Robert O’Neill; the SEAL who shot bin Laden
My inbox has been full of links to articles about Robert O’Neill, who everyone agrees was the fellow who shot bin Laden. Apparently, he was worried that someone was going to leak his name, so O’Neill beat them to the punch, well, along with folks like our friends at SOFREF. According to the Washington Post, he’s been a motivational speaker for a while and he’s spoken publicly, so it really was just a matter of time, anyway;
O’Neill, in two meetings with The Post, said he had anticipated the criticism. He said his decision to go public was confirmed after a private encounter over the summer with relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on New York’s World Trade Center.
O’Neill, who works as a motivational speaker, had been invited to address a gathering of 9/11 family members at the National September 11 Memorial Museum shortly before its official opening. During what he described as a highly emotional exchange, O’Neill decided spontaneously to talk about how bin Laden died.
“The families told me it helped bring them some closure,” O’Neill said.
The meeting was facilitated by a member of the New York congressional delegation who asked O’Neill if he would donate his uniform to the museum’s collection.
“He insisted on doing this anonymously to honor his unit, however the incredible interest in this story made this difficult,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.).
Well, if members of Congress knew his name, you know it couldn’t stay secret for very much longer.They always like to act like they’re the smartest person in the room.
But I guess he’s going to be interviewed on Fox News beginning on Veterans’ Day, if you’re interested.
Category: Real Soldiers
He is about to get paid.
Word
Let me make this clear:
He has violated the SEAL Ethos, he was of a handful of DEVGRU operator who went rouge shortly after OP NEPTUNE SPEAR, he abruptly left the Navy after being demoted out of RED Squadron and he is now on the circut.
He and a few others have been well known in and out of the community who have fallen way short of their responsibilities as a member of NSW and as CPO’s.
I recently had lunch with 2 former DEVGRU men. One was a former CO and DEP NSW and the other a man who is more highly decorarted than O’Neil. During our 3 hour lunch, not once did they talk about any operational aspects of their work while at DG. They know what a NDA is and they live their Ethos daily.
O’Neil has lost the repect of anyone who has ever worked within NSW.
Carry on!
How maddening, though, must it be to watch political hacks and Hollywood douchebags profit off your life’s work?
WORD!
A bit harsh in my opinion, he still performed as an SO at the highest level for years, regardless of this incident.
A hundred “attaboys” are erased by one “aw, shit.”
Keeping your lip zipped is one of the fundamental tenets of being a SEAL.
I was a spook in the Navy. I wouldn’t dream of ever talking about ops I was on with someone who wasn’t cleared. And if I did, I would expect to be hammered for it.
Ditto. And I’m sure that if I did, someone, somewhere, would be more than happy to shove that Page 13 under my nose and go, “Remember this?”
You obviously haven’t visited a SEAL bar in SD or VB. Because this is national news, it’s now a problem. Not everyone is as perfect as you Sir, especially when they made a dumb decision and now need to get paid.
Since I don’t know this gentleman’s proper rank I’ll just leave this here.
Good Job Retired SEAL Mr. Robert O’Neill…
Says he did 16 yrs. Unless he was Med’d out, he did not retire. Just got out.
Ah yeah, I think I gleaned that from MCPO’s comment.
I was being somewhat congratulatory but in addition, if I was told to STFU and get on with it and that was the mantra of my group and their creed, then I’d have pretty well STFU.
That part I don’t respect.
I wonder why?
Admire the shot. The talking about operations and the “I shot him, no, I shot him” – not so much.
Former SEAL & FBI Agent Jonathan Gilliam interview on AC360.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2014/11/06/breaking-the-navy-seals-code-of-silence/
I know John, worked with him here in NYC. John is solid retired FBI Special Agent and former SEAL.
He left @ about 14 to 16 years as an E-8.
Note that is did NOT say “Senior Chief Petty Officer”.
He violated the SEAL Ethos and CPO Creed.
Pride comes before a fall, and when O’Neill goes down — and he will, because his ego is in the driver’s seat now — he’s going to go down hard. I could care less about him, though; it’s all the SEALs who believe in the ethos of the “Quiet Professional,” who are going to get tarred with the same brush as O’Neill, that I feel sorry for.
So PN,
What you’re telling us is that his ego was writing checks his body can’t cash??
He screwed up so bad that his next job will be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong??
/nttawwt
“…flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong…”
ROFLMAO!!
You owe me a keyboard, you lunatic! That made my morning! 😀
Yeah, he’s on a comedy roll this morning LOL He almost got me on the ‘Afghans vote with their feet’ thread.
You know, it’s OT but that comment about “rubber dogshit from Hong Kong” kind of pisses me off.
What the hell is wrong with this country that we have to import rubber dog shit?
I don’t know about anyone else, but whenever I buy rubber dog shit, I always look at the package to see a “MADE IN USA” label, and if you loved your country, you’d do the same.
Okay, rant over. 😉
I hate to tell you this, but all the rubber dog shit has been outsourced to overseas.
Something I want to know … or maybe I really don’t, now that I think about it … who the hell applies for the job of making the actual first mold? I mean, really, who wants to do THAT job?
Obvious Gravel,
A rubber dog.
😀 😀 😀
I just hope, for his sake, that his fuel technician and navigator isn’t a certain someone we all know and love here at TAH that has a slight history of crashing.
What will I say at the bar now? suggestions? I got nuthin’.
sincerely
John “Faker 6” Giduck
You singlehandedly saved Robert O’Neil DURING the Osama Bin Laden raid when the first helo crashed on the compound wall, if not, then the raid would have been scrubbed and Osama Bin Laden would still be walking around today.
/you’re welcome. 😀
// I’d do it but I’m a terrible liar.
Okay, no team. Just him. Nice. Makes me think of a football game, tied 14 all as the clock winds down. Out comes the kicker and his team wins, 17-14. All hail the kicker? No, of course not. He didn’t score his team’s first 14 points. The offense did. And he didn’t prevent the other team from scoring more than 14 points. The team’s defense did. O’Neill is the kicker. He really needs to back off and give credit solely to the TEAM.
2/17 Air Cav…I am mixed on this one. On the one hand he’s a civilian now and can say what he wishes as long as it’s the truth. But most SEAL members I ever heard of, active or civilian do not profit from their war stories and exploits. Their experience and training perhaps yes, but not details. The other is, he had an entire TEAM with him. From Intel, to helicopter crews to fellow SEAL members to FBI agents. He was not a lone operator. I wasn’t a SEAL or anything close to one. I think I’ll leaver this to the damper service and his fellow SEAL TEAM members, past and present to judge. I would be very interested in hearing SCPO Shipley’s considered opinion. Though he may keep it to himself.
What a shame. This guy did some amazing things during his time in service. He accomplished more than most men alive but for some reason he chose to shit all over those accomplishments and worse, all over his team mates by jumping in the spotlight. It’s an embarrassment.
Pinto Nag: Re: “all the SEALs who believe in the ethos of the “Quiet Professional,”
Which SEALs would those be? Navy SEALs seem to be about the noisiest “quiet professionals” on the planet.
I actually blame the Navy here. It’s a pretty plain observation to say that the Navy has the biggest PR operation of all the armed forces (bigger than the other services combined) and for the past 25 years or so they’ve done everything they can to put the SEALs (and by extension, the Navy) onto our front pages, movie and TV screens, video games, etc.
If the Navy is not shy about pimping out the reputation of the SEALs to boost recruiting and to show their importance to the National defense at budget-cut time (and it’s not), then it’s not hard to see why any individual SEAL might think it’s perfectly OK for him to cash in on that trident, too.
Ever noticed that with few exceptions, the only time you ever hear about SFOD-D is when they screw up?
The real “quiet professionals” are both.
Don Shipley is about as close as I come to “knowing” any SEALs, and that only from TAH. I don’t know him personally.
I have had the honor of knowing Rangers, men from the Army Special Forces, and two snipers. Without exception, all of those men were complete professionals, and they didn’t go around announcing who and what they were to just anybody. I think a commenter above put it correctly when he called this current crop of SEAL preeners “rogues.” I think that is exactly what they are.
Honestly, I think he’s stupid for doing what he’s doing. I hope he really doesn’t violate an NDA.
But, honestly, I agree with Martinjmper here.
I read something early this morning … a letter written and signed and posted openly on the internet by both the senior officer and senior non-commisioned officer in the SEALs. There was also a rebuttal written by a former SEAL. (I’ll look for a link, but I think it was on Ace of Spades.)
Anyway, as much as this guy has allegedly violated the ethos of the SEALs I think the administration, military, and especially the two that wrote the open letter, are just as bad, and are, in my opinion, hypocrites.
Do as I say, not as I do. Just shaking my head in amazement at the whole damned thing.
Not all sailors are like that.
To wit: there’s a very good reason why we submariners are called, “The Silent Service.”
Well all you young GOP Baby- Boomers, you might have won the election, but the big question now is, “WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG” Maybe we need to leave Mr. Obama in office for another term, after all, Corn is up this year, higher then it’s ever been, no thanks to the Rep’s. and we had a bumper crop this year, “THANKS Mr. Obama, You saved the farm.
Where the tall corn grows
uhhh ok
Sam…you are a welcome visitor here, but if you don’t get over your butt-hurt about the election, we’re going to dogpile your silly ass. Got it? Good.
Next subject.
@Pinto Nag
Just beautiful!!
@MCPO NYC USN Ret.
I’m still sitting on the fence with the information coming out about Obama, I mean Osama (lol). It seems to me that POTUS, for a very long time hung his foreign policy hat on the death of that scumbag. It almost seems as if it was Obama’s only terrorist success. I wonder if perhaps O’Neill was sticking it to POTUS and in doing so has told him in a roundaboutway to STFU.
I’d be interested to find out what O”Neill’s team members think and what they’ll say in the coming days and weeks.
On a personal note, I’d bet an ice cold beer that my two SF sons wholeheartedly agree with you, MCPO NYC USN Ret.
Sam, you have certainly earned the right to vote for whomever you wish based upon whatever criteria you wish to use. However, I would appreciate the simple courtesy of you allowing me the same.
Meanwhile, I was curious exactly what it was about Joni Ernst that had you so upset over there wherever it was. I still don’t know because you never shared it with us. I wanted to know because I like to hear from people who are actually in a position to know more than we get from the national media, or a 30 second sound bite.
Oh, well. Your failure to respond caused me to do some deeper research on her. I have yet to find anything negative about her from any source.
Thanks Sam. Nice note. We’ll try to do better in 2016.
Actually, Sam – corn prices were quite a bit higher in 2008 than today. Oh, and that’s in terms of what was paid at the time, not after adjustment for inflation.
http://www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/manage/uspricehistory/us_price_history.html
For those who might know of Sam. He’s a Korean War Veteran who is 88 years old. If it will make him happy. I ‘ll vote for Obama in 2016 and 2020.
Throw the “not” in between might and know, will ya? Thanks.
I adore Sam, and respect both his service and his age. However, he’s sharp as a tack mentally, and that’s why I talked to him the way I did. He’s been throwing an old-fashioned tantrum, and that’s why I called him on it.
Corn is actually down this year compared to last year. And as you pointed out Hondo it’s certainly not “higher than it’s ever been”
Stay on topic, dipshit. You lost, get over it and buy some Preparation H for that butthurt you have.
It’s never a good idea to violate a NDA. Don’t care who you are.
On the other hand, it’s not right to hold some folks to the NDA while deciding that other people are free to make money from classified material.
It’s even more absurd to make a movie which releases classified information to the world. So now the only people who cannot discuss that particular classified information are the people who signed the NDA’s?
Ridiculous.
My biggest concern is that they seem to have forgotten what the NDAs are for. The more public they become, the more their face and whereabouts are known, the more danger they are in. How many terrorists do you think are walking around today who would like to kill O’Neill, now that they have his name and his face and where he lives? We’re not the only ones who look up to those we regard as heroes. There is a very good chance that O’Neill could now be a lightening rod, and I, for one, wouldn’t want to be in the same room with him for a very long time to come, particularly at any public event.
Unfortunately, OWB – that’s exactly the way it works out sometimes.
I’ve seen any number of things published (or in TV news reports) that I knew were classified. I still wasn’t allowed to talk about them publicly.
Yes, I am well aware of other instances which had me scratching my head, as has likely been the experience of others who routinely handled/were aware of classified information. In each case that I personally pondered, you could usually find something akin to a rational reason for the release.
This? Not at all. It’s simply an obscene example of political payback (literally to the tune of many $mil’s) without regard to national security or the safety of individual operators.
Kinda reminds me of this:
Probably should have put a the video may not be safe for work. While the CPO did a great job, its not something anyone else on the team could/would have done. He was just the one on point and squeezed the trigger first. I do hope that the CPO has thought of the other consequences of his announcement, namely the potential danger him and his family may now be in from wack jobs thinking getting some sort of “revenge”.
If it was me I would probably STFU as mentioned above, stayed quite, and if there was a leek, take a page out of POTUS’s book about the results on Tuesday: DENY, DENY , DENY. (maybe acknowledge was on the Team, but neither confirm nor deny I was the actually shooter,)
Or, maybe a whole bunch of folks should concurrently make the claim? Let others figure out if anyone is actually telling the truth.
No, I’m Spartacus!
Welease Bwian!
Here’s the link to the letter I mentioned earlier. I noticed the rebuttal was penned by the same former SEAL (Jonathan Gilliam) and FBI agent that Devtun linked earlier.
http://sofrep.com/37850/bin-ladens-shooter-identified-rob-oneill/
To Mr. Pinto Nag, and any one eles that thinks like him!!!!
In the first place Mr. Pinto Nag, you neither know me nor do you know anything about me, so as for you “Calling ME” on anything I made , I think you have alot to learn about people, and I for one care less about how or what you think.
Sam
I could make the exact same comment to you that you just made to Pinto Nag. Specifically in regards to what you wrote to me in a different thread a few days ago.
You neither know me, nor do you know anything about me. And, regardless of your age or service, I think that, you too, have a lot to learn about people.
I ignored it in the other thread, but now you’re just being irritating by calling out someone for doing the same thing you have done.
Gravel – where the winter wheat grows short.
Sam! No idea why you are going out of your way to offend people here who actually like and respect you, but that’s exactly what you are doing. If it’s something we can help you work through, then let us know. Otherwise, kindly cut out the crap and let’s get on with life.
I’m female, Sam. Clearly you don’t know much about me, either.
My sister is a flaming liberal. I can love her to death, and still disagree with her politics.
And you’re being a turd, plain and simple.
If you don’t care about what we think, then beat it fuckstick. Everyone here is being far too kind to you and cutting you breaks you don’t deserve. I, on the other hand, will tell you point blank that you are acting like a dick. Fuck off and don’t come back until you learn some manners.
Jackass.
End of statement.
…aaand right on cue, here’s The Onion:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/navy-forms-elite-new-seal-team-to-write-bestsellin,37393/
If he was an E-8 and left the Navy at 16 or 17 years of service, then he either stepped on his crank and got booted or he figured the money he would make would more than offset the retirement he’d lose.
What manufactured outrage. SF talking after they get out is common. I don’t even need to list the numerous examples thya occur often. He did nothing different. The haters though are gong to hate because that’s what they do. Some are being pretty hypocritical too with their own circlejerks and book deals.
Sounds like the DoD was dicking him around and he found out its everyone for themselves.
As the worm turns.
“Fellow warriors brand Rob O’Neill a LIAR….”
http://tinyurl.com/ozawqjp