Bizarrely - or perhaps not so bizarrely depending on how you view it - someone
I know was flown to a funeral of one of the deceased SEALs.
Being top secret stuff and all that, I asked if (s)he might have gotten a glimpse of the deceased. The deceased was nowhere - allegedly vaporized and mixed into all sorts of scraps from the crash - or so they were told.
Therefore, I suggested, because of the spooky nature of the military brass my friend was meeting - perhaps the memorial service was not a funeral or wake but more of a "good bye" to someone on a secret mission ... disguised to the outside world as an ordinary memorial service so that they can safely fake-die and fulfill the role of "martyred Osama-bomber".
(S)he didn't necessarily like this idea but said "a lot of respect" was displayed there, which I found personally touching. However, it should be noted that the people attending this group memorial for those who've been reported to have died, included President Obama, the Secretary of Defense, his wife, and so forth - all of whom my friend met in person. I don't think I'm betraying much by repeating my friend's opinion that Obama had somewhat of a "disappointing" handshake.
The military officialness, the clockworkly timed "Afghanistan tragedy", the re-election season and the "group memorial" bit -- to me, it all smells as a group of soldiers who go into hiding after they are ordered to do so. My friend is sadly unwilling to pry into this right now - but (s)he did laugh and agreed when I suggested that this group was very publicly "secret" and so this story could mean anything - although it most certainly means (s)he will never see this soldier again at a family reunion.
I was surprised how well they took to my introduction to some of the ideas on this forum, also. So -- who knows why this is such a big public operation for something so allegedly "secret" but it is awfully interesting to see the dullness with which this kind of story is hitting people ... almost as if it's all rather boring and mundane "military stuff".
I think people being bored with the military madness - if not downright opposed - is progress. Especially since this intolerance for military hijinks and openness to discussing CIA misbehavior is coming from those related to "casualties of war." I like to believe people are catching on.
