Seal Team 6

[Bruce59]

As you may know I live in Jacksonville, N.C. I live 4 miles from my
Brother in law a Ret. Marine, and just across the street from my
brother in law lives another Ret. Marine, who's son is in Seal Team
6. They just got word their son was Killed today. Reports are
sketchy right now but it seems he was with a group who went in
to try to rescue the helicopter that went down with 31 aboard.
RIP Chirstopher Cambell.

[rickyracer]

Here is a link to the story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44043847...sia/?gt1=43001

[raymond w mason]

GOD bless these good men and their families.

[MOS4429]

Received this from my brother who works security forces.

"A Veteran--whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve--is someone who at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to: 'The United States of America', for an amount of 'up to, and including his or her life.'" Please honor him or her accordingly.

Subject: [Black Ice] Regarding the loss of our SEAL and special operations folks last night

Folks,

My prayers and heartfelt sympathy go out to the family and friends of our killed in action. I like some of you have already been approached by media and I would like to caution others that we need to be discrete and to send media to those that are best able to handle these things. While we are all experts, most of us have no business putting our face on the evening news. Most of us already know that and the few that may have legitimate purpose outside official government know who they are. For the rest of us, I recommend holding out on your 15 minutes of fame for as long as you can…

In my somewhat exposed position in business I am asked frequently to speak in these matters and have mostly refused to do so. Normally I simply just say no but with this tragedy felt compelled to say a bit more. FOX 5 is a TV station so I don’t expect they will publish it and it was not my intent anyway. I pass this along to you as an example perhaps of handling the media, and also as my personal expression to my email groups on this tragedy.

To JR and FOX 5:

This is a very tragic loss and my deepest prayers go out to the families and friends of these warriors a nd to our SEAL community.

With the most recent celebration of a victory in the war on terrorism fresh in our memory, this loss of highly trained special operations personnel is a stark reminder and reality check that the sacrifice by our troops is a daily thing; the work never easy and always dangerous. For those that say or hear the words “Freedom is not Free” this is what we are talking about… easy to say, hard to live it… easy to forget the true meaning.

Nearly every week/month we have injured and killed service men and women coming home from overseas and most of these warriors do not make the news. The loss yesterday of so many SEALs and other special operations personnel at once IS a national tragedy in its scope. Naturally it does not matter if a serviceman is a SEAL or an army private - both losses are tragic to friends and family and to the country they serve. However you will hear a greater outcry at the loss of a special operations operator or in this case SEALs and aircrew.

There are simple explanations for this sense of greater loss from near celebrity status to simple hero worship and the mystique of SEAL but the practical aspect that does make some sense is that it is strategically greater in the loss of skills and training and operational capability to lose a special operations soldier, sailor or airman. Like taking out a General in war is a greater loss than a certain number of troops in the field it is a strategic loss. Our success in the war on terror is in the way we fight it. Our effectiveness in using special operations to wage this war has been proven in many ways and not the least of that success is reflected in the reduction in personnel losses – particularly to regular troops. Through stealth, planning, highly specialized equipment, and the personnel that constitute our special operations forces we increase the effectiveness of the fight without exposing regular troops and the potential for more losses.

So the good news even in this tragedy is that we (as a country) do not suffer these losses as frequently as past wars – Vietn am and conflicts before could involve hundreds or thousands of losses in a single day. I believe it has not been since Vietnam that we have lost so many servicemen at once in combat, and only the Beirut bombing in 1983 has caused more deaths (241) in one event since Vietnam. As for SEALs this is the single worst loss of life we have ever experienced in our history dating to 1961 and only our predecessor WWII Frogmen experienced worse on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

For the loved ones – regardless of it being SEALs, Marines, Army or Air Force the loss of their serviceman special operations or not is acute for every one of them. More good news – know that this will not diminish the resolve of our special operations in their work, it only will harden them more iron o n iron and I have no doubt that the hunt that has been ongoing will continue and our hunters will do what they do best – take it to the enemy with violence of action and intensity that only they can bring.

I would encourage our countrymen to pray for the families, for the men and women that continue to fight, for the peacemakers to bring an end to the terrorists in their way, and for our country to see it’s way forward with clarity and resolve. I would encourage the best and brightest, strongest and fastest of our young men and women to consider a career with the best warriors our country has to fight this terrorism… if you cannot serve in the military the find ways to disrupt the enemy through technology, by supporting our families and the wounded warriors with funding and jobs. S erve your country and support those that do – don’t pretend… just do it - you owe it to those that make the sacrifice our servicemen, women and families make every day.

I appreciate the invite, but giving interviews is generally not something I do. I recommend you reach out to Tom Valentine our local Chapter President, if not him, he may know of someone, you also have official sources as you know. I believe you will have Tom’s contact information on file.

Thank you,

Steven Collins
President

Black Ice Security Services, Inc.

[Bruce59]

You just said it all. At this very time their news vans park out side the
house of the parents of Chris Cambell. A Navy Chief as come out and
told them the family does not want to give interviews at this time.
But it seems that CH,14 news will not take the hint, they just keep hanging
around the house. Most of the others are giving the familly some space.
The local news paper had a story on the front page, and at the end it
said the family does not want to give interviews at this time. SO CALL
OFF THE VULTURES.

[Phantom Blooper]

May they rest in peace!

I wasn't in Jacksonville at the time of the BLT 1/8 bombing because I was overseas in Lebanon....but from all the archives and news clips I seen about that time the media were also vultures.

The stupidist question that one of the idiots ask is,"How do you feel?"

[USMCM38A1]

These days the press pushes this point way farther then those who designed the Constitution ever thought of when they wrote it.Just like the Gulf War when they were waiting on the beach as we landed.Sometimes what they know and release borders on treason.I hate that they hound the parents and relatives of the dead who gave the ultimate sacrafice.I wish someone would find their house and hound them and see how it feels on the other foot.

[jamielang1951]

[kabar1]

Rest In Peace Brothers of SEAL TEAM 6 even though i am a MARINE you guys are the best.SEMPER FI

[MOS4429]

As we mourn the loss of the SEAL team and all others on the Chinook helo that was shot down last week we must also remember that others are also fighting and paying the ultimate price in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The United States Marine Corps mourns the loss of two of their own.

Sergeant Joshua J. Robinson, 29, of Omaha, Neb. and Sgt. Adan Gonzales Jr., 28, of Bakersfield, Calif. died Aug. 7 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Both were infantrymen assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Robinson enlisted in the Marine Corps Dec. 1, 2003. He has deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.

Gonzales enlisted in the Marine Corps May 16, 2006. He has deployed once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.

The Marines and sailors of the 1st Marine Division mourn the loss of Sgt. Robinson and Sgt. Gonzales. Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families."

And the battle continues......

[Rocky C]

Prayers Outbound to All..........

Semper Fi,
Rocky

[jamielang1951]

No, I haven't forgotten, I keep up with all of them and feel every single one of em. It's just sooo damn many at one time that gets me.
I kinda stayed away after Hurricane's death because of the grief and pain. I went back and read every post of his I could find. Even now I'm having trouble typing this.

I guess the Queen Mum said it best.

"Grief is the price we pay for love."

[Kegler300]

The best of the best...rest in peace.

[jamielang1951]

News this morning that Seal team 6 was part of the original operation, they were a blocking force.

Also; a Taliban leader and a fighter, believe to be the one who fired the RPG that brought down the chopper, was tracked to a village where we bombed and killed them.

[jamielang1951]

DOD Identifies Service Members Killed In CH-47 Crash

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of 30 service members who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Aug. 6 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed.

The following sailors assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:

Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.,

Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.,

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.,

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas,

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W.Va.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.,

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.,

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.,

Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah,

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.,

Cryptologist Technician (Collection) Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.,

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa,

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla..

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.

The following sailors assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit were killed:

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, ofSaint Paul, Minn.

The soldiers killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colo.;

Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.;

Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Neb.;

Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

The airmen killed were:

Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla.;

Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif.; and

Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pa.