SEAL Team 6 veteran Alex West pulled back the curtain on the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.
The al-Qaeda mastermind and chief was killed in a daring SEAL Team 6 raid deep into Pakistan in May 2011. A small commando element of DEVGRU flew into Pakistan on modified stealth helicopters to deliver justice for Americans and the world.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and national security team members receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the White House Situation Room on May 1, 2011, in Washington, D.C. (Pete Souza/The White House)
The mission nearly went sideways when one of the helicopters crashed while attempting to get guys on the ground. Fortunately, the 160th SOAR pilots were able to pin the tail on a wall, and the men got off to get the job done.
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After a couple different engagements throughout the area, the SEALs found Osama bin Laden on the third floor and took him out.
SEAL Team 6 member talks Osama bin Laden raid
Portrait of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in 2011 in a daring SEAL Team 6 raid in Pakistan. (Photo by Stephane Ruet/Sygma via Getty Images)
West, who had a distinguished career as a SEAL Team 6 operator, joined former Delta Force operator Brent Tucker on the Tier 1 podcast to break down the biggest mission of his career.
“Okay, boom the [breaching] charge goes. And then from there the rest of the guys came in. At that time, there was also another element that was taking down some other buildings. One of the [SEALs]…They got in a little gunfight. Got shot in his bolt cutters and fragged his traps a little bit. Then, kind of from there, the team went in. Took out [UBL’s] son. Took out the man,” West explained in a podcast released Monday.
The SEAL Team 6 veteran was also in the helicopter that crashed, and his adrenaline was pumping far too much for him to notice his injuries.
“At the time, I didn’t realize it. I had a couple herniated discs in my back, but so did a lot of guys from that. But my adrenaline was going. I had no idea,” the former DEVGRU operator further explained.
You can watch his comments in the video below starting around 1:40:00 in the video below, and let me know your thoughts at [email protected].
It’s fascinating that we’re nearly 15 years away from the night bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and stories about it simply never get it old.
Imagine the adrenaline rush the SEALs on the ground must have been feeling. The helicopters successfully evaded Pakistan’s layered air defenses, there was a crash immediately at UBL’s compound, guys were scrambling to get inside, Khalid bin Laden got melted in the stairwell and then the SEALs got bin Laden on the third deck.
I, personally, viewed it as the coolest Special Operations mission publicly known about, prior to the Maduro raid going down. The latter now holds the number one spot, but the bin Laden raid is still beyond legendary.
Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden is shown in an undated photo. On Oct. 10, 2001, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban lifted restrictions on Bin Laden, allowing him to conduct “Jihad,” or holy war, against Afghanistan’s enemies. (Getty Images)
Major props to everyone involved in the greatest manhunt in human history, and the SEALs who took care of business when it mattered most. Let me know your thoughts at [email protected].
