Posted on 01/26/2012 6:02:18 PM PST by marktwain
Nick and I felt privileged to be invited to the special advance screening of Act of Valor, one week ago today. The Navy SEALs in the film weren’t portrayed by drug-addled Hollywood action heroes. They were real-life, active duty Navy SEALs. This morning the world learned, again, what makes these guys worth every dime we pay them and more . . .
In an apparently flawless mission that could have been lifted straight from the film, the SEALs infiltrated a Somali pirate compound and rescued two kidnapped aid workers: American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Thisted. The pair were kidnapped last October while working to de-mine northern Somalia, and the team was ordered into action when one of the hostage’s health deteriorated.
Operational details are just beginning to emerge, but reports say that the SEALs HALO jumped into an LZ near the compound under cover of darkness. They took fire from the kidnappers during the mission and killed nine Tangos. After rescuing the hostages and capturing several more kidnappers, the SEALs were ex-filtrated by helicopter.
Do I have to say that we really like to see this kind of outcome? TTAG has been calling for a more forceful response to Somali piracy and terrorism for a long time now.
Thank you, SEALs. Again.
Captured kidnappers? Hm.....I wonder if they made back to the Seal Team base?.....or maybe they’re just shark poop by now?
Hopefully they used them as gravity bombs on any of their friends that eluded capture.
HALOs are pretty cool. The tangos probably never knew what hit them.
Now there is another American hostage the Somali’s have moved 3 times in the last 24 hours, threatening to kill him if a rescue is attempted.
It is a very difficult situation, with no easy answers.
Why do they publicize this? The military has it’s share of gloryhounds and this administration has never seen a potential positive press release they would not make. I don’t know who decided to talk about this but they do our nation, our spec ops, and current/future hostages a disservice.
The SEAL’s did just fine when they did stuff like this and never said a whisper about it. Publicizing these operations makes future operations more difficult. Eventually, it will cost some lives.
I’ve been thinking about the recent hostage rescue by the Navy Seals and hats off to these guys. But here’s where I have problem with this event as I understand it. A person goes to hostile locale, of their own accord and is subsequently captured by by some third- rate hooligans and we send in the Navy Seals.
First, if a person is stupid enough to head off into a potentially hazardous situation, then accept the responsibility for what might occur. Perhaps the family should have acquired the services of Blackwater to recover their daughter. I can think of a whole lot better things for the Seals to do.
“Why do they publicize this?”
For the same reason we publicized the Doolittle raid from the Hornet. And like that raid, there is plenty of detail being kept private. But the world knowing this kind of thing has has occurred has some positive effects.
Wrong. The Doolittle raid was supposed to create fear in the japanese and confidence in the Allies. But revealing details of secret missions which must be repeated only makes future raids more dangerous. The SEALs really don’t want this publicity. It endangers them and their families. But we have a President who is trying to pretend that he is a warrior..when he is taking no risk at all..not political or physical.
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