He killed Bin
Laden...now he has been abandoned by the US government.One would think he would
be living in a hilltop mansion after the heroic act.So its not only in Nigeria
that we abandon our heroes...please read this interesting story....a must read!
The Navy SEAL who claims he killed Osama bin Laden has spoken for the first time about the moment he shot the world's most wanted man three times in the head and watched him take his last breath.
In an interview to appear in the March edition of Esquire magazine, The Shooter describes in extraordinary detail the heart-stopping two minutes that changed the course of history.
The Team Six member - who is referred to only as 'The Shooter' for the safety of his family - reveals how the unit prepared for the daring mission, the moment he came face to face with the al-Qaeda leader and the fallout from the successful raid.
In the Esquire interview The Shooter reveals
that once they were given their mission, the female CIA agent - portrayed by
Jessica Chastain's Maya in Zero Dark Thirty - told the team that bin Laden was
'100 per cent on the third floor' of hiscompound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.The Navy SEAL who claims he killed Osama bin Laden has spoken for the first time about the moment he shot the world's most wanted man three times in the head and watched him take his last breath.
In an interview to appear in the March edition of Esquire magazine, The Shooter describes in extraordinary detail the heart-stopping two minutes that changed the course of history.
The Team Six member - who is referred to only as 'The Shooter' for the safety of his family - reveals how the unit prepared for the daring mission, the moment he came face to face with the al-Qaeda leader and the fallout from the successful raid.
'We got him,' she told us. 'This is him. This is my life's work. I'm positive.'
Once he locked eyes on his target, the SEAL remembers being surprised at his appearance. Bin Laden was much taller than he expected him to be - taller than any of their guys, and skinny with a short beard and shaved head.
He was holding his wife Amal in front of him as a shield and
though The Shooter could see exactly what was going on through night vision
goggles, bin Laden was in total darkness and could hear but not see.
'And he's moving forward. I don't know if she's got a vest and she's being pushed to martyr them both,' he recalls. 'He's got a gun within reach. He's a threat. I need to get a head shot so he won't have a chance to clack himself off [blow himself up
'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 sh**.
'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 Shooter, a father-of-two, then describes the moments after the shooting and how the al Qaeda leader's wife Amal launched herself at him screaming.
After zip tying her to the bed, he then realized bin Laden's youngest son, who was about two or three years old at the time, had also witnessed his father being shot.
'He was standing there on the other side of the bed. I didn't want to hurt him, because I'm not a savage. There was a lot of screaming, he was crying, just in shock.
'I didn't like that he was scared. I picked him up and put him next to his mother.'
He said the third-floor action lasted for about 15 seconds. Afterwards, he remembered that he had a bottle of urine in his pocket the whole time, after having to relieve himself on the helicopter ride on the way in.
The Shooter's interview in Esquire describes how the job led to the breakdown of his marriage, and claims the U.S. government largely neglect their veterans after they retire.
Journalist Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair of the Center for Investigative Reporting,
spent a year with The Shooter, earning his trust and carefully constructing his story for the 15,000-word piece for Esquire.
As well as never-before-heard details of the raid, the piece offers a sobering portrait of life after the military and makes the case that the government largely abandons its most elite and highly-trained soldiers after their service is over.
He told Bronstein: 'I left SEALs on Friday. 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*** yourself.'
He reveals that, in the aftermath of the May 2011 raid, his marriage with his wife ended yet they have been forced to live together to save money.
Because the U.S. government have given him nothing - no pension, no health care, no protection for his wife, children or him - he has had to teach them what to do if an attack should be made on their home.
He told his children in hide in their bathtub, as it is the safest, most fortified place in their house and trained his wife how to use their shotgun, with a 'backup' knife on the dresser.
Then there is the 'bolt bag' of clothes, food, and other provisions for the family meant to last them two weeks in hiding.
'And he's moving forward. I don't know if she's got a vest and she's being pushed to martyr them both,' he recalls. 'He's got a gun within reach. He's a threat. I need to get a head shot so he won't have a chance to clack himself off [blow himself up
'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 sh**.
'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 Shooter, a father-of-two, then describes the moments after the shooting and how the al Qaeda leader's wife Amal launched herself at him screaming.
After zip tying her to the bed, he then realized bin Laden's youngest son, who was about two or three years old at the time, had also witnessed his father being shot.
'He was standing there on the other side of the bed. I didn't want to hurt him, because I'm not a savage. There was a lot of screaming, he was crying, just in shock.
'I didn't like that he was scared. I picked him up and put him next to his mother.'
He said the third-floor action lasted for about 15 seconds. Afterwards, he remembered that he had a bottle of urine in his pocket the whole time, after having to relieve himself on the helicopter ride on the way in.
The Shooter's interview in Esquire describes how the job led to the breakdown of his marriage, and claims the U.S. government largely neglect their veterans after they retire.
Journalist Phil Bronstein, Executive Chair of the Center for Investigative Reporting,
spent a year with The Shooter, earning his trust and carefully constructing his story for the 15,000-word piece for Esquire.
As well as never-before-heard details of the raid, the piece offers a sobering portrait of life after the military and makes the case that the government largely abandons its most elite and highly-trained soldiers after their service is over.
He told Bronstein: 'I left SEALs on Friday. 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*** yourself.'
He reveals that, in the aftermath of the May 2011 raid, his marriage with his wife ended yet they have been forced to live together to save money.
Because the U.S. government have given him nothing - no pension, no health care, no protection for his wife, children or him - he has had to teach them what to do if an attack should be made on their home.
He told his children in hide in their bathtub, as it is the safest, most fortified place in their house and trained his wife how to use their shotgun, with a 'backup' knife on the dresser.
Then there is the 'bolt bag' of clothes, food, and other provisions for the family meant to last them two weeks in hiding.
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