PHOCA PRESS, LLC
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA

Phoca Press is a private company that publishes works by, for, and about the Naval Special Warfare community. Our mission is to enhance the public’s appreciation and understanding of the contributions of the Naval Special Warfare community through history up to today. Commander Tom Hawkins retired from the U.S. Navy after 24-years active service as a career SEAL and Naval Special Warfare (NSW) officer. Upon graduation from college, he entered the Navy in February 1966, and was commissioned the following May. He completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) with Class 38 in Little Creek, Virginia and subsequently completed operational tours in UDT-21, UDT-22, and SEAL Team TWO, where he deployed to the Republic of Vietnam as a Platoon Commander. Commander Tom Hawkins retired from the U.S. Navy after 24-years active service as a career SEAL and Naval Special Warfare (NSW) officer. Upon graduation from college, he entered the Navy in February 1966, and was commissioned the following May. He completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) with Class 38 in Little Creek, Virginia and subsequently completed operational tours in UDT-21, UDT-22, and SEAL Team TWO, where he deployed to the Republic of Vietnam as a Platoon Commander. published by the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago. In 2014, Tom founded Phoca Press to serve as an outlet for the wealth of material of educational and historical importance especially surrounding maritime special operations. Tom is the author of our best-seller Lisa Merriam provides marketing and publishing support to Phoca Press. She grew up in a family of magazine publishers and worked in that family business for fifteen years. She is a seasoned copywriter and published author. She has written for publications such as Forbes, Yahoo! Finance, American Bank Marketing, Apparel Magazine, China Business News, Sporting Goods Business Lisa now runs her own brand and marketing consulting business. She helps companies build and manage profitable brands. Her expertise is brand strategy, brand naming, brand identity, brand launch, copy writing and video production. Lisa has led international projects for large firms such as ExxonMobil, Disney, Canon and BMW, but also regularly works for small entrepreneurial companies and non-profits. She understands how brand works in sponsorship environments, having led the branding for Johnson & Johnson’s sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and developed the corporate sponsorship program for the Liberty Science Center. She serves on the board of directors for the breast cancer charity by women in martial arts Moms Who Kick and is a volunteer at the National U.S. Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Florida. Lisa Downey Merriam grew up in the magazine business, Her first job on the far left was as a cover girl with a mosquito bite. She eventually moved into advertising and publishing. Prior to starting her own business, Lisa was Director in the Brand Strategy practice of McCann-Erickson’s FutureBrand consultancy. She worked with clients as diverse as McGraw-Hill, D&B, UPS, and Exxon Mobil. Prior to that, she was Marketing Director at E Ink Corporation, an MIT start-up and was Vice President of Marketing for CENUS Corporation, and Internet technology firm spun out of the University of California. She was raised in the publishing business and started her career in the family business, working for Phoca Press publishes works by, for, and about the Naval Special Warfare community. Our mission is to enhance the public’s appreciation and understanding of the contributions of Naval Special Warfare through history up to today. Our works cover current and legacy Navy SEAL, SWCC, UDT, NCDU, S&R, OSS-MU topics, including: