Nine Years Ago Today A K9 Named Cairo Helped Storm Bin Laden's Compound - Hear From His Handler, Former Navy SEAL Will Chesney
On today's show we had former Navy SEALs Will Chesney and Mark Semos.
After his time in service Semos went on to become a stunt man/actor/writer/producer/special ops advisor & more.... nbd. And then he linked up with Chesney who had an incredible tale about his relationship with military working dog, Cairo, who was with him on the Bin Laden raid. Together they helped tell his story that goes far beyond that day & shares the ups & downs of life after war.
You can check out Chesney's book which they described almost like a military 'Marley & Me' here: No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Starting in 2008, when Will was introduced to the SEAL canine program, he and Cairo worked side by side, depending on each other for survival on hundreds of critical operations in the war on terrorism. But their bond transcended their service. Then, in 2011, the call came: Pick up your dog and get back to Virginia. Now.
What followed were several weeks of training for a secret mission. It soon became clear that this was no ordinary operation. Cairo was among the first members of the U.S. military on the ground in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the successful elimination of bin Laden.
As Cairo settled into a role as a reliable “spare dog,” Will went back to his job as a DEVGRU operator, until a grenade blast in 2013 left him with a brain injury and PTSD. Unable to participate in further missions, he suffered from crippling migraines, chronic pain, memory issues, and depression. Modern medicine provided only modest relief. Instead, it was up to Cairo to save Will's life once more―and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most.
Big thanks to Chesney & Semos for taking the time to speak with us. You can catch it HERE around minute 54:00.
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On a much less impressive note… Also in today's show Chaps convinced me there was once a military working dog named Pussy Mouth and I whole-heartedly believed him.