Like most of America, I cringed when I heard that a Chinook with many members of Seal Team 6 had exploded in Afghanistan. The enemy had gotten lucky on that day. These men had known the risks. They have a long history of successes that we won't likely know. Their names are not classified, but their missions have been.
I cringed because someone decided to report the information that it was Seal Team 6. Someone else decided to claim to know and tell the world how many members of Seal Team 6 there are. Experts filled the space on the idiot box proving how much they knew about things no one else knew. I don't know how many men serve on Seal Team 6, how many have served on it, or how many missions they've successfully completed. I do know they exist, that they live a life of danger, and routinely defeat the enemy.
There was no need for DoD to release that it was ST6. There was no need for the media to speculate that it was ST6. It would have been sufficient to say they were Navy, or perhaps even that they were Seals. They lived their lives in secrecy. They risked their lives in secrecy. They did not accept fame for their deeds. They preferred success to fame.
All men are created equal. On the day these men were born, they were no more, no less entitled to anything than anybody else. On the day these men were born, they were not heroes. Over the course of the next 18 years, their parents instilled in them values that led them to enlist in the US Navy, US Army, or US Air Force. And these men asked for, accepted, and overcame ever greater challenges.
On the day they made the ultimate sacrifice, they were no longer equal with other Seals. They were not equal with every other Service Member. They were not equal with every other American. They had, through their own decisions, become finely honed Warriors, that routinely put their own lives at risk, to protect American Citizens, whom they believed would never know their names nor their deeds. They were far above and beyond their peers.
Before these men have been laid to rest, many have already begun to point fingers, to make thinly veiled accusations of someone committing an unforgivable mistake that led to their sacrifice. And it is correct that the mission, the decisions, and the events be carefully examined, behind closed doors, by the people who have the facts, and with a purpose of perfecting future operations. It is NOT helpful to have a public debate, by the uninformed, with a goal of placing the blame on someone. And the public does not have a right to know the results of the examination of circumstances that led to this result.
There may or may not have been a bad decision made by a brilliant tactician or, by a person that should not have had such authority. There may or may not be someone "to blame." Sometimes, the enemy simply gets lucky. Sometimes, the risks great men take catch up with them. It is not necessary, or even helpful, to always find someone's head to put on the chopping block. It is far better to objectively assess what happened, with a goal of finding solutions to implement for future successes, than with a goal of hanging someone for an event that has already passed. And that is how their community works; they search for lessons learned, not scapegoats. That is part of how they've become some of the finest Warriors on the planet, the Warriors Presidents call when an operation is of extreme importance in both success and secrecy.
If a bad decision were made by someone that should not have been in the position to make it, that should be rectified, quietly, judiciously, and fairly, out of sight of the public. A public flogging lends itself only to scapegoating. If a bad decision were made by a great leader, who chose what he believed to be a necessary risk, then he should accept his lumps, learn from it, and drive on, making better decisions. If politicians interfered in the decision making process, then that should be made known, and the voters must implement the correction, at the ballot box.
These men were great men, led by other great men, and somewhere up the chain are men that are not as accomplished, not as great, men that chose the life of ease over the life of any physical risk. Up the chain of command are politicians, who have never put on a uniform, who never answered the call to protect those weaker than themselves. Somewhere up the chain are men that see an opportunity to bolster their own prestige, rather than to honor those men greater than themselves. And that is despicable.
And on the idiot box are people who wish to prove how smart they are, how much they know, by telling you things that ought not be told, about men greater than themselves. They'll tell you they're just trying to be "transparent" or that they think you have a "right" to know or that the information has already been told by someone else doing the same thing. They will attempt to wrap their attempts to bolster their own notoriety in the guise of honoring others, or "seeking the truth" so "the same mistakes won't be made again," but in so many of those cases, they are risking more lives but telling things that ought not be told.
"Good men sleep comfortably in their beds at night, because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
Sleep well, knowing these men are ready, and they risk their lives in secrecy, for you. But it is time to realize that telling their secrets puts their lives in greater danger. No politician, no "expert," and no glory-hound enjoying the umbrella of that freedom has the right to increase that risk to the lives of those on battlefield, securing that Freedom and Safety for Our Citizens. Your personal curiosity is simply not worth their lives.
Yes, we will honor these men who made the ultimate sacrifice in the same manner we honor all of Our Fallen, but no, we won't publish information that will endanger the lives of their Brothers still on the field of battle. We will celebrate their lives. We will gratefully know that America still has men willing to risk all to keep us safe. We will take comfort knowing that the men of Seal Team 6 stand ready to continue the mission, without knowing or publishing the details of how they do what they do.
And I will readily tell you: the men of ST6 are greater men than I and I am not privy to all the secrets that make them so successful. The men of ST2 and ST8 are greater men than I. The men of many units in the military are greater men than I.
Stumble It!
