Osama Bin Laden is dead and his corpse is in US hands.

[Dago]

Are we done with the Pak vs. everyone else yet?

I have one question regarding this incident. What's the difference between ST6 and Delta Force in terms of mission? It seems that both of them are tasked with counter-terrorism. So why need separate forces?

Since DELTA ****ed it up in Mogadishu, the SEALS got the nod. Just having a bit of fun. And believe it or not, the SEALS have been almost always the first too call and been in everything, from Panama too Grenada too the Embassy's rescues.

I know, DELTA is heavily classified as well as DEVGRU, but would anyone might speculate that the SEALS have much greater numbers than DELTA? That they can pool from. From all there SEAL teams, that they can recruit from. I read in the paper, up too 72 SEALS and Intelligence officers were on the ground. (San Diego Union Tribune)

I probably think the SEALS were the best choice. They can go in a little bit heavier, and have experience, putting alot of SEALS on the ground. Remember Panama air field? It turned out bad, but that is the last time i can think of that many SEALs on the ground at a time.

[drhuy]

what I wondered is why people created 2 organizations with the same mission in the first place. Any other reason beside 'they have one so we must it too'?

[Dago]

what I wondered is why people created 2 organizations with the same mission in the first place. Any other reason beside 'they have one so we must it too'?

Different armed services. It never hurts to have too many SoF personal either. Nor that fact overlapping missions.

Usually, SEAL's are already forward deployed. There ability, to be anywhere in the world in a certain amount of time, makes it unique. May it be the South East Pacific, Arabian Sea, Indian ocean etc etc... They also have unique abilities, to be launched from a Sub, and conduct coastal operations. Something that is specifically linked to SEAL teams and not DELTA. They say, once the SEAL makes it too the sea, they are home.

[bigross86]

Besides, sometimes the Navy will get a mission and decide that SEAL's are the appropriate took to use, and therefore don't need to request assets from another branch

[Agnostic Muslim]

how much would a house like that cost??

6.5 million Rs.

6 marla brand new house for sale in Hayatabad - Peshawar - Houses - Apartments for Sale - peshawar - hayatabad phase 6

Interested?

[Agnostic Muslim]

Also, they said, it was a simple house comprising 13 rooms, six on the ground floor and the remaining on the first and second floors.

“There was no bunker or tunnel inside the house and that’s why I don’t understand why the world’s most wanted man would have decided to live here,” a senior official said. 



My dad and I were discussing this on the phone a couple of hours ago, and he made a similar point - the militants in FATA that Pakistan has encountered have constructed rather elaborate tunnel and bunker systems in their homes in villages/towns as well as mountain hideouts/caves. Some of these stretched for miles and opened into dry riverbeds or other homes.

Compared to that, this compound was nothing special at all.

Certainly not any 'million dollar mansion', as is evident from the pictures and reports from local real estate agents:

"Twenty million rupees, maximum," said property dealer Muhammad Anwar, a 22-year veteran of the local market, at his Abbottabad office. "No swimming pool. This is not a posh area. We call it a middling area."

Asked about the American estimate, he chuckled. "Maybe that's the assessment from a satellite. But here on the ground, that's the price."

The assessment was backed by the local branch manager of a major Pakistani bank, who himself owns land in the same locality. "If it was worth that much, we would all be multi-millionaires round here," he said.

Osama bin Laden hideout 'worth far less than US claimed' | World news | guardian.co.uk

[rj1]

Some people on here will like Jon Stewart's take last night on bin Laden's location he was caught at. :D (couple minutes in)

May 03, 2011 - Rachel Maddow - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Full Episode Video | Comedy Central

Monday night was pretty good too: May 02, 2011 - Philip K. Howard - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Full Episode Video | Comedy Central

[Albany Rifles]

Lots of speculation but little background in fact.
Has nothing to do with past experiences...everything to do with current missions and availability.

But the aircraft were all Army...because that is their mission.

[Agnostic Muslim]

I do not see any loopholes...

Here is another one for you to see:

Senior military officials confirmed that Pakistan army troops were providing backup support when the United States began its operations inside the compound. And residents in the area said that two hours before the operation was launched, Pakistani army personnel ordered them to switch off their lights inside and outside their homes and remain indoors until further orders.

“The army personnel cordoned off the entire area long before we heard the sounds of helicopters hovering over the area,” said Zulfikar Ahmed, who lives in the town of Bilal, where bin Laden’s compound is located.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official told GlobalPost that intelligence officers in Pakistan and the United States had, in fact, shared information about bin Laden’s presence a week before U.S. President Barack Obama approved the operation.

“Gen. David Petraeus had paid an extraordinary visit to Islamabad on April 25, and held a one-on-one meeting with Gen. Kayani [Pakistani army chief], in which they discussed the details of the operation,” the official said.

Osama bin Laden | Pakistan

[drhuy]

Different armed services. It never hurts to have too many SoF personal either. Nor that fact overlapping missions.

Usually, SEAL's are already forward deployed. There ability, to be anywhere in the world in a certain amount of time, makes it unique. May it be the South East Pacific, Arabian Sea, Indian ocean etc etc... They also have unique abilities, to be launched from a Sub, and conduct coastal operations. Something that is specifically linked to SEAL teams and not DELTA. They say, once the SEAL makes it too the sea, they are home.

well, then why not ST6 only, no DELTA. Is there anything unique about DELTA that they can offer?

[Agnostic Muslim]

there is no doubt someone had to know

I am sure someone knew, but not at any official level in the military or ISI

and its their obligation to find out who that who really is.

Of course, all leads will be pursued, but is the US going to be sharing any intelligence with Pakistan, which it did not do 'officially' in the Bin Laden Operation?

Otherwise the US should seriously contemplate any further aid at all and more raids in the Tribal areas.

Please do so - we Pakistanis, that the liberal fascists in Pakistan call the 'ghairat brigade', would like nothing better than to see US aid cut off and any US leverage over Pakistan ended or severely limited.

As I often argue - Pakistan has the economy and resources to generate significantly more revenue than it takes in through aid and loans, and it needs a 'kick in the pants', such as an end to US aid and IMF support, to demolish any vestiges of support the sellout Zardari's and Sharif's enjoy, and bring on board nationalist political leaders who will implement the necessary tax and institutional reforms and take back ownership of Pakistan's foreign policy - even if they are more 'rightist' in their religious views.

[Agnostic Muslim]

AM, you are giving in to wishful seeing. This property is 8x larger than most neighboring houses. Reporters on the scene say that it covers an area about 2 football fields. It's built, as you can see there, like a fort, and it's towering over the reporters and military personnel standing around. When it was built in 2005 the hill had practically just this house. Oh, that other suspicious property nearby: as you said, owned by a major of the Pakistani army.

So now we know. You can have a house like this without problem in Abbottabad..... if you are a part of the Army or the security aparatus.

Please, take a look at the google earth SAT images of Abbottabad - the town is more than just this one neighborhood that so many seem to think the ISI should have focused on for some odd reason. Your argument is still a rather odd one of 'this house was bigger than the others, and so was suspicious' - that is an absurd reason to put a residence under surveillance.

abbottabad pakistan bin laden - Google Maps

[rj1]

Agnostic Muslim, with due respect, I know you mean well and love your country and I know you yourself didn't help harbor bin Laden, but it's very very hard for us to swallow that certain people in leadership positions in your country did not either. It just doesn't pass the smell test. Stewart is a comedian but watch the video, he pretty much lays out the everyman perspective of viewing this situation.

[Agnostic Muslim]

We will get to the truth, and Pakistan can either turn over the people responsible for sheltering OBL or face the consequences.

What consequences? Empty threats is what you have, and your lawmakers are coming back in line after spewing hot air for a couple of days.

With OBL they crossed a line that we can't ignore.

There was no line Pakistan crossed other than the imaginary one being created here to pressure Pakistan into doing US bidding.

[Dago]

well, then why not ST6 only, no DELTA. Is there anything unique about DELTA that they can offer?

DELTA was more created as a Counter Terrorism unit in the 1970's. The first dedicated CT unit. This mission was inherently different of unconventional warfare that Army Special forces trained for and conducted as well as the SEAL's. So DELTA was created. Later on the Navy created a more specialized CT unit, DEVGRU.

They both do HALO. What's impressive, the SEAL's can do HALO with there boats if need be. Bad ass.

Little bit of operational history for you - from Wikipedia nonetheless - if you further care to read up on both units!


1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D) (Delta Force)

Delta Force's primary tasks are counter-terrorism, direct action, and national intervention operations, although it is an extremely versatile group capable of assuming many covert missions, including, but not limited to, rescuing hostages and raids.

Delta Force's structure is similar to the British 22 Special Air Service Regiment, the unit which inspired Delta's creator, Charles Beckwith. In Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda, Army Times staff writer Sean Naylor describes Delta as having nearly 1,000 operators.[7] Naylor wrote that approximately 250 of those are operators trained to conduct direct action and reconnaissance missions.[7] There are three main operational squadrons:

A Squadron
B Squadron
C Squadron

Operations and covert actions

Operation Eagle Claw

Delta's very first tasking began the night after they successfully completed their operational assessment on Nov. 4, 1979 when Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Delta was immediately tasked to rescue the hostages and began training on storming the embassy with a compound mock-up built by military combat engineers at Eglin AFB, FL, while putting together a complex multi-stage rescue operation involving a rigid schedule and demanding helicopter night-flying skills using first-generation night vision goggles. The rescue force was to be inserted by Air Force special operations C-130s at night to a remote location in the desert outside Tehran called Desert One, and meet up with a group of Marine RH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, flown in from the U.S.S. Nimitz aircraft carrier staged nearby in the Indian Ocean. The helicopters would then be refueled on the ground at Desert One by refueling specialists using specially-designed fuel bladders inside the C-130s. The refueled helicopters and the rescue force (composed of Delta and Rangers) would then fly to a hidden staging location outside Tehran and hide until the next evening. On the evening of the rescue, Delta would drive to the embassy compound using pre-staged trucks, assault the compound and rescue the hostages, and take them across the street to a soccer stadium where the helicopters would have landed to extract them and take them to a nearby airfield which the Rangers would have assaulted and captured. C-141s would then extract the entire rescue force with hostages and the helicopters would be destroyed and left behind.

Unfortunately, the helicopters caused the cancellation of the mission at Desert One, when enough helicopters were lost from attrition due to sandstorms, pilot fatigue, and failed hydraulics that the on-site commanders acknowledged helicopter numbers were below the required minimum for that stage to go forward and recommended to President Carter that the mission be canceled, which he did. As the entire rescue force was leaving Desert One, one of the helicopters crashed into a U.S. Air Force special operations C-130 and in the ensuing explosion and panic the helicopters were abandoned en masse leaving unauthorized mission plans which fell into Iranian hands, ruining any chance of a possible second covert rescue attempt following a brief regrouping period. [13]

Central American operations

Delta has seen action extensively in Central America, fighting the Salvadoran revolutionary group Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front and assisting the Central Intelligence Agency-funded Contras in Nicaragua.

Operation Urgent Fury

A second Delta mission launched in the early daylight hours of the first day of Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada was to assault Richmond Hill Prison and rescue the political prisoners being held there. Built on the remains of an old eighteenth-century fort, the prison cannot be approached by foot from three sides except through dense jungle growing on the steep mountainside; the fourth side is approachable by a narrow neck of road with high trees running along it. The prison offers no place for a helicopter assault force to land. Richmond Hill forms one side of a steep valley. Across and above the valley, on a higher peak, is another old fort, Fort Frederic, which housed a Grenadian garrison. From Fort Frederic, the garrison easily commanded the slopes and floor of the ravine below with small arms and machine gun fire. It was into this valley and under the guns of the Grenadian garrison that the helicopters of Delta Force flew at 6:30 that morning.[citation needed]

The helicopters of Task Force 160 flew into the valley and turned their noses toward the prison. Unable to land, the Delta raiders began to rappel down ropes dragging from the doors of the helicopters. Suddenly, as men swung wildly from the rappelling ropes, the helicopters were caught in a murderous cross-fire from the front, as forces from the prison opened fire; and more devastatingly, from behind, as enemy forces in Fort Frederic rained heavy small arms and machine gun fire down from above. According to eyewitness accounts by Grenadian civilians, a number of helicopters that could, flew out of the valley. In at least one instance, a helicopter pilot turned back without orders and refused to fly into the assault. Charges of cowardice were filed against the Nightstalker pilot by members of Delta who wanted to be inserted, but were later dropped.[17]

Aeropostal Flight 252

On July 29, 1984 Aeropostal Flight 252 from Caracas to the island of Curaçao was hijacked. Two days later, the DC-9 was stormed by Venezuelan commandos, who killed the hijackers.[18] Delta Force provided support during the ordeal.[19

Achille Lauro Hijack
President Ronald Reagan deployed the Navy's SEAL Team Six and Delta Force during the Achille Lauro Hijack to Cyprus to stand-by and prepare for a possible rescue attempt to free the vessel from its hijackers.

Operation Round Bottle
Delta planned an operation for three teams to go into Beirut, Lebanon to rescue Westerners held by Hezbollah, but the action was terminated when negotiations appeared to promise to deliver the hostages in exchange for arms. The operation was ultimately killed by the Los Angeles Times story that revealed the Iran–Contra affair.[20]

Operation Heavy Shadow

In his book Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden suggests that a Delta Force sniper may have eliminated Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. There is no hard evidence of this though and credit is generally attributed to Colombian security forces.

Operation Just Cause

Before Operation Just Cause by US forces took place, there were key operations that were tasked to Special Operations Forces. Operation Acid Gambit was an operation tasked to Delta to rescue and recover Kurt Muse held captive in Carcel Modelo, a prison in Panama City. Another important operation that was assigned to Delta was Operation Nifty Package, the apprehension of General Manuel Antonio Noriega.

Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm

Delta was deployed during Desert Storm to the region and tasked with a number of responsibilities. These include supporting regular Army units that were providing close protection detail for General Norman Schwarzkopf in Saudi Arabia. Army relations' officers tried to play down Schwarzkopf's growing number of bodyguards. Delta was also tasked with hunting for SCUD missiles alongside the British Special Air Service and other coalition Special Forces.

Operation Gothic Serpent

On 3 October 1993, members of Delta Force were sent in with U.S. Army Rangers in the conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia codenamed Operation Gothic Serpent.
They were tasked with securing several of Mohammed Farah Aidid's top lieutenants, as well as a few other targets of high value. The mission was compromised after two MH-60L Blackhawk helicopters were shot down by RPGs. This resulted in an ongoing battle and led to the death of five Delta operators (a sixth was killed by mortar fire some days later), six Rangers, five Army aviation crew, and two 10th Mountain Division soldiers. Estimates of Somali deaths range from 133 by an Aidid sector commander[21] to an estimate of 1500 to 2000 by the US Ambassador to Somalia.[22] In 1999, writer Mark Bowden published the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, which chronicles the events that surrounded the October 3, 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.[16] The book, in a short brief, relates Delta Force's involvement in the operations that occurred before the events leading to the battle.[16] The book was turned into a film by director Ridley Scott in 2001.

Counter-terrorist training

In January 1997, a small Delta advance team and six members of the British SAS were sent to Lima, Peru immediately following the takeover of the Japanese Ambassador's residence.[23]

Seattle WTO
Members of Delta Force were also involved in preparing security for the 1999 Seattle WTO Conference, specifically against a chemical weapon attack.

Operation Enduring Freedom

Delta Force was also involved in the offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.[25] Delta Force has formed the core of the special strike unit which has been hunting High Value Target (HVT) individuals like Osama Bin Laden and other key al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership since October 2001, the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. One such operation was an airborne assault supported by the 75th Ranger Regiment on Mullah Mohammed Omar's headquarters at a Kandahar airstrip. Although Delta Force's mission was a failure in capturing Mohammed Omar, the Rangers had captured a vital strategic airstrip.[26] The strike force has been variously designated Task Force 11, Task Force 20, Task Force 121, Task Force 145 and Task Force 6-26. The Delta Force have also increased operations in eastern Afghanistan in 2009. "The Navy’s SEAL Team 6, sometimes called Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU; the Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, or Delta Force; the 75th Ranger Regiment; the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment; the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron; plus elements from other even more secret units and intelligence organizations" has killed or captured more than 2,000 enemy insurgents in Afghanistan against the Haqqani network, which is a strong faction of the Taliban.[27]

Operation Iraqi Freedom

One of several operations in which Delta Force operators are thought to have played important roles was the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[28] They allegedly entered Baghdad in advance and undercover. Their tasks included guiding air strikes, and building networks of informants while eavesdropping on and sabotaging Iraqi communication lines. They were also instrumental in Operation Phantom Fury in April 2004 when they were attached to USMC companies,[29] usually as snipers.

Delta were also present in the siege in Mosul where Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed, and were also involved in the hunt and eventual capture of Saddam Hussein. It has also been reported that Delta was on the ground north of Baquba on June 7, 2006 surveilling a compound where Al-Zarqawi had been staying. After a long manhunt, Delta had Zarqawi in their sights and had called in an airstrike.[30]

United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)

When SEAL Team Six was first created it was devoted exclusively to counter-terrorism with a worldwide maritime responsibility; its objectives typically included targets such as ships, oil rigs, naval bases, or other civilian or military bases that were accessible from the sea or inland waterways. SEAL Team Six was originally also tasked with covertly infiltrating international hot spots in order to carry out reconnaissance or security assessments of U.S. military bases and U.S. Embassies.

DEVGRU's full mission is classified but is thought to include preemptive, pro-active counterterrorist operations, counter-proliferation (efforts to prevent the spread of both conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction), as well as assassination or recovery of high-value targets (HVTs) from unfriendly nations.[12][13] DEVGRU is one of only a handful of U.S. special mission units authorized to use preemptive actions against terrorists and their facilities. DEVGRU and the Army's Delta Force train together and deploy together on counter-terrorist missions usually as part of a joint special operations task force (JSOTF).

Operational deployments

Operation Urgent Fury

On October 13, 1983, the Grenadian Army, controlled by former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, overthrew the government of Grenada in a bloody coup d'état, creating a Communist regime. The severity of the violence, coupled with Coard's hard-line Marxism, caused deep concern among neighboring Caribbean nations, as well as in Washington, D.C. Adding to the US's concern was the presence of nearly 1,000 American medical students in Grenada.

The new leader of the Grenadian government, Maurice Bishop, aligned Grenada with Cubans, Soviets, and communist organizations. The Reagan administration reviled the leftist government for being too closely allied to Cuba and the Soviet Union.[21] On October 25, Reagan decided to act and United States invaded the small island of Grenada.

SEAL Team Six's Assault Group Three was to conduct a static line drop with boats a few miles away from the Grenadian coast.[22] One of two C-130 cargo planes transporting the SEALs to their drop point veered far off course. A rain squall accompanied by high winds broke out just before the SEALs conducted the drop. Four out of the eight SEALs that made the drop drowned and were never seen again.[22] After the disastrous insertion, Assault Group Three was told to stand-by and began preparing for the next mission. The next mission was to go to the governor's mansion and secure Governor-General Paul Scoon, protect him and his family and move them out of the combat area.[23] A second mission was to capture and secure Grenada's only radio station so that it couldn't be used by the local military to incite the population or coordinate military actions.[23] There was almost no intelligence for either of these operations.[22]

To reach the governor-general's mansion, the SEALs were flown in on Blackhawk helicopters that morning, and fast-roped to the ground while under fire.[22] As they approached from the back of the mansion, the team found Scoon hiding. The SEALs then continued to clear the rest of the house and began to set up a perimeter to ensure security.[22] Soon the mansion started to take fire from men armed with AK-47s and RPGs. As the incoming fire started to increase, Governor-General Scoon and his family were moved to a safer location in the house. After the incoming fire had decreased, three men wearing Cuban uniforms approached the mansion, all of them carrying AK-47s. The SEALs shouted for the three men to stop where they were. When the three men heard the yells, they raised their weapons. The SEALs opened fire on the Cubans and killed them almost instantly.[22]

Soon afterward, two BTR-60PBs rolled up to the mansion's gates. One of the BTRs at the mansion's front gate opened fire. Just as the SEALs were about to fire a LAW anti-tank rocket, the BTR backed off and left with the other BTR.[22] When the SEALs had inserted on to the compound, they left behind their long-range SATCOM radio on a helicopter.[22] The only communications the team had were through MX-360 radios. The team used the radios to communicate with a SEAL command post on the island to call in air strikes. As the radios started to die, communications with the SEAL command post became weak. Once all the radios had finally died and the SEALs urgently needed air support, the SEALs used a regular house phone to call JSOC.[22] JSOC was able to get an AC-130 Spectre gunship to hold station over the SEALs' position to provide air support.
When morning came, a group of Force Recon Marines arrived to extract the SEALs, Governor-General Scoon, and his family to a helicopter extraction point. As the team left the compound, they noticed splattered blood and discarded weapons all around. The helicopter finally arrived and extracted everyone to safety.

Assault Group Three and another squad from SEAL Team Six flew to the radio station on a Blackhawk helicopter.[24] The helicopter took small-arms fire on the insertion. Once the team unloaded it overran the radio station compound. The SEALs were told to hold the station until Governor Scoon and a broadcast team could be brought in.[22] After the team took control of the compound, it was not able to make radio contact with the SEAL command post. The SEALs set up a perimeter while they continued to try to make radio contact. As this was happening, a BTR-60 rolled up to the compound and 20 Grenadian soldiers disguised as station workers piled out.[24] The soldiers carried weapons even in disguise.[24] The SEALs ordered the soldiers to drop the weapons. The soldiers opened fire but were shot down almost instantly. Afterward the SEALs continued laboring to make radio contact when another BTR and three trucks were spotted coming towards the station.[24]

The trucks carried a dozen soldiers each. The SEALs quickly conducted a defensive maneuver as the soldiers flanked the building. The BTR covered the front entrance with its 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun. The incoming fire on the SEALs position was becoming devastatingly heavy and the SEALs were running out of ammunition. The SEAL team knew that their only option was to change their original plan of holding the radio station and instead destroy the radio transmitter, and head to the water following their pre-planned escape route out behind the station across a broad meadow that led to a path that cut between cliffs and a beach.[24] The meadow was terribly exposed to Grenadian fire. The team leapfrogged across the exposed ground and took heavy fire. The team finally reached the end of the field, cut through a chain-link fence and ran into dense brush. The SEALs quickly followed the path to the beach. One SEAL had been wounded in the arm. The Grenadians were still in pursuit, so the SEALs waded into the water and began swimming parallel to the shore until they found cliff ledges to conceal themselves.[24] The SEALs remained hidden until long after the Grenadians had given up the search. Once the SEALs were convinced that the Grenadians had given up, the team jumped back into the water and swam out to sea. The SEALs were in the water close to six hours before a rescue plane spotted them and vectored a Navy ship to pick them up.[24]

Operation Restore Hope

During Operation Restore Hope and Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia, DEVGRU was a part of Task Force Ranger. TF Ranger was made up of operators from Delta Force, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 160th SOAR, the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, and unknown number of SEALs from DEVGRU. Eric T. Olson, John Gay, Howard Wasdin, Homer Nearpass, and Richard Kaiser were the five SEALs that fought in the Battle of the Black Sea during the last mission of Operation Gothic Serpent to capture the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.[16]

Hunting war criminals, Bosnia
The NSWDG operated alongside other members of NATO's Implementation Force, such as its Army counterpart Delta Force and the British SAS. These units were tasked by The Hague with finding and apprehending persons indicted for war crimes (PIFWC) and returning them to The Hague to stand trial. Some of DEVGRU's PIFWC operations included apprehending Goran Jelisić, Simo Zaric, Milan Simic and Miroslav Tadic.

Operation Enduring Freedom
In Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) U.S. Special Operations forces have led the fighting.[25] During the crucial Battle of Takur Ghar part of Operation Anaconda small teams of DEVGRU Tier One operators assigned to an Advanced Force Operations task force were tasked with establishing observation positions (OPs) on the high ground above the proposed landing zones of US conventional forces. It was one of the most violent battles of Operation Anaconda. Late at night on March 2, 2002 a MH-47 Chinook helicopter piloted by the 160th SOAR was carrying a team of Navy SEALs from DEVGRU. The original plan was that the SEALs would be inserted at a point 1300 meters east of the peak, but circumstances led the SEALs to choose the summit of Takur Ghar itself as the insertion point. As the helicopter was nearing its landing zone both the pilots and the men in the back observed fresh tracks in the snow, goatskins, and other signs of recent human activity. Immediately, the pilots and team discussed a mission abort, but it was too late. An RPG struck the side of the aircraft, wounding one crewman, while machine gun bullets ripped through the fuselage, cutting hydraulic and oil lines. Fluid spewed about the ramp area of the helicopter. The pilot struggled to get the helicopter off the landing zone and away from the enemy fire. Neil C. Roberts, a SEAL operator, was poised to exit the ramp when the aircraft was hit and he slipped on the oil as the helicopter took off. He was thrown from the helicopter dropping about 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3.0 m) to the snowy ground below. Roberts immediately engaged Al-Qaeda forces with the weapons he carried including his M249 light machine gun, SIG Sauer 9mm pistol and grenades. He survived at least 30 minutes before he was shot and killed at close range.

Operation Neptune Spear: Death of Osama bin Laden

On May 1-2, 2011, DEVGRU was involved in its most famous operation to date, the operation, codename Neptune Spear,[26] that killed Osama bin Laden at his compound in the affluent suburb of Abottabad, Pakistan.[27][28] In the 38-minute mission, there were no injuries or casualties to the team. The team practiced the mission "on both American coasts" as well as in a segregated section of Camp Alpha at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan in early April 2011, using a one-acre replica of bin Laden's compound. [29] Modified MH-60 helicopters from the U.S. Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment carried Navy SEALs and were supported by other personnel with tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers from Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan. It has been speculated that these helicopters may have spoofed transponder codes and been painted to resemble Pakistan Air Force equipment by other JSOC units, the Technical Application Programs Office and the Aviation Technology Evaluation Group.[citation needed] The raid involved close collaboration with the CIA. A May 1 memo from CIA Director Leon Panetta thanked the National Security Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, whose mapping and pattern recognition software was likely used to determine that Bin Laden lived in the compound with "high probability". Members of these agencies were paired with JSOC units in forward-deployed fusion cells to "exploit and analyze" battlefield data instantly using biometrics, facial recognition, voice print databases, and predictive models of insurgent behavior based on surveillance and computer-based pattern analysis.[30] The raid force killed Bin Laden, his adult son, an unknown woman, and two couriers.[31]