President Obama Thanks SEALs for ‘Job well done’
President Barack Obama speaks to troops as Vice President Joe Biden, left, listens at Fort Campbell, Ky., Friday.
President Obama thanks Navy SEALs team that killed Osama Bin Laden
(NYDailyNews) WASHINGTON — A beaming President Obama had a rousing message Friday for the Navy SEALs who wiped out Osama Bin Laden: “Job well done.”
Obama thanked the commandos and the chopper pilots who ferried them into Pakistan for the Sunday raid during a private powwow at Fort Campbell, Ky.
He awarded the unnamed heroes a Presidential Unit Citation – the highest honor for a military unit – for their “extraordinary service and achievement.”
Moments later, addressing paratroopers from the 101st Airborne who just returned from Afghanistan, Obama expressed relief that the Sept. 11 mastermind “will never threaten America again.”
Obama said the nation had promised never to forget 9/11, and “today here at Ft. Campbell, I had the privilege of meeting the extraordinary special ops folks who honored that promise.”
“This has been an historic week in the life of our nation,” he added.
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Meeting the SEALs, and the “Night Stalkers” from the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment who flew the helicopters, gave him “a chance to say ‘Job well done, job well done,’” Obama said.
“They’re America’s ‘quiet professionals’ – because success demands secrecy,” Obama told about 2,000 “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st, who hooted and hollered their approval.
“They trained for years. They’re battle-hardened. They practiced tirelessly for this mission. And when I gave the order, they were ready.
The boisterous session with the 101st contrasted sharply with the somber remembrance a day earlier at Ground Zero, where he met with victims’ families.
Obama told the troops of 14-year-old Payton Wall, whose dad was among the victims on 9/11. Obama said Payton told him that “ever since my father died, I lost a part of me that can never be replaced.”
Obama said that “for her, and for all of us, this week has been a reminder of what we’re about as a people.
“We’re still the America that does the hard things, the great things. We do not falter, we do not fall back and we get on with the task.”
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