Iraq, Afghanistan further hone SEALs

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By Jim Michaels and Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY

Special operations forces such as the Navy SEALs have become increasingly important to the kind of irregular warfare seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dick Couch, a former SEAL commander in Vietnam who served as maritime operations officer for the CIA, says such forces have become extremely proficient after nearly 10 years of combat. "The enemy has forced us to be very good at these things," he says.

The killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEALS is the most significant mission conducted by U.S. commandos since the U.S. Special Operations Command was formed in 1987, retired Army general Doug Brown told the Associated Press.

Special operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan conduct raids daily to capture insurgent leaders, and the SEALS are trained especially for "urban assaults" such as the raid on bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2011-05-03-SEALs-bin-laden-iraq-afghanistan_n.htm