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Eric T. Olson

He was the first Navy SEAL to be appointed to three-star and four-star flag rank, as well as the first naval officer to be USSOCOM’s combatant commander. Admiral Eric Thor Olson was in charge of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from 2007 to 2011.

Michael A. Monsoor

Michael A. Monsoor is the American hero and a Navy SEAL who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his ultimate sacrifice in Ramadi, Iraq. Monsoor used his own body to shield his fellow soldiers from a hand grenade thrown by an insurgent in a 2006 combat engagement.

Scott Helvensten

He joined the United States Navy at 17 and became the youngest person to complete Navy SEAL training. Working the private sector, he appeared on a variety of reality TV programs and was a personal trainer for Hollywood celebrities such as Demi Moore (for G.I. Jane). Helvenston was also featured in the reality shows Combat Missions and Man vs. Beast (in the latter, he completed an obstacle course faster than a chimpanzee). He also starred in a reality series called Extreme Expeditions: Model Behavior months before he left for Iraq.

Helvenston was killed in Fallujah, Iraq along with squad members Jerry “Jerko” Zovko, Wesley Batalona and Michael Teague while working as a security contractor for Blackwater.

Chuck Pfarrer

Charles Patrick “Chuck” Pfarrer, III is a former U.S. Navy SEAL from Biloxi, Mississippi, USA. He became an author, novelist, and screenwriter after he left the Navy. Some of his screenwriting credits include Darkman, Hard Target, Red Planet, and, of course, Navy SEALs.

He spent 8 years in Navy SEALs and ended his service as Assault Element Commander at the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6.

William H. McRaven

From 2011 to 2014, Navy SEAL William H. McRaven served as Commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which oversees the Special Operations of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.

The most recognizable operation of his career probably was Operation Neptune Spear. He is credited with organizing and overseeing the execution of the operation, the special ops raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011

Marcus Luttrell (my persona favorite: please, please read Lone Survivor and watch the movie.

Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell was the only man to survive from the four-man Special Reconnaissance element with SDV-1 in Operation Red Wing in June 2005. He detailed his harrowing Afghanistan combat experience in best-selling book Lone Survivor. The book was later turned into a hit film with Mark Wahlberg playing Luttrell.

For his actions during Operation Red Wings, he was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart. Marcus Luttrell was a Hospital Corpsman First Class by the end of his eight-year career in the United States Navy.

William Sheperd

William McMichael “Bill” Shepherd is an American former Navy SEAL, aerospace, ocean and mechanical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who served as Commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut William Shepherd qualified to become a Navy SEAL in 1972 after finishing BUD/S, serving on the UDT, two separate SEAL teams, and Special Boat Unit TWENTY.

Rudy Boesch

Survivor contestant Rudy Boesch was one of the very first Navy SEALs. He earned a Bronze Star for his actions in the Vietnam War, during which he participated in 45 combat missions, including raids, ambushes, rescues, and intelligence operations.

During his time in SEAL Team Two and later, his results were set as physical and operational standards for the team.

Chris Kyle (probably the most famous to most of us; if yo have not read American Sniper or seen the move, do so. Please!

Chris Kyle became the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history over four tours in Iraq as a Navy SEAL. Before he was killed in Texas, he co-wrote American Sniper, a bestselling account of his exploits which ultimately led to Hollywood where it served as the basis for the box office powerhouse that starred Bradley Cooper as Kyle in blockbuster American Sniper.

He was awarded several commendations for acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat including one Silver Star Medal, four Bronze Star Medals with “V” devices, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and numerous other unit and personal awards.

On February 2, 2013, Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, 35, were shot and killed by Eddie Ray Routh at the Rough Creek Ranch-Lodge-Resort shooting range in Erath County, Texas. Their killer, Eddie Ray Routh was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

 

Come back tomorrow for another post.