Indianapolis mayor welcomes Navy SEALS 8.10.11

WTHR

INDIANAPOLIS - Some Navy SEALs stopped by the Medal of Honor Memorial Wednesday for a special visit.
A handful of active Seals traveling across the country stopped by. They received a police escort to the Medal of Honor Memorial downtown. Mayor Greg Ballard talked privately with them and then welcomed them publicly.
"We really respect what you guys do daily. It hurts us when we hear things like we heard last weekend dramatically because we know what you do and I just want to welcome you here. You do things because of us. We really truly appreciate what you do. We just want to welcome you here. Hope you enjoy the city of Indianapolis for a few hours and enjoy the Medal of Honor Memorial," said the mayor.
Eyewitness News was not allowed to show or speak to the Seals during their visit.
Afghanistan developments
The top commander in Afghanistan says international forces killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for downing a U.S. helicopter and killing 38 U.S. and Afghan forces over the weekend. The team included 22 Navy SEAL personnel, three Air Force airmen, a five-member Army air crew and a military dog.
Marine Corps Gen. John Allen told a Pentagon news conference Wednesday that forces learned where the insurgents had fled to and killed them in an early Monday morning air strike.
A separate statement to the media from Afghanistan said the strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah and the insurgent who fired the rocket-propelled grenade that downed the Chinook helicopter.
Military investigators are trying to determine what went wrong in the downing of the chopper that killed 30 American troops and eight Afghans.
Questions remain about why the troops were called in to aid other U.S. combatants engaged in a firefight, what they knew about the situation on the ground and what role the flight path or altitude may have played in the disastrous crash.
Pentagon officials would not discuss the details of the probe, but it no doubt will include a look at the insurgent threat and the instructions given to the special operations team that crowded into a big Chinook helicopter as it raced to assist other U.S. forces.
According to officials, the team was flying in to help U.S. Army Rangers who were going after insurgents on the ground. Seven Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter were also on board.
The helicopter apparently was shot down by an insurgent armed with a rocket-propelled grenade. It was the single deadliest loss in the decade-long war.
Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, has appointed Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Colt to lead the investigation. Colt is deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The investigation comes as the remains of the troops killed in the crash were returned Tuesday in an operation shrouded in secrecy by a Defense Department that has refused so far to release the names of the fallen and denied media coverage of the arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
http://www.wthr.com/story/15243547/indianapolis-mayor-welcomes-navy-seals