Posted on 08/27/2012 6:02:44 AM PDT by Travis McGee
I know I have read somewhere that the seals grandfathered in some who were earlier frogmen but were not called seals.
How far did it go back? To Viet Nam, Korea, WWII, Maybe all the way back to Swede Momsen in the pre war years?
Will be reading about the Eubonics code talkers down the road?
The best book I’ve seen is called “Brave Men Dark Waters,” put out about 2000. It traces the origins back to pre WW2. There were a few different units folded into the UDTs, which begat the SEALs. They were all frogmen, as are SEALs today. But only SEALs are SEALs. That’s the problem that jerk wrestler had: trying to pretend he was a SEAL, when he was not, not for one day, in a period when there were crucial differences between UDTs and SEALs. Namely, SEALs were hotly involved in daily combat ops in VN, adn UDTs were not.
Also, cannot forget Marcus Luttrell.
A couple of known actors have been cast for the film version of Lone Survivor; Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Alex Ludwig, Emile Hirsch, and Taylor Kitsch have been cast so far.
There has been a generation weaned on self-disclosure, (probably done to get dirt on their parents) between the VN Era SEALS and those now serving. The whole culture has gone nuts about gossip shows, magazines, Facebook, and other emetic media which provide information about personal lives once held sacrosanct.
So few understand operational security because they practice no discretion whatsoever in their private lives. Instead, the revelation of all is lauded, and those who do not are suspect.
No doubt I would enjoy reading these, but I’m horrified at the disclosure of tactics & gear involved. Can’t blame these guys for disgust over polidiots profiting by their efforts; we all share that... Just the same, I’m gonna keep my disposable income out of their pockets.
In following the politicians’ lead, they dishonor what had been honorable acts while endangering OPSEC for those still in service.
What year did mcRaven become top dog?
I thought any books from former active duty military had to go through (submitted before a publisher could even look at it) a DoD “review” board??? If it had accounts of any kind of military operations or system discussions...
I like the character development in your novels because yes, some had military backgrounds, but nothing more than who they were, and where they may have “chewed some dirt”...But the story(ies) “overall”, are what make the things flow...I like that sort of read...
In reality books like these don’t even scratch the surface...And more need to be written, but they need to go through the hoops that are there for a good reason...Not to censure, but to make sure that anything that directs real attention to real personnel, that needs to be very ambiguous to protect them...
Just my opinion...From an old school scope dope...
“...phone homeeeee???”
Special Operations OPSEC targets Obama for reckless intelligence leaks (FR thread)
Dishonorable Disclosures (22:00 Youtube video)
Special Operations (OPSEC) (website to get involved)
Beats me. I don’t follow it that closely. A tour won’t typically last over 2 years, 3 max, so I’d guess 1-2 years.
William Harry "Bill" McRaven (born 06 November 1955) is a United States Navy four-star Admiral. He is Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command since August 8, 2011.
I went to a U S A F tech school at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo TX in 1960. The classes were composed of five airmen and five sailors. All of the sailors were recent graduates of the “R” branch school at IB. They took the top of the “R” branch school and sent the to GAFB for the “T” branch course. They got name assignments from BUPERS; our overseas assignments were by class rank. I ended up in the Philippines. A lot of the sailors went to Adak right out of school.
WASHINGTON – A firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous accounts by administration officials, raising questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when SEALs first fired upon him.
Bin Laden apparently was hit in the head when he looked out of his bedroom door into the top-floor hallway of his compound as SEALs rushed up a narrow stairwell in his direction, according to former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette, writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen in "No Easy Day." The book is to be published next week by Penguin Group (USA)'s Dutton imprint.
Bissonnette says he was directly behind a "point man" going up the stairs. "Less than five steps" from top of the stairs, he heard "suppressed" gunfire: "BOP. BOP." The point man had seen a "man peeking out of the door" on the right side of the hallway.
The author writes that bin Laden ducked back into his bedroom and the SEALs followed, only to find the terrorist crumpled on the floor in a pool of blood with a hole visible on the right side of his head and two women wailing over his body.
Bissonnette says the point man pulled the two women out of the way and shoved them into a corner and he and the other SEALs trained their guns' laser sights on bin Laden's still-twitching body, shooting him several times until he lay motionless. The SEALs later found two weapons stored by the doorway, untouched, the author said.
In the account related by administration officials after the raid in Pakistan, the SEALs shot bin Laden only after he ducked back into the bedroom because they assumed he might be reaching for a weapon.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor would not comment on the apparent contradiction late Tuesday.
"No Easy Day" was due out Sept. 11, but Dutton announced the book would be available a week early, Sept. 4, because of a surge of orders due to advance publicity that drove the book to the top of the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com best-seller lists.
The Associated Press purchased a copy of the book Tuesday.
In another possibly uncomfortable revelation for U.S. officials who say bin Laden's body was treated with dignity before being given a full Muslim burial at sea, the author reveals that in the cramped helicopter flight out of the compound, one of the SEALs called "Walt" was sitting on bin Laden's chest as the body lay at the author's feet in the middle of the cabin.
The publisher says the author used pseudonyms for all the SEALs.
Beyond such embarrassing observations, U.S. officials fear the book may include classified information, as it did not undergo the formal review required by the Pentagon for works published by former or current Defense Department employees.
Officials from the Pentagon and the CIA, which commanded the mission, are examining the manuscript for possible disclosure of classified information and could take legal action against the author.
In a statement provided to The Associated Press, the author says he did "not disclose confidential or sensitive information that would compromise national security in any way."
Bissonnette's real name was first revealed by Fox News and confirmed to The Associated Press.
Jihadists on al-Qaida websites have posted purported photos of the author, calling for his murder.
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