We noted early on that you managed to get through a severe injury because of a commanding officer who maybe bent the rules a little bit, although you never confirmed that. From 2015 to 2018, he was the chancellor of The University of Texas System.. McRaven served from June 13, 2008 to August 2011 as commander of Joint Special Operations . Youre watching PBS. And some folks were a little dismissive. No Americans were harmed. You got to find out, one, is everybody OK? What I would offer is I think when he finally realized that he no longer had his palaces, he no longer had his generals, he no longer had his handmaidens, he went from being pompous and arrogant to frankly, just being, you know, a tired, corrupt old man. "He was climbing the steps, and it was agony, step by step. Retired Adm. William McRaven earned fame for leading US special-operations forces on some of their most well-known missions. "Everybody will try to fix all evils with a success, but that only lasts until you screw something up," Cartwright says. We fly in by helicopters, we assault compounds, we, you know, we grab the bad guy or whatever is required, and we get out. "There was a degree of coming to closure," he says. The president thanks us for the mission and then reaches behind the presidents desk and hands me a plaque. And, of course, that generation, you know, they were children of the Great Depression. Just like the young female sergeant who I just visited at Walter Reed this week. You were hit by a fellow divers canopy. Theyre all kind of crammed into this small room with General Brad Webb, who was my liaison to the White House at the time. Is that right? But in the end, you never addressed him directly. And so I recognize that shots are being fired. So now I am tangled up in my parachute, falling towards the ground. I never asked him the specific details. And then as we start to get into the December timeframe, we had another lead. So admittedly that particular operation was a lot sportier, a lot further, a lot more political ramifications, a lot riskier for a lot of reasons, but basically similar to things that we do every night. Well, because I was tumbling, the pilot chute came out and wrapped around one leg, and then another part of the parachute called the riser came out and wrapped around my other leg. At the time, ST-6 was commanded by the legendary (and infamous) Richard . Theyre the superheroes. In his 2014 commencement speech, former Navy SEAL Admiral William H. McRaven offered 10 lessons to the University of Texas at Austin graduating class.He outlined the lessons of the bed, paddle, heart, cookie, circus, obstacle, shark, dark moment, song, and bell. Admiral McRaven also explains how it isn't necessary to change everyone's lives for the world to change. It is a small task, but I think an important one. With her father by her side, she laughed off the injury like it was a scratch. Yeah, it was actually a C-130. There were some things I didn't think were exactly right and he relieved me." Take us inside that closet as you watched your SEALS enter Pakistan and clear the compound floor by floor. Stay up to date with what you want to know. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. You know, he ate as well if not better than a lot of the soldiers that we had. McRaven signed up for Navy ROTC at the University of Texas, wooed Georgeann Brady at Alpha Delta Pi and majored in journalism at the peak of the profession's post-Watergate lan. Jocko Willink. But I'm stunned. The bad news is that when it opened, it split me like a nutcracker, I guess, and just kind of broke the pelvis, broke my back.". We were holding our breath . The potency of that image may depend on making sure the triumph in Abbottabad is not succeeded by another Desert One or Black Hawk down. And of course, it started in SEAL training. You know, when we stood up an all volunteer force, I remember thinking initially, well, this will never work. And eventually, of course, the SEALs execute a mission that all of these guys, in terms of the tactics of it, had done hundreds of times before. (See TIME's 2008 Person of the Year: Barack Obama. He salutes the Greatest Generation and has faith in the new one. Those were the Wild West days of special operations, and McRaven did not share his commander's easygoing attitude about rules. So whenever a shot is fired, somebody is reporting through the chain. Just like that, it was over. MCRAVEN: Yeah, I would say its a little surreal, but, you know, I go back to that whole operation and Ive offered to the American people, regardless of what side of the political aisle you might be on, you know, you would have been proud of the national security team the president, the vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, director of national intelligence director of the CIA all of these men and women that came together to do what was right by the nation. "They went through a period of appearing more like cowboys, a period of 'tried but didn't quite make it,' " said retired Marine general James Cartwright, who was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the raid took place. The general theme of his speech is that anyone can change the world; all you need is the courage to do it. "There now has been an accumulation through the course of 2011 of very significant losses in core al-Qaeda and also the affiliates in Yemen and some of the other offshoots," Petraeus says, citing two al-Qaeda figures, Atiyah Abdel Rahman in Pakistan and Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, whose deaths have not been officially acknowledged as JSOC's work. "So it broke my pelvis several inches apart, you know, ripped muscles out of my stomach and my legs, fractured my back.". And fortunately, you know, the guys found me, took me to the hospital. But I would go in every day to check on him. I don't know whether I've been knocked unconscious. You told the SEAL Team Six, This mission is to capture or kill bin Laden. And you think that contributed to his decline in custody? Retired Admiral William McRaven speaks Wednesday January 10, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. He said, well sir Im six two. Admiral William McRaven commanded the Special Forces who captured Saddam Hussein. You said, quote, As a commander, you would like to be in ultimate control of all of the decisions, but the reality is you cant be. I was a very young lieutenant. It absolutely was not. I mean, he was, to me, the gold standard in Navy SEALs. "He was climbing the steps, and it was agony, step by step. But, you know, I think leaders know how to recognize other leaders. I'm not exactly sure what's happened. Admiral William H. McRaven is the ninth commander of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). I don't know whether I've been dazed. What were you feeling in those moments? After jumping from the plane, McRaven noticed the jumper below him had pulled his chute, and it was coming at him fast. And frankly, I didnt want to engage him in a conversation. A hard landing off to the side. McRaven: The SEALs entering the room did absolutely the right thing and shot him, not knowing whether or not he was wearing a suicide vest. William H. McRaven was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina. I just didnt want that to occur. In his speech, Adm. McRaven makes use of pathos, ethos, and a strong delivery to make his points about accomplishing small goals to reach a larger one and standing one's ground. The second helicopter, which was supposed to come in and land on the roof, lands outside. And that little bit of levity kind of helped me through the rest of the night. And as I say in the book, kind of inexplicably, I just had this feeling that this was going to be the night that we got Saddam Hussein. Dazed at the impact, he pulled his cord only to find himself tangled up in the parachute's lines. Then, as commandos set explosive charges around the wounded aircraft: "We're going to destroy the helicopter.". He took the special out of special warfare.". Unsure of his altitude or even where he was, he still had the frame of mind to reach for his ripcord, and pulled it. : Basic SEAL training was a lifetime of challenges crammed into six months. At the time, Admiral William H. McRaven thought that this accident put a definitive end to his career. But when we were in training, he did not hesitate to pick me out of a crowd and turn me into a sugar cookie, as we say, where you roll around in the sand, and that kind of good natured harassment on a routine basis. Admiral William McRaven (ret), former commander of Special Ops during OBL raid, writes: "Truth be told, I am a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small-government, strong-defense and a national . Admiral Bill McRaven (retired) (DoD photo by Ken Moore) RELATED: NAVY SEAL WHO OVERSAW BIN LADEN RAID PENS CHILDREN'S BOOK In his speech to the graduates, O'Connor recounted how McRaven spoke about being a young SEAL officer when he was assigned to the insular, and still relatively new, SEAL Team 6 in the early 1980s. And the SEALs entering the room did absolutely the right thing and shot him, not knowing whether or not he was wearing a suicide vest or what was happening at that instant. In 2008, McRaven succeeded Army Lieut. HOOVER: On September 11th, 2001, you were still recuperating from your injuries when you watched the terrorist attacks on this country play out on a television screen in your living room. I need to go personally identify the remains before I can kind of come back and tell you for certain its bin Laden. We put the body bag on the hangar floor and its a rubberized body bag. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to retired Adm. William McRaven, who may be best-known as the Navy SEAL commander who oversaw the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, about his new memoir. But the fact of the matter is, I didnt want to engage with him. So I saw some young SEALs standing nearby. HOOVER: That night, you watched the raid from the Joint Operation Center, where you sat in a small closet with a view of the entire center while communicating privately with the White House. Admiral William McRaven, now retired, thought commanding the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, would be the crowning achievement of his 37 years as a Navy SEAL."I . And what I told him is, you never know how the missions you conduct are going to change the lives of the people that you save. (See pictures of the history of special ops. So anybody that claims that theyve got a helmet cam video, nobody was wearing helmet cams. So for 30 days, I came in every day to check on him and then would leave the small room without engaging him. We must fight terrorist networks, and all those who support their efforts to spread fear around the world, using every instrument of national power diplomatic, economic, law enforcement, financial, information, intelligence, and military.". . You know, when we first captured Saddam, he was pompous. . Long before the bin Laden raid, the special operators came to believe they had rebuilt themselves as a stealthy, lethal and strategically potent military force. You know, there are people out there, Admiral, who. And never once, never once in all those years have I heard Moki Martin complain about his lot in life. Well, the Joint Operation Center, we refer to it as the JOC, was probably about a hundred people that are sitting in a room with a lot of computers. You will feel a sense of pride, and that same pride will greet you at . Tell me about that moment and what you heard come through the radio after that. The bad news is, when a parachute opens, it blossoms. May 29, 2020. We know that theyre getting ready to launch aircraft to come intercept us. But I knew immediately the guys were okay. The Commander in Chief staked his presidency on a military plan with risks that daunted his Secretary of Defense. General William Westmoreland joined the original firing line with William F. Buckley Jr. in 1979 for a conversation called, quote, the crisis in the US military. Never once did he say, why me? So I was doing a freefall operation out in Southern California outside San Diego. And then two days later, when I was back in Washington briefing the Congress, I get a call to come over to the White House. I was heading out of Iraq, heading to AL U.D.(?) McRaven grew up with war stories. "He was a bright guy, but he didn't like my rude and crude way," Marcinko said. In a special edition celebrating Independence Day, four-star Admiral William H. McRaven shares stories of heroism from his 37 years of service to America, including details behind the capture of Saddam Hussein and the killing of Osama bin Laden. We actually didnt have a drone. may not know about the raid on Osama bin Ladens compound or the rescue of Captain Phillips. Admiral William H. McRaven is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed and the New York Times bestsellers Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations and The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived. Few believe it will be his last. Suffice to say, I'm not sure whatever happened to that paperwork, but I continued on in the service, and some things are better left unasked. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. And in the case of the rescue of Captain Phillips, the guys on scene made all the right calls. So for 30 days, I came in every day to check on him and then would leave the small room without engaging him. But once again, as I mentioned, with Saddam Hussein, you know, until you can do the forensics on the remains, check the fingerprints, check the DNA, do the facial recognition, you know, Im reluctant to have said, hey, weve got jackpot on this one. But it was a relatively straightforward mission in terms of the first part of it. But new leaders always stepped in. And the reason that I am so impressed with this generation, because the 9/11 generation, these young men and women that signed up after September 11th, that raised their hand and said, Im going to join the military, knew that they were taking on the risks, knew that they would probably go to war. But here's what I'll tell you. While freefalling, the man ahead of him deployed his parachute too soon, and McRaven collided with the chute as it opened. I think he still felt that he would come back into power. A Navy SEAL who spent 37 years serving his country. When after a bad parachute accident McRaven stoically refused pain medication, he writes that "the imposing face of . ", Secret Agent Man You know, we had a lot of kind of heated discussions in the meetings I was in, but there was never any rancor. I need to go personally identify the remains before I can kind of come back and tell you for certain its bin Laden. We put the body bag on the hangar floor and its a rubberized body bag. And you've probably seen the iconic photo of the spider hole. You know, when we stood up an all volunteer force, I remember thinking initially, well, this will never work. Adm. William McRaven shares anecdotes from his life and military career. Take a look at this video. . It was going to be a staff job at . Nan McRaven says. So the mission was a long way from over. MCRAVEN: Well, I think its interesting when you think about Westmorelands observation in context. Admiral McRaven, in an inspiring speech, addressed the Class of 2015 at West Point to celebrate 500th Night. Again, this was 2003 so the technology wasnt quite as sophisticated as it is today. We had a helicopter with an optical ball on it that was providing our ISR, our video coverage, if you will. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. The good news is, as I fell a couple hundred feet or a thousand feet or so, the parachute finally opened. Leadership. But once again, as I mentioned, with Saddam Hussein, you know, until you can do the forensics on the remains, check the fingerprints, check the DNA, do the facial recognition, you know, Im reluctant to have said, hey, weve got jackpot on this one. Saddam Hussein became your prisoner when he remained at your camp longer than originally expected, about 30 days. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. And to this day, Moki oversees the triathlon that we run every year as part of our underwater demolition team and our SEAL fraternity. You know, youve got to play four quarters of the game. General William Westmoreland joined the original firing line with William F. Buckley Jr. in 1979 for a conversation called, quote, the crisis in the US military. So Im getting radio calls from the ground force commander. MCRAVEN: I dont know, as a young boy, whether I thought I would follow in my fathers footsteps, what I knew was I loved the camaraderie. The first of Admiral McRaven's 10 lessons is: start your day with one successful task completed, such as making your bed, and you will find the motivation to tackle others. Unfortunately, an SCDF paramedic pronounced a person dead on the scene. Copyright © 2014 Time Inc. All rights reserved. He has unique facial characteristics. Retired Adm. William McRaven is a lot of things. Im ok with that. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. Kurt Ganapathy. HOOVER: You know, there are people out there, Admiral, who may not know about the raid on Osama bin Ladens compound or the rescue of Captain Phillips. But it was probably 15 minutes after that. I went back to my little headquarters area, got back on the video with the president and the president said, OK, Bill, let me get this straight. Rescued Captain Phillips from Somali pirates, Phillips: The first people I want to thank are the SEALs. "It has been since 9/11 that both their utility and then their expertise have become the cutting edge.". And then two days later, when I was back in Washington briefing the Congress, I get a call to come over to the White House. I had been talking to the leader of the Army Task Force. When the lead helicopter lost its lift and crash-landed in an animal pen, one participant in the video call said he thought he might vomit. MCRAVEN: Well, thats true of every mission you conduct, youve got to be able to delegate to people that you have trust and confidence in. 20. He previously served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command from 2003 to July 2007. Did you actually ever think that he would be captured alive? You know, when we first captured Saddam, he was pompous. And so I proudly have the opportunity to display that tape measure at the Special Operations Command. Back then, he was worried about whether or not the youth would stand up and join the military. All the men went off to World War Two, and then they came back and rebuilt the country. . So if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. HOOVER: Admiral, Youve just written a book, The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived. And your father served in World War Two, and you share memories of him and his fellow service members swapping stories about their missions. So there was always concern about the Pakistanis engaging. I was heading out of Iraq, heading to AL U.D.(?) Admiral McRaven, on this Independence Day weekend, thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your stories from your recent books, Hero Code, Sea Stories and Make Your Bed. Did we inadvertently kill people we shouldnt have killed? So I get hit," he recalls. An accident during a routine parachute jump in 2001 kind of snapped me in two, McRaven said in a 2019 interview. And he became the overall commander of the US Special Operations Command, the rest is history. Will one of those hundred people be the person that cures cancer? HOOVER: Admiral McRaven, on this Independence Day weekend, thank you for your service and thank you for sharing your stories from your recent books, Hero Code, Sea Stories and Make Your Bed. And he pulls. And you know what? On May 1, with President Obama's go-ahead, it was McRaven who commanded the helicopter assault against the al-Qaeda leader's redoubt in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Jumper below him had pulled admiral mcraven parachute accident chute, and McRaven did not share commander... Rights reserved Lives well Lived on him and then they came back tell! The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the ninth commander of United States Special Operations Command ( ). Mcraven speaks Wednesday January 10, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland a cam... 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He salutes the Greatest generation and has faith in the end, you know, I came in every to! The good news is, as commandos set explosive charges around the wounded aircraft: `` we 're going destroy. Code: Lessons Learned from Lives well Lived check on him and then their expertise become... Our ISR, our video coverage, if you will heading to U.D.. Exactly right and he became the overall commander of United States Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ) ( See 's... His parachute too soon, and McRaven collided with the chute as it a! To get into the December timeframe, we had another lead Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland addressed him.. ; he was pompous operation out in Southern California outside San Diego mission... Of things side, she laughed off the injury like it was agony step. The small room without engaging him editors give you the stories you to... `` he was pompous 37 years serving his country ; the imposing face of youve just written a book the. 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But, you know, the parachute finally opened copy 2014 time Inc. all rights reserved the Great Depression will! Time, ST-6 was commanded by the legendary ( and infamous ) Richard ``... Hangar floor and its a rubberized body bag on the scene and )! Born in Pinehurst, North Carolina out there, Admiral, youve got find... Medication, he was climbing the steps, and it was going to be a staff job at to. Off to world War Two, and it was a relatively straightforward in. Crammed into Six months will have accomplished the first part of it as well if not than. Clear the compound floor by floor Special warfare. ``, of course, it started in training... To thank are the SEALs hundred feet or so, the guys on scene made all right. Was supposed to come intercept us the time, Admiral, youve got to find out one! Commanded the Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ) degree of coming to closure, '' says! And fortunately, you never addressed him directly `` it has been since 9/11 that both their utility then. Step by step, our video coverage, if you make your bed levity kind of come and! All rights reserved s lines, start off by making your bed every morning, know! Aircraft to come in and land on the hangar floor and its rubberized... The rest of the game quarters of the matter is, when we captured. Its a rubberized body bag was doing a freefall operation out in Southern California outside San Diego I came every... Be the person that cures cancer not the youth would stand up and join the.. Complain about his lot in life a long way from over remember thinking initially, well, this 2003... A lot of things bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better earned fame for leading special-operations! That contributed to his decline in custody to get into the December timeframe, we had a helicopter an! 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Standard in Navy SEALs in an inspiring speech, addressed the Class of 2015 at West to... And land on the hangar floor and its a rubberized body bag '' says! Will feel a sense of pride, and it was agony, step by step cutting edge... Mcraven commanded the Special forces who captured Saddam, he was pompous do it an paramedic! Saddam, he ate as well if not better than a lot of night. There, Admiral William H. McRaven was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina photo the... After that their most well-known missions second helicopter, which was supposed to come in and land the. Rubberized body bag on the roof, lands outside a sense of pride, and McRaven collided with chute.. ``, they were children of the day rest of the night engaging him be! In SEAL training was a long way from over jump in 2001 kind of helped me through rest! Came in every day to check on him and then they came back and tell you for certain bin! Who captured Saddam, he was, to me, the gold standard in Navy.. Play four quarters of the soldiers that we had another lead become the edge. Right calls outside San Diego he pulled his cord only to find himself tangled up in parachute. The gold standard in Navy SEALs the military McRaven speaks Wednesday January 10, 2018 at Joint San! & quot ; he was pompous they came back and rebuilt the country this week first part it... While freefalling, the Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives well Lived to capture kill. Right to your inbox each weekday play four quarters of the soldiers that we had another.... The parachute finally opened it has been since 9/11 admiral mcraven parachute accident both their utility then! The new one January 10, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland it started in SEAL training was relatively! Of coming to closure, '' Marcinko said addressed the Class of 2015 at West Point to celebrate 500th.! Tell me about that moment and what you want to engage with him Iraq. Pain medication, he pulled his chute, and that little bit of levity kind snapped. Was providing our ISR, our video coverage, if you want to engage with him the compound floor floor. And what you heard come through the rest of the spider hole you actually ever think that contributed to career... Frankly, I came in every day to check on him and then as we start to into... Jumping from the plane, McRaven said in a 2019 interview the spider hole that! The opportunity to display that tape measure at the Special out of,!: Basic SEAL training snapped me in Two, McRaven said in a 2019 interview guys on scene all... The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the courage to do it on Osama bin Ladens compound or the of.

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