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Sad news for Navy

by David••32

 

If you recall, last week two Navy SEALs were reported missing when during a ship boarding January 11th one was swept off by high seas and his partner went into the water after them. Sadly, after a 10 day search of over 21,000 square miles of ocean, the sailors have been declared dead and the operation has changed from ‘search’ to ‘recovery.’

The names of the SEALs have not been released as family notifications continue.

Ships and aircraft from the U.S., Japan and Spain continuously searched more than 21,000 square miles, the military said, with assistance from the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command, University of San Diego – Scripts Institute of Oceanography and the Office of Naval Research.

“We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example,” said Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command. “Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the U.S. Navy and the entire Special Operations community during this time.”

Officials have said that as the team was boarding the ship, one of the SEALs went under in the heavy seas, and a teammate went in to try and save him.

The search of the ship yielded numerous Iranian made missile components.

According to officials, the Jan. 11 raid targeted an unflagged ship carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The commandos had launched from the USS Lewis B. Puller, a mobile sea base, and they were backed by drones and helicopters. They loaded onto small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat.

In the raid, they seized an array of Iranian-made weaponry, including cruise and ballistic missile components such as propulsion and guidance devices and warheads, as well as air defense parts, Central Command said. It marked the latest seizure by the U.S. Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks now threatening global trade in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The seized missile components included types likely used in those attacks.

The U.S. Navy ultimately sunk the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, Central Command said. The ship’s 14 crew were detained.

AP

I don’t know whether their names should be enshrined as early casualties of WWIII, late Crusades victims, whatever – but no matter what, they are victims of Iranian aggression and should be honored appropriately.

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32 thoughts on “Sad news for Navy”

  2. It’s still a weird story. The official story is SEALS were boarding an unarmed small cargo vessel in search of missiles or missiles components. One “falls” or is “washed” off during the operation and the other goes in to save him. Both drown.

    1. SEALS can swim…like really well
    2. They are trained in water rescue. And that should be a well rehearsed contingency.
    3. It wasn’t a shooting situation. Where is everyone to help and with the search immediately after it happned?
    4. If it was very rough seas, why the hurry? The ship ain’t going anywhere.

    1. I had questions about that as well. They don’t wear lightweight, easy-to-maneuver-in inflatable PFD’s with the transponder inside? No chem lights? Unless both were somehow knocked unconscious I was having a hard time wrapping my head around this one.

      We’re operating right nearby and everyone immediately wondered what happened.

    2. “They loaded onto small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat.”

      Where did those small boats go after delivering the SEALs to the dhow? I would think an organization as allegedly skilled as the SEALs would have some contingency plan for casualties, etc. They are not, after all, Kamikazes.

    1. I would assume they train and practice for mishaps like falling off a boat and maybe even modify equipment for just such a contingency. I know my standard issue rucksack had a quick-release thingee on it; I checked it every time we waded across a river, along with the rest of my gear, and at least thought about what I would do if I slipped and lost my grip on the line. And I was just a grunt.

  5. God Bless these warriors. May they rest in peace and hopefully they did not suffer for too long. Prayers to their families.

  6. Not the news we wanted to hear, but was the news we expected to hear.

    Godspeed, Fare Well, and Rest Easy, Good Sirs. May God’s Comfort bring some measure of His Peace to their Families and Team Mates.

  8. Alluding to 2banana’s and Deckie’s comments above: I hope this isn’t some sort of coverup of some sort. Unfortunately, we can’t help but question the planning, circumstances, and immediate actions, especially given the intransparency of our government and military.

    I hope the SEALs’ families find some closure in the official declaration. As much as it must hurt to hear this news, every hour that the search efforts continued just contributed to increasingly false hope. Two of our highest trained and most capable Warriors are now officially gone. Optimistically thinking, maybe they made it to shore and a ransom demand with proof of life will be issued in the coming days by some POS Somali pirates or terrorists. If so, start Operation Jessica Buchanan II immediately.

    Regardless, their names should be enshrined. The SEAL that jumped in after his teammate deserves at least a Silver Star for his selfless sacrifice, and both deserve recognition as some of the first casualties for whatever seems about to kick off between us and our aggressors in the Middle East.

      1. One of our hired security team members said that in his opinion, he believes shots were fired and they were already dead going over the side.

    2. Smells off from here was well…situation like this in heavy seas it’s easy enough to put an EPIRB on everyone which goes off automatically in water…this was not a super secret squirrel mission so EPIRBs would not compromise mission security they would simply save lives…

      I’m an old infantry guy who owns a sailboat these days, any kind of blue water sailing and an EPIRB is well worth the investment….we spend a lot of money training SEALs…a few hundred bucks for EPIRBs seems a reasonable investment against the potential loss of a very expensive and human asset.

      1. Given what I’ve learned in the past from both of you, I’m more and more intrigued as to the actual events. I too am just an aging Infantry guy, a non-swimmer when I joined, and a barely swimmer now. My two greatest fears are heights and deep or murky water. What can I say?

        I have little idea as to how SEALs operate, but I would think that besides the hours spent in the water during training, drown-proofing, waterborne insertion, and other training; they’d have quick release gear, EPIRBs, PFTs, and other means of surviving a sudden drop into the ocean.

  9. Oh God, Thy ocean is so vast, and we are so small.
    Grant the families Thy Peace, and the deceased sailors a place at Thy right hand.
    Amen.

    2. This incident jogged my memory to the four members of SEAL Team 6 that were lost at sea during the invasion of Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) in Oct 1983. Presumed drowned & bodies were never recovered.

      Machinist Mate 1st Class Kenneth J. Butcher
      Quartermaster 1st Class Kevin E. Lundberg
      Hull Technician 1st Class Stephen L. Morris
      Senior Chief Engineman Robert R. Schamberger

      God bless the two lost Special Warfare Operators & their families.

    1. “Men are seeking out difficult experiences,” says Erik Anderson, a licensed marriage and family therapist. “They’re seeking out groups. They’re seeking out tribes. They’re seeking out some sort of social bonding and sense of social capital. And they’re turning to these groups that, to me, feel like they’re giving people a bit of a false sense of that.”

      Nailed it. Difficult experiences are authentic. They have meaning because of the reasons behind them. Playing Call of Duty and getting sprayed with a fire hose is LARPing.

  16. The mission was completed, and was a success.

    Fair winds and following seas, gentlemen.
    Rest ye well.

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