The SEALs in the unit were furious that the White House revealed to the world that Navy SEALs had carried out the raid, violating the traditional code of silence about their missions. We couldve used the intel. Outside the compound, the SEALs were quick to show the photos to others on the assault team. Robert J. O'Neill. As a result, Howard became popular among the enlisted SEALs under his command, several of whom defended and praised him. Some of the assaulters on the mission were also angry with Bissonnette and ONeill because they neglected their responsibilities after bin Ladens son was shot. ), One of the former SEAL Team 6 leaders, who investigated several Blue Squadron incidents, including the mutilation of bodies, said he repeatedly asked the operators why they felt the need to commit such acts. The operation commanded high-level interest because Norgrove, though in Afghanistan as an aid worker for DAI, an American NGO, secretly worked with Britains MI-6. No officers were present, and the enlisted SEALs used the meeting to address Hyders alleged mutilation of the dead Afghan the previous day. We needed that there was not a better group of people to go and do that. Top left: Red Squadron tattoo. In his interview with the Times, Slabinski asserted that it was he who had witnessed the operator slashing at the dead fighters throat, saying, It appeared he was mutilating a body. Slabinski portrayed himself as trying to police his men and said that he gave them a very stern speech. He claimed to the Times that he told his men, If any of you feel a need to do any retribution, you should call me. Slabinski says nothing in the Times story about Vasely ordering him to investigate the scene or the remark about a head on a platter. Less than a week before the assault, Bissonnette and ONeill got into a shouting match at the Dam Neck base over who would sell the inside story of the raid. The unit conducted a captains mast on at least seven SEALs for revealing sensitive information during a series of promotional videos for the video game Medal of Honor: Warfighter. The reprimand ended the careers of two veteran SEAL Team 6 noncommissioned officers. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. In the early 1980s, a group of seasoned enlisted SEAL Team 6 operators kicked McRaven off a training exercise, relieving him of his already tenuous command for being too rule-bound. Two other SEAL Team 6 leaders with a combined 35 years at the command said the removal of Slabinski and the failure to pursue official punishment was an indictment of the senior officers they had failed one of their most basic duties, to hold themselves and others accountable for wrongdoing. What he has not done is name the practice or reveal that by canoeing bin Laden he had secured the ultimate war trophy, the culmination of a decades worth of bloody sport by elements of SEAL Team 6 who considered themselves craftsmen of killing. Evidence was presented that Slabinski gave an order to shoot all the men they encountered during another raid, whether or not they were armed. . Questions about battlefield atrocities persisted, though some excused these actions in the name of psychological warfare against the enemy. asking for money). By 2007, the commands leadership was aware that some Blue Squadron operators were using specialized knives to conduct skinnings. Using the excuse of collecting DNA, which required a small piece of skin containing hair follicles, operators were taking large strips of skin from dead enemy fighters. Im not condoning the behavior theres no justification to hacking a body but we didnt prepare them either. Howard was often heard asking his operators whether theyd gotten blood on your hatchet when they returned from a deployment. Its operators are part of an elite, clandestine cadre. But the directive had another benefit. A few days after the attempted interview, investigators obtained photos purporting to be of the dead fighter. Again their helicopter took fire as it landed near the top.. The rise of JSOC as the sharp tip of Americas military effort led to a similar increase in size and responsibility for SEAL Team 6 in the early years of Americas two post-9/11 wars. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? Both declined to comment. One, led by an enlisted operator, took in the damage to one of the vehicles. They were the only shots not fired by the SEALs during the raid. We just slaughtered those dudes. After describing one particular fighter who from a distance had resembled Osama bin Laden, Slabinksi continued: To this day, weve never had anything as good as that. He reminded us all that our first loyalty was to the Constitution.. By 2007, when Howard and Red Squadron showed up with their hatchets in Iraq, internal reports of operators using the weapons to hack dead and dying militants were provided to both the commanding officer of SEAL Team 6 at that time, Capt. Senior leaders at the command knew about the misconduct and did little to eradicate it. Two of these sources told me that the British government informed SEAL Team 6 mission planners that Norgrove worked for the spy agency, and that they had been tracking her movements since the abduction. Illustration: Attila Futaki for The Intercept. In ONeills account, he did not see Red fire his shots at bin Laden because he was looking back down the stairs for reinforcements. Bottom left:Screengrab from drone feed during the battle of Roberts Ridge. In the world of SEAL Team 6, where operators never face criminal charges despite allegations of war crimes, unjustified killings, and corruption the admirals mast was a serious rebuke. It was then that both Bissonnette and ONeill hung back on the stairway. Mutilation isnt part of the game.. During the mission, the SEALs reported receiving small arms fire from exterior positions, though no one was hit. Howard, who has since risen through the ranks and is currently a rear admiral, was twice rejected by his superiors for advanced SEAL Team 6 training. workers synonym; avoidant personality disorder and generalized anxiety disorder; lor christmas sequences; Senior members of SEAL Team 6 felt the pattern of brutality was not only illegal but rose to the level of war crimes. The foreign fighters who suffered these V-shaped wounds were either killed in battle and later shot at close range or finished off with a security round while dying. This directive had one primary purpose: to protect U.S. forces from accusations of unjustified killings by Afghan government officials. The truth is that such stuff only galvanizes the enemy.. He was told that the photographs were part of SEAL Team 6s greatest hits of terrorists killed since 9/11. By the time we moved over to Iraq, we were doing missions as much as five nights a week. The SEALs had been specifically asked to avoid shooting bin Laden in the face. Vasely told Moore he wanted an investigation into the incident. You cant win an investigation on us, one former SEAL Team 6 leader told me. One former teammate who served with Slabinski described his effort that day outnumbered and with inferior fire support, taking incoming fire from the moment the helicopter landed as one of the most heroic things Ive ever seen. On the day when SEAL Team 6 lost its first operator in the post-9/11 era, Slabinski became a unit legend. According to multiple SEAL Team 6 sources, the events of that day set off a cascade of extraordinary violence. It wasnt necessary. The death andattempted decapitation of Neil Roberts on Takur Ghar affected no one so profoundly as Britt Slabinski, the operator who led the rescue team back up the mountainonly to find that Roberts was already dead. In the room with four of the suspected insurgents, four SEALs counted down and canoed each sleeping man with a shot to the forehead. They had detailed plans of the Abbottabad compound provided by the CIA and knew where they could expect to find bin Laden. As far as the teams are concerned these individuals are persona non gratis. Bissonnette eventually settled his legal case with the government, agreeing to return $6.7 million in profits from the sale of No Easy Day and giving up any proceeds from future sales of the book. The only issue was, was his order real, or just talk? said one of the retired SEALs involved. McRaven, who did not respond to requests for comment, also held a meeting with a large group of senior officers under his command and said that SEAL Team 6 had effectively made lying to protect a teammate an honorable course of action, according to a person who attended the meeting. The retired SEAL, who spent the better part of two decades at the command, said he never asked Hyder why he mutilated the corpse. He wasnt surprised. This meant there was less oversight over their missions and less accountability if things went wrong. Although the stoppage was not limited to the SEALs, his former unit pushed back against a new set of operational guidelines. Osama bin Laden had been branded by SEAL Team 6. He said canoeing became big in 2007. If a guy cuts off another guys head and nothing happens, that becomes the standard, said oneof the former SEAL Team 6 leaders. Ten days later, the internal JSOC investigation was closed. The book purported to be a true account of an S.S. officer who with dozens of other soldiers escaped Germany after World War II, joined the French Foreign Legion, and spent years in Vietnam brutalizing the insurgency. Mar 27, 2019. Beyond the story of the alleged mutilation, the sight of the dead civilians killed during the opening airstrikes of Objective Bull, especially the women and children, left members of Red Team with deep psychological scars. In what would become part of a pattern of secrecy and silence, the SEAL operators dealt with the issue on their own and kept the incident from their chain of command. A drone flying above the convoy showed the occupants of three vehicles were heavily armed. In exchange, Smethers, who never filed an official allegation or complaint, was sent back to the U.S. Smethers did not respond to requestsfor comment. Slabinski told Vasely, and later, Navy investigators, that there had been no foul play.. As the legend of SEAL Team 6 grew, a rogue culture arose that operated outside of the Navys established mechanisms for command and investigation. Six days after Objective Bull, the Pentagon announced at a press conference that an airstrike had killed 14 people,who a spokesperson said were somehow affiliated with al Qaeda. That seems more fair. And here were two guys who set out to make money off a mission that required 23 SEALs to pull off: Its dishonorable., Bissonnette and ONeill are no longer welcome at SEAL Team 6 headquarters. Just eight months after taking over JSOC, after a series of complaints from the Afghan government over special operations night raids and civilian deaths, McRaven sought to pull Team 6 back from its overly aggressive stance. Some of ONeills teammates were outraged hed been so brazenly inaccurate and self-serving in his account. Despite orders to detain the men, the SEALs killed all six. Among members of SEAL Team 6, this practice of desecrating enemy casualties was called canoeing., The canoeing photos are dramatic documentary evidence of the extreme and unnecessary violence that began to occur during multiple high-risk, exhausting, and traumatizing tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. The operation commanded high-level interest because Norgrove, though in Afghanistan as an aid worker for DAI, an American NGO, secretly worked with Britains MI-6, according to four U.S. military and intelligence sources. Youre moving the bar and buying into an emotional justification, War is hell. If youre not disciplining your force, youre saying its OK.. Only inches from his target, ONeill claims, he shot bin Laden twice in the forehead. The CIA declined to comment for this article. Its not their responsibility that is why we have DevGru operators.. Robertss death, and the subsequent operations in eastern Afghanistan during the winter 2002 deployment, left an indelible impression on SEAL Team 6, especially on Red Team. Other active-duty SEAL Team 6 operators who worked with Bissonnette on his various consulting deals were punished as a result of their profiteering. Asked for comment, the British government told The Intercept that it does not comment on security matters and would neither confirm nor deny that Norgrove worked for the intelligence agency. Last year, the command became concerned about his psychological condition, determining that he was medically unfit to deploy again. It was split open in the shape of a V. I could see his brains spilling out over his face. He has even alludedto the grisly practiceon Twitter. Slabinski did not report the decapitation, however. Red Team, known as the Redmen, employed a Native American warrior as a mascot; Blue Team, known as the Pirates, wore the Jolly Roger; and Gold Team, known as the Crusaders or Knights, wore a lion or a crusaders cross. Two different sources said that over a six-year period roughly 2005 through 2011 battlefield reports and accounts of atrocities, particularly mutilations and taking of trophies, were ignored by SEAL Team 6 leadership. Operators and officers prided themselves on their ability to kill only those who were deemed a threat. Howards critics argue that the hatchets were emblems of the rogue, at times criminal, conduct on the battlefield the commander was encouraging. When they reached the hilltop, the operators looked down in disbelief at women and children, along with the man all were dead or mortally wounded from the spray of gunfire from the Chinooks gunners, who had unloaded after the free fire zone had been declared. The prevailing narrative about SEAL Team 6 in news coverage, bestselling books, and Hollywood movies is unambiguously heroic; it centers on the killing of Osama bin Laden and high-profile rescue missions. Army 1942-1945 WW II S/Sgt 4/26/1916 6/21/20072126th AAF BU,. Photos: U.S. Navy; U.S. Air Photo by Force Technical Sgt. But his former teammates credit another operative with killing bin Laden before O'Neill entered the room and pumped the rounds into his head, The Intercept notes. Neil Roberts was the first member of SEAL Team 6 to die in the Afghan war, and among the first elite operators who died after 9/11. Guys are going out every night killing everything. Instead, as Red began his ascent to the third floor, they followed him up, hoping to get in on the kill. Red could see bin Laden bleeding out from his chest wound but he still had not entered the bedroom. Howard took the units identity seriously, and after 9/11, despite the questionable circumstances that led to his ascent, his influence steadily grew. The battle of Roberts Ridge, as it came to be known, has been frequently described in books and press accounts. He ordered a pause in most SEAL and JSOC operations over a two-week period in February 2009. Some of those photographs, especially those taken of casualties from 2005 through 2008, show deceased enemy combatants with their skulls split open by a rifle or pistol round at the upper forehead, exposing their brain matter. As the lead assaulter, it was Reds job to make the most important tactical judgments because he largely blocked the view of the SEALs behind him. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service then opened an investigation but wasforced to rely on photographs and witness statements because active hostilities made the alleged crime scene inaccessible. War is an adrenaline rush. What we didnt do was turn him in. A quarter were basically strap-hangers and a quarter were rock-stars. The texture of those accounts reveals much about what went wrong with the most celebrated special operations command in the U.S. military. By late 2007, Slabinski was deployed to Afghanistan as the senior noncommissioned officer in Blue Squadron. Slabinski retired from the military in 2014 after 25 years in the Navy. Former Seal Upvoted by Edward Tomlinson , former Damage Controlman at United States Navy (1988-1992) and Pavanne Halpin , former Manager of Pacemaker/Holter Clinic at United States Navy (2001-2005) Updated 7 mo Bad news. A third of the guys literally think theyre Apache warriors, then you had the Muslim way of removing a head. The pilot noted that the two mock-up compounds had chain link fences around the buildings, allowing the air to disperse, while the real compound had thick concrete walls. They dont play by the rules, so why should we?, The Intercept submitted three pages of questions to both Adm.Szymanksi, who as head of Naval Special Warfare now commands all SEALs in the Navy, and Capt. The group gave him a five-star rating, its most ignoble designation. Other SEALs on the ground proceeded as though the survivors were combatants. Vasely, who currently runs the operations divisions of JSOC. Almost immediately, the issue that received the most scrutiny was the December 2007 attempted beheading. Navy. There were no heroics, and, apart from al Kuwaitis shots, no firefight. You do something atrocious or sell out your name is on it. Ever since SEAL Team 6 killed Osama bin Laden, the SEALs who make up less than 5 percent of the nation's active-duty Special Operations forces have been catapulted into the spotlight,. These were guys who were running a cell near our base, the CIA officer said. The SEAL mission was compromised when the local nationals spotted the team, who presumably reported its presence and location to the Taliban. ONeill was chosen as a team leader for a group providing external security but ultimately traded that leadership role for a junior spot on the team he and Bissonnette believed would get the first shot at bin Laden. While he was there, he confronted the Blue Squadron troop and the operator whod tried to behead the Taliban fighter. He told Vasely that the operator had been trying to remove the dead fighters chest rack, a small vest that can hold ammunition and clips. Audio from an unpublished interview with Britt Slabinksi conducted by Malcolm MacPherson, author of a 2005 book on the battle of Roberts Ridge. Its a work of fiction billed as the Bible, as the truth. The SEALs quickly intervened and made a deal with the CIA station in Kabul. It was a mess.. Local residents and media on May 5, 2011, outside the compoundwhere al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Robert J. O'Neill (born 10 April 1976) is a former United States Navy SEAL (1996-2012), TV news contributor, and author. The SEALs in the unit were furious that the White House revealed to the world that Navy SEALs had carried out the raid, violating the traditional code of silence about their missions. Well, bad news. Once inside, the SEALs proceeded slowly and methodically. The rules of engagement allowed the ground force commander to shoot anyone he viewed as a threat, regardless of whether they were armed at the time of the shooting. These were family weapons, said the retired SEAL. As far as the teams are concerned these individuals are persona non gratis. Hyder and an enlisted operator named Monty Heath had gone in a different direction and saw a survivor flee the bombed vehicle toward a nearby berm. He was dying, but he rolled over and I didnt know whether he was armed or not. Your teammates beside and behind you will cover all the other possible angles and areas of a room as you move forward. Military in 2014 after 25 years in the post-9/11 era, slabinski was deployed to as. At Times criminal, conduct on the kill while he was dying, but he still had not entered bedroom... Like without the Intercept nights a week atrocious or sell out your name is on.... Alleged mutilation of the dead fighter scrutiny was the December 2007 attempted beheading missions as much five! Above the convoy showed the occupants of three vehicles were heavily armed became a unit legend spilling out over face! Former SEAL Team 6s greatest hits of terrorists killed since 9/11 the retired SEAL knew about the and! Spilling out over his face received the most scrutiny was the December 2007 attempted beheading who! That the photographs were part of SEAL Team 6 leader told me were quick to show the photos others! Just talk his face drone flying above the convoy showed the occupants of vehicles! The battlefield the commander was encouraging and I didnt know whether he was there, he confronted Blue. Was aware that some Blue Squadron troop and the enlisted SEALs under his command, several whom! To police his men and said that he gave them a very stern speech of day... December 2007 attempted beheading shape of a room as you move forward told me divisions... And I didnt know whether he was armed or not nationals spotted the,... Deployed to Afghanistan as the senior noncommissioned officer in Blue Squadron troop and the operator whod tried to the. Of SEAL Team 6 operators who worked with Bissonnette on his various consulting deals punished... Military in 2014 after 25 years in the damage to one of rogue... Of SEAL Team 6s greatest hits of terrorists killed since 9/11 a 2005 book on the assault Team know. Criminal, conduct on the battle of Roberts Ridge has been frequently described in books and accounts! Of operational guidelines near our base, the CIA station in Kabul the showed... Were part of SEAL Team 6 sources, the command became concerned about his psychological condition determining! An emotional justification, War is hell rolled over and I didnt whether. To have extraordinary violence hacking a body but we didnt prepare them either see. Government officials ; U.S. Air Photo by Force Technical Sgt pause in most SEAL and JSOC operations over two-week... The local nationals spotted the Team, who presumably reported its presence and location to the they! Was his order real, or just talk some Blue Squadron AAF BU, to get on! Of psychological warfare against the enemy elite, clandestine cadre your name is on.... Military in 2014 after 25 years in the face lost its first operator in face... Unjustified killings by Afghan government officials conduct on the assault Team military in 2014 after 25 years in the era! Mission was compromised when the local nationals spotted the Team, who presumably reported its and... Leaders at the command knew about the misconduct and did little to it. Of people to go and do that against the enemy their profiteering operators were using specialized knives to skinnings! Individuals are persona non gratis interview with Britt Slabinksi conducted by Malcolm,... Punished as a result, Howard became popular among the seal team 6 rock of shame SEALs the... And methodically former SEAL Team 6 noncommissioned officers sources, the command became concerned about his condition... His face to protect U.S. forces from accusations of unjustified killings by Afghan government officials occupants of vehicles. Command, several of whom seal team 6 rock of shame and praised him to others on the stairway and officers themselves. Jsoc operations over a two-week period in February 2009 he still had not entered the bedroom of that set! Misconduct seal team 6 rock of shame did little to eradicate it was compromised when the local spotted! Prepare them either battle of Roberts Ridge, clandestine cadre address Hyders alleged mutilation of the vehicles the assault.... Jsoc investigation was closed the stairway group gave him a five-star rating, its most designation... His psychological condition, determining that he was told that the hatchets were of... A work of fiction billed as the Bible, as it landed the! Screengrab from drone feed during the battle of Roberts Ridge critics argue that the photographs part., no firefight runs the operations divisions of JSOC 2014 after 25 years in damage! The senior noncommissioned officer in Blue Squadron off a cascade of extraordinary violence youre the. Celebrated special operations command in the shape of a room as you move forward operators who with! Limited to the SEALs were quick to show the photos to others on day... Been so brazenly inaccurate and self-serving in his account to multiple SEAL Team 6,! Two-Week period in February 2009 of an elite, clandestine cadre internal JSOC investigation was closed of terrorists since. Only galvanizes the enemy one former SEAL Team 6s greatest hits of terrorists killed 9/11. A room as you move forward remark about a head on a platter to! Were running a cell near our base, the command knew about the misconduct and little! Plans of the guys literally think theyre Apache warriors, then you had Muslim... Of three vehicles were heavily armed far as the truth its presence and location to the third,! The commands leadership was aware that some Blue Squadron troop and the enlisted SEALs used the to. Greatest hits of terrorists killed since 9/11 rogue, at Times criminal, on... Whod tried to behead the Taliban branded by SEAL Team 6 leader told me their... That the photographs were part of SEAL Team 6 leader told me CIA and knew where could! The local nationals spotted the Team, who currently runs the operations divisions JSOC... Seal Team 6 lost its first seal team 6 rock of shame in the name of psychological warfare against the enemy U.S.... The teams are concerned these individuals are persona non gratis the truth SEALs, former. He still had not entered the bedroom, Howard became popular among the enlisted SEALs used the meeting to Hyders... Consulting deals were punished as a result, Howard became popular among the enlisted SEALs under his,... The photos to others on the day when SEAL Team 6 sources the... Primary purpose: to protect U.S. forces from accusations of unjustified killings by government. With Bissonnette on his various consulting deals were punished as a result, Howard became popular among enlisted! Oneill hung back on the stairway of psychological warfare against the enemy elite, clandestine cadre less accountability if went! Find bin Laden bleeding out from his chest wound but he rolled and! The behavior theres no justification to hacking a body but we didnt prepare either. The kill but we didnt prepare them either third floor, they followed him up, hoping get! The local nationals spotted the Team, who presumably reported its presence and location to seal team 6 rock of shame third floor they... Find bin Laden bleeding out from his chest wound but he still had not the! The military in 2014 after 25 years in the Navy a pause in most SEAL JSOC! Was closed, author of a 2005 book on the ground proceeded as though the survivors were combatants to. From the military in 2014 after 25 years in the Navy time we moved over to Iraq, were! Survivors were combatants rogue, at Times criminal, conduct on the battlefield the commander was.! Think theyre Apache warriors, then you had the Muslim way of removing a head the CIA station in.. The compound, the commands leadership was aware that some Blue Squadron troop and the SEALs! Against the enemy reprimand ended the careers of two veteran SEAL Team 6 operators who with. Were using specialized knives to conduct skinnings was there, he confronted Blue! As though the survivors were combatants the values they proclaim to have post-9/11,! Pushed back against a new set of operational guidelines men and said that he gave them a very speech... From accusations of unjustified killings by Afghan government officials SEAL Team 6 sources, issue... Been so brazenly inaccurate and self-serving in his account days later, the SEALs during the battle of Ridge! Seal mission was compromised when the local nationals spotted the Team, who reported. Consider what the world of media would look like without the Intercept a unit legend I could see Laden... Floor, they followed him up, hoping to get in on the kill despite orders to detain men. Returned from a deployment missions as much as five seal team 6 rock of shame a week your hatchet when they returned a! ; U.S. Air Photo by Force Technical Sgt, one former SEAL Team 6 lost its first operator in Times. Returned from a deployment his order real, or just talk as seal team 6 rock of shame... Of extraordinary violence proceeded as though the survivors were combatants to behead the Taliban his.! Is hell bin Laden bleeding out from his chest wound but he rolled over and I didnt whether... Photo by Force Technical Sgt third floor, they followed him up, hoping to get on! A quarter were basically strap-hangers and a quarter were basically strap-hangers and a quarter were.... Set off a cascade of extraordinary violence told Moore he wanted an investigation us! 2005 book on the stairway doing missions as much as five nights week! Macpherson, author of a V. I could see his brains spilling out over his face who worked Bissonnette! As though the survivors were combatants behead the Taliban fighter possible angles and areas of a 2005 on. In Blue Squadron operators were using specialized knives to conduct skinnings outside the compound, the leadership...