How SEALs Carried Out Their Mission

[Greybeard]

I've not seen this posted here yet and figure it will be of interest.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02645.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How SEALs Carried Out Their Mission

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, April 13, 2009; Page A09

The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean. The SEALs were part of a group of Special Operations forces involved in the effort, according to military officials.

The SEALs set up operations on the USS Bainbridge, which had been communicating with the four pirates via radio and had used smaller boats to make deliveries of food and water to their lifeboat. Yet the pirates were growing increasingly agitated, the officials said. At one point Saturday, the pirates opened fire on one of the smaller U.S. Navy craft that approached.

As the seas grew rougher, the Bainbridge offered to tow the lifeboat to calmer waters, and the pirates agreed, linking up the lifeboat to the destroyer with a towing cable that left 75 to 80 feet between the two vessels. Phillips at the time was tied up in the lifeboat, having been bound -- and occasionally beaten -- by the pirates ever since he had attempted to escape by jumping into the water on Friday, the officials said.


Meanwhile, one of the pirates, estimated to be between 16 and 20 years old, asked to come aboard the Bainbridge to make a phone call. He had been stabbed in the hand during an altercation with the crew of the Maersk Alabama and needed medical care. "He effectively gave himself up," a senior military official said. The Navy then allowed that pirate to speak with the others in hopes that he could persuade them to give up.

The three other pirates, however, showed signs of growing irritation, as the Bainbridge, 18 miles from shore, towed the lifeboat further out to sea, the senior military official said. "They had no promise of money, clearly no passage. The one ticket they had was the captain," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.

"In the last discussion, they said, 'If we don't get what we want, we will kill the captain,' " the official said.

Soon afterward, two pirates moved to one of the hatches of the lifeboat and stuck their heads out. The third pirate advanced toward the captain and pointed his AK-47 straight at Phillips's back, the rifle touching it or inches away, the official said.

U.S. military observers thought that Phillips was about to be shot. SEAL snipers, who were positioned on a deck at the stern of the Bainbridge, an area known as the fantail, had the three pirates in their sights. The on-scene commander gave the snipers authority to fire.

"As soon as the snipers had a clear shot at the guy who had the rifle, they shot him and the other two in the hatches," the senior military official said.

A member of the Special Operations team slid down the tow line into the water and climbed aboard the lifeboat. Phillips was then put in a small craft and taken to the Bainbridge.

[Purplehood]

Strange story. Enclosed life-boat if I remember the pics correctly. Of course there is existing technology for snipers to "see" through walls now.

[Greybeard]

Snippet from story: "involved dozens of Navy SEALs"

Sad to say, those pirates probably had no clue what they would be up against when they picked on a boat with the name "Alabama".

[stevie_d_64]

Even though the distance between the fantail and the lifeboat was 75-80 feet...The pitching of both platforms (ship and the lifeboat) that would have to be a very difficult shot to get off, much less a coordinated shot between three separate shooters...

I am glad it turned out this way for the hostage, but I am a bit skeptical of the account...

The SEaLs parachuted in??? Then they coordinated on the Bainbridge??? (Too many disconnects in the deployment methods, but I can afford to be nitpicky, because I know a few things... )

But whatever the true story is, the outcome was good...

Now the real story begins...Obviously the stakes are higher...What will our government do to reduce/eliminate the threat to civilians and commerce in this volatile area???

Any Marines care to chime in??? A little tune in my head is playing...The first stanza is rather appropriate...

[stevie_d_64]

Snippet from story: "involved dozens of Navy SEALs"

Sad to say, those pirates probably had no clue what they would be up against when they picked on a boat with the name "Alabama".

Well, if the SEaLs had not deployed when they did, I heard the Redneck Special Ops team "Alabama division" was ready to go...

Bubba, Rufus, Thibedoux and Cletus are some of the best!

[jimlongley]

I am surprised that a video hasn't turned up, yet.

The article clearly says that two of the pirates had their heads out of a hatch, while the other was clearly in view along with Captain Phillips. I would assume, from that description, that the rear portion of the cockpit cover was not in place, exposing the terrorist and the captain to view.

Not an easy shot, but a head shot at 80 feet . . . well . . .

[Purplehood]

I too was wondering about the snipers and the motion of the ocean. I guess if a sniper can get a rhythm going...but I wonder if we will ever truly "know" what went down. And if so, should we (the public)?

[Greybeard]

Excerpts from another article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; :

US captain freed; Somali pirates vow to retaliate
Associated Press Writers Todd Pitman And Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 20 mins ago

NAIROBI, Kenya – Bracing themselves on a rolling warship in choppy seas, U.S. Navy snipers fired three flawless shots to kill a trio of Somali pirates and free the American sea captain being held at gunpoint, a Navy commander said Monday.

Angry pirates vowed retaliation for the deaths, raising fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia.

"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."

The nighttime operation was a victory for the world's most powerful military, but few experts believed it would quell a rising tide of attacks in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Interviewed from Bahrain, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command chief Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said the takedown happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and shoulders exposed."

U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 so close to Capt. Richard Phillips' back that the weapon appeared to be touching him. Two other pirates popped their heads up, giving snipers three clear targets, one official said.

The military officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

The Navy released images of the scene from an unmanned drone that showed snipers positioning themselves on the fantail of the USS Bainbridge. The snipers fired simultaneously.

Asked how the snipers could have killed each pirate with a single shot in the dark, Gortney described them as "extremely, extremely well-trained." He told NBC's "Today" show that the shooting was ordered by the captain of the Bainbridge.

The SEALS arrived on the scene by parachuting from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said.

He said negotiations with the pirates had been "going up and down." The official, asking not to be publicly identified because he, too, was not authorized to discuss this on the record, said the pirates were "becoming increasingly agitated in the rough waters; they weren't getting what they wanted."

Just as it was getting dark, pirates fired a tracer bullet "toward the Bainbridge," further heightening the sense that the incident was ratcheting up, the official said.

He said when the time snipers fired, Phillips' hands were bound. Phillips was not hurt in several minutes of gunfire Sunday.

[stevie_d_64]

"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."

Okey dokey dude...

I still have that little tune buzzing around in the back of my head...

It's certainly a toe tapper...

I really miss the chance to assist my brothers and sisters in the Marines this time...This coming from your favorite "rustpicker"!

Lets see if we have some iota of leadership that will give the go to clean this mess up...

I believe what we have on station should do the job nicely...I think it is rather fortunate that it is the "Bainbridge" (destroyer) and the Boxer (with her Marines)...

Lets hope that leadership doesn't get bogged down (wasting time) in trying to build a coalition of nations to take care of a bunch of thugs...

The other countries effected have already capitulated by paying ransoms to these criminals...Why should we even bother with them to see if they want to join in on the fun???

Just my opinion...

[Purplehood]

You didn't really say that...

[Mike from Texas]

Excerpts from another article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; :

US captain freed; Somali pirates vow to retaliate
Associated Press Writers Todd Pitman And Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 20 mins ago

NAIROBI, Kenya – Bracing themselves on a rolling warship in choppy seas, U.S. Navy snipers fired three flawless shots to kill a trio of Somali pirates and free the American sea captain being held at gunpoint, a Navy commander said Monday.

Angry pirates vowed retaliation for the deaths, raising fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia.

"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."

The nighttime operation was a victory for the world's most powerful military, but few experts believed it would quell a rising tide of attacks in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Interviewed from Bahrain, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command chief Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said the takedown happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and shoulders exposed."

U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 so close to Capt. Richard Phillips' back that the weapon appeared to be touching him. Two other pirates popped their heads up, giving snipers three clear targets, one official said.

The military officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

The Navy released images of the scene from an unmanned drone that showed snipers positioning themselves on the fantail of the USS Bainbridge. The snipers fired simultaneously.

Asked how the snipers could have killed each pirate with a single shot in the dark, Gortney described them as "extremely, extremely well-trained." He told NBC's "Today" show that the shooting was ordered by the captain of the Bainbridge.

The SEALS arrived on the scene by parachuting from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said.

He said negotiations with the pirates had been "going up and down." The official, asking not to be publicly identified because he, too, was not authorized to discuss this on the record, said the pirates were "becoming increasingly agitated in the rough waters; they weren't getting what they wanted."

Just as it was getting dark, pirates fired a tracer bullet "toward the Bainbridge," further heightening the sense that the incident was ratcheting up, the official said.

He said when the time snipers fired, Phillips' hands were bound. Phillips was not hurt in several minutes of gunfire Sunday.

Hmmmm. Something doesn't add up there. One minute they are saying that basically there were 3 precision sniper shots fired simultaneously and then they were saying several minutes of gunfire like it was a firefight scenario.

[Greybeard]

Yeah, I picked up on that too. But semi-dismissed it with one of the articles saying something about tracer round(s?) toward the ship just before dark. Might have been a few minutes thereafter before our guys lit 'em up. ?

[Cosmo 9]

Stevie D in 2012

[KD5NRH]

Hmmmm. Something doesn't add up there. One minute they are saying that basically there were 3 precision sniper shots fired simultaneously and then they were saying several minutes of gunfire like it was a firefight scenario.

Maybe they followed the rules: anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice, or fifty times.

[Excaliber]

This one has to go down as a singular feat of arms in the annals of precision marksmanship.

A double coordinated strike on nonmoving targets is a very difficult feat.

A triple coordinated strike from a moving platform to a moving platform with a hostage inches away is right at the edge of impossibility in my book, even if the range was only around 30 yards.

The SEALS did it anyway. I'm in awe.