A great deal of what people know or think they know about the Navy SEALs comes from Hollywood’s portrayal of Navy SEALs in the movies.  The problem is that the portrayal of Navy SEALs in the movies is not always accurate.  In fact, one of the greatest myths about Navy SEALs involves secret and sealed records of their existence.

When a SEAL completes an individual mission or a combat assignment these events are simply not recorded in their service record.  The only time they are recorded is if the Navy SEAL will be receiving a public award for their service.   Most U.S. Navy SEALs records will simply include “tours” or “deployment” records.

However, the record that a person is a Navy SEAL is not sealed or held as secret.  This is something that Hollywood confuses or fabricates.  Many characters in films will reveal that they secretly worked as a Navy SEAL but all records were destroyed to protect them.  This is complete rubbish and does not happen.  Hollywood adds this to their take on the Navy SEALs to add more mystery to their production and to their characters persona.

There are no “secret” Navy SEALs.  If a Navy SEAL tells you any different they themselves are probably not a Navy SEAL.  A lot of phony men claiming to be Navy SEALs will claim that all records relating to their service have been destroyed to protect them from foreign countries and spies.  However, these type of destroyed or sealed records only exist in the minds of Hollywood writers.