where are the SEALS?

[venture160]

where'd they go? they've had scant to none attention in this war... has anyone heard anything? I know they are there... just what they are doing we may never know.

[USAF G]

Well, besides securing oil terminals, platforms, and ports, they did grab PFC Lynch. As well as, I'm sure, lots of secret stuff.

[JiJoMacLE45]

They are out there. Aside from the two aforementioned gigs they have also been doing reconnaissance work in advance of the Marine forces. A couple of days ago SEALs shot and killed a two man suicide bomber team that was approaching a Marine position just outside of Tikrit.

You have to remember, not much has been mentioned about any specific SOF force, you are just hearing that 'special operations forces did this' or 'special operations forces did that'. The SEALs could have been inside of Baghdad prior to its fall, there is still some heavy resistance from scattered groups throughout western Iraq and along the Syrian border and SOF is hunting down threats in that area. You can rest assured that they are getting their piece of the pie.

[nate(Tiger02)]

don't u think that they 're more secrecy than other special forces (except Delta) we've seen the most pics that are from U.S. ARMY special force but not much from the SEALs.

[hood]

Probably because the Army Special Forces' primary job is to interface with local militias and use them against the enemy. Interaction with people around them is one of their primary jobs, so we're going to see them because they're among the population. The SEAL teams are probably focused more on specific target operations to seize, secure, or take down people or sites. Not really to stick around and hold it like SF would. There were a few SEAL photos in a recent newsweek, but nothing really worth grabbing a copy for. There were some photos of Navy Special Warfare operators which I'll paste below, but they usually mention if they're SEALs, and they didn't here.. they just said the NSWO thing... I know that EOD is grouped into that lot along with some others so I'm not sure exactly what unit that would designate.

http://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/webphoto/web_030328-N-5362A-006.jpg

Umm Qasr, Iraq (Mar. 28, 2003) -- A U.S. Naval Special Warfare operator provides cover during the boarding an Iraqi vessel to search for weapons and illegal cargo. Naval Special Warfare operators assisted in operations that cleared Iraqi waterways of mines and rogue vessels to make way for the arrival of humanitarian relief shipments to the port of Umm Qsar. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and end the regime of Saddam Hussein.
http://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/webphoto/web_030328-N-5362A-005.jpg

Umm Qasr, Iraq (Mar. 28, 2003) -- U.S. Naval Special Warfare operators search an Iraqi vessel for weapons and illegal cargo. Naval Special Warfare operators assisted in operations that cleared Iraqi waterways of mines and rogue vessels to make way for the arrival of humanitarian relief shipments to the port of Umm Qsar in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and end the regime of Saddam Hussein.

[XASA]

The Special Operations community, with the exception of those involved in winning "hearts and minds," have always been leery of media exposure, especially with operators in the field. It wasn't until long after the end of Gulf War I did we hear about the "Scud Hunters" and long range reconaissance missions. The SEALS and Special Forces' accomplishments will certainly be discussed at a later date once the dust has settled.

[JiJoMacLE45]

The guys in the pictures are most likely SEALs. In the Navy, Special Warfare stands for SEALs and SWCCs(the boat drivers). EOD falls the under the guise of Navy Special Operations. For example, an officer onboard a ship is a Surface Warfare Officer, a SEAL is a Special Warfare Officer, and an EOD officer is a Special Operations Officer.

[Duke]

Correct me if I'm wrong, since the Navy has been changing the clusters. A Naval Officer qualifying as a Basic Diver and/or a Salavage Officer are designated as Special Operations Officer. Officers graduating from the EOD techincian course are designated Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officers. Though the EODM officers are designated under the Navy's Special Operations Forces.

[JiJoMacLE45]

Your right Duke, I was speaking in a broad stroke, dive and salvage officers as well as EOD officers are under the special operations blanket, the designators themselves might be different but they are both part of the same career field. Example, an F-14 pilot is a Naval Aviator and an
F-14 RIO is a Naval Flight Officer but both are Naval Aviation Officers. Hope that clears it up. And SWCC officers are designated surface warfare officers not special warfare officers, I forgot to mention that.

[hood]

Well, the reason why I doubted they were SEALs, was that in the following high-res shot, the guy on the far right looks like he weighs 400 pounds... maybe it's just a weird angle or something that's making him look that way.

http://www.news.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/030328-N-5362A-005.jpg

[USAF G]

It looks to me like he's wearing a lot of gear, possibly his MOPP suit, and the angle is wierd. If you look at his legs, it looks like a MOPP suit or at least his gortex. Of course that doesn't answer the question of him being a Seal or not.