Down Range pt. 5

The conclusion of this novel was a humbling one. Throughout the book Dick Couch demonstrated the amazing capabilities of the United States Navy SEALs and the American military. However, I am left with one question, what are the affects of taking the lives of these people? Maybe it is not so bad because the SEALs feel that they are the enemy and deserve what they get, but then wouldn't they think that it is okay to kill the SEALs because they are enemies of them? That reminds me of something I read earlier in the book that keeps coming up, the SEALs have a saying "he got what he deserved." If a man attacks a SEAL with a knife then he will probably be put into submission and taken prisoner. However, if a man raises their gun at a Navy SEAL then he is asking to get killed. A man never feels that taking a life is a good thing. Contrary to what the movies portray almost all of the SEALs are well educated men who graduate from Yale, Annapolis, and other ivy league schools. They all do not want to have to have someones blood on their hands. They will do anything they can to take away the threat that the enemy portrays, but if that threat is lethal then it is absolutely necessary for the SEALs to use lethal force. In the later part of this book the author talks about how the SEAL teams were used in Iraq for sniper support. This is one of the most morally draining roles someone can play in a war. Staring through the scope at an enemies torso with your finger squeezing the trigger that will end this mans life and orphan his family, and widow his wife. It is so personal that it has caused so many soldiers to come home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. So what is the solution? Is peace the solution? HELL NO. In my opinion the pursuit of world peace is for the naive hippies that are safe behind the forces that protect this country. Where ever there are drugs, guns, money, and power there will be violence. In my opinion the world will no longer see the heroic World Wars, but will be fought with small numbers of specialized forces only. The Special Forces of the American military will be the the ones fighting the wars instead of the large infantry divisions. For example, there are more and more threats of drug cartels taking over countries and terrorist activities and nuclear weapons. All of these threats can be limited if not taken out by the intelligence the SEALs can obtain from being behind the enemy lines with their stealthy tactics. Then this intel can be used to take out the threats with the least amount of damage done. Soon wars will have casualty numbers in the hundreds rather than the 100,000's. This is also because of the SEALs ability to capture high value personnel and targets like in Afghanistan and Iraq. Overall the mass killings of trench warfare, and the terrible collateral damage of Hiroshima are things of the past. Today and tomorrow are for the Special Ops Forces who can take down governmental leaders like they did in Panama, or cease control of ships that smuggled oil like in the Gulf to support terrorism, or simply arrest personnel involved with drug cartels that help support regimes to overtake their governments. This unconventional warfare that was founded in the Vietnam war is the future of warfare.