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When Turbine 33 was shot down, they received orders to fly back along with Turbine 34 and the Apache gunships until the next phase of the mission was developed. Grahams aircraft pulled off to the right to circle around and insert their payload of SEALs after Turbine 33 moved off to allow their entrance. Two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the film Black Hawk Down was released, telling the story of U.S. Army Rangers who fought in the Battle of Mogadishu and helped rescue the crew of a downed Black Hawk helicopter. Showing Editorial results for operation redwing. archive.org 244 140 comments Best Add a Comment Al and Kip were on the ramp when the RPG impacted, Smith, who witnessed the horrific event, recalled. Running around in the woods is kind of cool once in awhile, camping is kind of cool once in awhile. Since the SEALs werent sure where exactly the compromised team was located, Kristensen believed inserting at a position of tactical advantage was the best option. He and Eicher hurried back to the operations center. As he approached the insertion site, Brady could see lights dotting the mountains below through his night-vision goggles. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. Steven K. Young, courtesy of DVIDS. Operation Red Wings (often incorrectly referred to as Operation Redwing or Operation Red Wing ), [13] informally referred to as the Battle of Abbas Ghar, was a joint military operation conducted by the United States in the Pech District of Kunar Province, Afghanistan. A lot of guys really wanted to stay on the mission, recalled Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tim Graham, one of the pilots on Turbine 34. Coffee Or Die "I will never leave a fallen comrade, it read. When I met him there on the ground in Jalalabad, Graham was fairly shaken to say the least, Brady recalled. Brady had no way of knowing at the time, but it would be the last time anyone at Bagram would ever see three of those four Americans alive. OPERATION RED WINGS began with an insertion of a four-man NAVSOF reconnaissance and surveillance team near the summit of Sawtalo Sar late in the night of 27 June 2005. They finalized plans and . He could relate to the most junior guy and to a general or admiral," Paro said. He and some of his fellow Night Stalkers felt the SEALs plan was too risky. Commander Erik Kristensen died trying to rescue his fellow SEALs in the Operation Red Wings disaster 10 years ago. He was a bit of a chucklehead. Navy SEAL Lt. The flight crew kicked out the ropes, and the SEALs fast-roped down. SEALs: Who's Had More Impact in the War on Terror? of 1 It didnt look like there was any way anybody could have survived, Graham said. Hovering for that long over the same spot would burn the LZ and likely alert the enemy to the SR teams presence.. Erik Kristensen in the command operations center. Standing 6' 4", he is remembered as gregarious and embraced a Jesuit ideal by being a "Man For Others," friends and family said. Grahams aircraft pulled off to the right to circle around and insert their payload of SEALs after Turbine 33 moved off to allow their entrance. We would have to drop a man down with a hoist in that hole of an LZ, Brady explained. Part of. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matt Rogie arrived in Bagram just before the Night Stalkers came back after dropping off the recovery force. Ed Kristensen, quiet and soft-spoken, said he doesn't need to see that mountainside in Afghanistan to ease his grief, because he knows that Erik "was doing what he wanted to do. The Night Stalkers job was to insert the SEALs on a ridgeline where the terrain left few options for landing zones. They were exhausted and angry with the mistake the US Air Force had made when they allowed Space-A seating to be filled on this leg of the flight home. . During the flight, the Night Stalkers passed two Apache gunships whose pilots asked if they wanted to slow down so they could provide surveillance and support for the operation. Commander Erik Kristensen was a senior commander in SEAL Team 10 in Afghanistan and didnt go on as many ground combat operations as those in the platoons under him. Physically, emotionally. He served as a surface warfare officer at sea before finally making it through BUD/S at 26, considered an "old man" and just under the wire of the SEALs' age cut-off. -- When Ed and Suzanne . Brady rushed to the operations center where Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Eicher was telling the task force commander that they should wait until dark before sending the QRF because going in during daylight would subject them to more danger. That mission, as fate would have it, would see Brooks and his unit tasked with rescuing Luttrell and recovering the 11 Navy SEALs and eight Army Nightstalkers killed in the special operations mission in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Arriving at the insertion point on the ridgeline, Turbine 33 descended into a hover. The surviving SEAL, Marcus Luttrell, ended up being recovered by a platoon from the 2nd Ranger Battalion that was wrapping up its rotation.. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. His creative outlets include Skovlund Photography and Concentrated Emotion, where he publishes poetry focused on his life experiences. Brady said he estimated the AC-130 would only be off station briefly and that the crew had reported no hostile activity on the LZ. Flying toward Jalalabad en route to the last known position of the SEALs, they received word from Bagram on the number of men they could have on board each aircraft and still fly at the extreme elevation. He could play the trumpet, he could sing, he could write," recalled his first cousin, Jennifer Casey. Brooks said he felt inspired to record his first-hand account of the mission to rescue Luttrell because most war stories are about the fighting and the glorious victory of battle, but I think this kind of tells another side of war that kind of really doesnt get much attention., This was ugly, this was an ugly event, Brooks added. As the task unit commander for SEAL Team 10, in which Murphy served, Kristensen decided to personally lead an assault force by helicopter to his last known location, where the younger officer had been tasked with finding a militia leader named Ahmad Shah. Once on the ground, they started their search for casualties, potential survivors, and sensitive equipment. As Brady climbed into Turbine 33 and started strapping in, Reich tapped his shoulder and asked what the plan was. Not wanting to burn valuable time waiting on approval from the task force commander for the audible, the Night Stalkers continued on without the Apaches. 8 to 12 estimated Taliban walked up the mountain and capitalised on every poor decision the seals made. The Burma Campaign is an often overlooked front Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! At Jalalabad, Brady was approached by SEAL Commander Erik Kristensen in the command operations center. He walked back to the operations center to monitor the situation and provide support from Bagram. Photo courtesy of Steven Smith. The odds of enemy fighters hearing the echo of the dual-rotor helicopter increased every second it remained in a hover. Primary and secondary zones appear to be clear of potential threats.. A photo of a Rangers gloved hand holding the dogtag imprinted with the Warrior Ethos sits framed in the Kristensens home, but until this month, his parents had never seen the rest of the crash site photos. As with the specifics of the planning of this phase, 2/3 played no direct role in command and control, as this was the "SOF supported" portion of the operation. Operation Red Wings was a pyrrhic victory U.S. victory. Eicher looked at Brady and said, Nah, they probably put down for maintenance.. The order was given to again abort the mission and return to base. Photo by Cpl. He had a look of competence and professionalism like he was ready to live out the Night Stalker creed, Brady said. We reverence the ultimate sacrifice they made while engaged in that fierce firefight on the global war's front lines on terrorism (GWOT). A California Marine remains in the brig, accused of threatening to chop up his wife with a machete. Kristensen agreed with Bradys evaluation, and after the SR team radioed that they would be laying down for the day in their hide site, Brady and Kristensen called it a night. "But he was on the helo," his mother told ABC News, as the family marked the tenth anniversary of Erik's death in Operation Red Wings last weekend. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. The two Apaches had arrived on station, drawing heavy gunfire, but nonetheless giving Turbine 34s crew back in the operations center a good look at the crash site. Disappointed, Brady followed the order and got off the aircraft. From left to right, sonar technician (surface) Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, of Cupertino, California; Senior Chief information systems technician Daniel R. Healy, of Exeter, New Hampshire; quartermaster Petty Officer 2nd Class James Suh, of Deerfield Beach, Florida; hospital corpsman Petty Officer 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell; machinists mate Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric S. Patton, of Boulder City, Nevada; and Lt. Michael P. Murphy, of Patchogue, New York With the exception of Luttrell, all were killed June 28, 2005, by enemy forces while supporting Operation Red Wing. Reich, who had been designated mission commander for phase two of the operation, felt the QRF was his responsibility. military operation during the War in Afghanistan. Based on the non-fiction book by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson, the acclaimed, 2013 American biographical military action movie Lone Survivor dramatizes the US Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings which took place on Jun. Its not glamorous. That meant if the SEALs got into trouble, extraction would potentially require the use of a hoist to pull the SEALs out, which was a time-consuming and dangerous option. Back at Jalalabad, the commanders decided they had no choice but to wait for better weather and try again the next night. Brady told his operations NCO to give him a minute to gather more information to get the next plan of action in place. The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. Tasked with inserting the SEAL special reconnaissance (SR) team deep into enemy territory in unforgiving terrain, Brady knew the SEALs Lt. Michael Murphy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny Dietz, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson had a difficult mission ahead. battle. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. His parents buried Kristensen -- wearing his beloved Birkenstocks -- at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, which his father had also graduated from three decades earlier. The two Chinooks Turbine 33 and Turbine 34 were packed with 16 SEALs each, plus the Night Stalker pilots and crewman. You hope they could. 2023 Getty Images. Im glad youre here because I am spent, Eicher told him. There were 100-foot-tall trees on all sides of the Chinook, and they were so close the pilots had no room to sway as they descended. Search instead in. He was well-read and intelligent, into music and literature. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre called Night Stalkers for a reason. Photo courtesy of Steven Smith. Search for jobs related to Operation red wings crash site photos or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 21m+ jobs. Steven Smith, the flight engineer in the rear of Turbine 34, saw a smoke trail emerge from the tree line directly toward Turbine 33. "Erik was funny as hell, always one of the boys," Marcus Luttrell wrote in his book "Lone Survivor.. Im glad youre a thinking air mission commander and not simply one that takes a black-and-white view of the situation.. Brooks was an incoming freshman at the University of Arizona when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners to carry out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Soldiers sit on the rear deck of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter while flying over southern Afghanistan Oct. 19, 2010. Arriving on site, the task force members fast-roped in. They ascended and flew back to Jalalabad to link up with another group of SEALs and stand by as a quick-reaction force (QRF) in case the SR team was compromised. After refueling, he continued on to Jalalabad and offloaded. Seth Rosenberg, courtesy of DVIDS. The sun was fading behind Afghanistans Hindu Kush mountains the evening of June 27, 2005, as a team of four U.S. Navy SEALs walked up the ramp and into the back of U.S. Army Captain Matt Bradys MH-47 Chinook helicopter on Bagram Air Base. Not wanting to leave their brothers, the SEAL team commander hatched a plan with the Night Stalkers to insert higher up on the ridgeline and fight their way down to the crash site so Turbine 34 could fly back to Jalalabad, pick up as many SEALs as he could, and fly back to reinforce the eight SEALs. Graham reported the situation back to Bagram. Children of varying ages ran around the coffins, playing and yelling, not yet old enough to understand the sacrifices these warriors made. Good, Brady recalled Reich saying. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. Flying toward Jalalabad en route to the last known position of the SEALs, they received word from Bagram on the number of men they could have on board each aircraft and still fly at the extreme elevation. One by one, the Rangers and SEALs loaded the fallen onto the Chinooks and headed back to Bagram with their brothers. Navy SEALs Conduct an Impressive Capabilities Exercise Here's Rangers vs. The Night Stalkers job was to insert the SEALs on a ridgeline where the terrain left few options for landing zones. Assigned to replace Eicher as senior flight lead, he was trying to learn as much as he could before hopping into an aircraft and joining the mission. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. He walked out of the operations center and found Eicher. Thats when Staff Sgt. But seeing the site, even so long after, was helpful. Kristensen and his SEALs were waiting on the ramp, standing in a circle. As they were turning around, Graham saw five Black hawks performing a star-cluster evasion. It just didnt look good.. When you hear all four directions, everyone gets pretty tense, Brady said. Not really sure who they were, but there was more activity than I expected.. WARNING: NSFW footage of dead Navy SEALS and gore. Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan by Dr. Tony Brooks provides the first-hand account of Brooks very first mission as a Ranger. I will never leave a fallen comrade. The determination to not leave their fallen comrades was true of all 16 in Turbine 33 -- and was a promise fulfilled by their Jesuit-taught commander, Kristensen. Our plan of action is for you to get us to the high ground as close to the troops in contact as you can, and were going to fight our way downhill, Brady recalled Kristensen saying. That meant if the SEALs got into trouble, extraction would potentially require the use of a hoist to pull the SEALs out, which was a time-consuming and dangerous option. My finger . Its earned. (Diversion Books image/Released). He walked back to the operations center to monitor the situation and provide support from Bagram. As the cases were being loaded, a SEAL ran up to the new SEAL commander and placed a written note in his hand. Kristensens cousins led the Pledge of Allegiance and a former SEAL who served with the mourned guest of honor strummed a guitar in sing-alongs. He told Reich pushing the mission back would allow Shah to continue his terrorist activities, likely leading to the death of locals and U.S. military in the area. Weve got two military-aged males, possibly armed, on the northernmost LZ, the crew reported. In one passage, he wrote, At any moment, I expected the crack of a rifle. Theyve got their own quick reaction force. The projectile flew through the open ramp of the Chinook and exploded inside. There were 100-foot-tall trees on all sides of the Chinook, and they were so close the pilots had no room to sway as they descended. The C-17 closed its ramp and taxied down the runway and took flight. "Someone said Erik wouldn't be on the helo, recalled his mother, who goes by Sam. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. "We're so over this. Throughout the mission, as his unit patrolled along exposed mountainsides and ravines, Brooks described the feeling that he and his unit could be ambushed at any moment. Soon they learned that their son Erik was among those killed in action. Arriving at the insertion point on the ridgeline, Turbine 33 descended into a hover. I could see the grass being blown by the rotor wash and all the remains bags being lined up in a row 16 of them, Rogie recalled. When you hear all four directions, everyone gets pretty tense, Brady said. There was still some smoldering from the crash site, and I could see the glow from the heat through my night vision.. "Hoisting a man at that altitude on that kind of terrain at night is a dangerous operation. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and other Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) personnel loaded onto five Chinooks. Pastors from the task force lead the caskets onto the C-17. Marcus Luttrell, to get out of that thing alive, its a miracle, I mean I dont know how, Brooks said. That's how I remember him.". A down to earth, happy-go-lucky guy," Roth said. Rare footage of the disastrous Operation Red Wings from the Taliban PoV. Turbine 34 started taking heavy gunfire from unseen fighters below. Primary and secondary zones appear to be clear of potential threats.. rested on the cold magazine well of my M4 carbine. . The news about the chopper crash came while the Kristensens were, coincidentally, attending the retirement of a Navy diver in Norfolk who had served under Ed during the recovery of the passenger jet in the ocean. Our plan of action is for you to get us to the high ground as close to the troops in contact as you can, and were going to fight our way downhill, Brady recalled Kristensen saying. There were no survivors. The flight back was pure silence. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell was the only survivor from the initial four-man SEAL reconnaissance element. His vibrant personality appeared to live on as a powerful presence as his friends convened for the ninth time since 2005 on Saturday, shouting to be heard over the din of the downpour and laughing louder than the rain. Rogie met Eicher on the flight line when he landed after returning from the mission. They finalized plans and sent the Night Stalkers on their way. Brady had no way of knowing at the time, but it would be the last time anyone at Bagram would ever see three of those four Americans alive. It just didnt look good.. The rescue operation, known as Operation Red Wings II, continued for weeks. He walked out of the operations center and found Eicher. The projectile flew through the open ramp of the Chinook and exploded inside. When we landed, we just saw a row of Night Stalkers and Rangers and SEALs for as far as I could see, lined up and ready to help transport the remains off and take them to the mortuary affairs section, Brady recalled. At Jalalabad, Brady was approached by SEAL Cmdr. Three war-weary escorts one of them a SEAL and the other two Night Stalkers Daniel Bell and Chris Eicher sat off to the sides, grimly staring off into space. To cope with the catastrophic loss, she long ago befriended other moms who lost children inside the Pentagon on 9/11 and in Operation Red Wings, and a few years ago began volunteering to be an "Arlington Lady," a liaison to families of the fallen during Navy funerals at Arlington National Cemetery near their home on Capitol Hill. When the crew chief tried to pull the rope up, they found it was entangled below. The task force commander denied the request and ordered Turbine 34 back to Jalalabad. He was wickedly smart, but more on the creative side. On April 6, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed when their chopper went down in a sandstorm. Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. The SEAL commander broke down and cried at the desperately needed positive news. Hoisting a man at that altitude on that kind of terrain at night is a dangerous operation. He rowed crew, played lacrosse and majored in English and French at the Naval Academy and got a master's degree at progressive St. John's College in Annapolis. Brady said he estimated the AC-130 would only be off station briefly and that the crew had reported no hostile activity on the LZ. I will never quit. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Approaching the insertion point, the pilots flared the Chinook and came into a hover. Smiling as he looked over the crowd and placing his hand on the shoulder of a first-time E-Day guest, his father Ed said, "He's amongst us all, right here. The plan was for the SEALs to fast-rope onto the ridgeline above the original LZ. "It is very redeeming thing. Graham watched from Turbine 34 as Turbine 33s ramp lowered and the crewman walked onto it to observe the landing zone below. The pilots descended to the point where the Chinooks front rotor was just a few feet away from the mountainside with tall trees all around the aircraft. Luttrell wrote of his own experience surviving through Operation Red Wings, a 2005 special operations mission in Afghanistan to stop Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. "Because he entered the teams a little later than his peers, he was a strong and humble leader. Brady said he pleaded with Reich to at least let him come with and act as an extra gun and set of eyes. The mission was to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban commander. The sun was fading behind Afghanistans Hindu Kush mountains the evening of June 27, 2005, as a team of four US Navy SEALs walked up the ramp and into the back of US Army Capt. Follow @CoffeeOrDieMag on Twitter. Jarret Roth, a Naval Academy buddy, said Kristensen was excited about joining his girlfriend in Paris in 2006 after his Afghanistan deployment for an Olmsted Foundation Scholarship to attend the Institute for Political Studies and was thinking beyond his time in the SEAL teams. Showing Editorial results for operation redwing. (Dr. Tony Books photo/Released) Luttrell wrote of his own experience surviving through Operation Red Wings, a 2005 special operations mission in Afghanistan to stop Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. Photo by Spc. The odds of enemy fighters hearing the echo of the dual-rotor helicopter increased every second it remained in a hover. Smith and the others in Turbine 34 watched helplessly as the Chinook full of their fellow aviators their friends crashed into the mountain and erupted in a ball of flames. The members of the task force said their final goodbyes. Turbine 34 started taking heavy gunfire from unseen fighters below. Bradys maintenance officer woke him and said the SR team was in trouble and the Night Stalkers had orders to spin up and pull the team out. Thats not possible, Brady replied, confused at how quickly the SEALs had become compromised. Finally, 150 U.S. Marines would come in to establish blocking positions for the SEALs assault on Shahs compound. At the Bagram operations center, Maj. Stephen Reich approached Brady urgently, asking why he didnt follow abort criteria and fly back with the SR team after the AC-130 had to leave the airspace. Turbine 33s nose dipped down, and the aircraft slid to the left, appearing to almost recover. Back at Jalalabad, the commanders decided they had no choice but to wait for better weather and try again the next night. Reich, who had been designated mission commander for phase two of the operation, felt the QRF was his responsibility. For the Night Stalkers of the famed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the war on terror continued. It wasnt an ideal insertion, but the Night Stalkers had accomplished their mission. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Photo courtesy of Daniel Bell. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and other Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) personnel loaded onto five Chinooks. 12 Operation Redwing Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images EDITORIAL All Sports News Archival Browse 12 operation redwing stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Kristensen attended Washington's Gonzaga College High School. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. They finalized plans and sent the Night Stalkers on their way. In an interview with American Military News, Brooks said the motto leave no man behind was drilled into our heads as U.S. Army Rangers and his first real mission instilled the importance of that motto as he and his unit risked their own lives trying to find the members of Operation Red Wings. It doesnt make sense., But he knew and lived by the Night Stalkers promise to every customer: If we put you in, well stop at nothing to get you out even if its technically someone elses job.. Once on the ground, theyd have to pick up the rope, hook it to themselves, and get hoisted back up. The birds call sign was Turbine 33. Then the realization hit: He was now in charge. Ariann Harrison was an old friend in Washington who said he was sweetly absent-minded, once showing up for a swing dance class in flip-flops and yet "he made it work." "Erik was just his own man. And we experienced that on that mountain.. As Brady approached the Chinook hed be flying, he noticed the tail number: 1-4-6. "He was a very a selfless guy.". The crash site of Turbine 33. The entire operation followed Project 56 and preceded Project 57.The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear weapons.Also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for . The Chinooks took off toward the mountains once again, but as they climbed in elevation, severe weather rolled in. As a pilot in the 160th, Brady was the air mission commander for the operation. Im glad youre a thinking air mission commander and not simply one that takes a black-and-white view of the situation.. Theyve got their own quick-reaction force. He didnt think much of it at the time, but many years later he found out a new platoon leader came into their company within the 160th and was responsible for those Black Hawks. Photo courtesy of Daniel Bell. Almost every variety of special operations troops in the US military inventory participated in a coordinated effort through some of Afghanistans most dangerous and austere terrain during the search for their brothers both alive and fallen. Cummings, Michael "Multiple Blogs on Operation Red Wings . Doc's platoon was alerted . The fallen warriors were now on their way home. ", "I would've hated it if anyone had been killed on that recovery mission," she said after viewing the grim scene the young paratroopers had to sift through in July 2005. As the lead aircraft descended, it became clear the LZ was on a steep slope of the mountain, making descent difficult due to the front rotors approaching the mountainside faster than the rear of the aircraft. The new mission, dubbed Operation Red Wings II, was to recover the fallen heroes and the lone survivor Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. Not really sure who they were, but there was more activity than I expected., Brady rushed to the operations center where Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Eicher was telling the task force commander that they should wait until dark before sending the QRF because going in during daylight would subject them to more danger. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. Graham made a stop at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point just outside of Jalalabad. Its extremely rare to have something that high-profile as your first mission, I recognize that, Brooks said. Hoisting a man at that altitude on that kind of terrain at night is a dangerous operation. The task force commander debriefed the men and then focused on planning their next steps. As the Night Stalkers slept, the SR team was discovered by a numerically superior force of enemy fighters. Each of the five Black Hawks was loaded with Marines and had flown out thinking they were the QRF for the SR team. After landing, Graham saw the same five Black Hawks that had peeled off earlier parked on the runway. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. The MH-47 was escorted by heavily-armored, Army attack helicopters. Photo courtesy of Daniel Bell. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. He asked the AC-130 crew for one final report on the four potential landing zones the Night Stalkers had identified for the mission. Back in the operations center, leaders were busy trying to figure out the SEALs last known location and calculating how many soldiers each helicopter could fly with. The 160th SOAR (A) Night stalkers are the only unit in the world to operate this helicopter (Photo: U.S. Army) A source from the Navy's special operations community described the reaction as "Shock and disbelief.