Keeping things in perspective . . . two US Navy SEALS missing

"The two sailors were boarding a vessel when one fell into the water due to eight-foot swells, and the second jumped in after them according to protocol, a US official told CNN Saturday."

Not sure what kinda boat they were on...assumption it wasn't a battleship....something much smaller....8ft swells...and your brother jumps in after you...that's amazing duty and honor

Some more information has been released. 


www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s-forces-recovered-iranian-warheads-in-navy-seal-mission-gone-awry/ar-AA1n1JDt?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=f7a75f7bcd914a18b3f6e640a36ee998&ei=18

The SEALS are on the USS Puller. It's classified as an expeditionary mobile base (ESB). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lewis_B._Puller_(ESB-3)  I know it uses a crane to lift a small boat into the ocean. My son says there are about 150 navy sailors on board and about 100 civilians. I'm not sure what the civilians do and he says he rarely sees them. When we talked he said we would get information when the Pentagon releases it. I thought he was telling me something between the lines but obviously I'm guessing. If the missing seals are found alive that would be incredible. Each seal team has several or even maybe eight platoons. I don't know how many platoons are on board and how many are in Bahrain. 

My son said he has not been to his berth for about two weeks. He is an E6. There is a lieutenant he works with and one or both of them are on duty 24/7. There is a cot in a control room and that's where they stay. He says this Navy gig has been easy for eight years but now he hardly sleeps. They were supposed to return to Bahrain later this month but because of the conflict and other events they do not have a return date.  

There was a memorial service on the ship on about Monday. It was just before the Pentagon released the statement that the search was over and they were presuming the SEALS were dead. My son says they will be going to Djibouti very soon. Another platoon (or two) of SEALS will become the point of the spear. Then the navy will fly the current group back to Bahrain. If things remain reasonably calm, the schedule is to rotate back to Coronado in April.

One of the deceased sailors swam at the University of Maryland.

I saw a photo of the boat the SEALS use to make their interventions. I'm not a boat person, but it reminded me of the cigarette boats from the Miami Vice era.