Upon his discharge from the Navy on 24 August 2012 (after 16.6 years), O'Neill was still assigned to SEAL Team Six at Virginia Beach, Virginia and had six months and 15 days of sea service to his credit. He served with SEAL Teams Two (1996–2001), Four (2001–2004), and Six (2004–2012), and attained the rank of senior chief petty officer. However, the former commander of SEAL Team Six said in 2014 that O'Neill had not played a "singular role" on either mission, adding that "O’Neill's specific role on any of these missions is irrelevant because everything we do is as a team." ĭuring his enlistment, O'Neill received two Silver Stars, four Bronze Star Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal (with "V" device), three Presidential Unit Citations, and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals (with "V" device). In 2013, O'Neill told The Montana Standard that he helped rescue SEAL Marcus Luttrell in Afghanistan, and that he was SEAL Team Six's "lead paratrooper" in the rescue of Richard Phillips from the Maersk Alabama hijacking these missions were the bases of the 2013 films Lone Survivor and Captain Phillips, respectively. O'Neill reported to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and graduated from BUD/S class 208. After expressing interest in becoming a sniper, O'Neill enlisted on 29 January 1996, and joined the Navy SEALs that same year. O'Neill told Esquire that he found himself in a United States Navy recruiting office after a relationship breakup. O'Neill married in March 2004, and has at least two children, though he and his spouse were legally separated by February 2013. He graduated from Butte Central High School in 1994, and has attended Montana Technological University. O'Neill described his childhood in Butte as "idyllic". O'Neill is the son of Tom O'Neill, Jim and Diane Johnson, and the brother of Tom O'Neill. After participating in the May 2011 Operation Neptune Spear with SEAL Team Six, O'Neill was the subject of controversy for claiming to be the sole individual to kill Osama bin Laden.īorn in Butte, Montana, on 10 April 1976, Robert J. O'Neill (born 10 April 1976) is a former United States Navy SEAL (1996–2012), TV news contributor, and author.
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