News Skydiving Death Australia. 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. When McRaven was 10, Sean Connery's James Bond spent a lot of screen time in Thunderball pummeling underwater bad guys and making out with Domino, the underwater hottie. Accuracy and availability may vary. Now, in the case of Saddam Hussein, it was pretty obvious. Naval Special Warfare Group 1 began the hunt for Osama bin Laden without its commodore, and he soon stepped down from command. 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. And the SEALs entering the room did absolutely the right thing and shot him, not knowing whether or not he was wearing a suicide vest or what was happening at that instant. They could see fine out of just one eye. Marcinko acknowledges that he arranged for female companions at the hard-drinking beach parties he threw on Navy property, but it would not be politically correct, he says, to call them "ladies of the night.". What were you feeling in those moments? And frankly, I didnt want to engage him in a conversation. A hard landing off to the side. to meet with the CENTCOM commander. By way of example, O'Connor recounted a story told by Navy SEAL Adm. (retired) Bill McRaven on St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, Georgia, at a Hibernians Society dinner, "a few years back." (Full . Yeah, it was interesting. "There is nobody in the U.S. government that thinks we can kill our way to victory, certainly not the special-operations guys," he says, "but what happens is, by capturing and killing some of these high-value targets, we buy space and time for the rest of the government to work.". In 2003, you were the commander of Task Force 714 in Iraq. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. One of its central messages was intended to caution against a literal idea of combat: "We will not triumph solely or even primarily through military might. If bin Laden had his hands up and he clearly was not a threat which was going to be difficult because you dont know whether or not theyre carrying a suicide vest underneath but if he had come out of that room with his hands up and clearly not a threat, we had an obligation, a legal obligation, a moral obligation to capture him. Saddam Hussein became your prisoner when he remained at your camp longer than originally expected, about 30 days. What are you trying to tell me there? So whenever people begin to lose hope about the future of the country and whether or not the men and women will continue to serve, I think weve seen this movie before. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. An accident during a routine parachute jump in 2001 kind of snapped me in two, McRaven said in a 2019 interview. So while I didnt know at a young age that I wanted to follow in my fathers footsteps, I dont think it took me long before I realized that this was the path that was the right fit for me. Retired Adm. William McRaven and Nicholas Rasmussen, former National Counterterrorism Center director, discuss the raid on the Usama bin Laden compound in Pakistan in commemoration of the 10th . . it showed that we as Americans can do the hard things and do them well. But that particular day, I actually had a meeting down in Qatar. And he pulls. So whenever a shot is fired, somebody is reporting through the chain. But having said that, I mean, the troops are thoughtful. I mean, we flew the 162 miles really without incident. INSKEEP: How have people in the military that you have known dealt with the reality that they put their lives on the line, in some places lost arms or legs, for this purpose that turned out to be false? We actually didnt have a drone. Did we inadvertently kill people we shouldnt have killed? "It was hard to watch it from afar, at the White House, but at the time, because I was still broken up pretty bad, I'm not sure I could have done much to help," he says. In fact, he pushed two young girls, his daughters, in front of him, which created some chaos. Never once did he say, why me? It will give you a sense of accomplishment that you will want to continue to feel throughout the day. Stay up to date with what you want to know. And so when I got the call from the squadron commander and he said, we have Jackpot, youre always, as the guy sitting in the rear, youre thinking, ok, this is good news. With her father by her side, she laughed off the injury like it was a scratch. Good evening. The second helicopter, which was supposed to come in and land on the roof, lands outside. Retired Adm. William McRaven earned fame for leading US special-operations forces on some of their most well-known missions. No Americans were harmed. I mean, there were risks every time we came close to the Pakistani border or crossed the Pakistani border, the Pakistanis were not concerned at all about engaging us. Will they just be a great mother or father that raises another kid who raises another kid? Yeah, it was actually a C-130. 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. But that didn't keep McRaven from rising in the ranks of Navy special operations. Oh, absolutely. Michael Thornton is one of a handful of Navy SEALs that have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Then, I thought, well, you know, thats probably not very distinguished for the three star admiral to be lying down next to the body. She's been in the hospital for two months and has years of . When I went to visit guys in the hospital, they always said, I want to get back in the fight. ), (See TIME's 2008 Person of the Year: Barack Obama. Years ago the author was badly wounded in a parachute accident and he had to go through months of recovery and rehabilitation. We had a helicopter with an optical ball on it that was providing our ISR, our video coverage, if you will. McRaven recovered and rose up the ranks. This past May marked 10 years since the historic and heroic mission that you orchestrated, Admiral, what is it like for you to watch President Obama say those words now, 10 years later? Im absolutely ok with that. I mean, it showed that we as Americans can do the hard things and do them well. But once again, as I mentioned, with Saddam Hussein, you know, until you can do the forensics on the remains, check the fingerprints, check the DNA, do the facial recognition, you know, Im reluctant to have said, hey, weve got jackpot on this one. They have just 500 days until graduation. The most recent internal tally counted more than 2,500 such commando missions in and around Afghanistan over 12 months. And he became the overall commander of the US Special Operations Command, the rest is history. So the mission was a long way from over. "He walked again, which was amazing," sister Nan recalls. They just know me as the make your bed guy. Bush famously kept a list of al-Qaeda leaders in his Oval Office desk drawer and drew an X over each face as the target was captured or killed. HOOVER: We all remember those images of Saddam Hussein the moment that he was captured. . He said, well sir Im six two. Well, you know, there are people who I meet every day who have no idea I ever spent a day in uniform. I said, hey, son, how tall are you? But new leaders always stepped in. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. General William Westmoreland joined the original firing line with William F. Buckley Jr. in 1979 for a conversation called, quote, the crisis in the US military. HOOVER: Duty is among the virtues that you write about in the hero code. . If bin Laden had his hands up and he clearly was not a threat which was going to be difficult because you dont know whether or not theyre carrying a suicide vest underneath but if he had come out of that room with his hands up and clearly not a threat, we had an obligation, a legal obligation, a moral obligation to capture him. MCRAVEN: Yeah. So Rob ONeill and his teammate, when they came up Again, there were no helmet cams. Today, McRaven calls Marcinko a "charismatic figure" who deserves credit for building an important new unit from scratch. The story did not end there. I knew that there would have to be some sort of follow on action against Al-Qaeda. Thank you, Margaret. : Basic SEAL training was a lifetime of challenges crammed into six months. You were hit by a fellow divers canopy. "Part of the chute wrapped around one leg, the risers around the other, and the good news is that it opened. 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. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. He has unique facial characteristics. Take a look at this video. I loved the sense of patriotism. A decorated, veteran Navy SEAL died Sunday after a mishap during military free-fall training in Arizona, Navy officials told USNI News. Good to be with you. Then it was back to operations. You wrote in your book. But in the end, you never addressed him directly. And on the plaque is a Home Depot tape measure. 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. INSKEEP: You're in a command position in Iraq, in a senior position in Iraq. Admiral, youve led sailors through harrowing missions. Admiral, Youve just written a book, The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived. And your father served in World War Two, and you share memories of him and his fellow service members swapping stories about their missions. You know, we had a lot of kind of heated discussions in the meetings I was in, but there was never any rancor. Will they be the next president or prime minister of Iraq? There was always an understanding that it was about doing what was right for the country. Admiral William McRaven is a retired U.S. Navy four-star Admiral. I went back to my little headquarters area, got back on the video with the president and the president said, OK, Bill, let me get this straight. But again, to your point, I had a moral and legal obligation to make sure that we took good care of him. So I grabbed Hank and I said, Hank, turn the plane around; we got to get back to Baghdad. William H. McRaven is a retired four-star US Navy SEAL admiral and author of the number one New York Times best-seller Make Your Bed (2017).During his almost 40 years of service, McRaven became commander of America's anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations, which included the capture of Saddam Hussein and the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Then, I thought, well, you know, thats probably not very distinguished for the three star admiral to be lying down next to the body. Rochor exit ECP traffic accident involving a van and a car on 15 February 2017 around 9.34am. McRaven: He went from being pompous and arrogant to frankly, just being, : The first people I want to thank are the SEALs. Did you have a moment of relief at that point? And Ive seen it in this current generation, the millennials and the Gen Z. Ill lie down next to the body just to see whether or not the remains are a little longer. Why is that, Admiral? Yeah, I would say its a little surreal, but, you know, I go back to that whole operation and Ive offered to the American people, regardless of what side of the political aisle you might be on, you know, you would have been proud of the national security team the president, the vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, director of national intelligence director of the CIA all of these men and women that came together to do what was right by the nation. So he lay down next to the body and sure enough, the body was about two inches longer. And at one point in time, a senior chief petty officer, Navy SEAL senior chief petty officer, he said, Admiral, I don't get it; why are we still doing this? The sentiments appear to be mutual, for McRaven and his special-operations units. But he was not going to have outside contact with any of his former Iraqi leaders. I need to go personally identify the remains before I can kind of come back and tell you for certain its bin Laden. We put the body bag on the hangar floor and its a rubberized body bag. I mean, if thats not service, I dont know what is. And every day when I would come in, he would try to engage me. (See pictures of the history of special ops. I just didnt want that to occur. Im listening to the radio. But it was probably 15 minutes after that. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. . Eventually, it will pass, and you will win. If you can't complete a small and mundane task each morning such as making your . What happened was the down blast from the helicopter hit this 18 foot high wall, created a vortex, kind of a vacuum over the blades, caused the helicopter to lose lift. With her father by her side, she laughed off the injury . 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. He also explains how giving up isn't an option no matter what you're going through. Im absolutely ok with that. And I really didnt have any relief in terms of the mission until after all the helicopters had come back across the border, the Afghan border and were landing at the back at our base. What were you seeing? Thank you for your service. 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. McRaven oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In 2014 Admiral William H. McRaven gave the commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin. You know, youve got to play four quarters of the game. The guy stomped around on the floor and found this trapdoor, if you will. TOM HANKS: Four skiffs carrying armed men. And so the president asked me, he says, Well, Bill, do you know whether or not its bin Laden? I said, Sir, I dont. McCraven is best known as the Navy SEAL commander who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Tell me about the impact that Moki Martin had on you. William McRaven, former University of Texas System chancellor and retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral, joined the school as a professor in national security in 2018. And the answer was, millions of men and women, and particularly after 9/11. Unsure of his altitude or even where he was, he still had the frame of mind to reach for his ripcord, and pulled it. It still brings me to tears.". 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. HOOVER: And you think that contributed to his decline in custody? So I get hit. There are costs. You know, we had a lot of kind of heated discussions in the meetings I was in, but there was never any rancor. And then in 1983, as you mentioned, he had a head-on bicycle accident and then was paralyzed from the chest down and has been since that time. ), "The President was at all times presidential," he says. Duty is among the virtues that you write about in the hero code. SINGAPORE: Four people were taken to the hospital on Saturday (Jul 10) after an early morning accident involving a taxi and a car at the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Selegie . Police in Goulburn, a city in New South . And so I proudly have the opportunity to display that tape measure at the Special Operations Command. During a routine exercise, while serving as a Navy captain with decades of command of SEALs around the world, Admiral William H. McRaven was involved in a parachute accident: he fell more than 1,200 metres before the parachute deployed! Admiral McRaven, in an inspiring speech, addressed the Class of 2015 at West Point to celebrate 500th Night. We know that theyre getting ready to launch aircraft to come intercept us. We all remember those images of Saddam Hussein the moment that he was captured. William H. McRaven. And in the case of the rescue of Captain Phillips, the guys on scene made all the right calls. But it wasnt the first time Id had a, quote, premonition. Theyre all kind of crammed into this small room with General Brad Webb, who was my liaison to the White House at the time. STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: If I don't mistake this, your boss, Admiral Eric Olson, kind of bypassed a form that would say whether you were physically fit or not. "I kind of tumble through the parachute. In April, a month before the bin Laden raid, Obama tapped McRaven for his fourth star and nominated him to lead the U.S. Special Operations Command. MCRAVEN: Well, you know, there are people who I meet every day who have no idea I ever spent a day in uniform. Do you mind recounting it? His story with the near fatal jump accident and, before that, the ignominious loss of his first command fit the narrative of setback and redemption in the special-operations community writ large. With her father by her side, she laughed off the injury like it was a scratch. So I saw some young SEALs standing nearby. 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