Down Range Pt. 3

This section of the book described an actual SEAL mission just a month into the Afghan war. This is such a treat because so rarely does the public get to know about what the SEALs and the SOF forces are doing overseas. Their protection and safety is directly affected by their secrecy. From this mission I have learned so much information on how the Navy SEALs and Special Ops operate. There are three major attributes that make a successful counter terrorist team, teamwork, intel, and speed. Speed is only relevant for the beginning of the mission between the time they get the tip that there is an enemy somewhere until the time they get onto the insertion vehicles. The Task Force K-bar was comprised of Special Ops Forces from Germany, France, and Great Britain, and conventional elements from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as Marines and SEALs. This was the name of the SOF group that would take the missions in central and southern Afghanistan. Di spite the large variety of forces the SEALs were always the first to respond to the call and therefore took most of the missions. The Special Ops teams needed to be quick because, "Special operations taskings are often driven by perishable intelligence, which means victory belongs to the swift."(96) The target of interest will not stay still forever. The intelligence that they gather can change within minutes. One minute a high value target would be in a building the next he is across town. Therefore, the key to success is speed and the SEALs were the best at it. They would often plan their missions on the run to the helipad and finish them in the chopper. This saved so much time and was the reason why they were so successful in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the SEALs are nothing without proper intel.
All of their missions are based on intelligence gathered from all different types of sources. they received intel from, local sources, CIA, radio intercepts, cell phone conversations, images from satellites, Predator drones, P-3 manned aircraft, and the most common which is human intelligence from captured soldiers and detainees.(94) Not all missions were successful because of their intelligence. There were a lot of "dry holes" which are operations that are unsuccessful because of the intelligence or the enemy knew that they were coming. However, this mission that they described was not a dry hole; they hit the jackpot and needed support from the entire Task Force K-bar. Zhawar Kili Valley was a possible important al-Qaeda stronghold just next to the Pakistani border. This would allow the escape of terrorists in and out of Afghanistan. there was intelligence that there was activity at this sight so the SEALs went in along with the standard team of SEALs, interpreter, Air Force Combat controllers, and EOD's. The Air Force Combat Controllers were two soldiers who were specialized in making smart bombs even more precise. The EOD's were just engineers who specialized in demolition. The AFCC's were so important during this mission because whenever a hostile force was seen they could give the coordinates to overflying fighters that would bomb the heck out of the insurgents within 400 yards of friendly forces. The actual teamwork involved is amazing and in detail it is very lengthy. First predator drone and other reconnaissance aircraft had the compound under constant surveillance while the SEAls were on the ground. A Predator had spotted about twenty armed men heading toward the cluster of huts where the SEALs spent the night. A P-3 manned surveillance aircraft was sent in to do more specific surveillance and called in an AC-130 Spectre gunship. Then the P-3 called in the position of both the friendlies and the hostile forces so that they do not accidental kill the SEALs. The gunship fires 105mm cannon shells, that are 10 times as powerful as a grenade, at the hostile forces from eighteen thousand feet. The enemy forces had no idea what hit them and had no idea that they were being watched by the Air Force above them. Overall this teamwork between the Air Force, Navy, and Marines is priceless because without one the rest struggles. The marines were able to use snipers and infantry to cover the SEALs as they search the caves of the Zhawar Kili Valey. Without one another the mission would fail. This chapter really showed me the importance of speed, intelligence, and teamwork.