Richard Marcinko, Founding Commander of SEAL Team 6, Dies at 81

Richard Marcinko, the hard-charging founding commandant of Navy SEAL Team 6, the storied and feared portion wrong an elite commando unit that aboriginal carried retired the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, died Saturday astatine his location successful Fauquier County, Va. He was 81.

The origin was believed to beryllium a bosom attack, a son, Matthew Marcinko, said.

Commander Marcinko climbed the ranks to bid Team 6 and wrote a tell-all champion seller that cemented the SEALs successful popular civilization arsenic heroes and atrocious boys. Though the highly decorated Vietnam seasoned led Team 6 for lone 3 years, from 1980 to 1983, helium had an outsize power connected the group’s spot successful subject lore.

After a failed 1980 mission to rescue 53 American hostages seized successful the takeover of the United States Embassy successful Tehran, the Navy asked Commander Marcinko to physique a SEAL portion that could respond rapidly to violent crises. The sanction itself was an effort astatine Cold War disinformation: Only 2 SEAL teams existed astatine the time, but Commander Marcinko called the caller portion SEAL Team 6, hoping that Soviet analysts would overestimate the size of the force.

He flouted rules and fostered a maverick representation for the unit. (Years aft leaving the command, helium was convicted of subject declaration fraud.) In his autobiography, “Rogue Warrior,” Commander Marcinko describes drinking unneurotic arsenic important to SEAL Team 6’s solidarity; his recruiting interviews often amounted to boozy chats successful bars.

For years, SEAL Team 6 embraced its rogue persona and was assigned immoderate of the military’s toughest operations. Only Team 6 trains to pursuit aft atomic weapons that autumn into force hands. And the team’s relation successful the 2011 raid that killed bin Laden — the Qaeda person who 10 years earlier had overseen the violent attacks connected Sept. 11 — spawned a question of books and movies, elevating the portion to adjacent higher heights of fame.

Young officers were sometimes tally retired of Team 6 for trying to cleanable up what they saw arsenic a civilization of recklessness. Adm. William H. McRaven, who roseate to pb the Special Operations Command and oversaw the bin Laden raid, near Team 6 during the Marcinko epoch aft disagreements astir leadership.

After retiring from the Navy successful 1989, Commander Marcinko embarked connected a vocation arsenic a best-selling author, motivational talker and subject consultant, relying heavy connected his authenticity arsenic a subject veteran. He besides appeared connected the screen of respective of his books, presenting an imposing representation of muscular forearms, bearded jaw and piercing eyes staring retired astatine readers.

Some SEALs implicit the years person said that Commander Marcinko invented his ain legend. Of his 1992 book, “Rogue Warrior,” written with John Weisman, David Murray wrote successful The New York Times that “his communicative is fascinating” but the method of telling it “is not.” In the book, Commander Marcinko “comes crossed arsenic little the genuine warrior than a comic-book superhero who makes Arnold Schwarzenegger look similar Little Lord Fauntleroy.”

The publication sold millions of copies. Readers seemingly wanted more, and Commander Marcinko obliged. His 1995 novel, “Rogue Warrior: Green Team,” besides with Mr. Weisman, has “so overmuch enactment that the scholar scarcely has clip to breathe,” Newgate Callendar, different Times reviewer, wrote.

Richard Marcinko was calved connected Nov. 21, 1940, to George Marcinko and Emilie Teresa Pavlik Marcinko successful his grandmother’s location successful Lansford, Pa., a tiny mining town. In his autobiography, helium described his parent arsenic “short and Slavic looking” and his begetter arsenic acheronian and brooding, with a “nasty temper.”

All the men successful the family, Commander Marcinko wrote, were miners. “They were born, they worked the mines, they died,” helium wrote. “Life was elemental and beingness was hard, and I conjecture immoderate of them mightiness person wanted to propulsion themselves up by the bootstraps, but astir were excessively mediocre to bargain boots.”

He dropped retired of precocious schoolhouse and enlisted successful the Navy successful 1958. He was deployed to Vietnam with SEAL Team 2 successful 1967, according to the National Navy SEAL Museum, which announced the decease connected its Facebook page.

He received galore honors for his service, including 4 Bronze Stars, a Silver Star and a Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, according to the museum. After completing 2 tours successful Vietnam, helium was promoted to lieutenant commandant and past took the reins of SEAL Team 2 from 1974 to 1976, according to the museum.

Commander Marcinko is survived by his wife, Nancy; 4 daughters, Brandy Alexander, Tiffany Alexander, Hailey Marcinko and Kathy-Ann Marcinko; 2 sons, Matthew and Ritchie Marcinko; and respective grandchildren. An earlier matrimony to Kathy Black ended successful divorce.

On Sunday night, Admiral McRaven called Commander Marcinko “one of the much colorful characters” successful Naval peculiar warfare history.

“While we had immoderate disagreements erstwhile I was a young officer, I ever respected his boldness, his ingenuity and his unrelenting thrust for success,” Admiral McRaven wrote successful an email. “I anticipation helium volition beryllium remembered for his galore contributions to the SEAL community.”

Dave Philipps contributed reporting.