Navy SEAL Heroes

Well, with all the media coverage about SEALs lately, I felt the need to do up a short post here. By now we all know about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, and which group of SEALs carried it out. This morning I was disturbed to learn (from a former SEAL's wife) that reporters are scouring the towns and bars closest to DevGru's base in VA, trying to learn the identities of the team members. Call me crazy, but I thought they were a Black Ops group for a reason. "Outing" the members is not only bad for security and morale, it places their families in danger from any extremists looking for a way to exact revenge. If I was a SEAL, I'd be pissed about this. And maybe it's just me, but pissing off a SEAL doesn't seem like a good idea. Ever.

Since the May 1st night-time announcement by President Obama, there has been an insane amount of increased interest in these elite warriors. There's even been a huge increase in demand for SEAL romance novels, as outlined in a recent Washington Post article that mentions Suzanne Brockmann's series (click HERE to see article). Even my little series has seen a bump in sales since last week. Yay!

The emblem at the start of this post is the coveted SEAL Trident, and only a very select few will ever earn the right to wear one. For good reason. The Navy does a very good job at weeding out all but the toughest, most determined and physically fit men. It's no wonder why the public sees them as heroes, so it stands to reason that these alpha male warriors would wind up as characters in romance novels. But I suspect that SEALs, and all other Special Ops members for that matter, don't do what they do to win the hearts and minds of the US public. In fact, they'd no doubt prefer to stay off the radar, and simply be left alone so they can do their jobs and hopefully come home safely to their families. They are all to be admired, yes, but let's give them the respect they're due. Along with our heartfelt thank-yous, let's give them the privacy they deserve. I think they've earned that right.