[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-639196-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":74,"doc-detail-639196-en":124},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":67,"head_meta":69,"extra_data":71,"updated_unix":73},105,"en","irish-flynn-career-biography-navy-seals-and-special-operations","Irish Flynn - Career biography - Navy SEALs and special operations","","Rear Admiral Cathal Liam “Irish” Flynn, Jr. (U.S. Navy, retired) died 25 February 2021 at age 82. After enlisting in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1960, he trained with Underwater Demolition Teams and transitioned into the SEALs, serving through the Naval Special Warfare Community until retiring in 1990. His career included Vietnam deployments as a naval advisor, leadership roles across UDT/SEAL detachments, advanced studies, Pentagon and joint command assignments, and later counterintelligence leadership as head of the Naval Investigative Service, earning multiple distinguished awards and citations.",{"@graph":14,"@context":66},[15,34,49],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/irish-flynn-career-biography-navy-seals-and-special-operations/639196/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"author":36,"headline":10,"publisher":39,"fileFormat":42,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":43,"datePublished":43,"encodingFormat":42,"isAccessibleForFree":44,"interactionStatistic":45},"DigitalDocument",{"name":37,"@type":38},"GGG","Person",{"url":19,"name":40,"@type":41},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22",true,{"@type":46,"interactionType":47,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":48},"ViewAction",{"@type":50,"mainEntity":51},"FAQPage",[52,58,62],{"name":53,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":55},"When did Cathal Liam “Irish” Flynn, Jr. pass away, and how old was he?","Question",{"text":56,"@type":57},"He passed away on 25 February 2021 at age 82.","Answer",{"name":59,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":60},"What was Flynn’s career path from 1960 onward?",{"text":61,"@type":57},"He enlisted in 1960, trained with Underwater Demolition Teams, transitioned to the SEALs, and served in Naval Special Warfare until retiring in 1990.",{"name":63,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":64},"What role did Flynn hold as a rear admiral in later service?",{"text":65,"@type":57},"He became the first flag officer to head the Naval Investigative Service, overseeing intensive counterintelligence actions and investigations.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":68,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":40,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":70,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":72,"site_id":7},639196,1792702215,{"code":4,"msg":75,"data":76},"success",[77,81,85,89,94,99,104,108,113,116,120],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":78,"show_sort_weight":79,"slug":80},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":82,"show_sort_weight":83,"slug":84},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":90,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":95,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},8,30,"research-report",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":115},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":119},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":121,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":122,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":123},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":75,"data":125},{"doc_id":72,"user_id":126,"nickname":37,"user_avatar":127,"doc_module":4,"category_id":105,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":128,"file_id":129,"file_url":130,"file_type":131,"file_size":132,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":133,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":134,"faqs":135,"seo_title":136,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":73,"read_time":105},962093532725,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Rear Admiral (lower half) Cathal Liam “Irish” Flynn, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired) passed on 25 February 2021 at age 82. Irish enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1960, earned a place in the Underwater Demolition Team Community, transitioned to the SEALs, and served in the Naval Special Warfare Community until his retirement in 1990 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. He earned a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” a Combat Action Ribbon and Presidential Unit Citation for his Vietnam War tours in 1964 and 1967; he went on to command Underwater Demolition Team TWELVE, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, and was the first flag officer to lead the Naval Security and Investigative Service (now NCIS. )  \nBorn in Dublin, Ireland, Irish attended schools in Ireland, France and Spain, before graduating from Trinity College of the University of Dublin in 1959 with a Baccalaures in Arte Ingeniaria (BAI) degree in Civil Engineering. On 8 February 1960, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve to attend Officer Candidate School in Newport Rhode Island. He was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and continued on active duty. In June 1960, Ensign Flynn reported to the Naval Amphibious School at Little Creek, Virginia, where he entered the intense Underwater Demolition Team replacement officer training program and was one of the three out of 14 officers to make it through the class. He would subsequently earn qualifications as a diver and parachutist.  \nIn October 1960, ENS Flynn reported to Underwater Demolition Team ELEVEN (UDT 11) as a Platoon Officer at Coronado, California. In December 1961 he was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) and sometime during this tour was awarded a Master of Arts in Civil Engineering from the University of Dublin. On 1 January 1962, SEAL Team ONE was stood up at Coronado and SEAL Team TWO at Little Creek, formed entirely out of personnel from UDT Teams. For many years, the existence of these SEAL teams was classified secret. In November 1963, LTJG Flynn became a member of SEAL Team ONE. He deployed to Vietnam in 1964 as a naval advisor under the special operations section of the U.S. Military Advisory Command Vietnam (MAC-V) in the Danang area, where he was awarded a Secretary of the Navy Commendation for Achievement that stated,“the results of his efforts were vividly demonstrated by the successful combat accomplishments of the forces trained under his personal supervision.” He was promoted to lieutenant in June 1964 and augmented into the U.S. Navy in May 1965.  \nLT Flynn reported to Washington DC in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as Assistant for Special Operations (OP-345E. ) In June 1967, he returned to SEAL Team ONE as Executive Officer and Officer-in-Charge of Detachment BRAVO operating in the vicinity of Nha Be against Viet Cong forces in the Rung Sat Special Zone in the Mekong Delta. LT Flynn was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” and SEAL Team ONE was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.  \nIn July 1967, LT Flynn assumed command of Underwater Demolition Team TWELVE at Coronado, during which UDT-12 was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation. Promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1969, the same month he attended the Naval War College where he was a distinguished graduate in 1970.  \nIn June 1970, LCDR Flynn reported to the Naval Ship Systems Command as Principal Assistant for Special Warfare Units, where he was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal (very rare for an 0-4 at the time. ) In August 1972, he attended the American University in Washington DC where he earned a Master of Arts in International Studies with a specialty in East Asia/China, graduating in June 1974.  \nPromoted to commander in June 1974, he reported that month to the staff of Commander-inChief, US. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor as Amphibious and Special Warfare Officer In June 1976 he attended the National Defense University, graduating in 1977. In June 1977, C","cbCainXLA57w0pnt","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainXLA57w0pnt","pdf",57799,"English","# Biography and service timeline\n## Naval Reserve entry and early UDT/SEAL training\n## Vietnam deployments and command roles\n## Joint commands, education, and Pentagon assignments\n## Rear admiral leadership and retirement","[{\"question\":\"When did Cathal Liam “Irish” Flynn, Jr. pass away, and how old was he?\",\"answer\":\"He passed away on 25 February 2021 at age 82.\"},{\"question\":\"What was Flynn’s career path from 1960 onward?\",\"answer\":\"He enlisted in 1960, trained with Underwater Demolition Teams, transitioned to the SEALs, and served in Naval Special Warfare until retiring in 1990.\"},{\"question\":\"What role did Flynn hold as a rear admiral in later service?\",\"answer\":\"He became the first flag officer to head the Naval Investigative Service, overseeing intensive counterintelligence actions and investigations.\"}]","Irish Flynn - Career biography - Navy SEALs and special operations | PDF"]