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.
I had a few relatives that were non disabled/non retired that had them but I cannot tell you their whole circumstance.
To clarify. Can’t tell you because I have no idea if there was something else involves with them having them.
I meant short-termers, honorably (or ‘generally’? discharged.
Retired have no limits of course.
He made a choice to get out at 16 years.
He knew if he got out at 16 he got zip, nada, nothing.
He knew if he served 4 more years he would get 50% for life.
He choice.
““”Any idea why he left the service ahead of retirement?””
I’m curious also.”
These guys probably go through a huge amount in just a couple of years of this type of service; let alone 16.
The military should find a way to make it right for them.
Somewhere around 14 - 16 years in the service member takes (I hope he did) a hard look at their life.
4 to 6 more years of the samo-samo to hit 20 and retire. A little older, no assets and no firm job offer but his retired pay.
Or get out now while a little younger, no retired pay but a chance to get a better paying job.
He pulled the trigger and missed.
Thanks.
I recall a time during a drawdown in the mid-90’s or so when many were offered an early out, not a retirement, but some sort of term-limited pay-plan and limited access to base facilities.
Why would you send him 100? He’s not telling the truth, Osama was dead long before they went into Pakistan. Unless you just believe everything you see on the news.
May have been that. One way or the other it’s pretty screwed up that every few years the military loses another chunk of benefits to fund more undeserved welfare.
Odd indeed. We just don’t know.
Why indeed.
Yes. Too bad he didn’t do the final 4 years...for whatever reasons. Makes a big difference.
BTW, got a kick out of your “Larry the local liberal”!
I don’t have a problem with expecting 38 year olds to work for a living instead of living easy on a pension. He has hiring preferences for almost all federal jobs and most state jobs.
And what kind of discharge did he get if he Doesn’t quality for VA benefits?
“He also has no military pension.”
“Members of Congress are eligible for a pension after just five years in office,...The pensions that lawmakers get are defined benefit plans, which means they are guaranteed to be paid a certain sum for as long as they’re alive. Another perk: These benefits increase with the cost of living. Both are features that have become rare in private sector retirement plans.”
Fat pensions for outgoing lawmakers
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3224063/posts
Lawmakers get 10% pension even if they only “serve” 5 years. Most gov’t employees have a formula of a percent times number of years. They get something even if they only work a few years.
It is a sad situation. But the country has not turned its back on him as a veteran. He just has not earned retirement benefits from the Department of Defense.
As a veteran he has earned benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and likely through his state Veterans Affairs. These are government programs for veterans provided by a grateful nation and grateful states.
Additionally veterans organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars are always ready to assist. Post and Department Service Officers will assist any veteran to initiate benefit claims.
And finally good people such as you can be counted on to help if alerted to a need and a mechanism.
So though the regime despises those who are and have served, We The People treasure them and work hard to ensure veterans are taken care of.
“I read that 20 years service was required for a pension. Did I read wrong?”
No, you did not read wrong. Though the government is seriously considering changing the way people qualify for retirement again. They have done some things during the various draw-downs that gave partial entitlements or lump-sum payments to people who voluntarily separated prior to being eligible for retirement, but only in certain overage specialties and fields. I doubt SEAL or any other special forces troops would have been eligible for those.
Old Student
MSgt, USAF(Ret.) 1973-1997
According to this article from last January, "Currently, after 20 years of service, regardless of age, a military retiree qualifies for a pension amounting to 50% of final pay with an additional 2.5 percentage points for each year of service beyond 20." A four-star with 40 years in (100%) would get $237k (base pay for a four-star is only $181.5k, but other allowances can boost their compensation by up to a third).
“Second, it is not a pension. It is retired pay.”
Technically, it is referred to as a military pension. There is no such thing as retired pay. The government doesn’t pay you to be retired. It is a retirement pension based on the pay schedule at the time of your retirement. In addition, there is an entirely separate veterans pension program available from the VA to those that meet the eligibility rules. Generally, the VA pension is only for those who are living in poverty.
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