http://www.militaryspot.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=904

My war was Korea, a long time ago.

Lt. Michael Murphy& ……

My point… since you didn’t get it the first time… is to stop the second guessing.

It’s not so much second-guessing as examining what was obviously a mission gone terribly wrong and attempting to understand what happened and why. But I can see how that can be seen as Monday-morning quarterbacking.

What the SEALs do so well on a regular basis is to “stay out of the papers.” It is tragic testimony to their quiet effectiveness that we only read about their one spectacular failure, instead of the multitude of their successes.

Whether it’s a reconnaissance or taking out a high-value target, SEALs go in, do the job and leave – and either nobody knows they were ever there, or nobody knows who did the deed, where they came from or where they went.

Aside from the amazing physical and mental training it takes to be a SEAL, another key in their abilty to routinely do the “impossible” comes from their meticulous attention to detail – in mission preparation, immediate action drills and contingency planning.

So Radio Relay is correct that SEALs overcome imperfections: it gives them a crucial edge in the fog of battle. While the other guys are still trying to sort out what’s happening, the SEALs have already shifted gears, seized the initiative and taken decisive action.

Yet it is here that the descriptions in he post above raise an eyebrow.

“On that fateful day in 2005, while conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Hindu Kush, their four man team was accidentally happened upon by three Afghani goat herders.

What ensued was a discussion among the four SEALs about what to do with the three Afghanis. The rules of engagement weren’t specific enough for them to decide whether they should kill, detain, or release the men.”

I read those words twice when I first saw them, and both times my reaction was, “WTF?”

It is hard to believe that a SEAL element’s exacting mission preparation wouldn’t include a contingency for, “What happens if we get spotted by some local stumble-bum?” Yet if the above passage is accurate, that seems to have been the case.

Similarly, it is puzzling that a “debate” seems to have ensued on whether to kill three men whose combatant status evidently consisted of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Equally perplexing is the apparent weight given to concerns about the opinion of the American media.

In short, a lot seems to have gone wrong with this particular mission that led to several of our finest warriors losing their lives, and the apparent nature of what went wrong leads to some hard questions.

I greatly admire Lt. Murphy’s selflessness, valor and coolness under fire that day. He deserves that Medal of Honor. This nation is poorer for his loss and that of his comrades.

As it stands, I’m trusting that the higher-ups in SOCOM are asking and finding answers to the hard questions – so that the rest of us here in the land that Lt. Murphy gave his life to protect can go back to being blissfully ignorant of what other SEALs like him are doing on our behalf, in God-forsaken places around the planet, day in and day out.

“His objective was clear: to make one last valiant attempt to save his two teammates”–former Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL)…

Just to clarify: SFC Russell (US Army) was NOT a member of SEAL Team 10. He was a member of the QRF/Rescue element that went in to get Lt. Murphy’s SEAL element.

That should be changed to reflect facts.

Otherwise, well done on reporting this event.

Thank you, and all our troops, for making it easier for me and my family to sleep a little better at night.

Your family must be so sad, but so very proud of you, as we all are.