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“Burning Up SEALs” - Misuing special-warfare assets.
National Review Online ^ | August 31, 2006 | W. Thomas Smith Jr.

Posted on 08/31/2006 3:35:21 PM PDT by neverdem







“Burning Up SEALs”
Misuing special-warfare assets.

By W. Thomas Smith Jr.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc Alan Lee was one of the world’s most highly skilled unconventional warriors — a U.S. Navy SEAL. But on the morning of August 2, the 28-year-old Oregon native was detached to a conventional U.S. Army force tasked with hunting-down guerrillas in a Ramadi neighborhood where four U.S. Marines had been killed the previous week.

When a firefight erupted between the Americans (and an accompanying Iraqi force) and a band of guerrillas, one SEAL was wounded, shot in the cheek by an enemy sniper.

In the ensuing hour-long fight, stretching over several city blocks, another SEAL was struck in the shoulder.

Lee, who positioned himself between the two men, provided covering fire as they were evacuated. But he was later killed by a blast of machinegun fire.

Lee was the first SEAL to die in Iraq. His actions during the fight have been reported as “heroic,” and he has been posthumously awarded the Silver Star to go along with his Bronze Star medal (with Combat V), Purple Heart, and a Combat Action Ribbon.

But some members of the Naval Special Warfare community are telling me he did not have to die, with one officer contending, “they’re burning up SEALs.”

The problem lies in the manner in which SEALs and other special operators are being deployed and for what kinds of missions.

“Special Operations warriors are not dispensable assets,” says Reserve SEAL Commander Mark Divine, who has been to Iraq several times and was tasked with evaluating the performance of a new Marine Corps special operations force during its developmental stages in 2004. “It will take two years to replace Lee with another combat-ready SEAL. The SEAL community is undermanned as it is, and it is the Navy’s number-one recruiting priority.”

Divine’s concerns are based on the fact that the U.S. Defense Department is looking to boost its numbers of special operators, currently totaling about 40,000, by 15 percent over the next four years. SEALs, less than 2,500 men, must increase by about 20 percent, and without reducing standards.

The Global War on Terror — with all of its backdoors and shadows and high-tech, asymmetrical, rapidly changing battlespaces — has placed an enormous demand on U.S. special-warfare units. After all, these are the guys tasked with operating in the darkest environs. Consequently, taking a smart, committed young man with an athletic bent (Lee himself was a star soccer player in high school) and transforming him into a Navy SEAL is neither cheap — about $350,000 a copy — nor easy. Most SEAL hopefuls are unable to pass the entry physical fitness test. And most who do pass the PFT simply don’t have what it takes to become a SEAL.

The attrition rate is extremely high for SEALs: A staggering 80 percent fail to complete the hellish six-months of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S). Those who do survive BUD/S must again prove themselves in an equally demanding post-graduate period with an active SEAL Team before officially becoming SEALs.

Special-operations teams like SEALs — including the super-secret Naval Special Warfare Development Group (formerly SEAL Team Six) — the Army’s special-operations forces (from Rangers to Green Berets to Delta), Air Force special-tactics teams, and the Marine Corps’ Force Recon and the brand-new Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) teams, are responsible for conducting special missions, including counterterrorism, hostage rescues, prisoner snatches, foreign military training, special reconnaissance, sabotage, direct action, and the targeting of enemy leaders, among other highly sensitive operations. And many of those operations — though unknown thus never reported — have tremendous strategic relevance.

“In the context of Iraq, SEALs, who comprise a fraction of the Navy’s total force, are trained to handle those kinds of missions,” Divine tells National Review Online. “Every man is a critical asset in the war on terror. So to squander a life in support of a general cordon and search operation is just wrong.”

Divine says he first witnessed such misuse of SEALs back in 2004.

“The conventional commanders would send a formal or informal request to the JSOTF [Joint Special Operations Task Force] for some sniper team support, and if the guys [special operators] were not employed they would usually say, ‘okay,’” Divine says. “The [SEAL] Team guys did not mind because they wanted action.

“But a 24-year-old’s motivation, and then the sound battlefield judgment on the part of the special-operations force leaders are two different things altogether. SEALs will always run toward the sound of the guns. It’s up to the leaders to protect them so that they can perform the high-value missions the taxpayers put them through training for.”

Former SEAL John Chalus, who had one combat tour in Vietnam and whose two sons would later serve in the Navy (one of whom was a SEAL), tells NRO, “SEALs should not be combined with regular units unless the regular unit is used to support the special operation.”

Conventional units often provide security for special operators, setting up a perimeter around the operation and “keeping the bad guys at bay,” says Chalus. And of course, special operators often conduct reconnaissance and gather intelligence for conventional operations.

Richard Marcinko, the founder and first commander of SEAL Team Six, as well as the best-selling author of the Rogue Warrior book series, compares employing SEALs in a conventional capacity to “driving a Ferrari across the desert like a dune-buggy.”

It is a “waste of training,” Marcinko tells NRO. “The conventional force commanders use them for conventional missions for two primary reasons. First, they know they have a mature warrior [in a SEAL]. He’s been to a lot of schools, and he’s not some 19-year-old kid with limited training. Second, using SEALs or other highly trained Spec Ops guys protects whoever is in charge of the conventional operation. It’s kind of a political cover you’re a** thing to say, ‘hey, I sent in the teams that wouldn’t embarrass me.’”

Conventional commanders know SEALs will almost always kill or capture any bad guys encountered. Commanders also have an appreciation for the war-fighting skills special operators like SEALs might impart to conventional soldiers and sailors. And the SEALs themselves are always willing to pitch in on missions outside of their traditional roles.

“Particularly the young kids who have just come out of BUD/S,” says Marcinko. “They’ve never been in combat, and they want to test what they’re made of.”

Some SEALs have told me that actual operations seem not nearly as tough as their training. But unlike a gun battle, almost no one dies in training, even training as high-speed and dangerous as that of the SEALs.

— A former U.S. Marine infantry leader, W. Thomas Smith Jr. writes about military issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans and on the West Bank. He is the author of five books, and his articles appear in a variety of publications.



TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; seals
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1 posted on 08/31/2006 3:35:23 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem
Some SEALs have told me that actual operations seem not nearly as tough as their training....

My understanding is that is the whole point of BUD/S!

2 posted on 08/31/2006 3:37:48 PM PDT by bnelson44 (Proud parent of a tanker! (Charlie Mike, son))
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To: neverdem

When I was kid living in Coronado I would sometimes see those UDT guys training out on The Strand connecting Coronado to the mainland. I had no idea at the time how much they were suffering. :o)


3 posted on 08/31/2006 3:45:48 PM PDT by Dumpster Baby ("Hope somebody finds me before the rats do .....")
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To: neverdem

In the Panama invasion in the Bush I administration, they misused Seals in a larger group to take an airport. The task
would have been more suited to a Ranger unit more used to larger groups. The misuse of Special Operations troops is an
old story. Regular officers will use them when available to
augment or replace their regular troops.


4 posted on 08/31/2006 3:46:17 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: neverdem

Some snarky elitism in the piece.

I served in a Marine Recon unit [not Force] and trained joint ops with SEALs. They're not all that, esp considering all the funding they get for training. In the water or litoral ops - nothing is better. But on dry land I'd rather have Rangers or Recon.


5 posted on 08/31/2006 3:47:54 PM PDT by Fenris6 (3 Purple Hearts in 4 months w/o missing a day of work? He's either John Rambo or a Fraud)
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To: neverdem
“Special Operations warriors are not dispensable assets,” says Reserve SEAL Commander Mark Divine, who has been to Iraq several times and was tasked with evaluating the performance of a new Marine Corps special operations force during its developmental stages in 2004

And Marines or Army line grunts are?  SEALs are special, but they're not THAT special.  The JOB is to go in harms way.  SEALs don't get the job done sitting back at base camp.

What, Divine doesn't like the fact that he was sent out on a mission with the newly constituted Marine special operations folks?  Too damned bad.

I've had the privelage of knowing several "sneaky peaches" (Green Berets), and other special ops types.  Each has their own specialties and skill sets.  But they were all warriors.  If someone doesn't want to be a warrior because they're too busy keeping the books on training costs then they shouldn't be in special ops.

This is such manufactured DBM crap!  Of course members of the community bitch about the loss of one of their own, blaming some REMF for "misusing" their talents.  It goes with the territority.  Suck it up, soldier!  Or you can always ring the bell.

 

6 posted on 08/31/2006 3:53:10 PM PDT by Phsstpok (Often wrong, but never in doubt)
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To: neverdem
I have long advocated that MOUNT operations (Urban Terrain) is unique enough of an environment that special units, trained along the lines of the FBI's HRT or a SWAT team, should be created in 12 man teams. They would act as the shock troops for particularly nasty encounters and would bolster the normal house to house operations of a regular infantry unit.

A team of 12 could back up an Infantry BN, a platoon could support a Brigade. Training would be less expensive than the full SF or SEAL training and would be focused on breaching urban defenses, sniper support, command and control etc. Treat them as a separate brigade... like the 10th Mountain... call them the 1st Urban or some such.

I have to agree that using SEALs, Rangers, SF or any other special unit for this specific purpose is a bit out of their scope, and a tad wasteful.
7 posted on 08/31/2006 3:55:02 PM PDT by taxcontrol
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To: Phsstpok

My SIL was telling me that in WW11 her brother a sailor was transfered to the Marines, because he filled a need, even though it was against his wishes. This is more efficient use of our military.


8 posted on 08/31/2006 4:01:35 PM PDT by Coldwater Creek ("Over there, over there, We won't be back 'til it's over Over there.")
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To: Anti-Bubba182
Regular officers will use them when available to augment or replace their regular troops.

There's two sides to this story - if SOCOM units do missions, their funding is validated, so there is sometimes a push to include units and personnel who would seem better suited for different missions.

9 posted on 08/31/2006 4:09:30 PM PDT by Hoplite
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To: Phsstpok

I'm with you on this one. There's a war going on. Can't speak for the SEALS, but Army's special operators are generally used against high value targets. Conventional forces get involved if its in their AO, but they are in a support role.

The Seals ought to be thankful that they have only had 1 KIA in Iraq, the Army's SFOD-D has suffered many more than that.


10 posted on 08/31/2006 4:13:52 PM PDT by centurion316 (Democrats - Supporting Al Qaida Worldwide)
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To: neverdem

It's a little bit like sending out F-22 pilots on a foot patrol through Baghdad. A tremendous waste and misallocation of assets if you ask me.


11 posted on 08/31/2006 4:19:21 PM PDT by LibWhacker (There are no such things as moderate muslims, only jihadis in a larval stage.)
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To: mariabush
"...her brother a sailor was transfered to the Marines, because he filled a need..."

Possibly a medic. They used to do that a lot. Maybe they still do.

12 posted on 08/31/2006 4:20:45 PM PDT by OldEagle (May you live long enough to hear the legends of your own adventures.)
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To: LibWhacker

Bad analogy. SEALs are trained for sniper support. F-22 pilots rarely know how to clear an M-16.


13 posted on 08/31/2006 4:22:32 PM PDT by Fenris6 (3 Purple Hearts in 4 months w/o missing a day of work? He's either John Rambo or a Fraud)
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To: OldEagle
Nope! Navy medics always serve with Marines.

The same is happening today.

I think that it is a good idea and better use of personnel if they are service interchangeable.
14 posted on 08/31/2006 4:27:05 PM PDT by Coldwater Creek ("Over there, over there, We won't be back 'til it's over Over there.")
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To: neverdem
“they’re burning up SEALs.”


They're = President Bush and his KGC warfighting strategy. Kinder Gentler Compassionate warfare fails and wastes the bravest of our youth. Making them go door to door instead of wasting the whole neighborhood from the air.

We only have a small portion of our youth courageous enough to volunteer for the military in a time of war. AND that small portion is being misused and being shot up needlessly.

It takes months to years to train our troops. The moslems take 15 minutes and they have one billion recruits.

Instead of using the advantage we now enjoy over islam in military power, we have allowed the enemy to establish the rules of engagement. If an IED blows up our troops, instead of wiping out the entire 'hood, we send more troops on the ground.
15 posted on 08/31/2006 4:29:20 PM PDT by TomasUSMC ((FIGHT LIKE WW2, FINISH LIKE WW2. FIGHT LIKE NAM, FINISH LIKE NAM.))
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To: neverdem; All

Okay, Blackfive has good commentary re this. I see the author's point.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2006/08/what_are_seals_.html#comments


16 posted on 08/31/2006 4:30:43 PM PDT by Fenris6 (3 Purple Hearts in 4 months w/o missing a day of work? He's either John Rambo or a Fraud)
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To: Fenris6

Right, I only used the analogy to illustrate the absurdity of risking highly valuable assets in duties perhaps better done by less valuable assests. Not saying their lives are inherently more valuable than the life of a grunt -- they're not -- but as military assests they are more valuable. You wouldn't use an aircraft carrier as a mine sweeper or a pilot as a grunt (even if he knew how to shoot).


17 posted on 08/31/2006 4:31:43 PM PDT by LibWhacker (There are no such things as moderate muslims, only jihadis in a larval stage.)
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To: LibWhacker

assests=assets


18 posted on 08/31/2006 4:33:08 PM PDT by LibWhacker (There are no such things as moderate muslims, only jihadis in a larval stage.)
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To: neverdem

"Lee was the first SEAL to die in Iraq"

How many have we lost?


19 posted on 08/31/2006 4:37:41 PM PDT by james500
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To: namsman

Ping!


20 posted on 08/31/2006 4:37:50 PM PDT by SW6906 (6 things you can't have too much of: sex, money, firewood, horsepower, guns and ammunition.)
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