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Tuesday, May 3, 2011
GOP Rep. John Adams, former SEAL, praises raid on Osama bin Laden
State Rep. John Adams, R-Sidney, has a special perspective on the daring attack by Navy SEALs that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.
Adams, 51, was selected to serve with the SEALs during four years of Navy service in the mid-1980s when the United States and the Soviet Union still were embroiled in the Cold War.
Usually a harsh critic of Democratic President Barack Obama, Adams applauded the commander-in-chief for his decision to use the SEALs to go after bin Laden.
“It was a gutsy and good move and I applaud him for his decision,” said Adams, the number five leader in the House as Majority Whip.
Of approximately 120 candidates in Adams’ training class, just 17 graduated to become SEALs, he said Tuesday.
The only training more rigorous, Adams joked, was working for his father-in-law in the furniture business after he left the Navy.
Adams, who was stationed in the Philippines, recalled training sessions similar to the ones the SEALs underwent for their assault on the terrorist leader’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
“We set up a kill house that resembled the bridge of a ship,” said Adams. His team then practiced boarding the ship from helicopters, said Adams.
The equipment he and his teammates had was not as sophisticated as the current SEALs are equipped with, he said.
“We taped flashlights to our machine guns,” he said.
He trained with elite forces from Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Australia, said Adams.
Using the SEALs, instead of bombing bin Laden’s compound from the air, made it possible to collect intelligence on the ground and confirm that they got their man, said Adams.
The need to send in a backup helicopter after one stalled on the ground pointed up the SEAL’ emphasis on practicing for any contingency, said Adams.
“Success is always nice,” he said. “It doesn’t always work that way.”
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