), One of the former SEAL Team 6 leaders, who investigated several Blue Squadron incidents, including the mutilation of bodies, said he repeatedly asked the operators why they felt the need to commit such acts. Unlike the SEALs, the man was not wearing night-vision goggles. We needed that there was not a better group of people to go and do that. He declined requests for an interview. Former SEAL. That was the only punishment. The truth is that such stuff only galvanizes the enemy.. Webomar2205 1 yr. ago. They were disgusted. He quoted Heath as saying, Im morally flexible but I cant handle that. Heath refused to comment for this article. List of unnamed Navy SEALs in The Rock - Die Hard scenario Wiki The photos and other review documents could be shared with local officials to justify operations. Others were much more critical. According to these sources, whether judged by its own private code or the international laws of war, the command has proven to be incapable and unwilling to hold itself accountable for war crimes. He had made false statements to federal agents regarding bank loans and fraudulent insurance invoices, according to papers filed in Norfolk federal court. Red came to a stop and fired two shots with his suppressed rifle. A SEAL who spoke Arabic interviewed bin Ladens wives and daughters until he was able to get two positive identifications. Created in 1980 and based at the Dam Neck Annex of Naval Air Station Oceana near Virginia Beach, the command prided itself on its culture of nonconformity with the larger military. Beginning in 2005 and continuing through 2008, as U.S. Special Operations forces became more central to the American military strategy, the number and frequency of operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan increased dramatically. ``Ever since then, I've had a burning hatred for the people who would steal their honor.'. In exchange, Smethers, who never filed an official allegation or complaint, was sent back to the U.S. Smethers did not respond to requestsfor comment. He had already set himself up for a profitable future. Robert Anthony Nolan used charm and a distinguished military resume to woo a succession of wives and girlfriends, recruit investors for his Virginia Beach import-export business and impress Republican officials and the former skipper of the carrier America. Less than 48 hours before Objective Bull commenced, a small reconnaissance group from SEAL Team 6s Red Team had tried to establish an observation post on the 10,000-foot peak of Takur Ghar, overlooking the Shah-i-Kot valley, where forces from the Armys 10th Mountain Division intended to strike the last redoubt of al Qaeda forces massed in Afghanistan. Some of ONeills teammates were outraged hed been so brazenly inaccurate and self-serving in his account. His Twitter bio reads, I shot a famous guy. He reminded us all that our first loyalty was to the Constitution.. No one prepared our guys for the collateral damage and the second- and third-order effects of this war, the former SEAL leader said. Two different SEALs, Robert ONeill and Matthew Bissonnette, have publicly taken credit for killing bin Laden. Timothy G. Szymanski, commanding officer of Naval Special Warfare Group 2, kick off the Dont Ask, Dont Tell repeal all hands training at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Norfolk, Va., March 25, 2011. One shot hit bin Laden in the chest and the second shot glanced off his hip or thigh as Bin Laden stumbled backward into his room and fell toward the foot of his bed. ``And I'm glad you are.'. But the retired SEAL who was on the mission tells a different story. Organizations that expose imposters say claims by bogus Rambos with enhanced military resumes have reached epidemic levels. After a joint British-American investigation into the operation identified the failures and recommended that only the SEAL who threw the grenade be punished, McRaven personally traveled to Dam Neck and determined that all three SEALs involved in the cover-up should be thrown out of SEAL Team 6. But in 1998, after intervention by a senior officer at Dam Neck, Howard was given a slot on Green Team. ONeill, by contrast, was not considered as clever as his teammate, but he was a deadly sniper and had a successful tour as a team leader in Red Squadron. As a result, photographs of canoed enemy fighters virtually ceased to appear in after-action reports. The rules of engagement allowed the ground force commander to shoot anyone he viewed as a threat, regardless of whether they were armed at the time of the shooting. Our sense of whats right and whats wrong is warped. Bissonnette eventually settled his legal case with the government, agreeing to return $6.7 million in profits from the sale of No Easy Day and giving up any proceeds from future sales of the book. Audio from an unpublished interview with Britt Slabinksi conducted by Malcolm MacPherson, author of a 2005 book on the battle of Roberts Ridge. Bottom: Winkler hatchet from Bissonnettes personal collection. All Rights Reserved. WebIn his spare time, he is known as the hunter of poser SEALs around the country. And to avoid a court-martial, Nolan received a less-than-honorable discharge from the Navy in June 1992 after going AWOL for 53 days. Benjamin Robinson Ramos claims to be a frogman. Quote Tweet. Oh my gosh. Among those who took umbrage was actress Alyssa Milano, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year. He regaled some with tales of missions he conducted as a Navy SEAL, of clandestine operations in Central America. With more extensive photographic documentation, SEAL operators had less time to fire unnecessary rounds into the dead, and they had to use the photos to explain why they fired their weapon. As a result, photographs of canoed enemy fighters virtually ceased to appear in after-action reports. Exposing Navy SEAL fakes The Virginian-Pilot John Williams Adams Jr. Fake Navy SEAL WebJack Carr is a former Navy SEAL who led special operations teams as a Team Leader, Platoon Commander, Troop Commander and Task Unit Commander. Nearly 700 names have been posted on the ``Wall of Shame' by CyberSEALs, whose members include ex-SEALs and a former Navy wife who once lived in Hampton Roads. If I told you I cut off a head after an operation, explaining that I got caught up in the moment, went over the line one time youd have sympathy for me. We are also given extensive briefings about what constitutes lawful behavior when it comes to influencing the acquisitions processes and accepting money for outside employment. Red Team, known as the Redmen, employed a Native American warrior as a mascot; Blue Team, known as the Pirates, wore the Jolly Roger; and Gold Team, known as the Crusaders or Knights, wore a lion or a crusaders cross. Photos: U.S. Department of Defense; Screengrab from video by U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Navy by the Roberts family. Both should have remained on the second floor. Scott Moore, and his deputy, Capt. McRaven, who did not respond to requests for comment, also held a meeting with a large group of senior officers under his command and said that SEAL Team 6 had effectively made lying to protect a teammate an honorable course of action, according to a person who attended the meeting. ``I had heard about the phonies and it dawned on me that I may have worked with one,' wrote another. In the room with four of the suspected insurgents, four SEALs counted down and canoed each sleeping man with a shot to the forehead. A retired noncommissioned officer who tried to police the unit said the command suffered from unspoken oaths of allegiance among both the officers and the operators, and that the first instinct when misconduct surfaced was to protect the command and then the men rather than hold bad actors accountable. Later, a JSOC officer watching drone footage of the operation noticed one of the SEALs throw an object that landed and exploded near where Norgroves body was found. There is and was no military reason whatsoever to split someones skull open with a single round, said a former SEAL Team 6 leader. Peter Vasely, a Naval Academy graduate who had not gone through the advanced assault training of Green Team that the other members of SEAL Team 6 had endured. Neither wasloaded. When he finally entered the bedroom, alone, bin Laden was standing uninjured, a weapon nearby, his wife in front of him like a human shield. Jim Gilmore and Attorney General Mark Earley, Sen. George Allen and U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, lauding his business accomplishments. The two weapons found on the third floor were not discovered until the rooms were searched. The publication came as a surprise to the Pentagon because Bissonnette had failed to clear it as required. A Predator drone video feed filmed an enemy fighter standing over Robertss body for two minutes, trying to behead the dead American with a knife. Was there another explanation? The commands top noncommissioned officer placed their names on the SEAL Team 6 rock of shame, the unofficial list of unit pariahs. At first the hatchets appeared to be merely symbolic, because such heavy, awkward weapons had no place in the gear of a special operator. By late 2007, Slabinski was deployed to Afghanistan as the senior noncommissioned officer in Blue Squadron. No officers were present, and the enlisted SEALs used the meeting to address Hyders alleged mutilation of the dead Afghan the previous day. Morale at Red Squadron fell apart shortly after the team returned to Virginia Beach from Afghanistan. Canoeing was just one of several acts of mutilation frequently carried out by SEALs. Bottom: Britt Slabinski, left, and Capt. At that point, the second inquiry was commissioned by the SEAL Team 6 commanding officer, Pete Van Hooser. BACKGROUND. While on active duty, hed formed a consulting company with four other SEALs and secured a contract with one of the commands biggest equipment suppliers. It was a mess.. Bin Laden dropped and ONeill fired the security round that canoed him. Its operators are part of an elite, clandestine cadre. Earlier that evening, general officers from the Joint Special Operations Command had scrambled the SEALs after watching a Predator drone video feed of a man they suspected was bin Laden set off in a convoy of three or four vehicles in the Shah-i-Kot Valley, where al Qaeda forces had fortified themselves. The morning after Objective Bull, Red Team gathered at Bagram Air Base. This was a crucial moment: Kill bin Laden now and the war could be over after only six months. Its a great way to explain it away, but they have the hatchets to flaunt the law. When Slabinski was confronted by the commands senior enlisted leader about whether he had instructed Blue Squadron operators to kill all males during the operation, code-named Pantera, Slabinski acknowledged that he had done so. McRaven became the first Navy SEAL to lead JSOC and was already familiar with Dam Necks status as the disrespectful sibling in the U.S. special operations family. Richard Phillips, captain of the commercial vessel the Maersk Alabama, in April 2009 from Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Two different sources said that over a six-year period roughly 2005 through 2011 battlefield reports and accounts of atrocities, particularly mutilations and taking of trophies, were ignored by SEAL Team 6 leadership. In that brief firefight, the SEALs killed nearly 20 foreign al Qaeda fighters, some of whom carried U.S. military equipment taken from Takur Ghar. The squadrons commanding officer recorded it on a cellphone. My character and honor are steadfast. ``Even if he legally changed his name, his Social Security number wouldn't change,' said Michael McLellan, deputy public affairs officer for the Navy Personnel Command. U.S. Navy Master Chief Britt K. Slabinski, left, command master chief, and Capt. Unlawful violence, aberrations from rules of engagement, mutilations, and disrespect of enemy casualties, actions that had been isolated at the beginning of the Afghan war, had by this point spread throughout SEAL Team 6. 5 out of 5 stars (267) $ 36. Last year, the command became concerned about his psychological condition, determining that he was medically unfit to deploy again. Then he made his way to freedom. The texture of those accounts reveals much about what went wrong with the most celebrated special operations command in the U.S. military. In March 2013, Esquires profile of ONeill portrayed him as a humble quiet professional who after 16 years in the Navy would no longer have health insurance and was otherwise a downtrodden American hero. His actions, if proven in a court of law, should be punished accordingly. He said he draws a pension from the State Department.