SEALed in Secrecy: History of US SEAL Teams
SEALed in Secrecy?
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COMM/215
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Instructor: XXXXXXXXXX
Abstract
On the evening of May 2, 2011 President Obama and a group of his military and political advisors sat around a war-room table in the White House, shrouded in total secrecy and awaiting the most important radio transmission of the entire War on Terror. The tension in the room was surely palpable. The room of the most powerful men and women in the nation instantly exploded into celebration in response to a Navy SEAL radio transmission simply stating: “for God and country, I pass Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo. Geronimo, E-K-I-A”. The transmission was the code word for Osama Bin Laden and the letters at the end of the transmission stood for “enemy killed in action”. The ten year hunt for the world’s most dangerous man was finally over. The men who conducted the raid were silently held as heroes. News was instantly leaked from all corners of the Department of Defense and details poured out. Flash forward to 2012. A Navy SEAL team member who was involved with the historical mission to take down Osama Bin Laden is said to be facing espionage charges from the Department of Defense for a tell-all book about the mission. The SEAL claims that he has divulged no classified details and a nation is left wondering when is the veil of secrecy that these men operate under acceptable to be removed?
The history of the United States Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) teams dates back to the World War II and the creation of the Navy’s Scout and Raider and later named Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT). Formed in 1942, these teams were elite warriors tasked with going in behind enemy lines before a major assault force landed and systematically weakening the enemy’s defenses along the beachheads that the primary occupation force would later breach. The most famous of these missions is arguably the selfless work performed by
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
COMM/215
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Instructor: XXXXXXXXXX
Abstract
On the evening of May 2, 2011 President Obama and a group of his military and political advisors sat around a war-room table in the White House, shrouded in total secrecy and awaiting the most important radio transmission of the entire War on Terror. The tension in the room was surely palpable. The room of the most powerful men and women in the nation instantly exploded into celebration in response to a Navy SEAL radio transmission simply stating: “for God and country, I pass Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo. Geronimo, E-K-I-A”. The transmission was the code word for Osama Bin Laden and the letters at the end of the transmission stood for “enemy killed in action”. The ten year hunt for the world’s most dangerous man was finally over. The men who conducted the raid were silently held as heroes. News was instantly leaked from all corners of the Department of Defense and details poured out. Flash forward to 2012. A Navy SEAL team member who was involved with the historical mission to take down Osama Bin Laden is said to be facing espionage charges from the Department of Defense for a tell-all book about the mission. The SEAL claims that he has divulged no classified details and a nation is left wondering when is the veil of secrecy that these men operate under acceptable to be removed?
The history of the United States Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) teams dates back to the World War II and the creation of the Navy’s Scout and Raider and later named Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT). Formed in 1942, these teams were elite warriors tasked with going in behind enemy lines before a major assault force landed and systematically weakening the enemy’s defenses along the beachheads that the primary occupation force would later breach. The most famous of these missions is arguably the selfless work performed by
References: SEAL and SWCC Official Naval Special Warfare Website. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seals-history.aspx Hunter, T. B. (2011). Tips of the Trident. A History of the U.S. Navy 's Elite Counterrorism Team Since 9/11. Journal Of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International, 17(3), 26-30. Davis, P. (2012). The Selling of The U.S. Navy SEALs: America 's Newest Heroes are the Tip of the Spear in the War on Terrorism. Journal Of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security Int