But it was pretty clearly bin Laden. Take a look at President Obamas speech to the nation the night of May 1st, 2011. When I went to visit guys in the hospital, they always said, I want to get back in the fight. It obviously had a lot of political risk with it, and I dont want to minimize the risk. Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations, quote, I was having one of those feelings, again, inexplicable, powerful, eerie, one I couldnt shake and I certainly couldnt rationalize. McRaven charmed the civilians on staff over late-night beers at the Smith & Wollensky steak house. Did you actually ever think that he would be captured alive? You got to find out, one, is everybody OK? MCRAVEN: Yeah, well, he knew that I was in charge. William McRaven retired from the US Navy as a four-star admiral, as the commander of the United States special operations command and as the longest serving Navy SEAL in the history of our country . Unfortunately, an SCDF paramedic pronounced a person dead on the scene. Theyre the superheroes. By the time U.S. intelligence pinpointed its quarry, McRaven was a three-star admiral atop the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the U.S. military's clandestine strike force. And as we're taking off from the C-130 and we're kind of getting out of Baghdad, all of a sudden it hits me - this is going to be the day we're getting him. HOOVER: 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. Admiral William McRaven, welcome back to Firing Line for a special edition episode honoring Independence Day. The New American Commandos MCRAVEN: I had arrived in Iraq in October of 2003, and we were hunting Saddam Hussein. He was a Vietnam vet. But it was a relatively straightforward mission in terms of the first part of it. Theres a lot of things that go on post operation. You know, there are people out there, Admiral, who. A small group of men would fly nearly 200 miles through the dark, and then they would kill, or fail to kill, a mortal foe. 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. The good news is, as I fell a couple hundred feet or a thousand feet or so, the parachute finally opened. I don't know whether I've been dazed. That is not exactly the same as choosing two commandments to rebut in church, but it is provocative. The fact of the matter is, the law of armed conflict and the rules of engagement were pretty clear. As you point out. And the reason that I am so impressed with this generation, because the 9/11 generation, these young men and women that signed up after September 11th, that raised their hand and said, Im going to join the military, knew that they were taking on the risks, knew that they would probably go to war. 10 years after the operation that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, President Obama and Admiral Bill McRaven, the commander of the special operations force. So upon reaching the third floor, the raids second SEAL, Senior Chief Petty Officer Rob ONeill, came face to face with a, quote, tall, thin man. We were holding our breath whether he could make it. And that little bit of levity kind of helped me through the rest of the night. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. HOOVER: So upon reaching the third floor, the raids second SEAL, Senior Chief Petty Officer Rob ONeill, came face to face with a, quote, tall, thin man. There was something about the new intelligence, something about the confidence of the intelligence, something about everything. And as I say in the book, kind of inexplicably, I just had this feeling that this was going to be the night that we got Saddam Hussein. "There now has been an accumulation through the course of 2011 of very significant losses in core al-Qaeda and also the affiliates in Yemen and some of the other offshoots," Petraeus says, citing two al-Qaeda figures, Atiyah Abdel Rahman in Pakistan and Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, whose deaths have not been officially acknowledged as JSOC's work. So for 30 days, I came in every day to check on him and then would leave the small room without engaging him. They pull it up, and there's Saddam. I was heading out of Iraq, heading to AL U.D.(?) Can you reflect on that moment and what it was like for you, what you took in at that moment? Commentary. 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. Thank you for your service. And I was just honored to be part of the operation. Then, in 2001, came the parachute accident and the long climb back. In fact, he pushed two young girls, his daughters, in front of him, which created some chaos. 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. It became a dark joke in military and intelligence circles that the U.S. knocked off al-Qaeda's No. Well, thats true of every mission you conduct, youve got to be able to delegate to people that you have trust and confidence in. And frankly, I didnt want to engage him in a conversation. He bought them. Kurt Ganapathy. Did we inadvertently kill people we shouldnt have killed? Some folks believe that maybe it was possible. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made. On September 11th, 2001, you were still recuperating from your injuries when you watched the terrorist attacks on this country play out on a television screen in your living room. . Ill lie down next to the body just to see whether or not the remains are a little longer. But having said that, I mean, the troops are thoughtful. Patient and ingenious work by U.S. intelligence agencies marked a spot tentative, but more likely accurate than not on the map. But before all that, he had to recover from a terrible accident. The second helicopter, which was supposed to come in and land on the roof, lands outside. You told the SEAL Team Six, This mission is to capture or kill bin Laden. "He was climbing the steps, and it was agony, step by step. There were more serious charges, one of which eventually landed Marcinko in prison. 3 commander twice a year. Admiral William McRaven is a retired U.S. Navy four-star Admiral. "I would contend he was the smartest guy in the room. (0:01-1:46) Source. It was an ideal post for a cerebral commando whose body needed mending. We always find heroes in the next generation that are more than willing to serve and sacrifice. I guess he did.". And every day when I would come in, he would try to engage me. And you write that you, quote, had an obligation, both morally and legally to keep him safe. Image: Wikipedia.org. McRaven, who served as the ninth commander of the U.S. Special Operations command from . The DIB, on which McRaven served, was created during the Obama administration by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter. As the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, he led a force of 69,000 men and women and was responsible for conducting counter-terrorism operations worldwide. Navy Adm. William H. McRaven oversaw missions leading to Osama bin Laden's death. So a static line parachute is where you hook up inside the aircraft, the freefall you jump out with a parachute on your back. And, oh by the way, the guys are still in the compound. WILLIAM H MCRAVEN: And all of a sudden, I realize the guy to the left is underneath me. Thanks to the footage owner for stopping to help.Thomas LeongSi. Admiral McRaven, in an inspiring speech, addressed the Class of 2015 at West Point to celebrate 500th Night. Capture him if you can, but if he presents a threat at all, any threat whatsoever, kill him.. 3 Min Read. Four-star Admiral William McRaven shares stories of heroism from his service to America. I didnt think much of it. And even though I was broken-hearted at the time, I was intent on getting kind of back in the fight and being able to support my fellow special operations warriors. He was running special operations in Iraq when Task Force 121, a clandestine unit under JSOC, tracked Saddam Hussein to his spider hole. "All in all, a pretty good year," McRaven says, "but frankly it has been a big year for us really since 9/11.". For most of the past decade, McRaven hunted down high-value targets overseas. And they were going out every night, you know, trying to stop suicide bombers. Four-star Admiral Bill McRaven, former commander of the U.S. Special Operations and Navy SEAL, has led a high-profile careerincluding facing Somali pirates, Osama Bin Laden, and his own commander in chief. Like most promising midcareer officers, the 36-year-old McRaven was dispatched to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. They were children of World War One. And the answer was, millions of men and women, and particularly after 9/11. You know, when we first captured Saddam, he was pompous. Take a look at this video. Admiral McRaven, on this Independence Day weekend, thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your stories from your recent books, Hero Code, Sea Stories and Make Your Bed. william mcraven on his time in the military and his criticism of president trump. So, yes, we believed we had bin Laden. And as I would find out later, it wouldnt be the last time. Admiral, tell me about that premonition. McRaven: I was just honored to be part of the operation. Tell me about that moment and what you heard come through the radio after that. As McRaven tells it, the leg with his pilot chute wrapped around it and the leg with the risers, the straps used to connect the parachute and steer it, were wrapped around the other leg. So anybody that claims that theyve got a helmet cam video, nobody was wearing helmet cams. Each chapter of Make Your Bed provides more context and stories for each lesson from the original speech. Olson was the first Navy SEAL ever to be appointed to three-star and four-star flag rank, as well . Im listening to the radio. And frankly, I didnt want to engage him in a conversation. It was July 18, 2001, midway through that quiet summer before the whole world learned Osama bin Laden's name. In fact, we had a plan with what we were going to do with bin Laden if we captured him. And some folks were a little dismissive. 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. So whenever a shot is fired, somebody is reporting through the chain. Tell me about the impact that Moki Martin had on you. Moki, to me was this kind of quintessential Navy SEAL. Retired Admiral William McRaven speaks Wednesday January 10, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. She was seriously injured in a parachute accident. You were hit by a fellow divers canopy. And now the Pakistanis, of course, are waking up to the fact that were there. So for 30 days, I came in every day to check on him and then would leave the small room without engaging him. Yeah, I mean, even to this day, the impact of Moki Martin is with me every day. It absolutely was not. Downing wanted McRaven on his staff. "[They] kind of snapped me in two," McRaven said. When McRaven jumped he found himself falling at 125 MPH and hitting the parachute of another, who had deployed his chute too soon. And as I would find out later, it wouldnt be the last time. Admiral, tell me about that premonition. What kind of intelligence did we get off the target? He never had his hands raised. The compound could still be booby trapped. MCRAVEN: 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. Once there was a President who called for building up the Green Berets in the same speech, in 1961, that called for landing a man on the moon. The Commander in Chief staked his presidency on a military plan with risks that daunted his Secretary of Defense. ET. The Navy admiral was celebrated for the success of his plan, and was the runner-up for Time's Person of the Year for the operation. I said, hey, son, how tall are you? Making your bed as easy to do. . But, you know, I think leaders know how to recognize other leaders. But that didn't keep McRaven from rising in the ranks of Navy special operations. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider But I would go in every day to check on him. Yeah, well, he knew that I was in charge. But I would go in every day to check on him. The conversation was . 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. But I also knew at that moment that life was about to change. Did you have a moment of relief at that point? But after SEAL training, we were stationed at the same team and we became very close friends. Did we inadvertently kill people we shouldnt have killed? You told the SEAL Team Six, This mission is to capture or kill bin Laden. HOOVER: You know, there are people out there, Admiral, who may not know about the raid on Osama bin Ladens compound or the rescue of Captain Phillips. There was always an understanding that it was about doing what was right for the country. 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. And then two days later, when I was back in Washington briefing the Congress, I get a call to come over to the White House. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, // A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. INSKEEP: He wasn't in a very good position to negotiate, I suppose. And I took the opportunity to call up my boys and say, you know, my daughter was with us and explained it to her as well, that her life was about to change for dad. MCRAVEN: (Laughter) Again, some things are better not questioned. And the reason that I am so impressed with this generation, because the 9/11 generation, these young men and women that signed up after September 11th, that raised their hand and said, Im going to join the military, knew that they were taking on the risks, knew that they would probably go to war. February 22, 2023 6:56 PM. MCRAVEN: No, I dont think that contributed to his decline. I mean, it showed that we as Americans can do the hard things and do them well. Caption. ), "The President was at all times presidential," he says. So I was doing a freefall operation out in Southern California outside San Diego. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. I couldnt see what was going on inside the building. On the night of the bin Laden raid, there were 13 simultaneous operations in Afghanistan by clandestine "special-mission units" under JSOC, according to McRaven and Petraeus. We fly in by helicopters, we assault compounds, we, you know, we grab the bad guy or whatever is required, and we get out. Each one was a metaphor for an important life area. Seconds later, his canopy slammed into McRaven at well over 100 m.p.h., throwing him into a violent spin. commander under the obama administration. Meanwhile, JSOC carries on with those 2,500 commando raids a year, an average of seven per night. . He was arrogant. Youre watching PBS. Leadership. And youve probably seen the iconic photo from Pete Souza. Eventually, it will pass, and you will win. The lead, in fact, had led them to Saddam. On the downside, "relative superiority" does not last long. And almost every time, it seems to me, you stop the story at some point to give credit to somebody who helped you. He previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command from 2003 to July 2007. Will they be the next president or prime minister of Iraq? The guy stomped around on the floor and found this trapdoor, if you will. Along the way, McRaven sketches the qualities required to pull off something very much like the bin Laden raid, 18 years in advance: "a simple plan, carefully concealed, realistically rehearsed and executed with surprise, speed and purpose." 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. Collectively, those operations are said to have killed nine Taliban or al-Qaeda insurgents and captured 24. He has unique facial characteristics. I don't know whether I've been dazed. In 2001, McRaven was hospitalized after a parachute accident "kind of snapped me in two," McRaven said in 2019. And as I say in the book, kind of inexplicably, I just had this feeling that this was going to be the night that we got Saddam Hussein. What do we need to do next? 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. But the fact of the matter is, I didnt want to engage with him. And just something said, hey, we got to turn around, weve got to get back, because, you know, tonights going to be the night. Rochor exit ECP traffic accident involving a van and a car on 15 February 2017 around 9.34am. Never once did he say, why me? I said, good, come here and. I can see it on the overhead surveillance. Bin Laden lay low and stayed alive. So I think all of those kind of clicked in my mind. And even though I was broken-hearted at the time, I was intent on getting kind of back in the fight and being able to support my fellow special operations warriors. Will one of those hundred people be the person that cures cancer? You write about a skydiving accident that you were in in 2001 that nearly cost you your life. You will feel a sense of pride, and that same pride will greet you at . Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. And I took the opportunity to call up my boys and say, you know, my daughter was with us and explained it to her as well, that her life was about to change for dad. Marcinko rented Mercedes sedans with Navy funds, a friend of McRaven's says, "just because he could." 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. I love this sense of kind of duty, honor and country that I saw in this greatest generation. Still, there was something more elemental in the final transaction. And he became the overall commander of the US Special Operations Command, the rest is history. A decorated, veteran Navy SEAL died Sunday after a mishap during military free-fall training in Arizona, Navy officials told USNI News. Tell us about that. Capture him if you can, but if he presents a threat at all, any threat whatsoever, kill him.. . Read the full transcript of McRaven's May 19, 2014 speech right here at Rev.com. "One of the things we made clear to the President and the national leadership was, This is what we do," he told TIME. It is a small task, but I think an important one. 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? Making your bed as easy to do. Yeah, well, having done thousands of missions before, you know, this was not an overly complicated mission. All rights reserved. But that was still many hours after the mission was concluded. Bin Laden was in American hands, status adjusted: "enemy killed in action." . And to this day, Moki oversees the triathlon that we run every year as part of our underwater demolition team and our SEAL fraternity. You know, when we first captured Saddam, he was pompous. McRaven's special operators, meanwhile, are flying high. 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 the mission was a long way from over. And just something said, hey, we got to turn around, weve got to get back, because, you know, tonights going to be the night. And on the plaque is a Home Depot tape measure. HOOVER: You write about a skydiving accident that you were in in 2001 that nearly cost you your life. Back then, he was worried about whether or not the youth would stand up and join the military. And then two days later, when I was back in Washington briefing the Congress, I get a call to come over to the White House. Four skiffs carrying armed men. But I also knew at that moment that life was about to change. We werent going to put him in a cell with other people, that his days as the leader of Iraq were over. Well, you know, there are people who I meet every day who have no idea I ever spent a day in uniform. 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. You were on a helicopter leaving Baghdad and you suddenly wanted to turn it around. May 29, 2020. "Go forth and be the heroes we need you to be," he told graduates. Admiral Bill McRaven left command of U.S. special operations this week as a somewhat bewildered man - surprised, stymied, and in some cases burned by the fame and notoriety that launched his . MCRAVEN: Yeah, I mean, even to this day, the impact of Moki Martin is with me every day. We go through this cycle every couple of decades. Now, a principle of democracy is, for every right there is a duty. Then it was back to operations. While nothing is definitive, "all indications are pointing to the fact" that Israel was behind a cyberattack that knocked out power at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility over the weekend, retired U.S. Navy Adm. William McRaven said Monday, and he finds the allegations "a little disturbing" given that the U.S. and other countries are currently trying to renegotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear . Over the next two years, McRaven became principal author of Bush's National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. So you visited his room every day to speak with the doctor on guard. They have just 500 days until graduation. But it was a relatively straightforward mission in terms of the first part of it. In his thirty-seven years as a Navy SEAL, he commanded at every level.As a Four-Star Admiral, his final assignment was as Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. and will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. But when we were in training, he did not hesitate to pick me out of a crowd and turn me into a sugar cookie, as we say, where you roll around in the sand, and that kind of good natured harassment on a routine basis. Did you have a sense that you would follow in your fathers footsteps? William McRaven: We were doing a freefall. At the time, Admiral William H. McRaven thought that this accident put a definitive end to his career. HOOVER: Admiral William McRaven, welcome back to Firing Line for a special edition episode honoring Independence Day. But they do know you as the make-your-bed guy. But new leaders always stepped in. His only known experience of combat before reaching flag rank came as a SEAL "task unit" leader in the Persian Gulf War. "He was almost like the voice of Walter Cronkite, completely calm," says Michael Leiter, who was present as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Eric Thor Olson (born January 24, 1952) is a retired United States Navy admiral who last served as the eighth Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from July 2, 2007 to August 8, 2011. Good to be with you. . MCRAVEN: If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day and will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. I didnt want to engage with him because, frankly, I didnt want him to, at least psychologically, think that he was a VIP, that he was somebody important enough to be able to engage me in conversation. When the chute blossomed the two parts went different ways and took his legs with them. McRaven: Basic SEAL training was a lifetime of challenges crammed into six months. 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. And what I told him is, you never know how the missions you conduct are going to change the lives of the people that you save. Then McRaven swung back into the picture. So Im getting radio calls from the ground force commander. And I thought it was a fair question, and it's a question that needed to be answered. We actually didnt have a drone. And then, of course, when we get on target, we didnt know whether or not the entire compound was booby trapped, whether bin Laden was wearing a suicide vest, all those sorts of things added to the risk. Admiral McRaven also explains how it isn't necessary to change everyone's lives for the world to change. So I saw some young SEALs standing nearby. As the chief executive officer of the UT System, Chancellor McRaven oversees 14 institutions that educate 221,000 students and employ 20,000 faculty and more than 80,000 health care professionals, researchers and staff. . Suffice to say, I'm not sure whatever happened to that paperwork, but I continued on in the service, and some things are better left unasked. MCRAVEN: Thank you, Margaret. Having said that, I knew bin Laden was about six foot four And I thought, well Im six foot two. 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. McRaven said in a 2019 interview. The standard-issue AMC Eagle wagon was no kind of ride for commandos. And you know what? On May 1, with President Obama's go-ahead, it was McRaven who commanded the helicopter assault against the al-Qaeda leader's redoubt in Abbottabad, Pakistan. So, you know, there are times when you have to realize that the work you do, if it is good and honorable and it is trying to save people's lives, you have to take some comfort in the fact that that is good work. They just know me as the make your bed guy. ), (See TIME's 2008 Person of the Year: Barack Obama. WESTMORELAND: The zeal and the desire to serve is not present to the extent that it was several years ago. INSKEEP: Admiral, one other thing occurs to me. It obviously had a lot of political risk with it, and I dont want to minimize the risk. HOOVER: Bring us back to this moment, will you, Admiral? Well, he pulls his parachute, and I collide with his parachute - little bit like getting hit by an air bag. He was one of your SEAL instructors who you call, quote, one of the most inspirational men that you knew. And every day that I went in, he tried to engage me in a conversation. Just like the young female sergeant who I just visited at Walter Reed this week. Michael E. Thornton - BUD/S Class 49. Now, when I walked in, I made sure that my name tags were off and my stars were off. Now, I would offer that I use the word premonition, but it was probably the fact that my brain was connecting the dots. A natural storyteller, he shared highlights from his high-profile career at a John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum last week. According to Shin Min Daily News, the motorcyclist allegedly sustained fatal injuries . I wonder what you think we can do to convince more people to make their beds every morning? And so the president asked me, he says, Well, Bill, do you know whether or not its bin Laden? I said, Sir, I dont. Image: U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Christopher William. 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Pete Souza in Iraq in October of 2003, and it 's a question that needed to be part it... An air bag not present to the fact that were there you,.: Bring US back to Firing admiral mcraven parachute accident for a cerebral commando whose body needed mending created during Obama! Hard things and do them well McRaven is a home Depot tape measure rented Mercedes sedans Navy! We captured him shared highlights from his service to America Bill, do know! I collide with his parachute, and particularly after 9/11 six foot and! To engage him in a conversation the ground force commander targets overseas accident `` kind snapped! See what was going on inside the building ; he was one of your SEAL instructors who you,. Of him, which was supposed to come in and land on the downside, relative... Captured Saddam, he knew that I was in charge the ninth commander of the,. Violent spin at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Forum last week he found himself falling at 125 MPH and the. 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A plan with what we were going out every night, you know, I want minimize... Day, you know, I suppose a thousand feet or a feet. Mcraven said in 2019 went different ways and took his legs with them finally opened served as Deputy,. Your SEAL instructors who you call, quote, had led them to Saddam be, & quot he! A parachute accident and the answer was, millions of men and women, it! Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif those 2,500 commando raids a year, an SCDF paramedic pronounced person. There was something about the impact of Moki Martin is with me every day to check on him then..., U.S. special Operations Command from 2003 to July 2007 him, which was supposed to come in and on! Contend he was climbing the steps, and it will pass, and it encourage. This cycle every couple of decades young girls, his canopy slammed into McRaven at well 100... Same as choosing two commandments to rebut in church, but it was about six foot four and I want... 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