Posted on 11/08/2014 10:12:25 AM PST by kindred
The Navy SEAL who shot dead al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is now reportedly living in poverty after leaving the military four years short of being eligible to receive his pension, he claims.
Robert O’Neill, 38, from Montana, went public with his identity after meeting family members of 9/11 terror attack victims, he told the Washington Post. And now the heroic commando is saying he was left high and dry by the government he dedicated his life to serving.
“The families told me it helped bring them some closure,” said O’Neill, of killing the al-Qaeda founder.
O’Neill will also be the subject of a two-part interview airing next week on Fox News, the network announced.
His identity was revealed in advance of the scheduled interviews by a Navy SEAL-run website as a form of protest over him planning to go public. It was also independently confirmed to the Post by two other Navy SEALs.
The former SEAL also told the Post he was concerned his identity would be made public by one of several members of government privy to the information.
O’Neill previously told reporters of his role in the assault, but only on condition his identity not be revealed. He was a member of the elite SEAL Team 6, often called on to perform the most dangerous of missions.
“There was bin Laden, standing there,” the commando previously told Esquire. “He had his hands on a woman’s shoulders pushing her ahead.
“In that second, I shot him, two times in the forehead,” he recalled in the 2013 to the magazine. “Bap! Bap! The second time, as he is going down. He crumbled to the floor in front of his bed and I hit him again.”
The terror mastermind died instantly after the first shot split his skull, O’Neill told the magazine.
O’Neill’s career has inspired three movies: “Captain Phillips,” about the rescue of a ship captain from Somali pirates; “Lone Survivor,” which dramatized the hunt for Taliban leader Ahmad Shah; and “Zero Dark Thirty,” about the bin Laden mission.
O’Neill now tours the country as a motivational speaker but claims he is barely making ends meet.
A man who earned more than 50 medals serving over 400 combat missions during his 16 years as a Navy SEAL does not even have health insurance, his father told the Daily Mail.
He also has no military pension.
No good deed goes unpunished under the madmen regime of liars and thieves.
Sorry things are tough for him. But, I think if I were in his shoes, I’d want to keep my identity as the guy who pulled the trigger quiet, in the interests of longevity.
I read that 20 years service was required for a pension. Did I read wrong?
Any idea why he left the service ahead of retirement?
He has VA benefits (admittedly, not much but it IS something).
After his service and what he has gone through, hard to believe he is not receiving some sort of VA disability for injuries received during active duty.
VA medical and disability payments are another thing entirely.
If this is true, that he has NO PENSION,(!!!!) I find that a terrible oversight that should have been fixed years ago. Such an ‘oversight’ could not occur without a clear directive not to do what is most logical and clearly deserved. Somebody wanted him to suffer, wilt and wither away in anonymity. I have my guesses on who would implement such a malicious directive.
If this is true, he was failed by many agencies of the military. I thought he was a motivational speaker. Maybe one cannot support themselves on speaking fees alone unless you’re a former president.
Maybe he should ask Hillary and Bill how they get six figure sums for speaking about nothing.
Why did he leave the service?
Why didn’t he get in his 20?
Didn't Leon Panetta and Biden give out the details and names....and then the Helicopter that contained most of them was shot down and they were all killed?? Am I not remembering right??
I’ll gladly send him $100.
Good question. More to the story.
“”Any idea why he left the service ahead of retirement?””
I’m curious also.
That surprised me too. I'm a bit confused.
yup.
and nObama “got” bin laden and cannot take care of his men.
how presidential
nObama? Our first muslim president who has doen everything to marginalize America and its safety.
I am sure the military respects this pos pResident!
This Administration has left alot of highly motivated warriors high-&-dry...The Intelligence Community (IC) is one of them!
Just to get back in after the total annihilation of the IC by Barry’s Boys - I have been training in cyber security and hacking over the last year. Alot of material - several certifications and I have one more to go to get back on a top level position...having the right skill sets nowadays is crucial - that US Seal should have been advised of that and taken his GI Bill and put it towards Cyber Warfare.
I didn’t want to waste my civilian/military law enforcement - my intelligence - irregular warfare & counter-insurgent background and found that computer hacking & penetration testing folding all that together for a hybrid skill set - something in demand at the moment - and the way things look - forever into the foreseeable future...
He needs to do that...there are several programs that will give him the funding...taking the step forward is all he needs to do...then again - there’s overseas contracting and PSD work still out there...
“”hard to believe he is not receiving some sort of VA disability for injuries received during active duty. “”
I haven’t read anything reporting he was wounded in those 14 years.
20 years is required but wanna bet the man was not run out by the new age obamanation regime?
I believe the democrat administration is at war with those who do good for others.
No matter if people can agree on him revealing his identity or not (another topic), it’s completely wrong for this veteran not to have his full pension and health care. It’s such a shame that our veterans are not being taken care of in the highest regards of their financial benefits to respect. I do pray that he will be alright. I am very concerned about him.
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