IACSP Q&A With Former Navy SEAL Benjamin H. Milligan, Author of “By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALs

Benjamin H. Milligan became a US Navy SEAL in 2001 and served until 2009. He is the author of “By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the U.S. Navy SEALs.”

Milligan received a Bronze Star and other awards while serving as a SEAL. A native of Indianapolis, he received a BA in History at Purdue University and an MA in International Relations at the University of San Diego.

the U.S. Special Operations Command, said the book was “deeply researched, well organized and incredibly engaging… This is our legacy with all the warts, the challenges, and the heroics in one concise volume.”

Benjamin H, Millgan was interviewed by Paul Davis.

IACSP: I read and enjoyed your book. I’ve interviewed a good number of SEALs and I’ve read a good number of books on the SEALs, but I like the way you put your book together, showing chronologically how American special operations groups came and went and how all contributed and led to the development of the modern Navy SEALs.

I was especially interested in your coverage of the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) in World War II, as my late father, Edward Miller Davis, was a chief in UDT 5, and Draper Kauffman, the founder of UDT, was his commanding officer. My father is mentioned briefly in Douglas Fane’s book, “The Naked Warriors.”

Milligan: That was probably my hardest chapter to write. One of the more fun things I got to go through Draper Kauffman’s personal papers. They were at his daughter’s house. I spent a day or two going...