Can someone explain to me why these Seals feel entitled to all sorts of benefits when they get out before 20? The guy who was identified as the shooter said the Navy wouldn't offer him protection or benefits so he is going to release information. He only did 16 years. And if he wanted protection why is he telling people his name. I don't get it.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Navy SEAL Sell Outs?
- Thread starter Ralph
- Start date
I'm not SOF, I'm willing to bet 99.99% of the AW crowd is not SOF, so probably pointless to ask us about a decision someone in his position made.
As long as he isn't divulging classified info, it's his life, his decision.
If my life were actually interesting enough to write a book or make a movie about, I'd be getting paid...
Pickle
As long as he isn't divulging classified info, it's his life, his decision.
If my life were actually interesting enough to write a book or make a movie about, I'd be getting paid...
Pickle
I'm very obviously not a Teams guy, either, but I gather their culture is similar to Navy Air in that the only respect and admiration that really matters comes from your peers.
I'm with Pickle in that, short of spilling classified, it's their story and they can get paid for it if they choose. I don't agree that he's entitled to any sort of "I killed someone famous in the line of duty" upgrade. Do 20 to retire....that's not exactly a secret loophole in your enlistment contract, and it applies whether you're a DEVGRU badass or YN1 Snuffy who never went to sea.
If he's not getting VA benefits, then obviously that's a whole 'nother story.
I'm with Pickle in that, short of spilling classified, it's their story and they can get paid for it if they choose. I don't agree that he's entitled to any sort of "I killed someone famous in the line of duty" upgrade. Do 20 to retire....that's not exactly a secret loophole in your enlistment contract, and it applies whether you're a DEVGRU badass or YN1 Snuffy who never went to sea.
If he's not getting VA benefits, then obviously that's a whole 'nother story.
offinthecorner
Member
First off, "..only did 16 years" is pretty brash of you to say considering the conditions of those 16 years. Never fail to respect the duress the Special Operations community has to put on their bodies for this country. When you're 18 or a little older it's easy to judge others for their capabilities because your body heals and repairs at an incomparable rate. Watch the way you use your words.
Second of all, think about how many other service members have written memoirs, published diaries, etc. These guys are humans too, and especially if he's not receiving any benefits for 16 hard hard years, he might need to find a way to relinquish some of his financial stress and this could be a way to do it. The reasons he's outing himself are not your concern or mine.
If the guy claiming to have killed bin Laden was the same who was profiled in Esquire, and it appears he is, his claimed ignorance in the magazine article of why he wasn't getting anything after doing 16 years to include health benefits comes across as being a bit off. I presume that quite a bit was lost in translation when the author put words to paper but his complaints about not getting a retirement, needing to leave the service to spend time with his family along with the 'don't let the door hit your ass on the way out' attitude he got when he left the Navy strike a bit of a false note and got pretty hard pushback from NSW and SOCOM. For the VA stuff, SOCOM even has a special liaison with the VA so they can review claims associated with classified missions now. The guy certainly isn't hurting now in his current career as a speaker and his fee will certainly rise now.
He isn't the first veteran to make money off his exploits and he won't be the last, if he has got something worth make money off of then more power to him. He served his country well, his two Silver Stars and 4 Bronze Stars for valor certainly attest to that. How this all affects his relationship with his former team members and any increased risk to himself and his family was by his own choosing.
Last edited:
That was my thought when I read that article. I'd like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and think that what he meant was, I left short of my 20 and I need to make a living somehow, just like everybody else. Then Esquire translated that into, the guy who killed bin Laden is getting screwed out of his pension! If that's the case, I think that's the kind of thing you hire an agent for, if you're going to be putting your story out to the world - to make sure that what gets printed is what you mean. Especially if it's pretty certain you're going to have several tons of USG lawyer interested in it.
I don't know the guy. Maybe he's a complete asshole and he's really upset that he didn't get a parade through the city and a million a year for life. But knowing how exhaustive the recruitment and vetting process is for DEVGRU, I somehow doubt it. This isn't like Seaman Timmy whining that he didn't get what the recruiter promised him. Something's getting lost in translation.
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
I have seen first hand how a command can treat a guy who they believed should stay in, a friend of mine who I worked with had planned on getting out, he was at 15 and just made SCPO, every MCPO told him he should stay, but he was miserable, he shouldn't have stayed in past 10, great guy, great leader, great work ethic, but once it was solidified he was getting out he was treated like crap, the MCPO's and DH thought that he made SCPO because of them. He was denied leave due to "being needed", and was only allowed to take 30 days terminal.
Not sure if this SEAL went through the same thing but it wouldn't surprise me if he got the "don't let the door hit you on the way out"
Not sure if this SEAL went through the same thing but it wouldn't surprise me if he got the "don't let the door hit you on the way out"
I know nothing about the guys at Dam Neck other than what I read in No Easy Day, but from how he described it, it sounds like the leadership there are all perfectly aware of how the deployments and mission requirements grind the guys down. They can rotate to Green Platoon (the recruitment and training cadre) on request, and go back to a deploying platoon or leave DEVGRU and go to another unit on request. And - again, just based on the book - it sounded like it was not held against anyone who was burned out and needed to leave or take time off. You get assholes in every bunch, but NSW overall does not seem inclined to run their guys into the ground or look askance at those who need to take a knee. If anything, the difficulty seemed to be in persuading these super-competitive, 'don't let the team down' types to take time off when they needed to.
The Department of Labor requires all Defined Benefit retirement plans to be fully vested by either 5 years (cliff vesting) or 7 years (graduated vesting). Somehow, the military is able to get away with a retirement plan that has cliff vesting at 20 years. Our retirement system is too generous for those who work 20 years, and completely unfair for those who choose to leave before the magical 20. The retirement system hasn't changed in decades. It doesn't properly reflect new life expectancy numbers.
One of the problems is that the organizations that supposedly lobby for "us" like MOAA and such are beholden to their already retired constituents. There is no real lobby for those service members that won't end up doing 20.
If I ruled the world, this is how the retirement plan would work:
1) 7 year cliff vesting at 2% per year, no medical.
What's the incentive to stay in for 20? You get medical. How can the government afford this? All future enlistees will only get 2%, even after 20. Not fair you say? Bullshit. Your brother in arms who does 14 faithful years side by side with you gets nothing when he leaves after his 2nd divorce. This is how we take care of our own. Stop being selfish.
For those who do 12 years in the infantry/SOF, body is broken, can't stay in any longer, etc... it's not enough money to live on, but its better than what we have right now.
or
2) 50% matching for the TSP for the first 3 years, with 100% matching after that.
One of the problems is that the organizations that supposedly lobby for "us" like MOAA and such are beholden to their already retired constituents. There is no real lobby for those service members that won't end up doing 20.
If I ruled the world, this is how the retirement plan would work:
1) 7 year cliff vesting at 2% per year, no medical.
What's the incentive to stay in for 20? You get medical. How can the government afford this? All future enlistees will only get 2%, even after 20. Not fair you say? Bullshit. Your brother in arms who does 14 faithful years side by side with you gets nothing when he leaves after his 2nd divorce. This is how we take care of our own. Stop being selfish.
For those who do 12 years in the infantry/SOF, body is broken, can't stay in any longer, etc... it's not enough money to live on, but its better than what we have right now.
or
2) 50% matching for the TSP for the first 3 years, with 100% matching after that.
Looks as though he thought everyone would beat down his door and they haven't. Look here:
http://www.socnet.com/showthread.php?t=122039
I found this forum when outing a SEAL poser in my industry. (Yup... Skeetermans' are everywhere.)
Last edited:
exNavyOffRec
Well-Known Member
It would be interesting to see if we went back say 20 years and applied this to see how much money it would cost the government as opposed to how much goes out now.
At the core of this issue is the way the White house took a victory lap after the mission was successful. From the briefing room photo, to the meeting with the team by POTUS, to the various TV shows and the movie. Tactics and methods that were presumed, became validated for political gain. Nothing classified was compromised, but that line was pushed. Similar missions have been conducted for years without the fanfare and the White house has kept it's mouth shut in both Republican and Democratic administrations. This one is different..........and that's a shame.
enlUSMC
It's SWOtastic
Yup. I know grunts in their 20s who have the bodies of 80 yr old men. And their physical condition forces them out and into a world of VA care and civilian employers who couldn't care less. Audie Murphy made a movie about his life, Dakota Meyer sells books and pistols. He just waited longer than either of them.
If anyone reading this forum knew that they shot Osama and had to shut up about it while getting no benefits to speak of, I figure a good portion of us would have published a book or said something a lot sooner than he did.