Dick Couch
Encyclopedia
Biography
Dick Couch was born in Mississippi and raised in Southern Indiana. He graduated from the United States Naval AcademyUnited States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
in 1967. After attending DASH controller training, he reported aboard the naval destroyer USS Mansfield DD728. He graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
(BUD/S) Class 45 in 1969, and was the class Honorman. He graduated first in his class at the Navy Underwater Swimmers School and the Army Free Fall (HALO) School. As Whiskey Platoon Commander with SEAL Team One in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, he led one of the few successful prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
rescue operations of that conflict.
Following his release from active duty in the U.S. Navy, he served as a maritime
Admiralty law
Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...
and paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
case officer with the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. In 1997, he retired from the Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
with the rank of Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
. At that time, he held the senior command billet in the SEAL reserve community.
He and his wife, Julia, live in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. However, he is currently serving as a Professor of Ethics at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
.
The Sheriff of Ramadi: Navy SEALs and the Winning of al-Anbar
In a book published by the Naval Institute Press, former U.S. Navy SEAL Dick Couch reports on the actions of the SEAL Task Unit during the Battle of Ramadi in Iraq's al-Anbar Province between 2005 and 2007. Couch details the previously unrecognized importance of the SEALs in winning the fight to control Ramadi. Calling the Battle of Ramadi one of the most significant military engagements in the global war against terrorism since 9/11 and the most sustained and vicious engagement ever fought by SEALs, he describes the success of special operations forces and Navy SEALs fighting side by side with conventional forces. Couch identifies the SEALs' ability to adapt and evolve in this deadly urban battle space and argues their code of brotherhood is a key to their success on the battlefield, giving as an example the story of PO2 Michael A. Monsoor, who saved other members of his sniper team by diving on a grenade and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery during the Battle of Ramadi.Fiction
- Seal Team One (1991)
- Pressure Point (1993; 2006)
- Silent Descent (1994).
- Rising Wind (1996).
- Covert Action (2005).
Non-Fiction
- The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 (2003),
- The Finishing School (2005),
- Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism (2006).
- Chosen Soldier: The Making of A Special Forces Warrior (2007)
- The Sheriff of Ramadi: Navy SEALs and the Winning of al-Anbar (2008)