In this episode, retired agent Robert D’Amico reviews his involvement, as a member of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), in a Navy SEAL’s mission to rescue four Americans taken hostage by Somali pirates on the SV Quest, and, after the mission’s deadly outcome, his capture of the pirates’ shore-based negotiator.
This episode is dedicated to the US Navy SEALs deployed to rescue the SV Quest, who lost their lives six months later onboard Extortion 17–shot down in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011.
Special Agent (Retired)
Robert C. D’Amico
02/1995 – 02/2021
Rob D’Amico served in the FBI for twenty-seven years. His first assignment was to the Miami Division, where he apprehended the most violent felons of South Florida as a member of a multi-agency violent crime fugitive task force. Rob then transitioned into deep undercover work against the most notorious U.S. and Italian based organized crime families.
His prior his ten years in the United States Marine Corps, working reconnaissance missions, led to Rob’s selection to the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, in which he served as a sniper and was first deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Driven by an interest in evolving technologies, he contributed to the HRT’s “Tech Shop.” His award-winning designs enhanced the group’s domestic and overseas operations.
Rob’s time on the HRT placed him at each pivotal step in the resolution of kidnapping and hostile detention matters. He has worked on every facet of operations—negotiating hostage releases and exchanges, operated under the highest pressure against pirates, negotiators, warlords, leaders of terrorist networks as well as with ambassadors, generals, foreign ministers, and non-government organizations. Rob was named the first FBI/HRT Tactical Liaison to Joint Special Operations Command, National Mission Force Units, and United States Marine Corps, where he oversaw all FBI personnel embedded in counterterrorism task forces around the globe and was frequently deployed on no-notice overseas contingency operations. As the senior FBI advisor to the commanding general, he shaped all FBI-JSOC operations and senior leader engagements. He ended his time on the HRT as the Deputy Operations Chief based in Quantico Virginia.
Before and after this assignment, Rob was the Assistant Legal Attaché (ALAT) embedded liaison to Counterterrorism Task Force in Bagram Afghanistan and the Legal Attaché (LEGAT) in Kabul, Afghanistan.
After returning to the Bureau’s domestic efforts, he led the counter-drone unit—and, for several years, was tasked with protecting national events such as the Super Bowl and World Series before retiring from the federal government.
Upon his retirement, Rob was initially appointed as a Chief Security Officer for a large international corporation where he built an AI-integrated surveillance approach to enhance security for large multi-discipline entertainment and top sporting events. He serves as an advisory council member of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, and an advisory board member of Dedrone, one of the top counter-drone companies in the world.
Currently, Rob is Founder and Principal Consultant for Sierra One Consulting. Based on his professional expertise, he has provided news commentary for the top national media outlets in the country and is currently under contract as a national security and law enforcement analyst with MSNBC/NBC.
He is also the host of the Inside The Line podcast with Rob, which is currently on YouTube but coming to podcast apps soon.The first episode of his podcast features an interview about the Somali pirate case with retired agent Kate Kelley, the evidence response team agent in charge of the crime scene on the SV Quest .
The following are links to news articles about the hijacking of the SV Quest by Somali pirates:
Sail World – 2/28/2011: Quest incident – the final moments
ABC News – 2/19/2011: Somali Pirates Seize a Yacht, the Quest, with Four Americans on Board
FBI Website Release – 4/13/2011: Alleged Somali Hostage Negotiator Charged with Piracy, Kidnapping Charges
Christian Science monitor – 4/13/2011: US seizes man in Somalia, says he was pirates’ negotiator in fatal hijacking
BBC News – 10/3/2011: Somali pirates get life in jail
Press Release U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia – 1/14/2013: Somali Pirates Sentenced To Multiple Life Sentences In Murder Of Four Americans Aboard SV QUEST
REUTERS – 8/13/2012: Somali pirate negotiator receives 12 life sentences in U.S. court
Listen to FBI Retired Case File Review episode 137: Mark Thundercloud – Negotiating Philippine Kidnapping, Captain Phillips to learn more about how the FBI negotiates for the release of Americans kidnapped overseas.
The following are images related to the hijacking of the SV Quest by Somali pirates:
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