NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE
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ESTABLISHING ADVANCED CAPABILITIES
The CQD®/NSW (Naval Special Warfare) relationship began in 1989, when Mr. Dieter was requested by the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) to teach the CQD System. Select personnel visited the CQD training facility for a demonstration, which later led to a one-week training course, after which recommendations were made to other components of this group for adoption. CQD provided operationally focused and customized unarmed, armed, personnel control, advanced CQD shooting techniques, and team tactical skills, as well as Validation/Accountability Exercises and Tac-House™ training, all tailored to meet mission specific tasks. Due to its operational relevance, merit, and referrals from various operators, the training spread throughout this Command, from team-to-team, in the early 90’s. Because of the unique value of the system, Mr. Dieter received continual requests for training. A CQD Tactical Role Player™ (TRP™) training program was then instituted which provided the opposing force against operators for both individual and team size engagements. At one time, this week-long certification was comprised of over 80 active members. In 1995, the senior leadership formulated mission-need statements and training project plans outlining CQD’s adoption at the Command which would establish a formalized training program for all operators. By 1995, over 75% of this Command had trained in CQD at various levels.
Throughout this time period, CQD taught initial and advanced courses to various SEAL Teams on the East Coast. Due to CQD’s success and overwhelming acceptance by NSW's Tier-1 Command and the East Coast Teams, the system was referred to the Naval Special Warfare Center (NSWC) in 1995. The Combat Fighting Course (CFC) cadre attended a one-week training session in CQD, and upon completion of the course recognized its total operational focus and applicability for SEALs. They began implementing the training and recommended the system for adoption in 1996, and in 1997 CQD became the established training program for the SEAL Teams and was approved by the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC). As the success of the training spread, senior NSW leaders recognized the need and value of having CQD throughout the career of a SEAL operator and in 2000, CQD was officially adopted into Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Phases as well as SEAL Qualification Training (SQT). By providing one to six-week CQD training courses at all levels of NSW, each SEAL operator was interoperable and was able to progress from initial to advanced levels of training throughout their career.
The operators appreciated these unique and specialized skills and through their own words, CQD became synonymous with, and defined, operational training. Mr. Dieter’s tactical expertise was so highly regarded that he was brought in to conduct six-week training courses for missions of national importance, all resulting in success. For all of Mr. Dieter’s efforts and continuing service to Naval Special Warfare he was made an Honorary Frogman and awarded the Civilian Superior Service Award by ADM Eric T. Olson in 2002.
CQD has also had a proven, successful relationship with NSW in certifying NSWC CQD Instructors. Each of these instructors have gone through the rigorous six weeks of Instructor Forging and Training to ensure the highest quality training for NSW operators. An added value of the Instructor Training has been its ability to develop core values in the operators’ professional and personal lives. The system and its methods of training fostered high moral and ethical standards, providing proper examples for students, as well as student counseling/mentorship when necessary. These instructors have in turn trained thousands of SEALs and support personnel in one of the most sought after and successful courses in NSW.
The overall benefit for NSW has been tactical integration and continuity on both East and West coasts, as well as the development of individual unarmed to armed skills to the formation of the team, utilized in any operational environment.
For over two decades, CQD has been utilized with great success in all areas of NSW on-target missions including Direct Action Assault; Special Reconnaissance; Combating Terrorism; Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS)/Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO); Special Operations in Urban Combat (SOUC); and land warfare. The CQD techniques and tactics have been the NSW standard for improved community interoperability, providing the Teams with efficient tactics, techniques, remediation, validation, and a high level of quality control.
The SEALs themselves, from Team-level operators to senior leadership, have proclaimed on over six thousand critiques, numerous End-of-Training Reports, and operational After-Action Reports that their CQD training directly aided mission success and was a key component in saving lives – both operator and civilian.