Navy Special Warfare Operators — SO rating, previously serving in Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) before SEAL Team establishment in 1962 and SO rating designation — trained at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia. UDT operators and SEALs conducted underwater beach reconnaissance and demolition, harbor clearance, direct action operations, and military assistance missions throughout the Cold War era and beyond. UDT and SEAL operators performing demolition operations on beach obstacles, structures, and foreign material encountered asbestos-containing construction materials in the objects they demolished and surveyed, and accumulated secondary asbestos exposure from the WWII-era and Cold War shore facility construction at naval amphibious bases where training was conducted.

Demolition Operations and Asbestos Exposure

UDT and SEAL demolition work involved encounters with asbestos-containing materials:

  • Beach obstacle and structure demolition — UDT operators performing pre-invasion reconnaissance and demolition of coastal fortifications, beach obstacles, and coastal structures — particularly those of WWII-era and Korean War-era construction — encountered asbestos-containing construction materials in the structures being surveyed and demolished. Demolition operations on older WWII-era concrete and steel structures that used asbestos-containing construction products released asbestos fiber during demolition preparation and execution
  • Facility clearance and inspection operations — SEAL and UDT operators conducting reconnaissance, inspection, and clearance operations on ships, facilities, and structures encountered asbestos-containing materials in the older construction of the vessels and shore structures being inspected and cleared
  • Training demolition ranges — demolition training operations at amphibious training ranges used training structures and obstacle fields that in older construction incorporated asbestos-containing materials, with UDT and SEAL trainees performing repeated demolition exercises on these training structures

Amphibious Base Shore Facility Asbestos

Naval amphibious training bases used asbestos-containing facility construction:

  • BUD/S training facilities — the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training buildings at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado used WWII-era and Cold War military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling products, and asbestos-containing pipe insulation in the facility mechanical systems where trainees spent extended periods during the training pipeline
  • Team facility buildings — the SEAL Team and UDT team buildings at Coronado and Little Creek used military construction with asbestos-containing materials in the working spaces and equipment rooms where operators were based throughout their team assignments

VA Claims for SO and UDT Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure in Navy operational activities and shore facilities. Special Warfare Operators and UDT personnel who performed demolition operations on older construction and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.