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Can you imagine what it was like?  

Think about it being you.

You're a handpicked member of an elite team of Navy Seals.  Just being a meat-eating, badass Navy Seal isn't good enough.  You're the best of the best.  And you train harder than anyone can imagine in unbelievably horrid circumstances.  All the time.  It's your job.  You have one mission in life ... that's all ... one ... and that mission is to take out terrorists.

Like the old TV show, "The Unit", nobody knows what you do except maybe your wife.  Not your neighbors nor your family.  Nobody.

You train and you train and you train.  There aren't many missions and sometimes you wonder if your skills will ever be used.  

And then, you get a call from your unit leader.  You have a mission.  You come in and your leader tells you who the target is.  It's Osama Bin Laden.  They've found him and you're going to go get him.

Can you imagine how you'd feel at that moment?  For me, it'd be surreal.  No matter how much I had anticipated this moment, I'd still be taken aback.

Then, from your base ... perhaps, in the USA or another country, you load up.  You're going to Pakistan.  And all the time you're in transit, you're thinking about your target.  You're going to go get Osama Bin Laden himself.  This is not a drill.  It's for real.

But you also think about things like the other members of your team, remembering all the training you've had, what you need to do, the success of your mission, and what this son of a **** has done.

You know that everything you've ever done will culminate in this mission ... once you're there, it'll all happen in a matter of minutes.  You're an American and on your mind is all the innocents he's brutally murdered all over the world.  On your mind is 9/11 and your fallen comrades on The USS Cole ... so many.

And now, the weight of all of this is on your shoulders.  You have one chance.  If you fail, the son of a **** will still be out there.  If you succeed, YOU will change history.

But no one will know who you are.

And while all of this is swirling around in the back of your mind, your leader interrupts and says, "It's time.  Let's go.  Go! Go! Go!"

So before you know it, you're sliding down a rope into a heavily fortified compound in Pakistan.

You enter the compound.  You yell for surrender.  There's resistance.  And so, you and your team members storm inside, under fire.

Then suddenly, in front of you is the bastard himself.  You don't think.  You're on automatic.  Instinct and adrenaline.  "Pop!"  You see him fall.  You fire more rounds.  For insurance.

You killed him.  You killed Osama Bin Laden.  You just took out the most hated, most wanted terrorist in the world.  He's dead.

But there's still no time to think.  You have to get out.  Fast.  You make sure all your buddies are OK.  And you help get the bastard's bullet-ridden corpse back on the helicopter.

Then, at some point you come home.

No fanfare.  No recognition.  Nobody knows who you are.  Nobody knows what you did.  What YOU did.

So you blend back into life ... into the background.  Just another American.

And though I'd love to buy you a beer, I'll never know it was you.

Perhaps that's the way it should be.

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Beautifully written ... and expresses many thoughts I have had since hearing the news.

"Standard operating procedure" ... by "a special breed of warrior ready to answer our nation's call."

No more U.S. blood was spilled in this effort ... OMGod !    Bless those men !!!

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As we always say "send the guys from the Unit!!!"

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"There are other operations going on around the globe constantly," said Capt. Duncan Smith, a SEAL spokesman who spoke with ABC News.

In 2009, another SEAL team was instrumental in rescuing the American captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama from armed pirates off the coast of Somalia. On that mission, SEAL snipers fired perfect shots -- from the deck of a heaving ship -- to neutralize three pirates, with three bullets, simultaneously. The SEALs began their work in 1942, when military leaders decided to set up an elite team to scout beaches suitable for landing troops in World War II.

These men have done all of this in anonymity. It is standard procedure never to identify members of Team Six.

"A lot of those missions -- a majority of those missions -- are ones that the public will never know about... and that's a good thing," Smith said.

Navy SEALs toil in the dark of night, tasked with the most daring, dangerous and important missions. To become a SEAL, those men completed some of the most brutal training regimens ever devised, designed to push the boundaries of even the most able service members. Only one third of recruits eventually become SEALs.

"You have to be able to endure a lot of physical pain and sometimes emotional pain, and you just have to dig deep. It's an elite organization and so it can't be for everybody," said Paul Tharp, master chief of the Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School and a SEAL for 24 years.

"What sets SEALs apart is our diversity in terms of the environments in which we operate," said Smith, also a SEAL for 24 years. "We operate at 10,000 feet in the Hindu Kush Mountains. We operate in desert regions in Iraq and elsewhere. We operate in jungles throughout the world."

As of 2009, there were 2,500 active duty SEALs. With the expanding war on terror and missions in 30 countries, the Navy needs more, but finding young men who can meet the SEALs' standards is a challenge.

"We are not looking for cocky kids," said Senior Chief Hans Garcia, a SEAL recruiter. "The perfect person would be a candidate who is remarkably physically fit, but is pretty humble, an analytical thinker, a problem solver -- someone who is very value-oriented, patriotic, puts service above self."

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My cousin's husband was a Navy Seal for 8 years. It ruined his first marriage. In some ways he's a very strange man.... but having worked under a Top Secret clearance for many years I understand him....

There are many, many things going on in this country that most people will never have an inkling of. Sometimes I think it's for the best.....

You know the saying.... what you don't know can't hurt you.....

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When I worked for the feds, I had the opportunity to work with U.S. Marshals and Secret Service men (not Navy Seals but some dangerous, secretive missions nonetheless, most drug related).  Of course we never discussed the details of individual cases but the common feeling they shared was that they want us as U.S. citizens to feel safe at night .... let them take on the burden because that's what they do.  No we do not know every little details, we can't know ... some people can live with that ... some can't.   It's an ugly business ...

Remember Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth"? ... well, it's sort of like that.  I know there's a LOT more out there that I (we) don't know ... and to feel safe at night and protected ... I will have faith in these men and put my safety and the safety of my kids in their hands ... and trust them.  The alternative is very ugly to me ...

GOD BLESS THE USA !

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Originally Posted by Teri Lacy:
When I worked for the feds, I had the opportunity to work with U.S. Marshals and Secret Service men (not Navy Seals but some dangerous, secretive missions nonetheless, most drug related).  Of course we never discussed the details of individual cases but the common feeling they shared was that they want us as U.S. citizens to feel safe at night .... let them take on the burden because that's what they do.  No we do not know every little details, we can't know ... some people can live with that ... some can't.   It's an ugly business ...

Remember Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth"? ... well, it's sort of like that.  I know there's a LOT more out there that I (we) don't know ... and to feel safe at night and protected ... I will have faith in these men and put my safety and the safety of my kids in their hands ... and trust them.  The alternative is very ugly to me ...

GOD BLESS THE USA !

Well said!

Sadly, there's a lot I distrust about the government.  But when it comes to this ... I still have faith and can easily get overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude.

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Originally Posted by Scott Terry:

Originally Posted by Teri Lacy:
When I worked for the feds, I had the opportunity to work with U.S. Marshals and Secret Service men (not Navy Seals but some dangerous, secretive missions nonetheless, most drug related).  Of course we never discussed the details of individual cases but the common feeling they shared was that they want us as U.S. citizens to feel safe at night .... let them take on the burden because that's what they do.  No we do not know every little details, we can't know ... some people can live with that ... some can't.   It's an ugly business ...

Remember Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth"? ... well, it's sort of like that.  I know there's a LOT more out there that I (we) don't know ... and to feel safe at night and protected ... I will have faith in these men and put my safety and the safety of my kids in their hands ... and trust them.  The alternative is very ugly to me ...
GOD BLESS THE USA !

Well said!

Sadly, there's a lot I distrust about the government.  But when it comes to this ... I still have faith and can easily get overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude.

Thank you.

And absolutely, regarding distrust about the government.  But like you, I am smart enough to research both sides of issues and make my own decision about each matter at hand especially when it comes to the economy, healthcare, elections ... blah blah blah ... you betcha I want know every little detail and I'm not going to believe everything told to me unless I can reconcile it in my own mind.  I can call bullshit regardless of which side of the fence it's on.

When it comes to matters of national security, I understand why we cannot know everything ...

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Just released ... Bin Laden watching himself on TV.

Glad he got to see the last episode, live (for a second or two), sponsored by the Navy Seals.

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good thing they shot him rather than giving him a busted lip. might've been court martialed for that one. and from the schizophrenic recountings coming from the admin, i think something happened that they don't want known. either that, or they're purposefully trying to encourage conspiracy theories by introducing so many changes to the official story. it's really been bizarre. but as for the seals, they did their jobs, and followed orders.  

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Originally Posted by Scott Terry:

Just released ... Bin Laden watching himself on TV.
Glad he got to see the last episode, live (for a second or two), sponsored by the Navy Seals.

Isn't that some F'd up **** ?

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Oh what a kodak moment, such an interesting pic to hold on to. In this age, photos and videos mean nothing. When the story line keeps changing then you are being lied to.  IF OBL was killed last week, it was to shut him up, like they shut up Lee Oswald. There was absolutely no reason why he could have not been taken alive. NONE! They say they confirmed his DNA, yet it takes 14-20 hours to confirm a DNA match. Where did they get his DNA with which to match it?

http://whowhatwhy.com/2011/05/05/more-questions-on-bin-laden/

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Would giving OBL a 'fair trial' have been the moral thing to do? Maybe, maybe not, but I'd be damned afraid of anyone who could successfully manipulate the perception of proof that this individual was innocent.

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So you are saying it is better to assassinate than to give a man a fair trial and risk his being set free? Is this what our country has come to?