[Zhang Fei]

No, I don’t think ANY security issues were revealed, unless you want to cite the common sense repositioning of helos miles away from the firefight zones. No, the training was covered in less than 5 minutes of credits, nothing about the sequencing and nothing that I thought would reveal anything to our enemies except that SEALS are badasses.

I don't understand the mystique. These guys are superb physical specimens, not in terms of having bodybuilder physiques, but in terms of being equipped to endure the difficulties of hiking through rugged terrain and dealing with physical hazards. But they're men, and without adequate fire support they're just highly-trained light infantry. Using fire support from USAF, USN and USMC aircraft, the Northern Alliances routed the Taliban. There ain't no magic involved. Air support was the hammer and the the Northern Alliance was the anvil. These SEALs took a pounding because they were outnumbered, lacked air support, and had only what they could carry as weaponry.

[robowombat]

These SEALs took a pounding because they were outnumbered, lacked air support, and had only what they could carry as weaponry.

Yes, this is what fighting an earlier version of the Taliban was like without air support

http://www.tribalanalysiscenter.com/PDF-External/Umbeyla.pdf

[Travis McGee]

Irony of ironies, the op-tempo for specops troops the past decade has been so high, that this platoon was a group of SDV guys from Hawaii, trained for mini-sub ops locking out of dry-deck shelters clamped upon boomers and fast attack subs. About as far from the Hindu Kush as you can get, and still be a specops warrior.