Navy SEALs Take Down bin Laden

"With their perfect takedown of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. Navy SEALs proved themselves America's top soldiers.  A look at their daring deeds, their deadly skills, and their scandalous past.

They're American's quietest killers, working anonymously and without public recognition.  But SEALs, so-called for their lethal skill by Sea, Air, or Land, can also make some noise - as Team Six did when they killed Osama bin Laden with a point-blank shot to the left temple.  They were already a semi-legendary bunch, a wing of the Navy.  There are only about 2,500 SEALs worldwide, and an estimated 200 in Team Six.

The SEALs originated on the beaches of World War II, where "frogmen" cleared the way for invasions, and they gained fame in Vietnam.  But the modern SEALs were born out of the Iran hostage crisis, when American's best rescue team lost eight men, seven helicopters, and a plane before even making contact with the militants who had taken over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.  In the aftermath, Congress created a joint command, the brainstem for all U.S. Special Forces.

The average age for SEALs recruits is 22 to 25 but bin Laden's killers were probably much older.  It takes a decade, in many cases, to ascent from general enlistee to top commando who attracts the attention of Team Six, based in Norfolk, Virginia.  Then it's another six months or a year of specialized training, followed by years of proving oneself before landing the top assignments.  "Most [SEAL Team Six] members are in their 30s, and even up past their 40s," says Don Mann, who retired from the squad in 1998, at 40."

Excerpts from The Coolest Guys in the World
by Tony Dokoupil - Newsweek - May 5, 2011