The Cost of Honor

People can tell you mostly anything you wish to hear and many can make even a flat out lie seem plausible.  The trick is at what cost is this revelation.  Is it of little cost to you but great cost to friends and family?  Is it of little cost to you but great cost to stalwart institutions or is it of little cost to everyone else but great cost to you in the form of losing your soul.  This is the question that anyone with information must weigh each and every day but regardless of the choice they must also be willing to take responsibility for the outcome of that choice.  This is especially true of a recent article from the Associated Press that talks about the retired Navy SEAL who is now preparing to share his side of the story about the bin Laden raid with the claim that he fired the shots which killed him.

The article reports that “Some special operations service members and veterans are unhappy that one of their own has taken credit publicly for killing Osama bin Laden. That internal debate gained intensity this week when retired Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill acknowledged that he had fired two rounds into the forehead of the al-Qaida leader during the 2011 raid on his secret compound in Pakistan. O'Neill had recounted his version of the bin Laden raid in February 2013 to Esquire magazine and in a story Thursday for the Washington Post.  O'Neill told the Post that shots also were fired by two other SEAL team members, including Matt Bissonnette, who described the raid somewhat differently in his book "No Easy Day." His lawyer said Bissonnette is under federal criminal investigation over whether he disclosed classified information in the book, which he did not vet with the military. In the Esquire piece, O'Neill makes no mention of Bissonnette shooting bin Laden.  O'Neill is scheduled to be featured in lengthy segments next week on Fox News.”

When you accept a position with an elite military unit or the basic military at all, you swear to protect and defend the honor of that organization and the nation for which it serves.  You learn early one that selfishness is not in the creed and you dedicate yourself to not seeking personal gain for anything you accomplish while wearing that uniform.  Now that you are retired and no longer have to wear that uniform every day, your duty to honor this creed still exists.  No where do you see those who cherish the honor that they have earned disrespect it for any reason.  Every once in a while someone comes along who do not share this desire and is willing to sell their very soul for a few dollars more.  These individuals not only betray the trust and faith that those who came before or will come after them may have had for them personally but now that very institution for which they swore to serve comes under fire and receives a black eye all for the sake of money.

It is assumed that the fee for speaking was not enough nor was the fee for his story to Esquire or the Washington Post, now Mr. O’Neill seeks to pad his bank account with a lengthy segment on Fox News.  What may surprise everyone is why Fox News?  Was the offer bigger and better than any other offer or was he preparing to further sell out his fellow service members, his Commander-in-Chief and even his soul.  I pray that Mr. O’Neill is prepared for what Fox News has in store for him.  He will have to answer the questions as Fox News would like them answered and if he does not, the following three weeks will be filled with ways to dismiss him.  They will be looking for any information that could be used for political gain and if he fails to provide it, they will sacrifice him with a quickness.  When was the last time you heard a Vietnam Veteran ramble about his accomplishments?  They don’t because of all the things that they have, they still have honor.  Wonder if Mr. O’Neill will be able to say that?