What causes former teammates, men who’ve gone through the rigors of Special Operations training and fieldwork, to create drama on social media and other public outlets as if they were still in junior high school? I don’t know; it baffles me. I’ve discussed it at length with some of the most successful (and insightful) people I know. The common themes seem to be that this behavior comes from a toxic mix of professional jealousy and a desperate attempt at relevancy in individuals who are not at a good place in their lives. Maybe that’s so. One thing is certain: regardless of the motive, and no matter what the community or organization, such outbursts are unprofessional and reflect well on no one.
Infighting: prolonged and often bitter dissension or rivalry among members of a group or organization.
Most of the time I prefer to stay out of the flame-fests and above the fray. Still, there are times when you have to wade and separate the mud from the truth. This is one of those times.
After careful consideration, I’ve decided to respond directly to my former friend Chris Osman’s untruthful and inflammatory comments about my service on his social media accounts. He’s been at this for years now, his main point being that I never fired my weapon in combat—which is a patently false assertion. However, Osman knows this will get fellow SEALs in my community fired up, and why he does it to hunt for attention.
The facts are these:
In 2001-2002, I participated in multiple combat missions in Afghanistan. While on an extended operation near the Zhawar Kili cave complex (right by the Afghanistan-Pakistan border), my SEAL squad encountered a number of enemy combatants in the hills during a C-130 BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) patrol. We were cleared to engage by our OIC Cassidy, just as a round of bombs was about to drop. Several of us did so. Moments later the first round of JDAMs hit, slightly off the target. Moments later, a second round of JDAMs scored a direct hit and completely eliminated the enemy forces.
End of event.
This episode has been well documented in numerous accounts, including my book, The Red Circle (2012); Chris Osman’s own book, SEALs (2008); and Down Range, by Dick Couch (2005). Here is how Osman’s book describes the event:
“The SEALs engaged the three hostiles but eventually a B-52 slammed the area with JDAMs. After the strike the SEALs found some burnt clothing. A P-3 Orion claimed that 12–15 enemy were killed†(from SEALs: The U.S. Navy’s Elite Fighting Force, by Chris Osman and Mir Bahmanyar).
Osman’s account describes “three hostiles.†Dick Couch’s has it as “some thirty armed men.†My description in The Red Circle pegged it at twenty, my best recollection. Such variance of numbers is common in after-the-fact reports, even among eye witnesses; the infamous fog of war plays havoc with specifics. But we can safely say that the true number is somewhere between Osman’s “three†and Couch’s “thirty.†(The aircraft overhead, remember, reported twelve to fifteen.)
On a number of crucial details, though, all three accounts agree, including this: just moments before the bombs dropped, several SEALs opened fire, engaging the hostiles. One of those SEALs was me. To this day I don’t recall who else in our party fired rounds, except for our platoon corpsman; I distinctly remember glancing at his rifle and wishing I had his ACOG instead of my red-dot sight.
It’s impossible to determine with certainty what happened to any of the enemy we shot at, including whether or not they were hit or killed by our return fire, because within moments they were all sent to hell with a JDAM drop and there was nothing left but a smear of body parts.
In The Red Circle, some details of missions and events were purposely altered and names changed, as described in our upfront disclaimer. (In the Couch narrative all the names were changed, including mine and Osman’s.) However, the book is factually correct about this incident that Osman keeps referencing.
Our Cryptologic Technician (CT) on that mission, Pete Morlock, remembers the events well. Over the years, Pete and I have had numerous conversations about the operation, mostly because Zhawar Kili was such a significant op in many ways, including the fact that it was conducted by an unusual mix of Special Operations, EOD, FBI, USMC, intel, and air assets all working together. Here is what Pete says:
“As someone directly involved in the operations with ECHO platoon on the ground at Zhawar Kili, I can fully support Brandon’s account as told in The Red Circle.†(CTIC Peter Morlock).
I’ve talked to my friend Scott McEwen about it as well and he said:
“I have witnessed a variety of criticisms within the SEAL community in my attempts to chronicle the efforts of this group of warriors. Some of the comments by SEALs about other SEALs are just healthy rivalry, whereas other comments are simply demeaning and unproductive. Brandon Webb was introduced to me by Chris Kyle as his friend while Chris was still with us. Brandon has been criticized by his teammates for things I believe are unfair and unproductive to the community in general. Brandon was highly respected by Chris and many of his teammates as a sniper instructor and fellow warrior. It is my hope that people can focus on the positive in the community and avoid the negative wherever possible.” (Scott McEwen Co-Author American Sniper and American Commander)
Osman continues to deny the reality of what happened and to insist that everything I say is a lie. My guess is, he will keep on doing so, no matter what anyone else says or does. And I can’t stop him—but I can counter with the facts.
I’m proud of my thirteen years, six months, and six days of military service, both as an Aircrew Search and Rescue Swimmer and as a SEAL Chief Petty Officer (CPO) who finished my last duty station as acting sniper course manager for the west coast Teams. I was made a Chief by my fellow SEALs who were also Chief Petty Officers. I am humbled that they found me worthy of joining the ranks of the Navy’s Chiefs. My full service record is well documented and publicly available; my DD214 is on my author website where anyone can examine it. It’s a record I’m happy to stand on.
For my part in things. I was always Osman’s friend. Through his own challenges on the SEAL Teams. I was there when he got out of the water in third phase of BUD/S training to quit, when he was performance-rolled into my platoon’s diving block of training, when he failed the SEAL sniper program, and when he was sent home early from our Afghanistan deployment for an alcohol-related incident. I did the things friends do for each other when they are in trouble, I stayed his friend. When I was the SEAL Sniper Course Program Manager, Osman’s company Tactical Assault Gear, delivered sniper drag bags to me that were the wrong dimensions (they weren’t long enough to fit our sniper rifles),  I gave him the chance to make the order right and my program ate the mistake which I had discretion to do. Had it been anyone else, I would not have. I had his back when he wrote a book (and took heat from several SEALs for publishing PowerPoint slides that were labeled SECRET), and had it again when he was down on his luck after leaving his company TAG and asked me for an intro to a business friend of mine in San Diego, CA.
I always believed in the Brotherhood of the SEAL community and have tried to live my life reflecting its values.  I don’t know when or what made Osman turn into what he has become but his behavior is not an example for others to follow. As a former SEAL, I want to join with the other guys doing great work on the outside, to protect the great legacy of Teams for future members to enjoy, and to leave the reputation of the Navy SEALs as spotless as possible.
Too often it seems former SEALs publicly lash out at each other over personal squabbles by attempting to discredit the other’s military service knowing it’s the unkindest, dirtiest way to fight. Full disclosure: I got suckered into this too, early on. I quickly learned that it serves no useful purpose. Infighting doesn’t work in politics (it’s a major reason we don’t get much done these days in Washington), and it doesn’t work well in the SEAL Teams. As I said, it’s simply unprofessional—and it certainly doesn’t reflect well on the Naval Special Warfare community, as viewed through the lens of the civilian world. (I’ve talked with quite a few business professionals who see this stuff and are perplexed that grown men could behave like this.) Far better to take the high road and keep your focus on moving your own career forward than to try to tear down someone else’s.
To those of you “quiet professionals†of social media who pile on without bothering to fact-check or search out motive in those doing the posting. Well, you’re just sitting in this sewer and adding to it.Â
And to the confused observer, it’s important to remember that a Navy SEAL is still a human being subject to all the weaknesses and personal liabilities of ordinary men. The leadership of the SEAL Teams can support such people inside the community to help them do their jobs, but once they are out and civilians again, those weaknesses of character can resurface with outcomes like you have read above.Â
From what I can see, the best thing any of us can do is to focus on conducting our own lives as well as we can and try to make a positive difference in the world. And to you young and aspiring SEALs or SOF operators looking to join that Brotherhood: Look for positive role models who act like professionals, and be the kind of brother you would have for yourself and shed no tears over the guys who will yell “Long Live The Brotherhood” when drunk but can’t live it when sober. Â
And remember, whatever it is that you do, you are making a stand, either for excellence or for mediocrity.
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Here’s a sample of the comments on this post.
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…In the good old days the offended party had the option of early morning on a sandbar… Pistols* for two… coffee for one…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9948372bd1838df0296102b5569897455d895e52cf4e82fcb95f96fc412ed081.jpg
*(When an outraged citizen challenged Chesty Puller by mail to a duel… over his report on Dobermans after WW2… Puller sent a letter accepting and recommending a sandbar… but rather than pistols, suggested sawed-off shotguns… He never got a reply…)
-Yankee Papa-
I’ve very well acquainted with Chris Osman and his bi annual ravings about Webb. I had a run in with him last year about this same subject about a year ago, He made a veiled threat to kill me that time.
Anyway, for the un-initiated on this subject here is what Osman is claiming, why I think he is full of shit and lastly, why I think he’s so obsessed with doing this.
Osman is basically accusing Webb of lying. He does this by taking a quote from the Red Circle like “i dropped him” and supposes that it means “I killed him” and then imposes literalism on a slang term and accuses Webb of lying because Osman did not personally see that occur himself. Osman has many gullible fans who didn’t notice that rhetorical slight of hand by Osman occur. They read gun porn. They like the blood and gore. Anyone who has ever fired a projectile at a live target knows the different between a “kill” and the target “dropping.” Killing means dead, Dropping literally means that, dropping out of the sight picture. At least it does to me. You don’t have to go into combat to understand this. Go to your local paintball field and engage a human target at the typical range of under 50 yrds. Unload that .62 cal ball at them and watch what happens. The target will drop, duck, go to ground. Do you know if you hit him? No, even at under 50 yrds its hard to tell if the ball hits him until he calls out “hit” and raises his marker above his head. Things are said to happen very fast in combat, even as the seconds seem to stretch into minutes in a kind of tunnel vision that narrows your focus to a very narrow field. I think Webb is making an accurate claim to his focus. He engaged two targets at range, he saw them drop. That makes no claim of killing anyone which is what Osman is accusing him of lying about, “killing” which Webb does not claim directly. Because Webb does not know that, and neither does Osman. Nobody can even claim to know, because an airstrike obliterated every enemy combatant present.
Osman makes various other spurious claims to his fans who, having not read The Red Circle simply take his word for. Osman states Webb claims to have had a had a sniper rifle in that fight, where Webb specifically laments they didn’t have one;
“We’d only planned for a simple 12 hour mission and didn’t have all our usual equipment. Typically, for a full-on recon mission, I’d have at least a good sniper rifle.”(The Red Circle Hard cover Pg 269)
Osman claims Webb never fired his weapon in combat which includes Webbs deployment to Yemen as a contractor, which Osman was not with him on.
Osman also accuses Webb of disparaging ALL Gold Star wives, when he knows that Webb once made a comment specific to a very small number who were personally known to him that he felt were abusing their high status for personal gain.
Osman claims Webb’s book “Among Heroes” somehow disparaged these men by Webb remembering them and his personal recollections of them. There is also the usual stupid claim that the proceeds of any such book should be donated to the families. Of course critics leveling this kind of charge never write such books themselves and donate the proceeds to the family. We aren’t suppose to notice that I guess. We are also suppose to forget the utterly forgettable book Osman wrote about SEALs where he recounts the combat experiences of individual SEALs. There is no mention of the proceeds of that book(if its dismal sales generated any) being donated to their families.
Osman also goes after Webb personally, delving into his marriage and other subjects, because I guess Webb somewhere claimed to be a paragon of personal virtue. If anyone can source that claim by Webb I’d appreciate it. I can’t find it.
For all this Osman accuses Webb of Stolen Valor. In doing so Webb joins the august ranks of other Stolen Valor targets of Osman, including Chris Kyle and Lt Col Bo Gritz who is a legend in Special Forces. Osman decided Gritz was wearing too many metals for them to be real. I’ll explain why he would think that a little later. He also claimed in an IG comment that I had “never served a day” in the military and am also guilty of stolen valor somehow. I’m actually happy in the company of Webb, Kyle and Gritz in this, even as I regret that this is the only way I could be mentioned along with them. I won’t even dignify Osman’s claim against me. My friends know what I did in the military, I don’t make any claims to distinction in my service and I have no desire to prove anything to anyone else about it.
For the last several days I’ve been watching Osman’s Instagram account where he makes his charges. It has about 20 anti-Webb memes and a lot of shit talk by his followers, who for the most part are kids riding motorcycles that Osman is trying to sell his new motorcycle gear to. Reading it feels like you are in alternative time line where Biff Tannen has married Marty McFly’s mother. I can’t comment on his IG posts, he has me blocked(I scare him apparently). But I am able to comment on Webbs IG posts where for days I see him deleting obscene posts from sock accounts that go after him, his former wife, his kids, whether he is a licensed pilot, his chin, anything they can think of. I few remarks by me favorable to Webb got my IG accounted visited as well with racist slurs and other nonsense. Osman’s followers are a happy bunch. Paxil should run adds on Osman’s Instagram page.
They beg to know why the entirety of Echo Platoon hasn’t jumped to Webb’s aid on this as if that is some kind of proof of the claims. That isn’t true, CT Pete Morlock, who was there has stepped forward quite bravely. The others could be excused for sparing themselves the Osman treatment which would no doubt include, being called a liar themselves, being swarmed by Osman’s minions and being called out for stolen valor themselves. Who needs grief like that? On the other hand, you don’t see Echo guys jumping to Osman’s side in this either. And that is because of who Osman is. That is also in Webb’s book; “The Red Circle.’
Osman came into the Navy out of the Marines, where he retained some rank from his prior service. He was probably an E-4 when he arrived as Buds and for the rest of his time in the Navy and the total of 11 years of military service he only attained one advancement, to E-5. Webb, did 13 and half years and made E-7. He was a senior NCO. That tells you that Osman got passed over for performance issues. Even as it should tell you that Webb rapidly advanced. Being made a Chief in a little over 13 years is “a thing” in the Navy. If Webb wasn’t a SEAL he would still be widely respected just for doing that in any other rating of the fleet. Don’t believe me? Go find a navy veteran and ask them.
In the book, Webb relates going to Echo Platoon on Team 3 because is was a mess and he was going to help get them squared away. Webb wanted to get overseas for additional money to support his family. Echo wasn’t even deploy-able apparently which is how a “mess” is generally defined in the fleet. Osman was one of the problems that Echo was having. Webb helped get the Platoon squared away and off they went overseas for a combat deployment.
In the book it appears they had a successful deployment and did good things, there would be medals to be handed out afterwards, then Osman almost wrecked the whole thing. For those unfamiliar with the book a simmering beef with the Air Force Spec Ops guys got ugly during a drinking party. An Air Force Major had harsh words with another SEAL on the Platoon, they decided to meet at the wire to have a chat. On the way this SEAL ran into a parked Humvee in the dark full tilt and knocked himself silly. Osman ended up striking the Air force Major in the face, knocking him unconscious and shattering his nose. This is a very serious breach of good order and discipline in the military. I have seen guys go to the brig for 10 days just for talking back to an officer who gave them an order. Striking and Officer, means Courts Martial and prison time. What probably saved Osman from Leavenworth and a BCD was that the officer was also drinking while engaged in a personal beef with another enlisted man. That too is a breach. So Osman and the other SEAL involved were shipped home early from the deployment, the SEAL Team Commander read a parchment copy of the Riot Act to the Platoon and the ENTIRE Platoon had there decorations downgraded one level. That means guys who were up for the Bronze Star with a “V” would get the Meritorious Service medal instead.(You see why Bo Gritz having so many medals tripped him up now?)
That’s a hard hit on the guys in Echo. In the military, medals and decorations score on advancement. It might have meant the difference later in guys on that Platoon getting advanced and paid more.
All this because Osman got involved in a beef that really wasn’t even his. Now, he would make claims about backing his “Brothers” in rebuttal and defense. Well, how did he do? He got sent home early, someone had to do his job and got his entire Platoon hosed down by the CO. Took a good deployment by a screwed up Platoon trying to redeem itself and just about flushed it down the head.
And when he returned to what must have been a chilly welcome on the West Coast, rather than set about trying to make amends to his Platoon mates he began a company called TAG which sold gear to the SEALs in violation of conflict of interest regulations. When he was caught the Navy gave him a choice; He could stay with his “Brothers” and ditch the company or keep the money and leave the SEALs behind. He chose the money and left.
Later on Osman sold TAG to a larger company called LM which kept him on only to let him go later over what is rumored to have been a sexual harassment claim made against him by an employee. LM hired him back at some point and he left again for unknown (at least at the present) reasons this last February. I think any claims by Osman to truth telling and sacred care for the “Brotherhood” of SEALs should be considered against his record of not being much of a steward of either. Which brings me to my final point. Why is he doing this?
As men get older, they tend to examine the way they have lived their lives and they have regrets. Maybe in those writhing snakes in Osman’s head this is how he makes good; by crapping on someone else. Because that is his default, crapping on others to make himself feel better. He and Webb use to be friends(for reasons I just can’t imagine) but this too is Osman’s pattern. He screws over everybody eventually. It’s just Webbs turn.
You have good taste, Joni. No doubt on the road does make for interesting stories.
I would love to hear your stories. You got to love the music!!
Suz, I always thought Joe P was hot. Aerosmith was great in concert. I was never considered a groupie, but I have been backstage for many concerts – mostly well known local/Texas acts, but a few national. Sometimes working sound, sometimes hanging out enjoying the show. I still know people in the biz. Yes, I have a few wild and crazy stories to tell. Some stories my own, some belong to friends. Not really a glamorous life to be honest. Nor is playing on the road all the time. You play, pack up and head to the next town. It’s fun for awhile and then it gets old. You really have to love travel. If you are national and have money it can be nice. If you are small time, stuffed in a van with 8 people it gets non glamorous after about mile 10.
Well said Jack.