Navy SEAL Commander Advised to ‘Get the Hell Out of the Media’

It’s all political, this President runs this country by what will get him re-elected, not what is best for the country.

It’s about time someone said this. I have wondered why we keep putting this information in the public for a long time. If it is secret than don’t let the media know.

“Vaught commanded the failed mission to rescue the hostages in Iran in 1979.”

Operation Eagle Claw was attempted on 24-25 April 1980.

“when the helicopters on the mission collided in the remote Iranian desert.”

One RH-53D, helo #3, collided with a C-130.

If Vaught was in charge of Eagle Claw I can see how he’d be green with envy of Neptune Spear. Neptune Spear was basically Eagle Claw, but planned and executed competently. Vaught’s mission pretty much lost a President re-election. McRaven’s mission successfully brought justice to all hurt by 9/11.

Maybe Vaught ought to get the h– out of the media?

I grew up practicing to hide under a stupid desk in case of a nuclear missile attack from the then USSR. Like that was really going to help save my butt. I also remember hearing, but not hearing about what our security forces were going. It was then widely understood that there were security for “TOP SECRET” missions. That is, until the 60′s when all the media wanted transparency. So, we sat at in our living rooms and at our kitchen tables watching the Vietnam War; and, hating our military for being there. Like Danny quotes: “Loose lips, sink ships.” We don’t need to know. Only that our government is doing whatever it takes to keep our country safe, while enriching the wealthy and their special interest.

It’s all political, this President runs this country by what will get him re-elected, not what is best for the country.
I agree with you FREEDOM. But instead of saying Obama RUNS the country, I think you should have said Obama RUEINS the country. That’s more apprropiate when taking about Obama.

““Now I’m going to tell you, one of these days, if you keep publishing how you do this, the other guy’s going to be there ready for you, and you’re going to fly in and he’s going to shoot down every damn helicopter and kill every one of your SEALs. Now, watch it happen.” Someone in the White House is desperate to have a checkmark in the positive column and needs all the positive publicity he can get. You know Obamacare just ain’t working out like promised.

You folks take shots at a man that was in charge of one of the best Counter terrorism units in the world, over one mission in his long and successful career. This man is a hero. He did something most people could never do or want to do. Just like many missions in the Special Operations world, you mostly hear of the missions that go wrong, very few of the ones that go well. Trying to lay blame on one man for a crash far from the main objective is crazy. They crashed during the bin laden raid but they were already at the objective, if they would have crashed miles away they would have canceled the mission, just like in Iran. Special operation world is a very close knit community and a man of his status in that kind of world knows plenty about the missions they accomplish, so he has the right to comment about what they do and what they have done. If you ask every operator, I’m willing to bet almost all of them will tell you they prefer to stay out of the media due to the possibility of the enemy obtaining information about the way they operate and use it against them. Just because the regular folks think they should know about every mission because it’s cool doesn’t make it right. It puts future missions and operators in danger. Please sign up and go through the training if you want to know about the missions or how they operate. You also have to remember that members of the team that got Bin Laden were worried about the safety of their family due to the media.

Hell, Obama has to say it in the media to show what he has accomplished. Otherwise, the word will be that he wasn’t President at all. Just like he didn’t go to Harvard and is not a citizen. Maybe if racism didn’t play sucha role in the U.S. we could stop politicing and get down to what will advance our nation. Instead the President has to make all the decisions with no help from the congress, and yet he is blamed that nothing is better…. even when it is!

Imagine if you were going to the press about decisions your bosses made. How long do you think you would be in your position? Just like our enlisted must take orders and go to false wars, so shall their leaders do what they are told and discuss it in private if they disagree!

IMHO, this has everything to do with the egomania that is Obama.

I agree this man seems to be green with envy over the fact that this commander is in front of the media after two very successful missions while his claim to fame was a failure. however, I do agree that the current commander is grand standing which flies in the face of the entire idea that everything about the Navy Seals are secret . That said, i see nothing here about Obama, so do not understand where that commentary string is coming from.

During Operation Just Cause, the SEALs were sent against Manuel Noriega’s hangared airplane… a totally pointless and stupid mission/target that could have been accomplished much more practically and safely by any one of the numerous AC-130 Gunships that were in the air, armed and engaging throughout Panama City that night. These Generals all want a piece of the pie. SEALS died and were wounded for no good reason. The media had nothing to do with it, but I have always suspected that the Os who sent them were thinking of the glory. When they have a real target, with a real purpose, so what if they get publicity? It is stupid missions and questionable objectives that will get them hurt.

yaAWwnn!! Anyone with the latest on Tim Pawlenty???

Operational secrecy is essential to individual survival and team success in special operations.
As a Navy Vietnam veteran, I was shocked and dismayed to read the recent media story about the new SEAL “mothership” USS Ponce for example. What happened to the “need to know” concept?
The only source of “news” about the U.S. military should be generated by DOD. No other “news” about any aspect of the military should be allowed by law. War and military operations are not conducted for entertainment or political benefit. The First Amendment does not apply to the military,
The Uniform Code of Military Justice does.

POSTED BY: ZOMGZ | FEBRUARY 7, 2012, 10:21 PM 10:21 PM, what about this administration turning over classified material to the Hollywood producer for the movie. Or was it payback for reelection donations from the Hollywood crowd.

It is all being done with technology that we didn’t actually invent. That is a fact and a crushing one at that you people have no idea what kind of scam you have fallen for and how used up and worthless the cannon fodder is viewed. I wish to god the truth would come out but people would leap off buildings once the truth came out and they put two and two together.

Vaught was tight lipped about any mission. Quite often, my team would be enplace for days at a time just waitnig for the go-word. If it came, one or two shots and we disappeared. If stand-down, we just faded away. The only mention we ever made was to tell family that we were Stand-down/Safe. Now my son has been there and the only thing that made me mad was a news story about what his team did. His team has now been split / reassigned because a reporter gave out every members name/position. Worse is the picture of him. Media will get them killed.

Never discuss a successful mission; it reduces the chances of using that tactic again and puts those soldiers at risk of retribution. Never gloat or brag about killing; War is not a spectator sport. War and killing is a vile necessity; not something to boast about. We who defend your freedom do so only with the knowledge that we did what we had to do and it was not to be glorified for. RSP CDR USN (ret)

Why is an 85 year old retired military man telling anyone to do anything? Who is he to call a press conference to tell someone else to stay out of the media? Politics maybe? yup. I’ve seen a whole lot of armchair war mongering by over the hill “EX” military trying to relive their old glory days. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many 80 + year old men sporting military baseball caps around town as I’ve seen in the last ten years. It’s time to stop the wars. We cannot afford the unlimited funding for the war machine. It’s time to build hospitals and schools NOT bombs and bullets. Bring the kids home and spend the money on programs for them for their exemplary service protecting our country. Boeing, Halliburton and all the other corporations making billions off of wars will have to find something socially positive to do that is not dependent on tax payer dollars. We cannot kill an ideology by blowing up cities. We can destroy a terrorist group by seeking them out and killing the leadership. In that regard, we are on the right track.

I agree with Vaught ……… its like they are advertising and looking for work. This publicity campaign is dangerous , showing off their super duper skills in this dangerous world is nonsense , maybe some group will decide to compete with them by killing or kidnapping some of the good guys ….too much talk not enough thinking

Gen Vaught is correct and his concerns are real.

Adm. McRaven’s reply was lame, perhaps reflecting the current lame political mindset being directed by the Obama “leadership”.,

Blame the media General or are you just a little ticked that it was not the Army that did the deed. The SEALs are very upset that the media spilled their guts to the public and ruined intelligence gathered when they did their job. Years of hard work went down the drain by the blabber mouth media. Same logic applies to publishing to the world we broke the Japanese code during WW II.

This is why US Army Special Operators (SF and Delta) are called quiet professionals.

And why SEALs aren’t.

To those that criticize the General’s record. There is no earthly way you can know what his entire record is because he (and his people) kept quiet about it and that is the way it should be. Whether he admits it or not, McRaven is just tooting his own horn. McRaven’s example is way off the mark. The bad guys regard the “John Wayne” movies as entertainment but they regard any intel from folks like McRaven as valid intel to be pieced together with other tibets to make up some very real intel. McRaven should not be in the media any longer.

I have to agree that way too much information about the raid was leaked, perhaps this was intentional to stem a backlash from the right who would claim that it never occurred as with the “birthers”. Nevertheless, one thing stands out and that is the Pakistani doctor who organized a vaccination scheme to obtain DNA from the compound occupants. This detail should have never been released as it has put him in grave danger, What strikes me though is the secrecy about the rest of the advance observer team who certainly had to be in place, on the ground weeks before and then having to escape likely by ground, destroying equipment and evidence as this was unfolding,

The laughter of the audience is a testimony to their ignorance or their desire to praise Obama, even if it causes the death of our service men, including the Seals.
Remember today.
The errors of command cost 21 Seals their lives recently in Afganastan.
We are talking about human lives, not votes.

It’s true, the SEALs and their operations are being outed way too often – the general public doesn’t need to know (nor should they care) WHO or HOW, they just should know that some part of the military got bin laden / killed somalian pirates / rescued prisoners, etc.

Furthermore, the fact that DEVGRU operations are being detailed in the media on a regular basis is sickening.

Loose lips sink ships indeed, or in Afghanistan’s case they cause a chinook filled to the brim with special operators to be shot down and killed. KEEP A LID ON IT.

I believe the the retired general is correct. I do not need to know how they operate and what missions they do, I am just glad they are there.

The failed escape attempt in Iran showed that there was/is a need for well trained special operators hence the development of Delta Force under General Vaught. He did not claim to lead the operation that grabbed Sadam. I believe when he is saying his special operators, it is in a proud papa(papa of Delta Force) kind of way not in he’s on the ground leading the charge kind of way.

It is far better that they stay the boogeyman to all the bad guys out there and not trot them out in the spotlight. The boogeyman is not as scary when the lights are on.

seals keep their mouth shut by following orders , its people with less skin in the game that want to belong. show the seals and others proper respect.

@DeanBob….this really has nothing to do with the White House. This idiot is going to find out that loose lips not only sink ships, they also sink careers. I can’t imagine any president, let alone Obama, who likes to play things close to the vest, is happy about this self-promoting egomaniac coming out and ID’ing himself for all to know his face and associate him with the Seals. Any Seal caught in his company will then be easily identified and anyone he is around is easily id’d, and so on and so forth. What a jerk!

Vaught is correct. People can joke about it and play off the writers mention about a failed mission, which we have all had, but the fact remains that putting this in the media will get our people killed. They all, from the top down need to knock it off. Just shut up and do the job. That includes shutting off Hollywood.