No good deed...killing bin laden and it's aftermath...

billc

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Here you have a classic example of no good deed goes unpunished...the Navy Seal who killed bin laden fear's for the safety of his family and his fellow Seals...because biden gave away the name of the group who killed bin laden...

http://www.esquire.com/print-this/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313?page=all

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.


After bin Laden's face appeared on their TV in the days after the killing, the Shooter cautioned his older child not to mention the Al Qaeda leader's name ever again "to anybody. It's a bad name, a curse name." His kid started referring to him instead as "Poopyface." It's a story he told affectionately on that April afternoon visit to my home.

He loves his kids and tears up only when he talks about saying goodbye to them before each and every deployment. "It's so much easier when they're asleep," he says, "and I can just kiss them, wondering if this is the last time." He's thrilled to show video of his oldest in kick-boxing class. And he calls his wife "the perfect mother."

In fact, the couple is officially separated, a common occurrence in ST6. SEAL marriages can be perilous. Husbands and fathers have been mostly away from their families since 9/11. But the Shooter and his wife continue to share a house on very friendly, even loving terms, largely to save money.

"We're actually looking into changing my name," the wife says. "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."



Obama spiked the ball...and these guys suffer for it...

I hope some of the wealthy Americans now step up and help this guy, and others like him, to adapt to their new lives. Good jobs and other economic help would be great...
 

Makalakumu

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I watched Seal Team Six last night and it was so bad it had to be made by the government. LOL

I don't trust these stories, Bill. It reads like emotive propaganda.
 

MJS

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What I've always found interesting, are the missions and the people who conduct them, that we never hear about. I highly doubt every ST6 mission is public knowledge. You have the Armys Delta Force. When was the last time you heard about anything they did? No, I'm not saying they don't conduct missions, I'm saying, you never hear about them. Unfortunately, the media or those with loose lips, feel it necessary to talk about this, and use the excuse that the public has the right to know. BS! We don't have the right to know everything or anything. Some things in that line of work do not need to be known by anyone other than those involved.

While there may not be as big or any at all, price on the heads of SEALs, Matt B., who wrote "No Easy Day", wasn't the only SEAL to write a book. Howard Wasdin wrote a book, as did Chris Kyle (RIP) and I'm sure there're bad guys out there who'd like to see them dead.

As for not getting the benefits and the things he deserves...it is a shame, and it'd be nice to see someone step up and help the guy and his family. Hell, after 15yrs at my job, while I won't get all the benefits I'd get if I stayed 20+, but I'd get something.
 

James Kovacich

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Here you have a classic example of no good deed goes unpunished...the Navy Seal who killed bin laden fear's for the safety of his family and his fellow Seals...because biden gave away the name of the group who killed bin laden...

http://www.esquire.com/print-this/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313?page=all



Obama spiked the ball...and these guys suffer for it...

I hope some of the wealthy Americans now step up and help this guy, and others like him, to adapt to their new lives. Good jobs and other economic help would be great...

How the hell did the "names" of the members of Seal Team 6 get out in the 1st place. He may of named the team but I'm sure he didn't name the individuals on the team.

That article sounded pretty much like the guy is a doomsday prepper. A lot of that going around.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2
 

MJS

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How the hell did the "names" of the members of Seal Team 6 get out in the 1st place. He may of named the team but I'm sure he didn't name the individuals on the team.

That article sounded pretty much like the guy is a doomsday prepper. A lot of that going around.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

I was wondering the same James. The Maersk Alabama hijacking happened before OBL was killed, so ST6 or DEVGRU, as they're also known by, was again, most likely in the media circles long before. IMO though, unless people have written books, then odds are, the general public probably will have no clue who anyone is.
 

CanuckMA

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The teams have different purposes. Anybody familiar enough with the SEAL structure would not have needed a lot of time to know that Team 6 did that mission. But I'm with James on that one, knowing the team name is one thing. Knowing the naes of the operators is quite different.
 

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My prayers and heartfelt gratitude to members of the military and intelligence community whose tireless work lead to the removal of that vile man. Thank you for protecting us.
 

oftheherd1

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from Makalakumu:
I watched Seal Team Six last night and it was so bad it had to be made by the government. LOL

I don't trust these stories, Bill. It reads like emotive propaganda.​

Several things I don't understand.

Why is he getting out after 16 years? Only 4 more years and he gets his half pay for life. I could understand his not wanting another type of work for 4 years, but that is what he would be doing anyway by just getting out.

It's hard to believe he wasn't given an opportunity to be a trainer, if not for the SEALS, at least for some other part of the Navy training command.

If his medical situation is such that he is being medically retired, again, he will get a pension. I'm not sure how much, but probably a percentage of his retirement which matches the percentage of his disability.

That's good for starters. I agree with Makalakumu, and others who have expressed some doubts. Something doesn't ring true in my opinion.
 

Instructor

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Several things I don't understand.

Why is he getting out after 16 years? Only 4 more years and he gets his half pay for life. I could understand his not wanting another type of work for 4 years, but that is what he would be doing anyway by just getting out.

It's hard to believe he wasn't given an opportunity to be a trainer, if not for the SEALS, at least for some other part of the Navy training command.

If his medical situation is such that he is being medically retired, again, he will get a pension. I'm not sure how much, but probably a percentage of his retirement which matches the percentage of his disability.

That's good for starters. I agree with Makalakumu, and others who have expressed some doubts. Something doesn't ring true in my opinion.

Much happens in this world that is sensible to those involved and mysterious to those that aren't. These people work in a very private world by design. Perhaps it would be best if we (the public) let them do their job and trust that, God willing, everybody will be cared for.
 

oftheherd1

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Much happens in this world that is sensible to those involved and mysterious to those that aren't. These people work in a very private world by design. Perhaps it would be best if we (the public) let them do their job and trust that, God willing, everybody will be cared for.

I can dig that.

However, given the question being raised, I have no qualms about putting in my 2 cents. But I should have phrased my answer differently so there would be no misunderstanding. I am not faulting any SEALS or others who are serving, or have served their country. I would have to fault myself as well. What I meant was that the story didn't sound plausible as related, by the person relating it. That was where I thought fault was.

If we accept the story as related as true, then another response would be more appropriate.
 

MJS

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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/esquire-seal-bin-laden-151615575.html

Esquire's upcoming cover story profiling the U.S. Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden is being questioned by critics who say the magazine falsely claims the former SEAL Team 6 member has been denied health care since leaving the military.
In the 15,000-word story (“The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden ... Is Screwed”) posted online Monday, writer Phil Bronstein states that the SEAL has been given "nothing... No pension, no health care, and no protection for himself or his family.”
But according to Stars & Stripes magazine, the claim about health care is wrong:

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 health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
 

MJS

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Several things I don't understand.

Why is he getting out after 16 years? Only 4 more years and he gets his half pay for life. I could understand his not wanting another type of work for 4 years, but that is what he would be doing anyway by just getting out.

It's hard to believe he wasn't given an opportunity to be a trainer, if not for the SEALS, at least for some other part of the Navy training command.

If his medical situation is such that he is being medically retired, again, he will get a pension. I'm not sure how much, but probably a percentage of his retirement which matches the percentage of his disability.

That's good for starters. I agree with Makalakumu, and others who have expressed some doubts. Something doesn't ring true in my opinion.

I believe Chris Kyle left well before the 20 mark. Reading his book, he made it sound like he left for a number of reasons, some being the overall toll the work was taking on the body, as well as having a family and not being around. Of course, I can't speak for the gentleman in question here.

As for getting assigned to a non combat position, ie: training, yes, that shouldn't be an issue.

I posted a link to a new development to this story. Apparently he'd be able to get at least 5yrs of coverage.
 

arnisador

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Yes, he's covered for 5 years--odd that he apparently didn't realize it? It should've been covered in outprocessing.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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I saw this article the other day on facebook. To be honest, I don't entirely believe that it's real, i think its more propaganda. There's all of what oftheherd said, as well as that he gave a pretty good deal of personal information..enough that if someone could narrow down the team responsible, and find who was on that team, they could probably figure out its him. Also, the writing style just seemed too much like propaganda, emotionally based writing for me to take it at face-value. That being said, if I'm wrong and this is a legitimate article, I feel very bad for him and the government's 'thanks' to him for doing what he did, and would rally to get him better treatment...IF there was more evidence that this story is true, which unfortunately, their cant be. Federal secret and all that stuff.
 

CanuckMA

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He decided to quit after 17 years. He's getting the same as everybody that doesn't put in his 20. He could have requested a non-combat assignment for his remaining 3 years. I'm gratefull for his service, dedication and sacrifice. But he was in an organization with rules, and decided to not completely abide by them and then complain about it.

Emotionally, we may think that he's entitled to more because of what he did. But in the view of the Navy, there is no difference between him and any other sailor of his rank. And the policy is, if you put in 20, you get pension and medical benefits. If you don't, then you don't.
 

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