Navy SEAL Shot, Killed During Training

  • Thread starter Boondocksaint375
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RIP, Frogman.

Oh my, how sad. Prayers for his team mates, friends and family.

Yes, they train as they fight, they know the risks, the families know the risks, but no one really expects this to happen. He was so young, but he was living his dream which is more than most people ever get to do in a lifetime.

God bless him for doing his part to keep us safe and free.
 
RIP!

Additional info:
SEAL killed during training at Walls site

Navy cites dangers of combat exercises

By William C. Bayne, Yolanda Jones

Friday, February 1, 2008

Navy investigators are expected in DeSoto County today to begin looking
into the shooting death Wednesday of a Navy SEAL during a
live-ammunition training exercise.

The death occurred during close-quarters combat training at the
Mid-South Institute of Self-Defense Shooting, a training facility in the
Walls area of western DeSoto County that is used frequently by the
military and law enforcement agencies.

The identity of the 23-year-old victim was not being released Thursday
afternoon pending notification of family.

No one has been charged.

While unusual, a Navy spokesman said fatalities can occur during
exercises such as those being conducted at the time of the shooting.

"It's a rarity that we have things of this nature," said Navy Lt. Tommy
Crosby, spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Group 1.

But he added that such incidents occur in SEAL training because "of the
nature of their business and the things Navy SEALs do."

The accident happened during close-quarters combat training. SEALs work
together in small units, training to engage the enemy in tight areas,
Crosby said.

Cmdr. Mark Blackson of the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department added that
20 Seals were in the shoot house at the time of the incident, but only
two were firing.

Blackson said the victim was struck in the upper chest. No one would
comment, pending the arrival of Navy investigators from NCIS and the
Navy Judge-Advocate General Corps, on whether protective vests were
being used by participants in the exercise.

Crosby said the victim was a Special Warfare Operator assigned to a San
Diego-based SEAL team. He said the Navy has used the Walls training
facility on Blythe Road in the past and that SEAL teams often use
different training facilities across the country.

"Field teams train in various locations around the country in terrain
that best meets their various training," Crosby said.

Ross Sanders, manager of the training facility, said the death was the
first in the more than 20-year history of the center. It was closed
Thursday pending the outcome of the investigation.

The Walls center provides facilities for specialized firearms programs,
training Seals and other military service members and law enforcement
officers in house-to-house procedures and other combat-type weapons
training.

"We only provide the facilities," Sanders said. "We rent out the
buildings to the agencies that want to come here and train."

He said the agencies provide their own trainers or they hire specialists.

On its Web site, Mid-South bills itself as "offering the most innovative
shooting school in the world in firearms training and tactics."

Located in an isolated area of Walls, the site is about 30 minutes from
Memphis and trains more than 1,500 personnel a year on 32 ranges and 70
live-fire shooting rooms.

John Shaw, a self-taught shooter, founded the operation in 1981 and
moved it to Walls in 1987. Shaw won nine gold medals in three World
Shooting Championships and authored two books, "You Can't Miss" and
"Shoot to Win."

Southaven Police Chief Tom Long has been one of the trainers at the
facility in the past, but Sanders said Long has not trained there recently.
 
RIP Alex. We will hold you in our hearts and I will kill many fucking terrorists for you overseas buddy.....
 
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