Mini gallery: No Shortage of Special Forces Using Personal Watercraft

Although there’s nothing official coming from either camps, being the OEMs or any branch of the United States Armed Forces, we know that the American military is 1) the most well-funded peace-keeping mechanism to have ever existed on this spinning ball we call home and 2) is not against using any form of technology that would provide them the best tactical upper hand.

That being said, high speed insertion/extraction vehicles have been in regular use for decades. According to a report on specialoperations.com,  “One example of these activities occurred during the early 80’s, when Maritime Branch personnel trained Nicaraguan Contras to use of high speed boats for attacks against Sandinista shipping. They also stood by to launch underwater sabotage attacks against ships docked in Managua’s harbor. Another example occurred in early 1991. This time Maritime Branch operators instructed US military SOF in the use of modified jet skis for a possible hostage rescue mission during Operation Desert Storm.”

Although the post didn’t specify whether these “high speed boats” were personal watercraft, we do know that Hellenic Special Forces were recently pictured on specially-prepped smoked-out Sea-Doo RXT 215 runabouts. The Special Forces Directorate had 12 Sea-Doo RXTs ordered from Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP) for use against as counter-insurgent equipment.

Even grainy images of a seated one-man jet-driven personal watercraft allowed both “regular” blue water SEAL Teams and the counter-terrorist DEVGRU, and USMC Force Reconnaissance personnel to make quick, silent entrances and exits. Looking to put a greater emphasis on amphibious/waterborne training activities, Maritime Branch operators “receive training in conducting operations such as jet ski reconnaissance and hostage rescue operations along hostile shorelines,” according to specialoperations.com.

Even the veritable QuadSki has been seen in military/hunting camouflage livery. The versatility of the transforming QuadSki, as well as personal watercraft as a whole has not fallen on deaf ears. Even K38’s own Shawn Alladio has personally trained Navy personnel in property safety and rough water operation. It’ll be interesting to see what future history reveals about the use of PWC in the military, but until now, all we have are these shots. Enjoy!