Robert J. O’Neill isn’t a household name, although the former Navy SEAL would like to become one … to his everlasting shame.
O’Neill has slammed a fellow sailor who has performed in drag shows for other sailors, drawing criticism from O’Neill.
Now, why is this worth discussing? Because O’Neill is the special operator who took credit for killing Osama bin Laden on the May 1, 2011 raid that took out the al-Qaeda leader and mastermind of the 9/11 terror attack.
What offends me to the core is that O’Neill violated a sacred creed followed by all special operations forces, be they SEALs, Army Green Berets, Army Rangers, Air Force commandos … which is that they take no individual credit for the missions they accomplish.
The SEALs operated as a team while conducting the mission to take out bin Laden. They returned home safely and went about their work preparing for the next mission, whenever they got their orders. O’Neill, though, decided to pop off and say that he alone put a bullet into bin Laden’s skull.
Thus, the oath was broken! The guy disgusts me. As a veteran myself — even one with no special forces experience — I find his self-aggrandizement offensive in the extreme.
My message to the former SEAL: Shut the hell up!