Posted on Dec 19, 2015
Navy SEALs, a Beating Death and Claims of a Cover-Up
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Does this look like a cover-up by the CO Navy Captain? The investigating JAG recommended sending the Navy Seals to an Article 32. Instead they got a Captain's mast (low level Non-Judicial Punishment). Should the investigation be re-opened?
Navy SEALs, a Beating Death and Claims of a Cover-Up
Posted from nytimes.com
4402: Judge Advocate
Attorney
Navy
Afghanistan
Posted 9 y ago
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The New York Times (Thursday, December 17, 2015) had a Front Page, in-depth investigative article about a story that has been circulating recently about a Detainee Death that might have occurred due to abuse allegations by members of Seal Team 2 in Afghanistan 2012. The initial reports of the detainee abuse were submitted by US Army Soldiers from the 3rd Inf Reg/ 2nd ID, who were stationed at the same COP in a Village Stability Platform (VSP) in Kalach, Afghanistan. The redacted Sworn Statement by the ranking Army NCO, Staff Sgt. David Roschak, the Army squad leader at Kalach, paints a very disturbing picture of the Seals stationed with the Army detachment after their Army Special Ops ODA team rotated out, and were replaced by the Seals. The redacted sworn statement of S/Sgt Roschak can be downloaded from the article.
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This WAPO article lays out the misfit between what was the perfect Mission for an Army ODA Team, and what the Seals are trained to do. Even in Vietnam where the "Greenface" Seals made their reputation, they were doing capture and kill missions, NOT ODA Special Forces team stuff, like working with the local indigenous populations, building trust and goodwill, dropping wells, doing basic stuff like medical and dental for the local population. By the looks of it, the Navy Seals alleged misconduct caused significant damage to the Coin Operation in that area and was at least partly responsible for the resurgence of the Taliban. Not even the Afghan force operate their anymore.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/18/how-a-navy-seal-controversy-shows-the-limits-of-u-s-special-operations-strategy-in-afghanistan/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/18/how-a-navy-seal-controversy-shows-the-limits-of-u-s-special-operations-strategy-in-afghanistan/
How a Navy SEAL controversy shows the limits of U.S. Special Operations strategy in Afghanistan
Too many village stability operations, not enough special operators.
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CPO (Join to see)
Sir, I was attached to SOTF-A at that time and I would say and said it there. SEAL's are not harts and mind mission guy's like ODA is. I spoke my mind and got some flack for this. I had suggestions for this and they did not like it. I am Retired Navy Chief petty officer Seabee. I feel that you can have a special trained unit (Trained in direct contact missions believe me it would not be that hard) of Seabees to do this mission with ODA but NO our job is to help maintain and make improvements on there VSP's or VSA's . I do believe if they send some BEE's through CA school they would be extremely good at this tasking and we did some of it in Iraq. The one thing is there are people in that community that do not want to take risk and chances and by doing this we are loosing our missions. I can say this now that I am out. I have done 3 Combat Deployments and 4 civil humanitarian deployments and 2 disasters recovery mission I may know something about some of these missions. I feel that the SEAL mission set is more like the 75th and this is where they should stay. The other thing I saw was that MARSOC was better at that mission than the SEAL's also.
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CPO (Join to see)
One more thing glad you brought the Nam thing up you know who worked with ODA on those missions it was Seabees but people forget that part of history. We even had a MOH awardee doing those missions Marvin G shields CM 3.
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Capt Lance Gallardo
Great comments Chief! I am talking with a Nam Seabee tonight at a Christmas party. He was telling me that the VC did not mess with the Seabees because they liked the bridges and things that the Seabees were building and assumed they would take possession of those nice Seabee construction projects when the Americans left. He is serious. He was in country from 68-69. Having a Joint Seabee/Marine Corps VSP Team seems like a match made in heaven. Save the Seals for what they are best at "catch or kill" missions. Like you said, if you want to do hearts and minds stuff that is Army ODA Teams and the Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons and the Combined Action Program that Bing West was a part of and wrote about in his classic COIN Book about the US Marine Corps Vietnam Counter Insurgency Program in "The Village."
http://www.amazon.com/The-Village-Bing-West/dp/ [login to see]
http://www.amazon.com/The-Village-Bing-West/dp/ [login to see]
The Village: Bing West: 9780743457576: Amazon.com: Books
The Village [Bing West] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In Black Hawk Down, the fight went on for a day. In We Were Soldiers Once & Young, the fighting lasted three days. In The Village
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Thanks for sharing, and thank for your patience and support as we work through the site updates. Sorry for the previous confusion.
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