Billy and Karen Vaughn slammed President Barack Obama and the Rules of Engagement put in place on his watch as being largely to blame for the death of their son, Special Operations Chief Aaron Carson Vaughn, a member of U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six who died along with 29 others on Aug. 6, 2011, after their helicopter, call sign “Extortion 17,” was shot down in Afghanistan.

“It would be fair to say we became tragically aware that perhaps the cruelest, most-deceitful acts of this Administration have been perpetrated against the very ones who fight to defend and protect it,” said Karen Vaughn, speaking recently before a distinguished audience of combat veterans and elected officials in St. Augustine, Fla.

The fallen SEAL’s mother would go on to describe President Obama’s Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan the night her son died as “criminal” and blame Vice President Joe Biden for placing targets on the backs of members of SEAL Team Six via his comments about the unit being responsible for the death of Osama Bin Laden May 2, 2011.

After his wife spoke, Billy Vaughn recalled how a three-star admiral told grieving family members — parents and spouses of the fallen warriors — that their decision-making was based on wanting to win “the hearts and minds” of the enemy rather than defeat him.

“Aaron did not join the SEAL Challenge Program after September 11, 2001, to win their hearts and minds,” the father explained.  “He joined, and was trained, to defeat the enemy.

“America’s enemies throughout the world must know that America is strong and that we will lead,” he continued.  “For their to be peace as much as is humanly possible, America’s enemies must know that their is resolve among our leadership.

“We must let our warriors use the force that is necessary to defeat the enemy and allow as many of them as possible to return home safely to those that love them,” he said before concluding, “America needs a commander-in-chief who has our military’s back, and that is not President Barack Obama.”

Vote wisely, folks.

To learn more about the Vaughns and the organization they founded in the wake of their son’s death, visit http://ForOurSon.us.

Bob McCarty is the author of “Three Days In August: A U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier’s Fight For Military Justice,” a nonfiction book that’s available in paperback and ebook via most online booksellers, including Amazon.com. His second book, “The CLAPPER MEMO,” is set for release this fall.