Admiral William H. McRaven, USN. It was an ideal post for a cerebral commando whose body needed mending. Is that right? You wrote, quote, as long as I could wiggle my toes, I was going to stay a SEAL. You share the story of Moki Martin, the Vietnam era SEAL, who was partially paralyzed from a head-on bike accident. One was to parachute in a SEAL . Now, in the case of Saddam Hussein, it was pretty obvious. I don't know whether I've been knocked unconscious. Will they be the next president or prime minister of Iraq? "If I was a loose cannon, he was too rigid. MCRAVEN: Well, you know, there are people who I meet every day who have no idea I ever spent a day in uniform. And Ive seen it in this current generation, the millennials and the Gen Z. I said, good, come here and. I can see it on the overhead surveillance. "People like McRaven know that.". I didnt want to because I didnt want him to think that he was somehow important enough to be able to engage El Jefe, as he called me. Every particular of his missions remains classified. 2. The DIB, on which McRaven served, was created during the Obama administration by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter. I said, hey, son, how tall are you? Retired four-star Navy Adm. William McRaven discusses why he finds it hard to be a Democrat or a Republican with CNN's Chris Wallace. President Trump tried to sidestep criticism from a former top military commander by insisting that retired Adm. William McRaven is simply a political player from the camp . MCRAVEN: You know, nobody goes through life and is successful all on their own. Did you have a moment of relief at that point? Admiral William McRaven is a retired U.S. Navy four-star Admiral. We have had a lot of times in the course of the last 20 years where we thought we had the right individual and then we get them back and we look at everything from their fingerprints to their DNA and we find out its the wrong guy. McRaven, then a 45-year-old Navy SEAL captain, led a jump exercise near San Diego. Moki, to me was this kind of quintessential Navy SEAL. They pull it up, and there's Saddam. That was a day that I think motivated all of America to go forth and realize that we had to bring justice to bin Laden, to bring justice to Al-Qaeda and to do what we felt was right for the country. It will give you a sense of accomplishment that you will want to continue to feel throughout the day. And I thought it was a fair question, and it's a question that needed to be answered. And now I'm tumbling out of control towards the ground. You were hit by a fellow divers canopy. I'm not exactly sure what's happened. Date of Birth. And eventually, of course, the SEALs execute a mission that all of these guys, in terms of the tactics of it, had done hundreds of times before. I didnt want to engage with him because, frankly, I didnt want him to, at least psychologically, think that he was a VIP, that he was somebody important enough to be able to engage me in conversation. SINGAPORE - The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had to prise open a taxi's roof to rescue two female passengers following an accident in the early hours of Saturday morning (July 10). INSKEEP: You refer to remembering this incident, this kindness of effectively overlooking the regulations, you think, and how you behaved later as a commander, as the wars began in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now the Pakistanis, of course, are waking up to the fact that were there. McRaven: I was just honored to be part of the operation. And on that night it was McRaven, linked by secure video from Jalalabad to the White House, who briefed the President in real time as the operation progressed. HOOVER: You write about a skydiving accident that you were in in 2001 that nearly cost you your life. Read the full transcript of McRaven's May 19, 2014 speech right here at Rev.com. HOOVER: Did you have a moment of relief at that point? But I would go in every day to check on him. Unfortunately, an SCDF paramedic pronounced a person dead on the scene. s parents, as guardians, as teachers, as mentors, as coaches, encouraging the youth of America to develop healthy, happy, good routines is important for the future of this country. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made. Yeah, I couldnt hear any of that. (See pictures of the history of special ops.). He had leadership skills we'd expect from a guy who had 35 years in the military." I think he still felt that he would come back into power. Steve Inskeep asked him about a routine parachute jump in San Diego in the year 2001. An experienced skydiver and another man died in an accident in Australia over the weekend after falling out of a plane. Can you reflect on that moment and what it was like for you, what you took in at that moment? The most recent internal tally counted more than 2,500 such commando missions in and around Afghanistan over 12 months. INSKEEP: You write that somehow your staff sometimes lost people's paperwork. Retired Adm. William McRaven is a lot of things. William McRaven: We were doing a freefall. An unnerving silence descended as the camera stayed on the admiral's empty chair, his habitual yellow can of Rip It energy drink in the foreground. Adm. William McRaven, who oversaw the raid on Osama bin Laden's home, says as it went beyond the planned time, he feared Pakistani forces might find U.S. troops . McRaven oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. But, you know, I think leaders know how to recognize other leaders. In his Kabul headquarters as outgoing U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus pumped his fist. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. Capture him if you can, but if he presents a threat at all, any threat whatsoever, kill him.. MCRAVEN: I had arrived in Iraq in October of 2003, and we were hunting Saddam Hussein. I love this sense of kind of duty, honor and country that I saw in this greatest generation. There were a lot of people that get you to where you are. Bin Laden lay low and stayed alive. Eight weeks later came the surprise attacks of Sept. 11. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, // A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. How have you seen this generation rise to the occasion in a way thats perhaps different than General Westmorelands observations? . I think he still felt that he would come back into power. I guess he did.". Michael Thornton is one of a handful of Navy SEALs that have been awarded the Medal of Honor. You know, we had a lot of kind of heated discussions in the meetings I was in, but there was never any rancor. He salutes the Greatest Generation and has faith in the new one. But at the end of the day, you have to confirm the jackpot. On September 1, 2014 . Take a look. And to this day, Moki oversees the triathlon that we run every year as part of our underwater demolition team and our SEAL fraternity. It was part of a 10,000-foot freefall jump exercise in July 2001 and McRaven, then 45 years old, was supposed to save the chute for the last possible moments. In an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, McRaven describes what should have been a "routine parachute jump." According to participants in the closely held Abbottabad debate, McRaven spoke thoughtfully about the risks but never expressed doubt that his men could dispatch bin Laden and return home safely. McRaven's special operators, meanwhile, are flying high. So I understood pretty quickly that the guys were a little banged up, but they were OK. And so we went from plan A to plan B. Now, in the case of Saddam Hussein, it was pretty obvious. Admiral McRaven, on this Independence Day weekend, thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your stories from your recent books, Hero Code, Sea Stories and Make Your Bed. Why is that, Admiral? So I was doing a freefall operation out in Southern California outside San Diego. MCRAVEN: So by the time the helicopters had passed back over the border, now Im on the video with President Obama and his team. So Rob ONeill and his teammate, when they came up Again, there were no helmet cams. On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. From 2015 to 2018, he was the chancellor of The University of Texas System.. McRaven served from June 13, 2008 to August 2011 as commander of Joint Special Operations . But the fact of the matter is, I didnt want to engage with him. And then. You know, we had a lot of kind of heated discussions in the meetings I was in, but there was never any rancor. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. Yeah, I mean, even to this day, the impact of Moki Martin is with me every day. Tell me about that moment and what you heard come through the radio after that. What kind of intelligence did we get off the target? And so I really didnt kind of come off the business end of this mission probably until later that evening when finally I was able to hit the rack. He said, well sir Im six two. Then, I thought, well, you know, thats probably not very distinguished for the three star admiral to be lying down next to the body. And as I would find out later, it wouldnt be the last time. Admiral, tell me about that premonition. Just like the young female sergeant who I just visited at Walter Reed this week. And of course, it started in SEAL training. Yeah, well, obviously, like a lot of people who watched it on TV, it was a horrifying moment for all of us. And you know what? Thanks so much. Thank you for your service. I unzip the body bag and without getting too graphic he obviously didnt look too good, he had a couple of rounds in his head the beard was a little smaller, I think, than what we usually anticipate. ), https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101745_2102133_2102330,00.html. The Navy brass had established a secret counterterrorist unit under Commander Richard Marcinko, a creative, mercurial and extravagantly profane enthusiast of commando arts. That was a day that I think motivated all of America to go forth and realize that we had to bring justice to bin Laden, to bring justice to Al-Qaeda and to do what we felt was right for the country. But before all that, he had to recover from a terrible accident. Once there was a President who called for building up the Green Berets in the same speech, in 1961, that called for landing a man on the moon. I mean, hes just a remarkable, remarkable inspiration. For most of the past decade, McRaven hunted down high-value targets overseas. McRaven said in a 2019 interview. No Americans were harmed. Adm. William McRaven shares anecdotes from his life and military career. "There now has been an accumulation through the course of 2011 of very significant losses in core al-Qaeda and also the affiliates in Yemen and some of the other offshoots," Petraeus says, citing two al-Qaeda figures, Atiyah Abdel Rahman in Pakistan and Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, whose deaths have not been officially acknowledged as JSOC's work. McRaven and his four SEAL teams had trained for such a moment, but it was all he could do to follow the news in bed. And in the case of the rescue of Captain Phillips, the guys on scene made all the right calls. . Judge plans to appoint Special Master to Dominion, Fox News . and will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. Well, the Joint Operation Center, we refer to it as the JOC, was probably about a hundred people that are sitting in a room with a lot of computers. By the time I landed back in Baghdad, the force was moving towards the target and within, you know, within an hours time, the Armys special operations guys that were working for me had had, in fact, captured Saddam Hussein. And fortunately, you know, the guys found me, took me to the hospital. And as we're taking off from the C-130 and we're kind of getting out of Baghdad, all of a sudden it hits me - this is going to be the day we're getting him. After jumping from the plane, McRaven noticed the jumper below him had pulled his chute, and it was coming at him fast. (Photo Credit: United States Navy / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) McRaven's plan was successful and bin Laden was killed by SEAL Team 6 on May 2, 2011. 10 years after the operation that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, President Obama and Admiral Bill McRaven, the commander of the special operations force. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Tell me about that moment and what you heard come through the radio after that. "It has been since 9/11 that both their utility and then their expertise have become the cutting edge.". MCRAVEN: Oh, absolutely. And the reason that I am so impressed with this generation, because the 9/11 generation, these young men and women that signed up after September 11th, that raised their hand and said, Im going to join the military, knew that they were taking on the risks, knew that they would probably go to war. Moki, to me was this kind of quintessential Navy SEAL. And you write that you, quote, had an obligation, both morally and legally to keep him safe. Eric Thor Olson (born January 24, 1952) is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the eighth Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from July 2, 2007 to August 8, 2011. We did. At the time, ST-6 was commanded by the legendary (and infamous) Richard . So he lay down next to the body and sure enough, the body was about two inches longer. So upon reaching the third floor, the raids second SEAL, Senior Chief Petty Officer Rob ONeill, came face to face with a, quote, tall, thin man. He served in the first Gulf War and wrote the book on special warfare, "The Theory of Special Operations." In a special edition celebrating Independence Day, four-star Admiral William H. McRaven shares stories of heroism from his 37 years of service to America, including details behind the capture of Saddam Hussein and the killing of Osama bin Laden. 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