Combat Swimmer cover art

Combat Swimmer

Memoirs of a Navy Seal

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Combat Swimmer

By: Captain Robert A. Gormly, USN - Ret.
Narrated by: Adams Morgan
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Subtitled "Memoirs of a Navy Seal", Captain Robert A. Gormly tells his amazing story as the leader of the US Navy SEALs, taking us into the night, into the water and into battle on some of the most hair-raising missions ever assigned. Rising through the chain of command within the SEALs from platoon leader to commanding officer, Gormly's journey began with a chance meeting on a Virginia beach. Qualifying for the Navy's elite Underwater Demolitions Unit -- the precursor of the SEALs -- Gormly became an expert at underwater reconnaissance and guerrilla-style warfare. As a member of the newly formed SEAL Team Two, Gormly was trained to a fine fighting edge just in time for the war in Vietnam.

The SEALs created a legend that would grow throughout the war -- and earn an enemy bounty for anyone who could capture or kill a US Navy SEAL. But behind the myth and mystique was a remarkable fighting machine, a team of soldiers who knew their job and maintained their discipline in the face of firefighters, ambushes, and missions gone horribly wrong. In Gormly's vivid, gut-wrenching descriptions, the Mekong comes alive, as hours of careful stalking explode into incredible fusillades of violence -- including one in which Gormly's hand was nearly shot off. His unprecedented acts of heorism and daring brought Gormly recognition as well as numerous awards for both the success of his strikes and his ability to bring his men back alive.

In a career that included two tours of duty in Vietnam, as well as top-secret missions in the Persian Gulf, Gormly examines war from a strategic point of view as well as from his own personal experience. With insight and eloquence, he goes on to chronicle SEAL life after Vietnam, including what is perhaps the most graphic description ever of SEAL action in the chaotic invasion of Grenada.

©1998 by Robert A. Gormly (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks Armed Forces Asia Military Military & War Naval Forces Southeast Asia Solider War

Critic reviews

"Bob Gormly tells his story with remarkable wit, wisdom, drama, and grace. Combat Swimmer is a superb and fascinating story about the US Navy SEALs, from one of the best of the breed." (Hans Halberstadt, author of Inside the US Navy SEALs)
All stars
Most relevant
Well written and vivd descriptions of operations and life in general for a SEAL officer of the time.

With that being said, someone must have recorded this on a potato. The audio jumps in volume at times which can be a bit jarring, and is generally poor in quality.
Pointed out by other reviews the narrator isn't very clued up on the pronunciation of some of the military jargon which I found amusing at times.

Well worth the listen overall.

Brilliant book, bad recording and pronunciation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Vietnamese part interesting. However, the last 2 chapters really are worth the wait.
The war on drugs and Grenada affair.
I got this free on Audible thinking it was just another “ I wuz there”
account. It certainly is not.

Good history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great retelling of a true hero's life story.

Audio recording wasn't the best but doesn't make the book any less amazing.

History we should all know....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'm not sure why this is apparently a kids book!!!. It goes into some depth about Seal operations. I'd love to hear what the authors thoughts are following 911 which occurred over a decade since the book was published.

Great Listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
interesting story. the Audible Kids got me a little confused. a good listen anyway

3/5

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
narrated as a series of blunt sentences which became monotonous and irritating. Gave up listening

Narration not great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.