Richard Marcinko, a Czech on both sides of the family, grew up in the small mining town of Lansford, Pennsylvania. He joined the UDT, or frogmen, two years after joining the US Navy in 1958. From there he went to the OCS, then to the SEALs during the Vietnam war for two tours of duty, then he ended up first commanding SEAL team 2 and finally being given just six months to assemble and ready a new unit, SEAL team 6 in 1980.
The top brass were impressed by Marcinko's abilities, so they put him on an unprecedented job for which he was perfectly suited: assemble a task force known as Red Cell, a group designated to probe and assault US military installations to identify weak points and measure readiness.
After his successful career as a professional soldier, Marcinko has enjoyed a second career as an author, first hitting the best-seller lists with his autobiography and then topping it off with another six books based in part on his real experiences and drawing upon his military expertise.
It is safe to assume that this is the man who popularized the term "SpecWar" with a wide audience through his books.