diver and his wet suit, it's a cold job. That coldness is only relieved momentarily when divers answer calls from Mother Nature. But Bill said, "You don't really have the time to concentrate on how miserable you are."

SEALs spend many hours practicing every aspect of their dives and missions.

Each partner has a job to do. For example, during a combat swim one man holds the compass board, which includes compass, watch and depth gauge, enabling the team to keep on course. His dive-buddy, holding onto his arm just below the triceps, serves as a lookout and counts kicks as a backup navigation aid. Using a code consisting of squeezes and pauses, the buddies can communicate underwater.

To be able to work well as a team requires a lot of practice. That's why, according to Bill, each time a new dive-buddy is assigned, the partners get together and swim a hundred yards over and over again, until they know exactly how many kicks it takes them to cover the distance and how long it will take. Somewhere between two minutes and 50 seconds and three minutes and 10 seconds is the standard.

Before the team leaves on a mission, their underwater route is carefully planned - right down to the number of kicks it will take to reach their target. This is especially helpful as the team nears a large metal object such as a ship, which renders their compass useless. By knowing how much time and how many kicks it takes to cover designated distance, they can calculate exactly where they are.

"They say familiarity breeds contempt. Not for us. The more practice the better off we are" Bill said.

- Story by JO1 Lynn Jenkins ; ALL-HANDS

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