French Special Forces operating in Libya and Mali

The principle of military action against AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) is now established. The capitals of countries are actively working to develop a politico-military scenario intended to rid the region of the terrorist threat. Because that is targeted by AQIM , France is at the forefront of future operation, which will be composed of the backbone forces of ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West Africa.

Bogged down in Afghanistan for over ten years, the victims of strokes plane strain their budget numbers, the French armies were warned that their participation in overseas operations now limited to a multilateral framework. The colonial past of France and the threat that weigh on the lives of the hostages if Paris was at the forefront in the Sahel also call for moderation. “We just want to have a facilitating role. No question of sending ground troops, “said a French diplomat. The Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, promised a “logistical support” to help resolve the crisis.

French Special Forces in the region

But France is getting impatient. One hundred members of French Special Forces have been deployed in the region. They should soon be strengthened, in particular by the commandos of the French Navy. French aid also includes maritime patrol aircraft, who gather intelligence and surveillance system based in Niger. According to the hypotheses, notably in Paris, it would form an action force of a few hundred men to reconquer northern Mali, held for several months by armed Islamist groups.

A core group of 40 men, a first circle 200 to 400 men and footmen from 3000 to 4000 that men are Islamist. “This is not the Russian campaign,” says one expert dossier. “They are actually quite few. A thousand men occupies part of a state that no longer existed, “he says. The operation should not be limited to “give a kick in the anthill then go, warns an expert on the issue. Must be entered in the action duration, otherwise the problem will resurface six months later. ”

According to the daily El Khabar, an Algerian newspaper knowledgeable about security issues, the result of French Special Forces African military in Libya. “This is not information that surprises me. The French interests in the region, as Libya to Niger. Intervention but requires caution and tact due to entangling alliances uncertain actors and influence of foreign powers who have their own agenda, “said Liess Boukra, the former director of the ACSRT a Centre for the Study of Terrorism based in Algiers.

Algeria, which is to keep the pressure on terrorism outside its borders – and if possible to push towards sub-Saharan Africa – rejects any interference in the Sahel. This position does not prevent maintaining links with some ambiguous protagonists of the crisis, as the Islamist Ansar Dine Tuareg who control Kidal, one of the major cities of northern Mali. “There is something in the attitude trouble Algiers,” says a French diplomat.

Chadians in ambush

The French could be strengthened to address the shortcomings of the African Standby Force. Niger has announced its intention to provide troops and Burkina Faso and Senegal could follow. Reinforcements from Chad, a country where France has military bases could actively participate in the operation. But Chadian fighters, hardened in combat in the desert, scare their neighbors because of their reputation of soldiers uncontrollable.

For their part, Malians are divided and destroyed their army. Now, everyone knows that ECOWAS can hardly play more than a “buffer role” in this case, in the words of a diplomat. “His military capabilities are limited. ECOWAS will never be able to form the core of the intervention. ”

To support Africans, Britain has sided with France. Between the two countries’ cooperation is excellent, “says an officer. Germans and Poles have pledged support intelligence. Italians and Spaniards, their political contest. The Russians were assured that they not block the Security Council of the UN an operation in the fight against international terrorism. The Chinese seem to share this view. As for the Americans, they have offered their support, including intelligence, while denying the leading role.

Several steps are difficult to negotiate, must still be completed before the start of the operation. Acting President Traoré Dioncounda asked ECOWAS to help Mali to restore its territorial integrity. An agreement on the conditions for the deployment of an African peacekeeping force, with headquarters in Bamako, was found Sunday. If Malians refuse any deployment of foreign forces in the South, Bamako gave a discreet green light to reconquer the North. A special envoy for the Sahel will be appointed. The name of the Gabonese diplomat Jean Ping is mentioned. Its role would be to involve the African Union (AU) folder.

Source: Le Figaro

Το βρετανικό Τυφέκιο L129A1

Στρατιώτης επιδεικνύει το τυφέκιο L129A1 (Φωτογραφία: mod.uk)

To L129A1 έχει χαρακτηριστεί ως όπλο “τυφεκιοφόρου – σκοπευτή” (Designated Marksman Rifle – DMR) το οποίο κατατάσσεται μεταξύ ενός τυφεκίου εφόδου και ενός ειδικού τυφεκίου ελευθέρου σκοπευτή. Ως εκ τούτου , ο σκοπευτής τυφεκιοφόρος έχει οριστεί να προσφέρει τα εγγενή πλεονεκτήματα και των δύο τύπων μαχητών, του ελευθέρου σκοπευτή και του τυφεκιοφόρου – να τροφοδοτείται μόνος του με πυρομαχικά και να εκτελεί επαναλαμβανόμενα πυρά ακριβείας στο εχθρό, σε αποστάσεις οι οποίες ξεπερνούν τις δυνατότητες των συνηθισμένων τυφεκίων. Ο τυφεκιοφόρος – σκοπευτής, δεν έχει εκπαιδευτεί στις λεπτομέρειες του ελεύθερους σκοπευτή και αντί αυτού διαθέτει ικανότητες που μοιάζουν περισσότερο με τις τακτικές μάχης ενός απλού στρατιώτη.

Στη φωτογραφία τo μεγάλης εμβέλειας (800 μέτρα), διαμετρήματος 7.62x51mm, ημιαυτόματο τυφέκιο L129A1 (Φωτογραφία: Wikipedia)

Οι Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες της Αμερικής (ΗΠΑ) δημιούργησαν το δικό τους στοιχείο τυφεκιοφόρου - σκοπευτή, ως αποτέλεσμα της εμπειρίας στα θέατρα των επιχειρήσεων του Αφγανιστάν και του Ιράκ και ήταν σε θέση να αναπτύξουν σωστά το συνοδευτικό οπλισμό δια μέσου καθιερωμένων προγραμμάτων και εγκαταστάσεων για τον στρατό και τους πεζοναύτες.

Όταν ο Βρετανικός Στρατός προσπάθησε να ακολουθήσει το παράδειγμα των ΗΠΑ, συνειδητοποίησε ότι δεν είχε το κατάλληλο οπλισμό για την συγκεκριμένη ειδικότητα, τα μικρού διαμετρήματος τυφέκια εφόδου L85 δεν ήταν κατάλληλα για την αποστολή, ιδιαίτερα στην αντιμετώπιση εχθρικών δυνάμεων σε μεγάλες αποστάσεις – ή τις κατάλληλες εγκαταστάσεις για να κατασκευάσει το τυφέκιο.

Είχε, ωστόσο, αποφασιστεί ότι ένα νέο σύστημα τυφεκίου εξοπλισμένο με διαμέτρημα μεγαλύτερο από 7,62 χιλιοστά έπρεπε να αποκτηθεί. Ένα τυφέκιο το οποίο θα μπορεί να εκπληρώνει τις απαιτήσεις που έθετε το Βρετανικό Υπουργείο Άμυνας (ΒΥΑΜ) συμπεριλαμβανομένων της εύκολης συντήρησης, ευκολίας χειρισμού – που για τον χειρισμό του να απαιτείται μόνο η βασική εκπαίδευση τυφεκιοφόρου – μικρό μέγεθος για εύκολη μεταφορά και ευκολία μεταφοράς σε αναγνωριστικές επιχειρήσεις και – φυσικά – να έχει επαναλαμβανόμενη ακρίβεια σε απομακρυσμένους στόχους με ύψος ανθρώπου.

Βρετανός στρατιώτης στο Αφγανιστάν κρατώντας το τυφέκιο L129A1 (Φωτογραφία:arms-cool)

To ΒΥΑΜ ξεκίνησε ένα εσωτερικό πρόγραμμα τυφεκιοφόρου – σκοπευτή για το οποίο η εταιρεία Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT) κατέθεσε μία τυποποιημένη έκδοση του εξαιρετικού τυφεκίου των 7,62 χιλ. LM308MWS, μετά από μία εκτενή διαδικασία αξιολόγησης, επιλέχθηκε για περαιτέρω δοκιμές το L129A1 καθώς κατάφερε να χτυπήσει, σε διαδοχικές βολές, “στόχο” κάτι που προανήγγειλε θετικές εξελίξεις για το τυφέκιο.

Επιπλέον, η LMT διέθετε ιδιόκτητες πιστοποιημένες εγκαταστάσεις κατασκευής, κάτι το οποίο βοήθησε την πρόταση της. To LM308MWS είχε να συναγωνιστεί κορυφαία τυφέκια, το Γερμανικού Hecker & Koch HK417 και το Βελγικού Fabrique-National SCAR-17. To τελικό αποτέλεσμα έδειξε νικητή το LM308 το οποίο έγινε αποδεκτό ως το νεώτερο όπλο, εδώ και δεκαετίες, στο Βρετανικό Στρατό με την κωδική ονομασία L129A1 και διαμορφώθηκε για τις δύσκολες συνθήκες της μάχης.

Εξωτερικά, το L129A1 έχει συμβατική διάταξη. Η κατασκευή του χρησιμοποιεί βαριά μεταλλικά εξαρτήματα όπως επίσης και χαμηλού βάρους πολυμερή εξαρτήματα ανθεκτικά στη σκουριά . Ο κορμός διαθέτει όλες τις απαιτούμενες εξωτερικές λειτουργίες όπως επίσης και τους εξωτερικούς μοχλούς βολής και στις δύο πλευρές (κοντά στην πιστολοειδή λαβή) που ευνοεί των αμφιδέξιο χειρισμό. Έχει δύο επιλογές βολής “ασφάλεια” και “ημιαυτόματο” που συμβολίζονται με ένα κόκκινο και λευκό αυτοκόλλητο στη θέση του επιλογέα.

Βρετανοί πεζοναύτες στο Αφγανιστάν (Φωτογραφία: mod.uk)

Ο μοχλός όπλισης και η θύρα απόρριψης καλύκων βρίσκεται στη δεξιά πλευρά του κυρίως κορμού, και ευνοεί τους δεξιόχειρες χειριστές, αλλά, επίσης κράτα τους απορριπτόμενους κάλυκες μακρυά από το πρόσωπο του χειριστή.

Στη διαδικασία βολής εμπλέκεται το δοκιμασμένο σύστημα τροφοδοσίας φυσιγγίων με την επ’ενέργεια των αερίων, κοινό στα τουφέκια της ίδιας κατηγορίας.

Η πιστολοειδής λαβή και ο μηχανισμός της σκανδάλης έχει παρόμοια σχεδίαση με το Μ16, η λαβή έχει την σωστή γωνία προς τα πίσω και είναι εργονομικά σχεδιασμένη για σταθερό κράτημα.

Ο 20 φυσιγγίων, αποσπώμενος, ελατηριώτος γεμιστήρας που τροφοδοτεί φυσίγγια, βρίσκεται μπροστά από τον μηχανισμό της σκανδάλης.

Η πάνω πλευρά του κυρίως κορμού διαθέτει ράγες Picatinny όπου μπορούν να προσαρμοστούν διάφοροι τύποι οπτικών. Ο συνηθισμένος τύπος διόπτρας για το Βρετανικό Στρατό, σε ότι αφορά, το L129A1 είναι η διόπτρα Advance Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) με νηματόσταυρο BDC (οι περισσότερες διόπτρες ACOG δεν χρησιμοποιούν μπαταρίες για το φωτισμό του νηματόσταυρου, έχουν ενσωματωμένο φωσφόριζε φωτισμό ο οποίος παρέχεται από τη ραδιενεργό διάσπαση του τριτίου.)

Επιπρόσθετες βοηθητικές ράγες υπάρχουν κατά μήκος των πλευρών και της κάτω πλευράς του χειροφυλακτήρα της κάννης στο τελευταίο τμήμα είναι δυνατή η τοποθέτηση ενός αναδιπλωμένου μοχλού για πιο σταθερό χειρισμό. Το κοντάκιο τύπου SOPMOD υποστηρίζεται από μία σωληνωτή βάση και εκτείνεται για να διαμορφωθεί πλήρως στο ώμο του χειριστή – το κοντάκιο ειναι ρυθμιζόμενο σε έξι προκαθορισμένες θέσεις.

Τυφέκιo L129A1 (Φωτογραφία: world.guns)

Η 16 ιντσών (40,64 χιλιοστά) ανοξείδωτου ατσαλιού, Free-floating κάννη προεξέχει από το διάτρητο χειροφυλακτήρα της κάννης και καλύπτεται από ένα φλογοκρύπτη (κάννη Free-floating είναι ειδικού σχεδιασμού τεχνολογία που χρησιμοποιείται από τα τυφέκια υψηλής ακριβείας, συγκεκριμένα τα αγωνιστικά τυφέκια, για να αυξηθεί η ακρίβεια του όπλου. Στα κανονικά τυφέκια η κάννη εδράζεται στο κοντάκιο. Η κάννη Free-floating είναι αυτή που έχει σχεδιαστεί ώστε να μην έρχεται σε επαφή με κανένα σημείο του κυρίως κοντακίου.)

Το ΒΥΑΜ έχει επιλέξει το L129A1 για να αντικαταστήσει το bolt-action τυφέκιο της σειράς Accuracy International, L96. Καθώς το τυφέκιο L96 δεν μπορεί να εκπληρώσει τις απαιτήσεις της αποστολής του DMR. Μέχρι σήμερα το ΒΥΑΜ έχει παραγγείλει (και πιθανόν να έχει παραλάβει) περίπου 440 τυφέκια L129A1.

Η κάννη είναι πλήρως αποσπώμενη και μπορεί να αλλαχτεί όποτε χρειαστεί.

Πηγή

SA Special Forces speak on their work and specialised equipment

South African Special Forces are normally a very low-profile unit and are publicity-shy, but they put this aside for the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2012 exhibition, displaying boats from the seaward Special Forces application and a Hornet Rapid Deployment Reconnaissance Vehicle (RDRV) from the landward side.

Major Peet Venter described what the Special Forces Brigade does. He said the Brigade was made up of 4 Special Forces Regiment at Langebaan in the Western Cape, 5 Special Forces Regiment at Phalaborwa and the Special Forces School at Murrayhill, north of Pretoria.

He explained that the main task of Special Forces remained reconnaissance. Other tasks undertaken by the unit included support of state departments, either in Africa, VIP protection or actions associated with external deployments; support of external operations; training teams and protection elements; and anti-rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park.

Major Venter confirmed the Special Forces’ presence in Operation Copper, the anti-piracy patrol in the Mozambique Channel, but would not be drawn on details: “Most of the work that we do is training.” This included training of the South African Police Service and to a lesser extent of other state departments.

On international co-operation, Major Venter said: “I’m not aware of any training with regards to information or joining up with American Special Forces, but basically, in the whole Spec Ops environment, training goes in the same manner.”

“We do take cognisance of the things that happen in Afghanistan and Iraq and we take note of the lessons learned there, so some of the stuff influences us, but doctrine and policy and execution of operations and training is Africa-specific. The environment where we work is completely different from what they do and where they deploy.”

“We’ve taken part in exercises in Southern Africa to test the commonality of our Special Forces and those of other countries, either further north or neighbouring countries.

Major Venter introduced the Hornet RDRV, saying it was a product of Project Ambition 1A. “It’s a vehicle supplied to Special Forces for airborne use. It’s a modular concept with removable platform. This referred to a section in the back of the vehicle which could be replaced quickly for troop transport, command and control, light strike actions, or fire support to other Special Forces on the ground. One version, Major Venter said, could carry a Milan III anti-tank missile launcher.

There are three seats in the front, for a driver, a gunner and commander. The left-hand window can be lowered to carry a light machine gun (LMG) and the Hornet can carry a .50 calibre (12.7mm) heavy machine gun. Venter said the top-mounted gun could vary anywhere between a 7.62 machine gun, all the way up to a 20 mm cannon.

“There’s a full communications suite inside the vehicle as well, for instance, team communications.” 

The Hornet has a basic mass in of 2 100 kg, and carries a payload of 1 200 kg.It has a Diesel Detroit VM motor and a fuel tank capacity of 100 litres

European Helicopter Deployability is Boosted by Special Operations Exercise

The European Defence Agency’s Helicopter Training Programme is holding its latest exercise, this time in Belgium, enhancing deployability by training personnel in multinational helicopter missions, while demonstrating the advantages and concrete results of cooperation in the context of Pooling & Sharing efforts. Exercise Green Blade is focusing on helicopterspecial forces cooperation, a vital area of modern operations. 

Exercise Green Blade runs from today, 17 September to 5 October 2012, hosted by the Belgian Air Component. Running together with Exercise Pegasus, a Special Operations training exercise, the two groups will work closely together on numerous missions. With helicopters from Belgium, Germany and Italy, the two exercises in total draw together some 800 personnel from seven countries: EDA Member States Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Ireland and Spain (as well as Canada for the Pegasus exercise). 

In total 18 helicopters will deploy to Kleine Brogel Airbase, varying from transport (CH47), to utility (A109, UH-1D) and attack helicopters (A129). They will work in concert with other air assets, to maximize the realism of these testing missions, supporting assets will include an AWACS, F16, C130, and UAVs. The Belgian UAV, the B-Hunter, will be integrated for reconnaissance and surveillance of targets in direct support of the Special Forces, as well as for area surveillance during Personnel Recovery scenarios. 

The exercise will principally take place in the North of Belgium, with some missions taking place over Southeast Belgium. This vast and challenging training area is characterized by a low population density, a varied geography and a favourable airspace classification. 

Helicopters will execute around 65 missions of steadily increasing complexity, from typical Special Operations-related missions, such as insertion/extraction, Direct Action, Personnel Recovery, and Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance, by day and by night, in single or multiship configurations. The exercise will also include more conventional types of missions, such as Airmobile Operations, Recce & Surveillance and Medical Evacuation, as well as non-tactical training missions, such as Night Vision Goggle-flying, Nap of Earth flight and Gun Firing. These missions will add up to around 650 crucial Flying Hours. 

The exercise, planning for which began in June 2011, will demonstrate the benefits of cooperation in the context of Pooling & Sharing efforts, delivering an exercise that few EDA Member States could undertake alone, enhancing helicopter deployability and freeing up scarce resources for other investments in the defence sector. Peter Round, EDA Capabilities Director, explained: “We fight together, and so we have to work together, pooling our resources. An exercise like this is the best way to deliver high quality training in these challenging times.” 

EDA HELICOPTER ACTIVITY

The exercise is one part of wider ongoing EDA work to boost deployability, as requested by Member States. Green Blade is the latest in a series of increasingly effective helicopter exercises, held in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal since 2009 under the Helicopter Exercise Programme. The programme has so far involved 108 helicopters. Exercise Green Blade will be the first of these exercises run by the new Core Planning Team, which will steer the programme in the longterm, incorporating lessons learned and enhancing helicopter deployability for Member States. 

The EDA has also worked with its Member States to create the Helicopter Tactics Course in the UK, with 18 crews trained thus far. A new ‘train-the-trainers’ initiative is planned for this year, the European Qualified Helicopter Tactics Course, which is a joint effort by Sweden and the UK, aims to create a recognised tactics instructor cadre across Europe. Work has also started to harmonize helicopter flying training across participating Member States, trial courses have been delivered in Operational English Language learning and later this year, the EDA will conduct a capability concept demonstration into the use of distributed simulator training. 

EDA AND POOLING & SHARING 

The Agency’s helicopter work sits alongside a succession of EDA programmes to pool and share assets and resources, enhancing the overall military capabilities of the EDA’s Member States in challenging times for defence. Similar programmes include the Tactical Air Transport strand, which recently held a major air exercise in Zaragoza, Spain, the EDA’s work in training Counter-IED professionals, and the recently launched pilot programme to pool demand for efficient procurement. The Agency is currently working on 10 Pooling & Sharing priority areas: Countering Improvised Explosive Devices, Medical support, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Helicopters, Cyber Defence, Multinational logistics support’, Common Security and Development Policy Information Exchange, Strategic & Tactical Airlift Management, and Fuel & Energy. This exercise provides an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the advances made by the EDA’s Pooling & Sharing initiative.

Source

Sudan rejects US bid to send special forces: official

Smoke billows from the US embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. By (AFP/File)

Sudan has rejected a US request to send special forces to protect its Khartoum embassy after violent protests against an American-made video mocking Islam, the official SUNA news agency said.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti said Sudan was capable of "protecting its guests in diplomatic representations," SUNA quoted a ministry official as saying.

The United States had made the request to send special forces Friday.

US officials said Saturday that they were still monitoring the situation and that Sudan has "recommitted itself both publicly and privately to continue to protect our mission."

"We have requested additional security precautions as a result of yesterday's damage to our embassy. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely to ensure we have what we need to protect our people and facility," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

The Pentagon has indicated that it is examining the possibility of sending Marines to Sudan after deploying them in Yemen and Libya, where ambassador Chris Stevens was among four Americans killed in an attack on a US consulate on Tuesday.

The violence broke out during protests against an amateur Internet film produced on US soil that denigrates Islam and its Prophet Mohammed.

Source

WWII Special Forces – Long Range Desert Group

Ralph Bagnold formed the Special Forces Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) during WWII.  This elite group, combined with the British Special Air Service, made significant contributions, not only to World War II, but to the new direction the military would begin to explore – Special Forces.

 The LRDG Is Established

After Bagnold received approval to organize a specialized group, he received 150 volunteers from New Zealand – most with a farming background.  He felt their background would be an asset, making them more adept should vehicle maintenance and repair become necessary in the challenging environments of North Africa.

He broke the group of 150 into three smaller units.  Each unit received various armaments – including machine guns, anti-tank rifles, anti-aircraft guns, Bren guns and Thompson machine guns.  They were given wireless headsets for maintaining communication with base.  The Long Range Desert Group chose the Chevrolet 30-cwt truck for transportation and the commander for each unit was permitted to modify his vehicle if he felt it beneficial.  Each truck was capable of carrying a three week supply of food and water and had a range of 1,100 miles.

 Roles of the LRDG

One of the roles assigned to the Long Range Desert Group during the war took them to North Africa.  Here, the group was to position themselves behind enemy lines so they could scout and gather intelligence information to relay back to British military headquarters.  Their success warranted expansion and Bagnold acquired an additional 150 men from three armies – British, Indian and Rhodesian.  This World War II Special Forces group began targeting oases being held by the enemy, slipping in quickly and disappearing equally as fast, confusing the Italian commanders.

 The WWII Special Forces – Long Range Desert Group – disbanded in August of 1945, but not before leaving its mark on military history.

Source

 

A SEAL’s Most Daring Mission

Navy SEALS are taught to practice OPSEC, elaborate operational security tactics to preserve the element of surprise in carrying out missions. Former commando Matt Bissonnette seems to have put that training to good use in the publication of his controversial tell-all book about the assault that killed Osama bin Laden. Bissonnette, who was a member of the SEAL team that snuffed out the terrorist mastermind, and his publisher went to unusual lengths to conceal the existence of the project until the publisher announced it last month.

The SEALS train hard and stay quiet. But a new tell-all by a member involved in the bin Laden raid is testing the group’s code of silence. (Clockwise fom left: no credit; Lance Iversen / San Francisco Chronicle-Corbis; Aamir Qureshi / AFP-Getty Images)

For the Pentagon it was tantamount to a sneak attack. Officials were taken by complete surprise when details of the sensational account began appearing in the media. Adding to the pressure was the fact that Bissonnette’s account of the bin Laden raid was at odds with the Obama White House’s version in some key respects, notably whether the terrorist mastermind represented a genuine threat to the commandos when they killed him. Last week officials scrambled to get a copy of the book to see whether Bissonnette’s account, No Easy Day (written under the pseudonym Mark Owen), revealed classified information. But by the time government vetters got their hands on it, thousands of copies had already been shipped to stores and the title stood atop Amazon’s sales list.

“We were caught completely off guard,” conceded one senior Pentagon official, who says national-security personnel are obligated to submit manuscripts containing sensitive information for prepublication review (Bissonnette’s lawyer says the regs merely “invite” authors to show vetters but don’t require it). Late last week, Defense Department general counsel Jeh Johnson sent a letter to Bissonnette in a last-ditch bid to minimize the damage. The threat of legal action was aimed at pressuring Bissonnette and his publisher, Dutton, to submit to the Pentagon’s demands for prepublication review. In the past, the DOD has succeeded in halting distribution of books, even in some cases pulping printed copies. But in the case of No Easy Day, it is likely too late to prevent the book from receiving wide public exposure. “At this point the onus is on the SEAL and his publisher to put the genie back in the bottle,” says one senior Pentagon official, declining to explain how that would be possible.

The Pentagon has not disclosed whether it believes No Easy Day divulges classified secrets, though one official told Newsweek “you can bet we wouldn’t have sent the letter if we didn’t think there were serious security breaches.”

Making the situation all the more awkward: the administration itself may have opened the door. The White House has drawn fire for putting out its own cinematic version of the bin Laden raid. The move rankled critics, who say it smacks of end-zone dancing and could compromise future missions. Several SEALS were motivated to back a super-PAC ad faulting Obama’s leadership. All the attention would seem at odds with the culture of the SEALS, who pride themselves on a code of omertà. But if the organization hates the spotlight, you wouldn’t know it from their recent behavior. This spring, they helped produce a wide-release movie called Act of Valor—no Oscar threat, but a good way to recruit successors to Matt Bissonnette.

Source

The Navy SEALS’ Dying Words

The CH-47 was shot down a year ago 

Monday, August 6 marks the first anniversary of the Afghan crash of a U.S. military CH-47 Chinook helicopter that killed 30 Americans, including 17 Navy SEALS. It was the worst single loss-of-life day for the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan. It was also the worst in the history of Naval Special Warfare.

Just six weeks before the crash, I spent several days meeting with members of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team SIX, talking to them about the loss of one of their teammates, Adam Brown, who had been killed in action during an especially complex raid on a compound in Afghanistan.

I met with two of them in a crowded bar in a remote Alaskan village. The salmon run had just begun so the place was packed with fishermen, one of whom approached our group with a tray of shot glasses overflowing with whiskey. It was also a place that SEALs would come to before heading for training exercises in the surrounding mountains.

The man offered to buy a round. “I’d be honored if we could have a drink together, to thank you all for your service. And for taking care of business in Pakistan,” he said. Tom Ratzlaff, one of the SEALs I was with, took two shots and handed one to me. “This is for Adam,” he clicked his glass against mine, I nodded, and we threw them back together.

Tom, who was better known as “Rat,” and Chris Campbell shared memories of their teammate, but as they talked about his life and the circumstances surrounding his death, they alluded to the fact that they were keenly aware death might be just around the corner, quite literally, for them too. They were about to be redeployed, and with the loss of Adam weighing heavily on their minds, there was some urgency to have a chance to talk and honor their brother-in-arms.

Kevin Houston, one of the SEALs I met with in Virginia Beach the following week acknowledged, “I could end up getting killed on my next mission I go on, but until that happens, for me, business will continue to be conducted.”

One of things I was most interested in understanding from these men was how they managed moving so fluidly between their family lives and their work as highly-trained warriors. Frequently, they were deployed, came home, and then were suddenly redeployed.

In some cases they developed rituals. Tom shared that whenever he boarded a helicopter for a mission, he said the Lord’s Prayer silently, once he got seated, and then prayed for protection. “I don’t ask for protection myself because that’s in his hands. I ask him to look after my wife and kids. Then I ask him to protect all my buddies and forgive them of all their sins and me of my sins. Then I move straight into thinking about what I’m about to do-the target, the map study, making sure I know which way’s north so I can call out things correctly on the target.”

During my interview with Heath Robinson, another teammate of Adam Brown’s, I asked “How do you do it?” referring to how they transition from lethal missions—shooting and killing people—and then coming back home, sometimes just hours later. Heath answered using his friend’s horses as an analogy. “His wife and daughter have horses,” said Heath. “Nothing makes [them] happier. Well, horses are dirty animals, every weekend he puts on his waders, goes in the barn, and shovels the manure…the dirty hay…their piss. It’s not a good job, it’s miserable, but somebody has to shovel the shit so the family can enjoy what they have.”

Kelley Brown, Adam’s wife, recalled the one time she saw “that side” of her husband. He had just returned home and was relaxing in a bubble bath when a very unlucky burglar attempted to break into their house. Adam, naked but covered in bubbles, flew out of the tub and the look in his eyes was someone she did not recognize. Moments later, the intruder bolted in fear and Adam returned to being her loving husband and the adoring father of their two young children.

The SEALs were also circumspect about death in a way that only those confronted with it regularly can be.

“I either want to die in combat, doing my job right now, or live till I’m 98 years old and see my great, great grand kids,” one of them told me. “I don’t want anything in between. None of us do. A warrior’s death, you can’t get any higher than that. It’s horrible for the family, they don’t want to hear that, but for us, the guys at our command, we’re okay with it. That is our duty, the highest calling. And if that happens to you, you hope you are in the right frame of mind that you are okay with it. I have seen a lot of people go, not well. Had they been able to do another take on it, they would probably want it to go better. I remember everything else about Adam also, but I will always remember the end. You know, your first impression lasts a relationship, and your last impression is with you forever. Adam died well.”

Six weeks after my last interview, I was returning to civilization from my version of being off the grid: camping with my family. My own happy grubby kids were in the back seat of our car when my cell phone indicated I had voicemail.

I called in and listened to one message after another and I learned that all seven of the men I had interviewed — John, Kevin, Brian, Heath, Matt, Tom, and Chris — had been killed in action the day before.

The team had been on a mission in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan, part of an operation intended to capture or kill leaders from an insurgent cell that was holed up in the region. The Chinook carrying them, along with 23 other Americans, and eight Afghan troops, had crashed and exploded after a single rocket propelled grenade struck its aft rotor blade.

Questions surrounded the crash: Why were so many from our most elite military unit on one helo? The most credible view is that it was a lucky shot, but some speculated that it might have somehow been retaliation at the same unit that had only a couple months earlier taken out Bin Laden.

As of today, some family members remain unsatisfied with the investigation. A few days after the crash, I attended Kevin Houston’s funeral, then began transcribing the interviews, haunted as I listened to their voices and read their reflections on life and on death.

As they had talked about Adam Brown, they had unknowingly defined themselves: humble, selfless, and fearless.

With the one-year anniversary of that tragedy upon us, I think of them, and their families, often.

My mind wanders to the inside of that helicopter, envisioning their final moments. It’s a dark place filled with questions — mainly the questions I didn’t ask when I interviewed each of them just weeks before they were killed — but the one thing I know for certain is that they died honorably: serving their country, doing what they believed in.

I have no doubt that they died well.

Eric Blehm is the author of FEARLESS: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown, which is dedicated to the memory of the men who were killed on August 6, 2011. See www.fearlessnavyseal.com

Read more: http://nation.time.com/2012/08/06/the-navy-seals-dying-words/#ixzz265q1Izga