Nightly News   |  May 02, 2011

Navy SEALS quietly share American public's pride

The individuals directly responsible for the Osama bin Laden mission will most likely not get any public recognition for their heroism. But in Coronado, California, "The Home of the SEALS," there's a special sense of pride. NBC's George Lewis reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> operation was carried out by u.s. special forces , but meost of the commandos on the raid were from the branch of the service who will tell you they're the best and the toughest to get into with an 80% failure rate. that's the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s. their headquarters, coronado, california, our own george lewis spent time with them there today.

>> reporter: most people who start the punishing three years of s.e.a.l. training discover they're not cut out for this. 3 out of 4 will drop out before they complete the course.

>> get your hand on the right side.

>> reporter: the navy goes to extremes here. emphasizing extreme physical fitness , extreme mental alertness, and extreme courage.

>> it's a lot that goes into training. a lot of mental strain upon them.

>> reporter: in this exercise, s.e.a.l.s are thought to react quickly in a dark environment. if the hoods are pulled off their heads, they have to target the bad guys. the kind of skills that would have been needed in the osama bin laden mission.

>> we had a clue that if and whewe took him down, it would be the deal.

>> this is a big community, so we're really proud.

>> this was the scene last night at a bar owned by a former s.e.a.l.

>> you can count on the navy s.e.a.l.ess and the special forces to do the hard jobs.

>> ed winters sent out this e-mail, today, we should all be proud. that handful of kerr rages men, of strong will and character have changed the course of history. the fight is not over. even as more young s.e.a.l. recruits train to join that fight. the admiral calls the s.e.a.l.s the quiet professionals. because they operate in secrecly, the men who took part in theupeeration may never be recognized publicly.

>> george lewis , california, thanks. i'm