Should the United States risk an entire Seal team for just one person?
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| This is a typical Seal team |
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| This is a single hostage, in a Seal's case this would usually be a US hostage |
Risking an entire Seal team for just one person is more beneficial than not trying to save a person at all. United States Navy Seals are highly trained specialists in the battlefield. Navy Seals are a special operations group who specialize in high risk operations that have been helping to fight the war on terror. Terrorists like to take people, usually people of high importance and knowledge of their government, hostage and try to extract information from them. Many US ambassadors and government agents get kidnapped and held hostage for information about the US government or military. This is what the Navy Seals are used for, they go in and save these high-up officials and rescue them from the terrorists. Many of these operations are very deadly for the Seals and can risk their lives. In the novel Act of Valor by Dick Couch, a Seal team goes into a hostage situation to save the life of Lisa Morales, a CIA agent who was kidnapped by a columbian drug lord. As Lisa was being tortured for information about what she knows about the plans of the US government on the columbian drug lord, Seal team seven comes in to rescue her. Things do not go so smoothly in the operation when one member of the team takes a bullet to the head. "Blood immediately washed his face as he lay inert on his back in front of the door"(112). As Mikey from the Seal team gets shot in the eye, the rest of team manages to carry out the mission and save Lisa Morales. Mikey does survive thanks to his instinctive training. If the Seals did not go in to save Lisa Morales she would either most likely be dead, or have given very important information to the terrorists. There are cons to sending an entire Seal team into the mission such as risking their lives. Seals know this risk and know that losing their life is a possibility. Seals take this risk because they know that they are the most effective and best trained fighters there are. They are trained trained for these situations and missions so they are less likely to lose their lives than Lisa Morales is to lose hers. Mikey does lose his eye in this case but it saved Lisa Morales life and protected the United States. It is important to keep Seals active in duty rescuing important hostages and protecting our country.
