This is the second time we’ve lost a ship load of Seals in one shot. The first time was a hurry-up headuptheass rescue mission where they never cleared an LZ. We seem to have some real slow learning officers in military management. Never mind the life loss while I make a point. These guys are extremely valuable individually. They are specifically trained to work in small groups quietly. Making a real hi-value target by putting 20 of them together in one pokey chopper is tactical incompetence of the highest order. We couldn’t afford a chopper for each squad??? A true Seal mission, if this was one, would/ should have had access to whatever hardware they thot they needed. On it’s face, by the description so far available, this mission was sabotage by incompetence at the simplest level and maybe inside treason on the other end of the scale. I would dearly love to get my own crack at investigating the chain of command that put this mission in motion. There is a certain sniff of short-timers who are getting careless——I feel my blood pressure going up-—I couldn’t be any more disgusted-—so I’d better quit.
I know God will have a good mission ready for the lost troopers-——SEMPER FI.
First, let me express my sadness at this tragedy. Then let me express my disgust. These must be about the twenty individually most valuable folks in the entire US military in terms of the leverage that they bring to our military affairs. The cost of training them is unimaginable as is just the amount of ammo they expend in training. You would not put 20 such guys on a flight from San Diego to LA, much less on the same helicopter in a combat zone.
And damn it. After OSB everyone knew everyone was looking for these guys.
Most of the casualties happening in Afghanistan are due to leadership incompetence. Just got back from a tour there and what goes on would piss off everyone that’s worn the uniform. From running MATV’s up a dirt road with a high number of IEDs, while a route clearance package was running up an ajacent paved road. Chalk one up for the bad guys when the MATV was blown up.
How about sitting at the gate waiting to roll outside the wire because our Risk Assessment had spelling errors and we had to resubmit it. But the units running on the routes we were to clear, given the okay to roll out in front of us.
Or when they dropped notices 3 days prior to an OP so the “civilians” would know we were coming and wouldn’t be alarmed. Yea, we were suppose to find 250 Taliban and found 0, that’s Zero. Rules of engagement that put our lives in danger so they can protect people who hate us and who help the taliban because they’re more afraid of them, then us.
And on and on and on I could go!
I went over there with an open mind and the desire to help those people, but came home with the mind set, “Kill em all and let God sort them out”
I have one question regarding us being in Afghanistan and if it’s worth losing anymore of our people. If every Afghani died tonight, would the rest of the world even know it tomorrow?