I will admit right up front that I am biased, having spent more time at DevGru than Jack Murphy spent in the military. That said I do take exception to your article “Next Time Send Delta or the Rangers”. I find it humorous that you choose to comment on it at all, never having been at a Tier 1 unit.
First I will give credit where credit is due. Delta is one of two (the other being DevGru) of the most hard core and prolific group of warriors ever assembled in the history of warfare. And Rangers are the premier Light Infantry unit in the world.
That said, let’s break things down to a digestible level. Ask your CAG friends about the highest profile Op they’ve done lately… and you’ll hear the crickets chirping loudly. It’s not because they are not talking about it, but because they are not being chosen to do them. And don’t even try and use the excuse that it was only because McRaven was running the show. There have been some other Ops (post Bin Laden) that were way more technical than the Bin Laden op and it was an Army General that chose our Navy element to do it.
The real answer is… It was, and still is, OUR time. Period.
As for the Rangers, and this goes for any battalion in the regiment, no General or President in his right mind would send in Rangers to do that job. Why? Because your previous unit’s average age is 21 with a dauntingly high turnover rate. And your most elite unit still has brand new “meats” that spent 9 weeks in Basic and 2 weeks in R.I.P. and get sent over with the 75th (also not a Tier 1 unit).
Riding on a helo with or being a blocking force for a Tier 1 unit does not make you a Tier 1 unit. Period.
My estimate of your analysis is that you know just enough to stir the pot, but still don’t know enough to comment. Do not hold a unit accountable for one of their own that got out and decided to write a book. It can happen to any of us (Dalton Fury/”NAME REMOVED”).
Shift fire…
Is anyone asking the bigger question as to why you’re selling an e-book to make money off of another book whose author is donating all profits to charity? That makes you the equivalent to a Remora…you know, the small nuisance fish that swim along side the shark for protection and scraps! That is pretty weak and it’s also your new nickname.
And it’s pretty clear to me that you and your site are all a part of the same clown show.
Respectfully,
[Name withheld]
To: Name withheld
From: Brandon Webb (SOC, Class 215)
Re: Hypocrisy & The Mirror
I happen to like Matt but also know that money was a motivating factor, and while Matt will surely keep his word and donate profits to charity, his seven figure plus advance is likely in his bank account. His new friends at Penguin are the best money can buy, their loyalty is not to him but only to his story that surely will make them tens of millions. I hope he sees the forest for the trees.
Why did SOFREP do an e-book? We planned to do e-books/World Reports when we launched our membership last month. The next big topic in the news we planned on covering and writing up via an e-book. Turns out it was one of your own that made the news.
SOFREP will blog, publish e-books and sell membership, and make money. It’s what for-profit business enterprises do. SOFREP is not a hobby or a charity foundation. No Easy Day is a high profile book that has stirred up a lot of drama and has a lot of people confused over why the military would be so upset over a Patriot writing a book. If you took the time to read our e-book you’d see it sheds a lot of light on the situation and isn’t a hit piece on Biss. And yes, it will make money and headlines right alongside Penguin and your squadron mate’s book. Welcome to America and Capitalism.
SOFREP is a coalition of former U.S. Special Operations personnel. The editors do their best to represent their community in a positive light to the overall public. We didn’t create the current headlines or break OPSEC, or dime him out to FOX. Headlines came and we do what we’ve always done, provide some much needed interpretation of current events (in this case No Easy Day) as most twenty-something journalists with no life experiences cannot.
The Remora comment is cute but it would serve you best to look in the mirror and reflect on the word hypocrisy, its definition and view the video below, 1:02 if you want to skip right to the “Official SEAL Team Six Operator” tell all part with TTP’s all over the place.
Hypocrisy: a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religiousbeliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
Officially endorsed projects like “Act of Valor”, BUDS 234, SOCOM Navy SEALs, and active (not former) Dev guys working with Hollywood video game production companies like EA has become ops normal. It’s also created a consumer market demand where a former teammate can get out and sign a seven figure book deal. Just ask Biss and the LT. featured in Act of Valor (although I think his forthcoming book sold for 850k).
The timing of the book No Easy Day has caused an end to what you call “Our time. Period”. Senior commanders including the POTUS will put the whole community in the penalty box for this. It’s game over for now and time for everyone in the active and former SEAL community (myself included) to look in the mirror and make better decisions regarding community identity.
Say hi to Turbo for me, he’s a good fucker.
ST-6 Operators Reveal Sniper TTP’s In EA’s MOH Game
(Full disclosure: we’re linking to No Easy Day on Amazon.com using our affiliate link. If you purchase the book from Amazon using our link it helps us keep the lights on around here.)
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