Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden left in poverty with no pension, healthcare

[mayankmatador]

hasn't this guy written a best selling book NO EASY DAY.

 

[Thorough Pro]

It's the same story everywhere, you are valuable as long as you are useable....and then trash..........Look how IA Chief lost all his security and car, just becaus ehe stood up for his rights......

This is extremely sad... A person who fought for his country risking his own life is being treated in this manner....

 

[Syrian Lion]

hasn't this guy written a best selling book NO EASY DAY.

I'm not sure about this... but was the writer of the book alone? or was he also with other SEALS that shot OBL?

 

[gambit]

The U.S "should" have made him quit his military job for what he has done... (that's my opinion) ,...

And a worthless one it is...

I mean he killed OBL...

Yaaaayyyy...Hip...Hip...Hooraaayyyy...!!!

For he's a jolly good fellow...

For he's a jolly good fellow...

For he's a jolly good fellooooooow...

Which nobody can deny...

and the U.S was willing to give millions of dollars to whoever killed OBL..

A bounty is usually to incite to do more than what one usually does, something like an ordinary citizen who follows a wanted criminal while calling the police. But not for the plainclothes detective who did the same thing.

I know it was his job since he was a SEAL, but still the U.S should have not left him alone, at least offer him healthcare?

How about the movie company who made millions from 'Zero Dark Thirty' gave all ST6 members a cut of the profit?

 

[Syrian Lion]

It's the same story everywhere, you are valuable as long as you are useable....and then trash..........Look how IA Chief lost all his security and car, just becaus ehe stood up for his rights......

I wont say everywhere...

US military dumps soldiers' remains in landfill — RT

American military sent hundreds of soldiers

How about the movie company who made millions from 'Zero Dark Thirty' gave all ST6 members a cut of the profit?

is that company the U.S Military? the U.S government?

 

[Backbencher]

Seems like he has been disowned by his own country . He may come to Asia , the new land of oppurtunitues with minimised recession .

 

[Star Wars]

It's the same story everywhere, you are valuable as long as you are useable....and then trash..........Look how IA Chief lost all his security and car, just becaus ehe stood up for his rights......

IA chief was not a kissing up to the govt.. during his tenure..so obviously govt. is repaying him back...Besides he is prolly the most appreciated and liked IA Army chief in recent history... but that's for another thread...

 

[Viper0011.]

The U.S "should" have made him quit his military job for what he has done... (that's my opinion) , I mean he killed OBL... and the U.S was willing to give millions of dollars to whoever killed OBL.. I know it was his job since he was a SEAL, but still the U.S should have not left him alone, at least offer him healthcare?

Ok, the bounty isn't for the active uniformed members or officers of the military. The bounty is usually for people or other non military groups or organizations usually composed of civilians or x-military personnel. No country awards its police or the military for killing the enemy. That's what they are supposed to do.
Second, this guy had a legal contract. Its great and in the military rankings, an honor to have served like this, but the laws and contractual terms still apply to you. He wasn't retiring....he LEFT the military. I am MORE than sure that people from the military told him that he had a few more years to go. If he wanted to, he could've asked for a desk job or work as a trainer. Knowing that he put himself in the harms way when the orders came, I am positive he'd be given that. But then that's what these guys are supposed to do. When the commander in-chief says go, you GO. Good, bad or ugly, you go and do the best you can in a mission. That's what happened here.
It's sad that because of his mission, he's politicizing the respected military institution but he terminated the contract when instead of fulfilling it. Coming on tv and all.....it changes the perception as to did these guys really risk their lives for the country?? Other ST6 members made a ton of money with ZDT movie. Not sure if he got his cut.

 

[jhungary]

Yes, he does not receive a pension.

In order to earn a pension, I must serve an agreed upon term of service. It does not matter if I am paper pusher or a bullet pusher. During my term of service, I may receive additional pay for being a bullet pusher, but for both career fields, the term of service to earn a pension is still the same.

Now...Does that mean we cannot change the laws to create something with more justice to those who did more than what was asked? Yes, but that is a different issue and one that is common to all militaries worldwide. This SEAL voluntarily separated from the Navy prior to completion of the agreed upon term of service to earn a pension. No one forced him into the Navy. No one forced him to be a SEAL. And no one forced him out of the Navy.

Could the US Navy offer him a desk job for him to complete his term of service so he could earn a much deserved pension? Yes. But would he accept after being a SEAL and done what he did -- shot Osama bin Laden?

Actually, even with you fullfil the ETS, you still cannot get the Pension.

The problem is, as far as i know, he is asked to leave the Navy (Or Asked to leave the SEAL) as he is injured and he cannot fully fulfill his active duty commitment. I don't know if he is "Forced" to discharge (Mean he got section 8'ed or Admin Discharge) or he is Volunteer Discharged. But since he did not hit the magical 20 years mark. He will not get a Military Pension.

The other way he can get pension is if his injury are severe enough to collect Disability. But unless you are missing a finger or something like that, you will usaully not grant one. So, it's kinda a catch 22 situation, he got out on medical, he cannot stay with SEAL, he stayed and end his ETS, he will not get Medical.........And he choose the second one.

However, he may not pass the medical for full active duty if he stayed and if he got squeezed out, he lost everything.......

Ok, the bounty isn't for the active uniformed members or officers of the military. The bounty is usually for people or other non military groups or organizations usually composed of civilians or x-military personnel. No country awards its police or the military for killing the enemy. That's what they are supposed to do.
Second, this guy had a legal contract. Its great and in the military rankings, an honor to have served like this, but the laws and contractual terms still apply to you. He wasn't retiring....he LEFT the military. I am MORE than sure that people from the military told him that he had a few more years to go. If he wanted to, he could've asked for a desk job or work as a trainer. Knowing that he put himself in the harms way when the orders came, I am positive he'd be given that. But then that's what these guys are supposed to do. When the commander in-chief says go, you GO. Good, bad or ugly, you go and do the best you can in a mission. That's what happened here.
It's sad that because of his mission, he's politicizing the respected military institution but he terminated the contract when instead of fulfilling it. Coming on tv and all.....it changes the perception as to did these guys really risk their lives for the country?? Other ST6 members made a ton of money with ZDT movie. Not sure if he got his cut.

His story is like many veteran i know (Including me) but with one single different. He killed OBL, end of story, you won't hear other normal grunt got screw over by the government,. but when you killed OBL, people expect you would be treated differently, but the fact is, you don't.

 

[A1Kaid]

He can come live in Abbottabad, perhaps Pakistan should not have demolished the complex he could have lived there and be an honorary resident of Pakistan.

 

[LiberalAtheist]

He can come live in Abbottabad, perhaps Pakistan should not have demolished the complex he could have lived there and be an honorary resident of Pakistan.

He would but Pakistan plans to build an amusement park where Bin Laden died they plan on calling it Six Flagistan. (ok but seriously they are actually making one where he died which sparks some interest here what kind of rides where will there be pin the tail on the infidel. IED roller coaster, behead the adulterers etc (ok thats enough.)

 

[A.Rafay]

He would but Pakistan plans to build an amusement park where Bin Laden died they plan on calling it Six Flagistan. (ok but seriously they are actually making one where he died which sparks some interest here what kind of rides where will there be pin the tail on the infidel. IED roller coaster, behead the adulterers etc (ok thats enough.)

I have a idea of a ride two towers and surrounding them airplane shaped circular ride.

 

[gambit]

Actually, even with you fullfil the ETS, you still cannot get the Pension.

The problem is, as far as i know, he is asked to leave the Navy (Or Asked to leave the SEAL) as he is injured and he cannot fully fulfill his active duty commitment. I don't know if he is "Forced" to discharge (Mean he got section 8'ed or Admin Discharge) or he is Volunteer Discharged. But since he did not hit the magical 20 years mark. He will not get a Military Pension.

The other way he can get pension is if his injury are severe enough to collect Disability. But unless you are missing a finger or something like that, you will usaully not grant one. So, it's kinda a catch 22 situation, he got out on medical, he cannot stay with SEAL, he stayed and end his ETS, he will not get Medical.........And he choose the second one.

True. But then those are unique cases. The critics here are more intent to cast the US military to be some evil organization, like the ones from their countries, and are using this as somehow general behaviors towards every US military members.

 

[Zarvan]

Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden left in poverty with no pension, healthcare or protection
​

The US Navy SEAL who personally shot to death former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden says he has been neglected by the US government. The poverty-stricken ex-commando is now struggling to feed his family and pay for healthcare.

Despite killing America's most wanted man, the US Navy SEAL referred to only as “the Shooter” has transitioned back to a civilian life plagued by poverty. The Shooter, who remains anonymous, retired from the SEALs in September 2012, thirty-six months before the 20-year requirement for retirement benefits.

And the government makes no exceptions when it comes to retirement benefits – not even for one of the Americans responsible for striking the most crushing blow against al-Qaeda.
“What is [hard] to understand is that a man with hundreds of successful war missions, one of the most decorated combat veterans of our age, who capped his career by terminating bin Laden, has no landing pad in civilian life,” writes Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair of the Center for Investigative Reporting, for Esquire.

Aside from remaining anonymous and therefore lacking recognition from the American public, the US government appears to have forgotten the Shooter’s significance in the raid that killed the most wanted terrorist. Without a pension, healthcare, or any sort of government protection, the Shooter has been left in the dark by the agency he dedicated his life to.

Unsympathetically, he was told to look for a job driving a truck to make enough money to scrape by.

“[SEAL command] told me they could get me a job driving a beer truck in Milwaukee,” the Shooter said. Such a job would be a substantial downgrade from both his status and estimated $54,000 salary as a Navy SEAL.


Left without retirement benefits, the Shooter is now purchasing a private health insurance plan for $486 per month, which provides minimal coverage and fails to cover his chiropractic care.
“My health care for me and my family stopped,” he said. “I asked if there was some transition from my Tricare to Blue Cross Blue Shield. They said no. You’re out of service, your coverage is over. Thanks for your sixteen years. Go f*ck yourself.”

The US government provides 18- days of transitional healthcare benefits, but only those who agree to remain on active duty or become a “reservist”. And it will take at least eight months before he can make requests for disability payments. Although the US government put a $25 million bounty on bin Laden, no one has ever collected the money and the Shooter now lives in poverty.

Finding another job is not so easy for the retired SEAL: due to his anonymity, he cannot disclose his work experience to other employers. Even though friends and family members put in recommendations for him with employers they know, they cannot tell anyone that the Shooter was part of SEAL Team 6.

The SEALs struggles contradict the statement US President Barack Obama made on Veteran’s Day about those who serve the country.

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

But the Shooter is fighting – financially, physically and emotionally. With a body full of scars, arthritis, tendonitis, eye damage and blown disks, the SEAL is in desperate need of medical care.
“Is this how America treats its heroes?” Bronstein writes. “The ones President Obama called ‘the best of the best’? The ones Vice-President Biden called ‘the finest warriors in the history of the world?”

And the Shooter is just one of about 1.3 million veterans – about one in 10 – and 0.9 million family members who are currently uninsured, despite their years of service.

“[Bin Laden] crumpled onto the floor in front of his bed. He was dead. I watched him take his last breaths,” the Shooter recalls. “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?”

The administration considers bin Laden’s death one of its greatest achievements. But for the Shooter, life has become a struggle.


Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden left in poverty with no pension, healthcare or protection — RT

The wars USA got involved will destroy USA and their economy and these things are increasing by every passing day USA needs to get out of Muslim lands and also stop bullying other nations like North Korea Venezuela and Cuba and other nations other wise downfall of USA will become inevitable

 

[livingdead]

He was part of an organization that killed OBL, his individual contribution is next to nothing. All the SEALs are heros, just because he shot does not make him better than others.
Now he seems to be a stupid attention seeker. All over the world militaries follow same rule (including India).