Va. Beach-based SEALs tasked with taking out bin Laden

VIRGINIA BEACH

The team of highly trained commandos who pulled off one of the most spectacularly successful special operations in modern military history – the killing of Osama bin Laden – was born out of a painful defeat.

An attempted helicopter rescue of 52 Americans being held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, in 1980 ended in failure and resulted in the deaths of eight American servicemen.

Out of that failed mission came the creation of SEAL Team 6, a Virginia Beach-based special-forces unit devoted exclusively to anti-terrorism operations.

It was a group of specially trained operatives from SEAL Team 6 that stormed a secret compound in Pakistan over the weekend and killed the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in a daring nighttime raid.

“This is exactly the kind of mission that this kind of unit is maintained for: direct action against a terrorism target,” said Joseph Trevithick, a research associate at GlobalSecurity.org, a Northern Virginia-based think tank.

But don’t expect to see any victory parades or gala homecomings for those SEALs. Team 6 is one of the most secretive outfits in the entire U.S. military, Trevithick said. All of its operations are classified.

Even its name is hard to pin down. Even though it’s still commonly referred to as SEAL Team 6, it is now formally known as Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU for short. It is based at Oceana Naval Air Station’s Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach.

In addition to conducting anti-terrorism operations, DEVGRU also develops new warfighting tactics and tests special-warfare technology.

Navy spokesmen had no comment Monday on the bin Laden mission. SEALs are being told to keep the details to themselves.

The head of the Navy’s Special Warfare Command told his troops Monday that they should be proud but keep quiet about it. In an email message obtained by The Associated Press, Rear Adm. Ed Winters also cautioned that the fight is not over, and sharing too many details could endanger the next operation.

Local members of the special-warfare community were quietly celebratory Monday, praising their comrades for their achievement but tempering their joy with words of warning.

“Just like everybody else, I’m very happy,” said Ed Maulbeck, a Virginia Beach resident who retired in 2008 after 19 years as a SEAL. But he said he worries about what will happen in the aftermath of bin Laden’s demise.

“He was the head of the snake,” Maulbeck said. “It’s not like you cut it off and it’s going to wither.”

No doubt there was some back-slapping after the mission, Maulbeck said, but now that it’s over, the SEAL team is probably moving on to its next assignment.

“They have mission after mission after mission,” he said. “For these guys, there are still a lot of other targets.”

And don’t look for a public celebration, he added: “I wouldn’t want my name out if I was the guy who pulled the trigger… People have families.”

Scott Taylor of Virginia Beach, who was a SEAL from 1998 to 2005, said he takes great pride in the successful raid.

“There was a lot that went into this,” he said. “They train constantly. These are the best of the best.”

Then he added a somber note: “The first thing I thought of when I heard was my fallen brothers,” referring to the SEALs who have been killed in combat since 2001.

Another locally based SEAL who has deployed multiple times to Afghanistan said news of bin Laden’s death brought “an incredible relief.” Speaking on condition that his name not be used, he said the day was a long time coming, especially for warriors who’ve spent years going after smaller terrorist targets, and Sunday’s news took weight off the community’s shoulders.

The sense of accomplishment he felt was soon replaced with questions, he said: Who is next on the list? Did Sunday’s raid reveal intelligence that the military can use to find other wanted terrorists? Will al Qaeda branches angered by bin Laden’s death hastily decide to seek retribution – and might that flush them out into the open, creating more targets for U.S. forces?

The SEAL noted that al Qaeda is a “franchise operation,” so bin Laden’s death probably won’t bring dramatic changes. But details about his living for years in a Pakistani military town should make Americans wonder about that nation’s commitment to fighting terrorism, the service member said.

He also thought that bin Laden’s use of women as human shields in the compound during the raid needs to be emphasized. He’s seen similar behavior on past missions. “That detail speaks volumes,” he said.

The successful bin Laden mission is a much-needed boost for the unit. Last year, a rescue mission by the unit led to the accidental killing of British hostage Linda Norgrove, held by militants in Afghanistan. One of the SEALs threw a fragmentation grenade at a militant when the team stormed the hideout, not realizing Norgrove was curled on the ground next to the militant.

DEVGRU is the same unit that rescued an American ship captain, Richard Phillips, held hostage on a lifeboat by Somali pirates after his capture from the Maersk Alabama in 2009. SEALs fired precision shots from the rocking stern of the Norfolk-based destroyer Bainbridge, killing all three pirates.

Pilot writers Bill Bartel and Kate Wiltrout and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com