The killing of the elusive international terrorist Osama bin Laden has focused the arclights on the Navy SEALs. Here are the men who dared to undertake operations which ordinary mortals would shudder to think of. Some of them have been decorated with the Medal of Honor, the US’s highest tribute.

Navy SEALs who have been decorated with the Medal of Honor include: Lt Thomas Norris (Vietnam); Lt (jg) Joseph Robert Kerrey (Vietnam); Lt Michael Edwin Thornton (Vietnam); Lt Michael P. Murphy (Afghanistan) and Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor (Iraq).

Vice Admiral William H. McRaven

The man in the spotlight is Vice Admiral William H. McRaven, one of the most experienced terrorist hunters in the US. A former SEAL himself, McRaven tapped a special unit for Operation Neptune Spear, two months earlier.

He has worked almost exclusively on counterterrorism operations and strategy since 2001, when as a Navy captain he was assigned to the White House shortly after the September 11 attacks. The author of a textbook titled “Spec Ops” McRaven had long emphasised six key requirements for any successful mission: surprise, speed, security, simplicity, purpose, precision and repetition.

Although he’s a three-star admiral, the muscular 55-year-old still sometimes accompanies his teams on snatch-and-grab missions.

Roy Boehm (April 9, 1924 – December 30, 2008)

Arguably one of most famous of all Navy SEALs, and considered the godfather of all SEALs. He was the first officer in charge of SEAL Team Two.

Roy. H. Boehm served the military for 30 years in various capacities, and rose from the enlisted ranks to develop, and lead what was to become part of the elite combat force. He was instrumental in not only designing and developing but also implementing and leading this commando force.

Michael Anthony Monsoor (April 5, 1981 – September 29, 2006)

Monsoor was killed during the Iraq War and posthumously received the Medal of Honor. Monsoor enlisted in the US Navy in 2001 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in 2004.

Delta Platoon was sent to Iraq in April 2006 and assigned to train Iraqi Army soldiers in Ramadi. Monsoor and his platoon frequently engaged in combat with insurgent forces. On September 29, 2006 an insurgent threw a grenade onto a rooftop where Monsoor and several other SEALs and Iraqi soldiers were positioned. Monsoor quickly smothered the grenade with his body, absorbing the resulting explosion and saving his comrades from serious injury or death. Monsoor died 30 minutes later from serious wounds caused by the grenade explosion.

In October 2008, the US announced that DDG-1001, the second ship in the Zumwalt class of destroyers, would be named Michael Monsoor in his honor.

Michael Patrick Murphy (May 7, 1976 – June 28, 2005)

He was the first person to be awarded the medal for actions in Afghanistan; and the first member of the US Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War.

After college he accepted a commission in the United States Navy and became a United States Navy SEAL in July 2002. Murphy was sent on several missions while participating in the Global War on Terrorism and was killed on June 28, 2005, after his team was compromised and surrounded by Taliban forces near Asadabad, Afghanistan.

On May 7, the US Navy christened its newest guided-missile destroyer, pre-commissioning unit (PCU) Michael Murphy (DDG 112) during a ceremony at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The new destroyer was christened on what would have been Murphy’s 35th birthday.

Navy SEALs Trivia

• SEALs crash through doors and ‘double tap’ their enemy’s face, as they did to Osama bin Laden, to ensure he was dead
• A SEAL has never been left behind on a mission nor captured
• There are currently about 2,290 active-duty SEALs
• There are no women Navy SEALs
• About 25 per cent of trainees make it through training to become SEALs
• The SEALs have to do 42 push-ups in under two minutes
• Some Navy SEALs have drank snake venom to survive
• The film Navy SEALs starring Charlie Sheen focuses on their operations. The story of the movie was written by a Navy SEAL