There really is no way to sugar coat the fact that it has been a pretty shitty few weeks in the news media for the Navy’s SEAL Teams.  The relentless coverage over the past few years — if not the last decade — has mostly been positive when it comes to the community, and how it is portrayed.  Notable exceptions do exist, though, including on this website, in the New York Times and The Intercept, among others. 

On the whole, though, it has been and still remains beneficial for media outlets — including this one — to report on the SEAL Teams.  Simply put, Navy SEAL-focused stories bring views, clicks, and readers.  They unfortunately also bring backlash over time, as fatigue inevitably sets in as the spotlight remains focused most brightly on one aspect of the military’s special operations community.  Some in the civilian public and probably most in the non-SEAL military, both in and out of SOF, are getting sick of hearing about Navy SEALs.  One need not be an overly astute observer of the media to realize this fact.

The past few weeks are not helping in that regard.  Here is a rundown of the recent stories that have broken about the SEAL Teams: 

Two SEALs are being investigated for the strangling of a Green Beret in Mali

It would be hard to create a story worse than this one in terms of harming relations between the SEAL Teams and the rest of U.S. Special Operations Forces (USSOF).  Those relations are often frayed in normal circumstances, due to all kinds of reasons, but stories like this can turn those frayed relations toxic. 

It should be noted that the two SEALs in question — being investigated for murdering a Green Beret — have not yet been charged with a crime, and they remain innocent until proven guilty.  Nevertheless, the story is out there and it has led to disgust and explicit hatred in some quarters of the active duty and veteran SOF community.

There are few things worse than turning on your brothers-in-arms in this way, if this story is true.  This author hopes it is not, but if it is, and the two SEALs are guilty of this crime, they should pay the ultimate penalty.

SEAL officer’s chute did not fully open — nor did he have a reserve — in fatal parachute accident