Go Navy Seal Snipers!

[oldekid]

Kidnapped US captain freed; snipers kill 3 pirates.


Way to go guys!

I'm glad it ended this way. Our Navy SEAL Snipers did what they were trained to do, and hopefully showed these criminals that they shouldn't be messing with any United States cargo ships.

These guys are awesome. Just the Navy SEAL training alone is hell. Add to that, the sniper training, and you get just what ended this act of piracy.
:beer:

[Bigdogjim]

Yes it about time we showed the "pirates" who the sea's belong too:flag:

[jgc61sr2002]

Great Job. :D Well Done.:flag:

[SC Cheesehead]

Yes it about time we showed the "pirates" who the sea's belong too:flag:

^^^^^^ Big +1 on that! ^^^^^^

[Blackmobile]

Warms my heart to hear good news for a change.

Ed

[ImpalaSlayer]

wow i havent herd this update yet. so they just caped the pirates? badass!

[gonzo50]

Warms my heart to hear good news for a change.

Ed

I should have been USA 4,:censor:SOB 0.

[scruff]

I,m Glad this terrible event turned out in favour for the good guys

[CBT]

Wow, I thought SeALs flew those blue jets at air shows, they get to shoot people, too?

[Bluerauder]

I am glad that this worked out with a happy ending for the captain and the crew. Was getting a bit worried with the French getting involved. Knew the SEALS had to be in the wings somewhere.

[UncleLar]

Don't mess with the US Navy Seals,I knew some when I ran the rivers in Viet Nam,they are some seriously bad people.Nobody to futz with. That was some mighty fine shooting,from the deck of a destroyer rolling at sea into a lifeboat bobbing around,damn mighty fine shooting!

[justbob]

I hadn't read the update either. I am glad to hear he will be returning to his familly safe and sound!

[oldekid]

Those guys are awesome. I was stationed on a sub in Key West, and used to watch them on base. I always felt bad for them because of the torture they went through, every single day. They made my job seem pretty damn easy.

They are unsung heroes who will never be recognized for their work. To them, it is just their job. They parachuted down, in the dark of night, took their positions, and when ordered, got three headshots, and three kills.

Thanks guys!
:bows:

[bigbillybbs]

That must have been some crazy sharp shooting. Just thinking of trying to shoot someone on a bobbing raft with high seas is crazy. :2thumbs:They are sum marksman…!:gunfire:
Ill have a drink or two to those boys :beer:

[rayjay]

Congrats to the SEALS! way to go. Maybe our new prez does have cohones after all.

[Haggis]

Congrats to the SEALS! way to go. Maybe our new prez does have cohones after all.

Maybe he borrowed Hillary's.

[BAD MERC]

AMEN brothers!!!!! It really is about time we got a happy ending. I felt good about this story from the beginning and I honestly hoped for a positive resolution - I was hoping to save him and sink the lifeboat with the pirates aboard. At least he's safe. I can almost see the new anti-piracy laws and regulations being implemented now....

[Joe Walsh]

Congrats NAVY SEALS!

I wonder if they 'greased' those pirates with an MK11/7.62 or an M82A1/.50 Barrett?
Either way...it worked out just fine.
(Except for the crew that has to clean up the life boat's interior...:eek:)

[Krytin]

Seals Rock!

That's some of my tax dollars VERY well spent!!!!!!!!!!!

[tjg442]

:flag::flag: NICE FEELING !!!!!! :flag: ABOUT TIME !

[ckadiddle]

Give them boys some medals!

[Taemian]

Those guys are awesome. I was stationed on a sub in Key West, and used to watch them on base. I always felt bad for them because of the torture they went through, every single day. They made my job seem pretty damn easy.

They are unsung heroes who will never be recognized for their work. To them, it is just their job. They parachuted down, in the dark of night, took their positions, and when ordered, got three headshots, and three kills.

Thanks guys!
:bows:

Where did you hear that they parachuted down? I've yet to hear anything about that, I'd heard they transpo'd from another ship.

The shots taken by the Seals were only from 75 feet, and the lifeboat was being towed by the Halliburton. (source:Vice Admiral William Gortney) It wasn't the moving, bobbing target that civis and media seem to suggest.

None of that detracts to the amazing job that everybody involved did. I've trained with an ex-Seal, an ex-Recon Marine and a current Ranger. They are all my friggin' heroes! They achieved a level of expertise that I couldn't have hoped to achieve during my service without giving up absolutely everything else in my life.

I only wish there had been a blackout of the engagement details, because now we can never again replicate that situation to resolve future problems in the same proven and successful manner.

I'm also very curious to know what platform they used, and since the had to pierce the lifeboat's shatterproof glass, I'm guessing a 6.8 SPC, or maybe Grendal. Anyone got ideas? (The Barret or the Lapua wouldn't be used for a standoff range of only 75 feet!)

[oldekid]

Where did you hear that they parachuted down? I've yet to hear anything about that, I'd heard they transpo'd from another ship.


I heard that on one of the major news networks, but you know how that goes. It sounded very possible to me, and certainly something that they might have done.

What I heard was that they did in fact parachute down in the cover of night, so they would not be seen by the pirates. I believe they said there were somewhere in the neighborhood of six SEAL snipers involved also.

I didn't make it up, but perhaps the news media did. :D

[oldekid]

This is from CNN, and they did say during this clip, that they parachuted in. This doesn't say how many were involved though.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/04/13/lawrence.pirates.rescue.tic.to c.cnn

[Taemian]

I heard that on one of the major news networks, but you know how that goes. It sounded very possible to me, and certainly something that they might have done.

What I heard was that they did in fact parachute down in the cover of night, so they would not be seen by the pirates. I believe they said there were somewhere in the neighborhood of six SEAL snipers involved also.

I didn't make it up, but perhaps the news media did. :D

Chuting onto a ship mid-ocean seems risky, though totally do-able. There were lots of support vessels nearby, so boat-insertion seems much more plausible. Any kind of airdrop would have to be quite high to avoid detection, and maximizes risk. Six operators makes sense, 3 ops, 3 spotters/backups.

[Taemian]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30189266#30189266

The Vice Admiral himself said in this audio interview that the ship involved was the Hallyburton, NOT the Bainbridge. He also said the shot was 75 feet, but considering the fantail height/angle to target, 90 could just as easily be true.

Fog of war, even between news moguls...result is the same.

[MM03MOK]

Simply amazing. All local eyes here have been riveted to the news since Capt. Phillips and second-in-command, Shane Murphy, are graduates of Mass. Maritime Academy, just 20 minutes from us.

[FordNut]

Awesome. And the AP report I read said they parachuted into the water, then were pulled aboard the ship.

[Taemian]

Awesome. And the AP report I read said they parachuted into the water, then were pulled aboard the ship.

So it was a hybrid of sorts...makes sense. I thought the media was suggesting the Seals landed on the actual deck of a moving ship. :eek: At night.:eek:

And as Ranger Up says:

"Seriously, you haven't lived (and felt like less of a man) until you've had dinner with a SEAL O6 and a former DELTA O6 playing the "my **** is bigger than your ****" game by arguing over who had been fired out of a torpedo tube the most."


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[Baaad GN]

Only problem is that is not an american ship, Sealand USA is a shell company owned 100% by Maersk Lines Denmark, when they bought them they kept US Flag so they could carry US Miliatry cargo which pays triple the rates compared to normal cargo. Yep they have to use american officers but a lot of the crew are 3rd world also.
SOOOOOOOOOO norway thanks us with a snicker!!
And people like me shake ours Heads and think stupid people don't know any different!!!!!!!!!!!

[FordNut]

Doesn't really matter to me what Nation it belongs to. The pirates need to be taken out. Every damn one of them.

[offroadkarter]

Doesn't really matter to me what Nation it belongs to. The pirates need to be taken out. Every damn one of them.


they are humans just like us, they deserve a bailout and a talking to...

[oldekid]

they are humans just like us, they deserve a bailout and a talking to...If they are talking, it is to some kind of higher power. I think they were dead before bailing out was even an option. :)

[Local Boy]

Good Job!

ALOHA

[Baaad GN]

Don't get me wrong! Someone should have started shooting these guys a lonnnnnnnng time ago but don't because it's not PC. Who know's maybe some others will finally get some BaXXX.
But the truth should also be known. we actually went for the crew and if it was not them NOTHING would have happened.

[TAKEDOWN]

I'm glad I'm on their sides!

[ParkRanger]

Only problem is that is not an american ship, Sealand USA is a shell company owned 100% by Maersk Lines Denmark, when they bought them they kept US Flag so they could carry US Miliatry cargo which pays triple the rates compared to normal cargo. Yep they have to use american officers but a lot of the crew are 3rd world also.
SOOOOOOOOOO norway thanks us with a snicker!!
And people like me shake ours Heads and think stupid people don't know any different!!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly right - owned by the largest container shipping line (# containers shipped per year) in the world, based in Copenhagen.
In any event don't understand why all have allowed this piracy to continue.
Couple of guys with .50 cals and a simple grenade launcher - what pirate problem? :D

[Dr Caleb]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_marque

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Sta tes_of_America#Section_8



To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Just saying . . . ;)

[Taemian]

Congrats NAVY SEALS!

I wonder if they 'greased' those pirates with an MK11/7.62 or an M82A1/.50 Barrett?
Either way...it worked out just fine.
(Except for the crew that has to clean up the life boat's interior...:eek:)

Good call on the weapon platform, see article below. Looks like they took 4 shots (one to break the glass, 3 literally a heartbeat later to engage the three targets.)
****************************** ***************************
The Combat Operator’s Jake Allen — not a former SEAL, but a Marine infantry officer and private military contractor and security consultant with sourcing in the Teams — had no detailed information on the actual shot, but described the overall techniques used by the SEAL team.
First of all, multiple sources indicate this was conducted by SEAL Team VI, aka Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka “DevGru.” This is the naval equivalent of Delta Force.
Allen says the team likely were on the intel of the incident very soon after news hit the wires about the capture and were already well in advance of developing a plan to rescue Phillips before they deployed to the USS Bainbridge.
It’s unclear why the team decided to parachute onto the scene under cover of darkness from a C-17 with rafts. One possibility is that this was a far more covert entry than simply landing on the destroyer via helicopter, or Allen says it could have been due to range restrictions…did the DevGru guys travel straight from Little Creek, Va.? Probably.
There was no rest and relaxation or getting rid of the jetlag for the team. Allen estimates they were planning and rehearsing shortly after arriving aboard the Bainbridge. Delay was, however, in their favor, Allen said, since food was running out, sleep was short and the weather was worsening for the ill-trained pirates who probably were beginning to realize they bit off more than they could chew.
Whether it was luck or planning, clearly the idea to tow the life boat behind the Bainbridge and reel it into closer range made a sniper takedown much more of a reasonable possibility than any other tactic, sources say. A shot of 80-90 feet — even at night and in rolling seas — is a cakewalk for DevGru SEALs.
“These guys can put three rounds onto the head of a quarter at that range,” Allen told me.
And let’s not get carried away with the sea state, says DT contributor Joe Buff. A multi-thousand ton destroyer is a pretty stable platform in any but the most tumultuous sea states and makes dialing in a shot on an admittedly tossing life raft more doable — a smart platform for the Team to operate from.
We also have some information — unconfirmed, though we’re working on it — about how the shots were taken and what was used. Our firearms expert Eric Poole who writes for Tactical-Life posits that the snipers were using the MK-11 .308 sniper system manufactured by Knights Armament Co. This weapon is awesome, by the way (I’ve shot it a few times myself) and, if this is indeed what the shooters used, would mark a major, high-profile departure from legacy thinking about sniping which holds bolt-action rifles as the Gold Standard or marksmanship.
Poole figures the DevGru frogmen removed the “overpowered” standard-issue Leupold scopes and opted for the Aimpoint CCO augmented by the PVS-14 night vision monocular. Though the SEAL version of the MK-11 Mod 0 is issued with suppressors, it’s unclear whether the operators used them, but I’d bet a million bucks they did.
One other question (among many) remains open…were there three shots or four? Poole reasons, and Allen and I agree, that someone had to shoot through the lifeboat window first, then fire the kill shots. My limited knowledge of ballistics leads me to believe the snipers could not rely on the effectiveness of the one window shot to actually strike the target where it was aimed based in the potential deflection of hitting that probably plastic (glass) window.
Poole, Allen and Buff agree that this operation was meticulously planned and flawlessly executed. The DevGru SEALs developed the situation (with their interagency partners in the FBI and other OGAs), planned an attack and executed when the opportunity presented itself (and I don’t buy this “the captain was in danger” line the Pentagon and White House is trying to sell here…you mean to tell me Phillips hadn’t had a gun pointed at his back anytime before this?)…It was a kick butt operation carried out by one of the best counterterrorist units in the world and they deserve a huge HooYah from all of us