By Melvin Hunt, book reviewer
William H. McRaven is arguably one of the best Navy Seals in United States history. After serving as a Seal, he went on to become an admiral in the U.S. Navy.
McRaven is a Texas native and graduate of the University of Texas in Austin. After graduating college, he join the Navy and after a period of time became a Navy Seal..
McRaven went to Coronado, Calif., for Seal training. He underwent Hell Week, which is rigorous and often causes Seal-hopefuls to drop out of the program. The process for quitting is to ring the bell three times. McRaven made it through Hell Week and continued his rise in the Navy.
As an admiral, McRaven was involved in a confrontation with the Iraq President Saddam Hussein. Hussein backed off from a fight with the United States after attempting to run blockades.
The Seals became experts at killing terrorists who were a threat to the United States. Admiral McRaven was involved in the death of a Syrian terrorist named Abu Ghadiya. McRaven was involved in the capture of Hussein, who was later put on trial and hanged for his misdeeds.
The Somalian pirates had a practice of hijacking ships and demanding ransom. Navy Seals killed four Somali Pirates and captured a ringleader who is now in prison. They also rescued Captain Richard Phillips, captain of the MV Maersk Alabama during its hijacking by Somali pirates in April 2009.
One of the most tragic events in American history was the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon by Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
The CIA located bin Laden in Abbottabad. The Navy Seals launched an attack on a home where he was hiding. Bin Laden was killed in the attack.
After 37 years in the Navy, McRaven retired with honor. In his book “Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations,” he details his experiences of these historic events. Be sure to pick up a copy.