U.s. navy seal dies in training

[Mister Frag 0]

From http://www.cnn.com/2002....ex.html

U.S. Navy SEAL dies in training

August 30, 2002 Posted: 2:55 AM EDT (0655 GMT)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- A U.S. Navy SEAL commander died when he fell while repelling down from an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during training exercises in southern El Salvador, officials said.

Cmdr. Peter G. Oswald, head of the navy's Puerto Rico-based Special Warfare Unit Four, had been fast-roping down to the ground Tuesday outside Comalapa, a city 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the capital, San Salvador.

Fast roping is a technique used to lower soldiers from a hovering helicopter onto a moving ship, said a spokesman for U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Florida, responsible for U.S. military operations and training in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Oswald died during a late afternoon, dry-land rehearsal of a fast-roping exercise his unit had planned to do over the Pacific Ocean later in the week, the spokesman said.

In a statement released Wednesday, the navy said officials had not determined why Oswald fell, but said a team of investigators had traveled to the accident site and had begun a full investigation.

Oswald, 41, was from Bellingham, Washington, but had been living at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico with his family at the time of his death, the navy reported.

Oswald's brother, Stephen, is a former NASA astronaut who piloted the Space Shuttle Discovery during a mission in 1992 and commanded the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor during a subsequent mission in 1995. He now heads Boeing Co.'s shuttle program.

Peter Oswald's unit, which is in charge of all naval special operations missions and training for the Southern Command, arrived in El Salvador for a set of scheduled exercises with Salvadoran military forces on Saturday and was scheduled to return to Puerto Rico on Thursday.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in San Salvador said Wednesday night that the exercises continued as scheduled after Oswald's death.

[Guest]

Well, training accidents do happen. Sad, but not surprising.

I might add that three Swedish soldiers were seriously injured in an accident in Kosovo today.

[Aculaud 0]

I smell a new form of fast insertion needed. This would be just about the last thing his team would've needed if they were being deployed into combat.

[ran 0]

this is an affair for the JAG :

just kidding ...

a death during a training mission is always sad , but those are the risks of the job .....

[ralphwiggum 6]

sad..my condolences to the family to both SEAL and Swedish soldiers.

and who still wants fast rope insertion in OFP?

[second_draw 0]

What is the like actual cause of death (i know it was fast roping but was it slippage, ropes, etc.)? I have a pretty good idea of fast roping. I have down a bit abseiling, so did they not get their hand around their bum to slow down? plz, fill me in.

[Mister Frag 0]

Cause of death was probably head trauma or spinal injuries. As to why he fell, who knows, it could have been equipment failure or a procedural mistake.

As you can see from the news report, it will be investigated, but whether we will ever see an update of that story remains to be seen.

[Assault (CAN) 1]

I beleive 'fast roping' is done without any safety devices, they just grab onto the rope and slide down it like a fireman's pole. That's how the first injury happened in Mogadishu, an Army Ranger missed the rope on the way out and fell about 40 feet.

Regular rapelling or 'abseiling' scares the crap out of me. I could never do a fast rope from a helicopter..... without crapping my pants.

Tyler

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Assault (CAN) @ Sep. 01 2002,11:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I could never do a fast rope from a helicopter..... without crapping my pants.<span id='postcolor'>

In that case, if the jump doesn't kill you, the guy who climbed down just before you will.

[Assault (CAN) 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">In that case, if the jump doesn't kill you, the guy who climbed down just before you will. <span id='postcolor'>

LOL, I would imagine he would be in shock, or blind from the crap on his face.

[Col. Kurtz 0]

You might learn to fast rope really fast when the 5.56mm flies!

Down the rope and off into the sunset

[Harnu 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Aculaud @ Aug. 30 2002,20:27)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I smell a new form of fast insertion needed. This would be just about the last thing his team would've needed if they were being deployed into combat.<span id='postcolor'>

I don't think one accident calls for a re-format

[Warin 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Harnu @ Sep. 01 2002,20:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Aculaud @ Aug. 30 2002,20:27)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I smell a new form of fast insertion needed. This would be just about the last thing his team would've needed if they were being deployed into combat.<span id='postcolor'>

I don't think one accident calls for a re-format<span id='postcolor'>

I agree. With as high risk an operation as fast roping, I dont see the occasional training fatality as a reason to condemn the technique.

Soldiers know the risk when they sign up. And then when you join a special operations command, you know the extra risks added. These guys didnt join up to sit in the barracks and be safe all the time. They know the risks and they accept them. Sad that he died in training? yes. Unexpected that there will be training fatalities? No.

[Paratrooper 0]

Accidents are sad but a soldier's job is a dangerous one, even in peacetime.

[Rob 1]

If any of you guys have seen Black Hawk Down, one of the soldiers does this in the middle of the fire fight. He gets told to go down the rope and as hes going for it one of the guys in the heli sees someone with a missile launcher. So he tells the pilot to quickly move the helicopter, as he does this the rope is pulled away from the soldier and he falls to his death onto his back.

[Warin 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Rob @ Sep. 01 2002,23:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If any of you guys have seen Black Hawk Down, one of the soldiers does this in the middle of the fire fight. He gets told to go down the rope and as hes going for it one of the guys in the heli sees someone with a missile launcher. So he tells the pilot to quickly move the helicopter, as he does this the rope is pulled away from the soldier and he falls to his death onto his back.<span id='postcolor'>

Just for clarification:

1) He didnt die

2) The 'Dodge the RPG' thing is a movie invention. In reality, Blackburne just fell. No one knows why, not even him.

[NavyEEL 0]

Fast roping is much more complicated than "sliding down a rope". I know a lot of people can't imagine how someone could fall when all they have to do is hang onto a rope, but there are a lot of factors than must be taken into account. Wind speed, speed of the helicopter, turbulence, ground conditions, whether or not you're taking fire, and the amount of gear you're carrying (SEALs often carry upwards of 60lbs of gear... that really weighs you down when fast roping or swimming, regardless of how "macho" you may think you are). That's all I'm going to say because any additional information would just be pointless; many of you just wouldn't understand anyway. Oh and yes fast roping is effective, and it's arguably the most effective method of quickly inserting special operations units. It's a sad tragedy that this soldier made the ultimate sacrifice... he was a SEAL, one of America's best.

[Rob 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Warin @ Sep. 01 2002,01:14)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Rob @ Sep. 01 2002,23:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If any of you guys have seen Black Hawk Down, one of the soldiers does this in the middle of the fire fight. He gets told to go down the rope and as hes going for it one of the guys in the heli sees someone with a missile launcher. So he tells the pilot to quickly move the helicopter, as he does this the rope is pulled away from the soldier and he falls to his death onto his back.<span id='postcolor'>

Just for clarification:

1) He didnt die

2) The 'Dodge the RPG' thing is a movie invention. In reality, Blackburne just fell. No one knows why, not even him.<span id='postcolor'>

*cough*perfectionist*cough*