The Secret History of SEAL Team 6

When you think of SEAL Team 6, you probably think of the Navy special operations force that killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011. It's true that the team is tasked with carrying out the most sensitive and risky military operations, like rescuing Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates.

But throughout the so-called "War on Terror," they've often been assigned to more routine missions, something that's turned the elite group into a global manhunting machine that operates with limited outside oversight.

SEAL Team 6 brings high levels of aggression to nearly every mission, and civilians have gotten caught in the crossfire—a British aid worker was accidentally with a grenade while SEAL Team 6 tried to rescue her from Taliban captors, for example.

And since the group’s missions are conducted in secret, it’s hard to assess its record. But a new investigation by our partner The New York Times attempts to piece together the secret history of SEAL Team 6.

Nicholas Kulish, a correspondent for our partner The New York Times, has the details on this story.