ADM McRaven Told To "Get The Hell Out Of The Media"

Strong words from GEN Vaught(Ret.)

Special Operations Commander Adm. Bill McRaven was confronted by retired Lt. Gen. James Vaught, who said he didn’t understand why the recent raids by the Navy SEALs, such as the one to kill Osama bin Laden or to rescue U.S. hostage Jessica Buchanan, were all over the media.

“Since the time when your wonderful team went and drug bin Laden out and got rid of him, and more recently when you went down and rescued the group in Somalia, or wherever the hell they were, they’ve been splashing all of this all over the media,” Vaught, 85, said. “I flat don’t understand that.

“Now back when my special operators extracted Saddam [Hussein] from the hole, we didn’t say one damn word about it,” he continued. “We turned him over to the local commander and told him to claim that his forces drug him out of the hole, and he did so. And we just faded away and kept our mouth shut.

“Now I’m going to tell you, one of these days, if you keep publishing how you do this, the other guy’s going to be there ready for you, and you’re going to fly in and he’s going to shoot down every damn helicopter and kill every one of your SEALs. Now, watch it happen. Mark my words. Get the hell out of the media,” he concluded, as laughter broke out at a meeting of the National Defense Industrial Association in Washington, D.C.

Rest of the article here: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politic...der-advised-to-get-the-hell-out-of-the-media/

Wow. Good to see that Gen Vaughn took the quiet professional part seriously.

On the same token the Administration has a lot to do with the media frenzy, anything for good PR and all that.

It does seem that the President draws more attention to these guys than anybody else. I guess the General does not see it that way though. I will defer to him as he would know far better than me.

The article lists him as being the first CO of Delta(which I always thought was Beckwith), so perhaps he meant in that sense?

Spotlights = Congressional dollars. He's using survival skills.

I agree. I also think the current administration is more to blame for the media spotlight than ADM McRaven. What struck me most about the article was that I don't recall ever seeing a former JSOC guy publicly call out another JSOC guy like this.

I agree in part...

The fact that these individuals were captured/killed should have been released to the public. The 5W's surrounding the events should be close hold and the people releasing the info should be tried for treason.

Then again national security isnt a punch line or election tool for me...

?? I thought he was a BG or MG when Delta formed.
Can't remember if he ran Son Tay or the Iran Rescue Mission?

Have to disagree with you.

No, it isnt a secret that there are guys waiting to turn someone's day bad. However it matters none that the were NSW, SF, Rangers, or the Boy Scouts. They know it was Americans and thats really all that matters. Guy's identities are the issue here...

I mean come on, it is also not a secret we have intelligence personnel in other countries but we shouldnt be talking about the 5Ws surrounding that either.

The more we fee the public the more they believe its their "right" to know more.

Crip

He was the commander of the Iran Rescue Mission. From his bio on the Citadel's Distinguished Alumni list: Former Commanding General combined Korean/U.S. Forces, Korea and Task Force Commander of the 1980 Iranian hostage rescue mission. He has played a prominent role in the formation of post-Vietnam US Special Operations force structure and has courageously served his country as a combat veteran in three wars.

The article I linked at the beginning of this thread referenced him as the first CO of Delta but I could not find corroboration for that claim.

There would have been nothing wrong with saying that U.S. special operations forces killed bin laden, rescued hostages in africa, etc. We don't need to get into specific units, because once specific units are known, the bad guys can target the home base. It is very open source material where each and every Ranger battalion, SF Group, SEAL team, and the SMU's are stationed at. If the details of "who dun it" are left at US SOF, then they obviously cannot target everyone.

"Since the time when your wonderful team went and drug bin Laden out and got rid of him, and more recently when you went down and rescued the group in Somalia, or wherever the hell they were, they've been splashing all of this all over the media," Vaught, 85, said. "I flat don't understand that.

"Now back when my special operators extracted Saddam [Hussein] from the hole, we didn't say one damn word about it," he continued. "We turned him over to the local commander and told him to claim that his forces drug him out of the hole, and he did so. And we just faded away and kept our mouth shut." LT. GEN (R) James Vaught...Reminds me of "Loose Lips Sink Ships" and that caution about "history repeating itself." Control the narrative, SOF; do not become a causality of it!

I think LTG Vaught is out of line, as "his" Special Operators did not get Saddam; he is retired and those guys belong to another Commander. I doubt Navy PAO is leaking the info and blame the White House. For me these links are no different then the White House letting the world know JSOC was going into Somalia, and telling the press which plane they would be on.

There is one group that has remained true to its desire to remain unrecognized. The Silent Service. I don't think a group has been any better at keeping what it does quiet. I think people need to know the results of high profile missions and kills not the HOW.
Bill

Here's a sort of follow-up article from CBS with a short (6:00) video attached. It talks about the conflict between the SOF guys wanting shit secret and the people who leak it. It does provide a cop-out by saying that the people who leak don't know better. From the article,
"What generates the kind of pressure that McRaven faced Tuesday is when classified information is leaked by congressional or White House staffers who can't tell which details are of tactical value, Miller said."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_...blic/?tag=morningFlexGridRight;flexGridModule

Agree or disagree with Vaught, he's earned the right to voice his opinion. The fact is he's no longer tied to an administration and voiced what many others are thinking and believe.

Nowadays, never let an opportunity with the media get in the way of something so trivial as National Security or the lives of those who may be on the line.........

This administration has had the biggest bunch of big mouths who don't know how to keep their fat yaps shut, and still have access to classified information.

All I can say is that the way our popular culture deals with classified missions is utterly absurd. Consider:


"Global News Headline- Front Page: Top Secret Unit (Shhhhhh) Called SEAL Team 6 Carries Out Top Secret Mission that Nobody Knows About: Full Details Below"