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SEAL Who Allegedly Shot and Killed Bin Laden Reveals Stunning New Details About the Raid — And You Won’t Believe How He Says the Gov’t Has Treated Him Since

Feb. 11, 2013 2:28pm

Editor’s note: See the important update at the bottom of this story about the claim that the SEAL did not have health care.

–

Navy SEAL Who Killed Osama Bin Laden Unemployed, Abandoned by the Government After Retiring

(Photo: AP)

Phil Bronstein spent more than a year researching a piece published Monday in Esquire on the life of the Navy SEAL who allegedly killed Osama bin Laden.  He formed a friendship with the man, whom he refers to only as “the Shooter” throughout the piece for safety reasons, learning new details about the famous raid and — more shockingly — the Shooter’s life post-retirement.

The Shooter isn’t exactly able to write on his résumé that he’s the man who killed Osama Bin Laden– details about the mission are strictly classified and he adheres to a “quiet professional” code.  The Shooter says he has no interest in making himself a public figure like the author of No Easy Day, who was also on the raid and was one of the men to shoot Bin Laden after the terrorist had been killed by the Shooter.  So where is he now?

Apparently, in the same boat as many of America’s other veterans.

Navy SEAL Who Killed Osama Bin Laden Unemployed, Abandoned by the Government After Retiring

(Photo: White House)

This is a man who recalls the Osama bin Laden raid not from images on a television, but from a first-person perspective.  He related grisly new details in his first-ever interview, even sharing what he was thinking at the time:

[Bin Laden] looked confused. And way taller than I was expecting. He had a cap on and didn’t appear to be hit…

For me, it was a snapshot of a target ID, definitely him. Even in our kill houses where we train, there are targets with his face on them. This was repetition and muscle memory. That’s him, boom, done.

[...]

In that second, I shot him, two times in the forehead. Bap! Bap! The second time as he’s going down. He crumpled onto the floor in front of his bed and I hit him again, Bap! same place. That time I used my EOTech red-dot holo sight. He was dead. Not moving. His tongue was out. I watched him take his last breaths, just a reflex breath.

And I remember as I watched him breathe out the last part of air, I thought: Is this the best thing I’ve ever done, or the worst thing I’ve ever done? This is real and that’s him. Holy shit.

[...]

His forehead was gruesome. It was split open in the shape of a V. I could see his brains spilling out over his face. The American public doesn’t want to know what that looks like. [Emphasis added]

Navy SEAL Who Killed Osama Bin Laden Unemployed, Abandoned by the Government After Retiring

A Pakistani woman and a girl walk through a path in a field next to the demolished house where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was caught and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 29, 2012. (Photo: AP)

So where is he now?  The Esquire article explains:

“No one who fights for this country overseas should ever have to fight for a job,” Barack Obama said last Veterans’ Day, “or a roof over their head, or the care that they have earned when they come home.”

But the Shooter will discover soon enough that when he leaves after sixteen years in the Navy, his body filled with scar tissue, arthritis, tendonitis, eye damage, and blown disks, here is what he gets from his employer and a grateful nation:

Nothing. No pension, no health care, and no protection for himself or his family.

Since Abbottabad, he has trained his children to hide in their bathtub at the first sign of a problem as the safest, most fortified place in their house. His wife is familiar enough with the shotgun on their armoire to use it. She knows to sit on the bed, the weapon’s butt braced against the wall, and precisely what angle to shoot out through the bedroom door, if necessary. A knife is also on the dresser should she need a backup.

Then there is the “bolt” bag of clothes, food, and other provisions for the family meant to last them two weeks in hiding.

“Personally,” his wife told me recently, “I feel more threatened by a potential retaliatory terror attack on our community than I did eight years ago,” when her husband joined ST6.

When the White House identified SEAL Team 6 as those responsible, camera crews swarmed into their Virginia Beach neighborhood, taking shots of the SEALs’ homes.  [Emphasis added]

Navy SEAL Who Killed Osama Bin Laden Unemployed, Abandoned by the Government After Retiring

School students supporting Pakistani political and Islamic party Jammat-e-Islami (JI), march during an anti-US protest rally in Karachi on December 19, 2011. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

The Shooter and his wife are actually separated, but still live in the same house to save money.  The $60,000 a year he made with extra bonuses for different activities has dried up, and they haven’t yet found a way to replace it.

“We’re actually looking into changing my name,” she explained. “Changing the kids’ names, taking my husband’s name off the house, paying off our cars. Essentially deleting him from our lives, but for safety reasons. We still love each other.”

According to Bronstein, the only assistance The Shooter was offered was a witness-protection like program where the national hero would be “driving a beer truck in Milwaukee.”  The family would have to sever all connections to their former life.

A former SEAL and mentor to the Shooter noted: “These guys have millions of dollars’ worth of knowledge and training in their heads…All sorts of executive function skills. That shouldn’t go to waste.”

Retired Marine major general Mike Myatt added: “It’s criminal to me that these guys walk out the door naked…They’re the greatest of their generation; they know how to get things done. If I were a Fortune 500 company, I’d try to get my hands on any one of them.”

Navy SEAL Who Killed Osama Bin Laden Unemployed, Abandoned by the Government After Retiring

This image released by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency shows a scale model of the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was killed. (Photo: AP)

Bronstein says one conversation in particular exemplifies the abandonment:

“I left SEALs on Friday,” [the Shooter] said the next time I saw him. It was a little more than thirty-six months before the official retirement requirement of twenty years of service. “My health care for me and my family stopped at midnight Friday night. I asked if there was some transition from my Tricare to Blue Cross Blue Shield. They said no. You’re out of the service, your coverage is over. Thanks for your sixteen years. Go [f--k] yourself.”

The Esquire article concludes with the Shooter’s perception of the movie Zero Dark Thirty, the author adding that a line from the film has been haunting him.

The tactics “sucked,” the Shooter said, and “the mission in the damn movie took way too long,” but other than that he said he was largely pleased.

But the real-life risks and ramifications were summed up by the actor playing the CIA station chief, who warned: “Once you’re on their list, you never get off.”

Click here to read the entire Esquire article.

–

UPDATE: The blog Stars and Stripes is reporting that the Navy SEAL that reportedly killed Osama bin Laden actually does have health care.

Except the claim about health care is wrong. And no servicemember who does less than 20 years gets a pension, unless he has to medically retire.

Like every combat veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the former SEAL, who is identified in the story only as “the Shooter”, is automatically eligible for five years of free healthcare through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

But the story doesn’t mention that.

[...]

The writer, Phil Bronstein, who heads up the Center for Investigative Reporting, stands by the story. He said the assertion that the government gave the SEAL “nothing” in terms of health care is both fair and accurate, because the SEAL didn’t know the VA benefits existed.

“No one ever told him that this is available,” Bronstein said.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Comments (369)

1 2 3 4 5 … 8
  • thereyougoagain
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:55pm

    Gee; I know where a person can get training that will prepare anybody that really wants to work for a new white collar career at very little cost:

    Aaonlineclasses.com ….

    These guys will even train Vets!!!! They also offer free job placement!!!!

    We are still America…there are opportunities if you look.

    Report this comment

    thereyougoagain  
  • smokey888x2
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:54pm

    I haven’t read the article yet — maybe it will answer: why did he leave? Also, why don’t we put most vets into our so called Homeland Security?

    Report this comment

    smokey888x2  
  • Rick Steele
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:46pm

    I read where there’s a Million $ reward for the rougue cop in L.A. Someone tell the S.E.A.L., he can cash in and be looking pretty.

    Report this comment

    Rick Steele  
  • quiltgal
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:43pm

    I think Obama secretly resents military heroes. For one thing, they take glory away from his own narcissistic self. And the MSM goes along. In their version, it was Obama who got Bin Laden. Maybe Obama should be deprived of medical coverage too.

    Report this comment

    quiltgal  
  • LeFaux Jew
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:40pm

    One day your on the bus…and the next day they drive you into a city you don’t know and you get off the bus while it is still moving. The train don’t stop for anyone.
    I don’t like firearms anymore either….as far as I am concerned the Government and the VA can stick it.
    Perhaps the Military could start looking at 15 years at 40% for some people?

    Report this comment

    LeFaux Jew  
  • DontCry
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:40pm

    WILDSCHWEINJAGER – I’m sorry that you feel that republican owned companies should profit billions off of war and death. Says a lot about you. I for one don’t think lives should be used to make money for a few close friends of the leaders that put our soldiers into harms way. No matter what your allegiance, I don’t think lives are worth profit for companies, and if they profit off of those lives lost, they should have to pay for it.

    Report this comment

    DontCry  
    • WildschweinJager
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:48pm

      Her you go….The Pentagon keeps wondering and playing mind games with the press and the service members about how they can’t understand why 22 Veterans commit suicide everyday. VA’s stats, not mine…..Sleep tight America…….Thank Mr Panetta for his service.

      Report this comment

      WildschweinJager  
  • Tombstone
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:38pm

    Tell SHOOTER to get in touch with me. I got his back covered for a job! http://www.cvmaflorida.org

    That’s what us Combat Vets do. We take care of each other. We are our brother’s keepers.

    Report this comment

    Tombstone  
  • riseandshine
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:37pm

    Bin Laden had nothing to do with 9/11.

    Report this comment

    riseandshine  
  • DontCry
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:34pm

    WILDSCHWEINJAGER
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:15pm
    US Govt, not private enterprise should pay you communist poster..

    Well, the US Govt is who pay’s Haliburton and Black Rock. Tax payer money used to make billions for these companies. Also, they are profiting off of Govt. paid wars and Govt. paid soldiers. So yes, Haliburton and Black Rock should set up a fund. You facist P**.

    Report this comment

    DontCry  
  • usafpatriot
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:34pm

    There is information missing in this story, if he was medically retired at 16 years he would be considered a retired military member and would receive a monthly pension and he and his family would qualify for Tricare for nominal monthly fee. Additionaly, he would qualify to apply for disability from the VA, if he received more than 50% disability it would be paid out concurent with his military retirement. However, if he just separated from the military at 16 years he wouldn’t qualify for military retirement but could still apply for VA disability. Either way this man should be treated like a hero!

    Report this comment

    usafpatriot  
  • dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:31pm

    freakin shame. if i were a CEO i’d hire them all for whatever they wanted to do.

    Report this comment

    dont_drive_slow_in_the_left_lane_obliviot  
  • Dismayed Veteran
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:29pm

    As I recall, retirement from the military is available after 20 years service with a pension and benefits. When I was in there was free medical for the service members and families. If you left the service prior to 20 years you got nothing unless you had a disability which fell under VA. It appears this person decided not to reenlist.

    When I was in Army Intelligence, we could create false 201 files to protect individuals for their own safety including sending them to a new duty station and included new MOS training.

    Something just doesn’t seem right about the details of this story. I am not doubting that he was a member of SEAL Team 6 nor the shoot of OBL. The 16 years just strikes me as odd.

    Report this comment

    Dismayed Veteran  
  • saalfeld
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:28pm

    Rose Ellen:

    The only thing I can say to people like you is, May you rot with Bin Laden. With a capital R.

    Report this comment

    saalfeld  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on February 12, 2013 at 12:44pm

      Spoken like a true christian.Yes he was a murderer-so are we and we’re just mad that he brought us to the knowledge that there could be consequences to US for our unjust policies toward THEM. That upset our apple cart.We never expected that . Hence our anger. Didn’t God tell him that when we kill it’s good but when they kill its bad? how dare he. there be sonsequences to us for our policies over there! May God have mercy on his soul as he died believing in his heart of hearts that he did not start this war-we did with our unjust policies in their homelands!His murderer is a criminal if not a war criminal.Your glorification of him does not change that fact. History will attest to it as osama lives on in the minds and hearts of all indigenous people who have been victims of unjust imperialist policies-forever! Not so this murdering SEAL,this cog in the wheel who is so out of touch with himself he ‘s all messed up.

      Report this comment

      rose-ellen  
  • Waydah
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:21pm

    I am sorry to learn that this man’s life has unraveled the way it has. But why did it unravel? Apparently because he decided to quite the Navy! No one made him quite, it doesn’t appear. He quite on his own.

    The Navy doesn’t make anyone attend BUDS. Its all volunteer. This SEAL could have stepped out of his SEAL role at anytime, returned to the fleet, made his retirement and then moved on. I know of a Command CPO right now who did exactly that.

    I think someone will come to the rescue now that all this has gone public. Any of those SEALs could have been the one to have popped OBL. It just happened that it was this guy. Other than that, he’s just another Navy vet who quite before making retirement. I’m one myself. There are lots of others.

    Report this comment

    Waydah  
    • WildschweinJager
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:33pm

      Hey Why Duh!

      Please go off yourself and save us yourt inane horse pucky…..

      Report this comment

      WildschweinJager  
    • barber2
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 6:01pm

      WAY: The Obama Crowd seems to have enlisted a bunch of angry. atheist, junior high kids lately. The Blaze has been Occupied with juvenile and inane comments of late.

      Report this comment

      barber2  
  • ANARCHY--THE KNIFE
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:20pm

    Some of you kill me… We serve in military to protect American way of life like our fellow brothers before us so WE ALL can live free & speak free & bear arms to protect ourselves/family.. We go thru extensive training & learn to be best of best while carrying out special top secret classified missions in a special unit & get hurt doing so putting our lives on line & when we leave after 6 years don’t expect a free handout when we leave but do deserve PTSD / SUICIDE / DISABILITY pension to survive in life & not end up in a nursing home like where in heading myself-Paralyzed. I can’t even fight VA for enough help, Basically I’ve been Forgotten.. YOUR WELCOME!

    Report this comment

    ANARCHY--THE KNIFE  
  • hades3
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:14pm

    If the public can tolerate watching live pictures of innocent people being forced to choose between being burned alive, or jumping too their deaths from a multi story burning building, they surely can bear too watch
    the person who caused those deaths have his brains scattered all over the room, over and over again.

    Report this comment

    hades3  
  • Bamagal0007
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:07pm

    Regardless of how he or any one of our Veterans “got out” of the service, they deserve better.

    The average annual salary of a senator is $174K…and our brave men & women are struggling to pay bills? Give me a break!

    Report this comment

    Bamagal0007  
  • DontCry
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:07pm

    Halliburton and Black Rock security should be spending the billions they made off of these wars on these soldiers when they come home. How can they profit off of death, and not be here for these young men and women when they get home. It should be part of any military contract, that they have funds set aside for soldiers returning from war. But of course Bush and Cheney would never have done that to their republican friends because that would take money out of their pockets.

    Report this comment

    DontCry  
  • Neesey
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:04pm

    This story is making my BS meter peg out. As a veteran, you can get 5 years of coverage after ETS. No conditions….Don’t fall for this line of BS…look it up. Fishy, fishy and fishy.

    Report this comment

    Neesey  
  • DontCry
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:00pm

    Meanwhile, the private security company that Bush and Cheney set up with their buddies to make millions off of the war is doing just fine. What a shame, as always, the Republicans start a war to make billions for Haliburton and private security firms and their buddies while the service men that put their lives on the line live on minimal pay.

    Report this comment

    DontCry  
    • barber2
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 5:59pm

      Don’t : Still running that old Blame Bush routine ?? That old Halliburton mess is so tired and worn out. Surprised you didn’t mention Cheney shooting someone or Romney’s dog ! You guys need some new material.

      Report this comment

      barber2  
  • Magyar
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 3:59pm

    Thank you SIR for your bravery and service– If I had the money, I’d pay for your health insurance!!

    What ****** me off– men like this SEAL don’t get insurance but the lazy POS from south of the border DO! At some point, the backlash will come!

    Report this comment

    Magyar  
  • environmentalandawake
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 3:58pm

    I bet the militias could use his help

    Report this comment

    environmentalandawake  
  • Jeff Thomerson
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 3:57pm

    He wants a job, not a hand out or a trophy. I salute all who have answered the call and delivered, but this problem can and should be solved by the private sector, not by an incompetent government. This man’s unique service makes him more vulnerable to retaliation from the bad guys, but he did what he was asked to do because he made the commitment to serve. None of us know when our role might change history and most of us are not aware of the thousands of acts of valor that go unreported. Obscurity is the award for real heros. Hire a veteran and tell the government to screw themselves.

    Report this comment

    Jeff Thomerson  
  • rose-ellen
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 3:53pm

    He’s separated but still lives with his wife-to save money? Murdering Osama-an unarmed man- got to his head and his wife can’t stand him any more.The unraveling of his evil deed has consequence for him.

    Report this comment

    rose-ellen  
    • rebart
      Posted on February 12, 2013 at 2:23pm

      So, Rose, you are an anti-American, anti-Constitution, Obama-loving, wrist-wringing leftist who despises the very people who allow you to spew your garbage? Do I have that just about right?
      If so, go to hell.

      Report this comment

      rebart  
    • ndonelly
      Posted on February 13, 2013 at 6:44am

      well said Rebart about Rose-Ellen. Next time, send her unarmed to “negotiate” with the terrorists. Let us know how she makes out with that. How many people were armed on 9/11? These terrorists don’t play by honorable rules and sometimes they’re the ones who pay the price.

      Report this comment

      ndonelly  
  • John.Galt
    Posted on February 11, 2013 at 3:49pm

    Libs HATE the troops, Obama wants to cut their pay right now. If a private corporation did this, the libs would be up in arms, funding lawsuits, and starting boycotts. But they treat our HEROES like ****, because they want our military to suffer – they don’t want anyone joining, especially good men. Its why they want open homosexuals there, and women on the front lines. THEY KNOW THIS WILL KILL MORALE, AND RUIN THE GREATEST MILITARY IN THE WORLD.

    So, after obama bankrupts us, sends us into currency death, and millions are starving, he probably thinks he will be able to become dictator. Unfortunately for ALL of us, once part 1 of obama’s plan is over, WE WILL BE VULNERABLE TO ATTACK. Don’t be surprised if N. Korea, Iran, China or Russia take advantage of the situation.

    Report this comment

    John.Galt  
    • DontCry
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:03pm

      This isn’t about the Libs. In fact, most democrats are the ones that suggest that soldiers need higher pay and better programs when they get home. It is repubicans that start these wars for personal and financial reasons, hire their republican private security company to come in and profit millions, and contract the other stuff to companies like Haliburton who make billions off of the wars. If you must find someone to blame, then it’s republicans. It is republicans that want to enlist kids looking for a career, and then send them into harms way for no reason but to profit for their friends.

      Report this comment

      DontCry  
    • WildschweinJager
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 4:21pm

      @Don’t Cry

      It is all about the troops you liberal loser…..

      Report this comment

      WildschweinJager  
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