Marcus luttrells accounts had various factual flaws. Example: he claimed there were about 200 tangos closing in on them. Post op investigation concluded the size to about 26. It was clear to a lot of people that his statements could not be corroborated.
They were given away because the chinooks carrying them could be heard easily by the local villagers. Not the goat herders like Marcus claimed. In fact, it was discovered that the tangos has started their ambush patrol long before the goat herders were caught by the seals. when you’re ambushed in such terrain, no matter how hard you’ve trained, there’s only so much you can do to protect yourself. Think about it. The worlds most elite operating unit, taken down by warlord militias. And in trying to rescue them another chinook with seals and airborne rescue SF went down. That was a clusterf*** of an operation. And it was just one case. There are quite a number of operations like that. The only reason this specific case gained such popularity was because of the Afghan local who protected him.
The main factor for SF around the world which makes them so special is the element of surprise. Once that’s gone, you’re like a well trained infantry man, albeit with better gear.
> Without a doubt the 200 tangos claim was bogus. Though with an elevation advantage + PKMs - they likely felt like far more than 30 combatants.
> Gulab (the guy who saved Luttrell) claimed they were ambushed as soon as they let the locals go; that timing cannot be corroborated. Real time was probably closer to an hour as per other accounts.
> Yes, SF guys are ultimately human; though if we're going to draw a parallel to India's case - it's even worse to lose SF guys in routine counter insurgency against Paki terrorists within your own territory after having prior info + a CI grid and everything else that entails on your side.
Very different from botching a difficult op (including infil + exfil) against a Taliban HVT in a hostile country.
> Regarding other Ops, if we're talking about the SEALs - I could find a total of 55 casualties over the last two decades in Afghanistan. I was aware of the detailed breakdown on 40 of those - 4 were in active combat (Neil Roberts @ Takur Ghar and the 3 who died in Op RW). 8 died in the helicopter shot down during Op Red Wings, 3 died in a Black Hawk crash in 2010, 25 went down in a Chinook shootdown from 2011. Don't know about the other 15.
But this figure includes anyone in *any* role/capacity with the SEALs. And regardless of whether they died in a vehicle accident, heli shootdown, active combat or something else.
As per the Navy SEAL foundation, the total list of casualties (again, any role/capacity and any circumstances) in all Ops across the globe since 2001 is 71. Any additional figures are welcome.
