Excerpt from December 2014 New York Times Article: United States commandos stormed a village in southern Yemen early Saturday in an effort to free an American photojournalist held hostage by Al Qaeda, but the raid ended in tragedy, with the kidnappers killing the American and a South African held with him, United States officials said.
The hostages — Luke Somers, an American photojournalist, and Pierre Korkie, a South African teacher — were killed by their captors, militants from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, when they realized the rescue effort was underway. President Obama said he had authorized the operation, led by about three dozen Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos, after concluding that Mr. Somers’s life was in “imminent danger.”
It was the second attempt by United States forces to rescue Mr. Somers from Yemen in less than two weeks. Despite the deaths of the hostages, as well as several Yemeni civilians, President Obama said his administration would not back down from using military power to free its captured citizens.
“As this and previous hostage rescue operations demonstrate, the United States will spare no effort to use all of its military, intelligence and diplomatic capabilities to bring Americans home safely, wherever they are located,” he said in a statement.
Chief Master Sergeant Geoff Ikert is one of the senior Air Force Special Operations Command representatives in Indo-Pacific Command—currently serving in Okinawa. Chief Ikert will touch on some current events and planning with respect to China, before delving into some of his earlier career on the Arabian Peninsula. Policy makers can be far removed for the tactical events carrying out policy. Hear from a seasoned and decorated operator who has been at the tip of the spear, executing policy with 20+ years of military service.
Read Chief Ikert's full bio here.
