I read the article and have some serious problems with it. First off given the number of phonies that have cropped up I'm not entirely sure the "reporter" was actually speaking to a real live service member much less the guy who was actually in "seal team 6". BTW the SEALS themselves refer to it by the proper military designation of DEVGRU. There are some significant discrepancies in the article.
First off. Everyone who has completed basic training is aware that the only way to reach retirement status in the military is to satisfy the basic requirement. You must serve a minimum of 20 years of "good" and active service. To think that a SEAL, especially an E7 16 year vet SEAL, does not know this little tid bit by heart is beyond belief. If they are disabled on active duty they will be given a disability retirement prior to the 20 year time limit. Nothing in the "article" says that the individual interviewed satisfied that requirement.
Secondly, when one does not re enlist you end your service time. Every enlisted man knows without a doubt when their enlistment contract is up and what happens to you when you fail to re enlist. If they. for some reason run afoul of the military and are given a bar to re enlistment, they are made painfully aware of that during the process whereupon they are given the bar to re enlistment. In short, they screwed up, not enough to be court marshaled but enough to insure they do not continue to screw up in the service. That means they do not get retirement benefits if the have not fulfilled the minimum requirements for same. The article hints that "shooter" had trouble with other team members lately. That hardly qualifies for separation from the service. If this guy really is one of the team members the Navy would bend over backwards to make sure he got his retirement including putting him in any number of positions outside of SEAL duty status. The Navy has absolutely no reason to dump on a stud like the folks who DID cap OBL. at the very least it would be bad press and they don't need any of that.
Military benefits are given to the members of the military and retirees. Not to folks who fail to complete the terms of the 20 year retirement. Again, everyone who completes basic has been made very aware of this issue.
Folks who achieve the status of veteran DO have access to the VA medical system. All you have to do is walk inside the nearest VA facility and sign up provided you can show you qualify. His DD-214 given to him upon leaving the service gives him that proof as does his records accessible by the VA. Nothing in the article says the person interviewed has any knowledge of that well known fact. I say well known because folks in the military, especially those qualifying vets separating from the service are told that bit of info. People who have been on active duty also know the medical system they are in is called TRICARE. It isn't referred to as "health insurance".
If this guy was sincere about wanting to protect his family the LAST thing he would do is leave the service. He had access to base housing, on a fairly secure facility wherever he would be transferred in the US. If really necessary they would pull strings to get him a new identity to help secure his families safety. When you quit you don't have that option.
Frankly given the author of the article is also responsible for some rather far left leaning pieces and a book, I have serious doubts about anything he writes in regards to the military.
Check out his blog and read up on some of the info. It is by a real military person and the site works to expose military phonies. The blog is title, This ain't hell, but you can see it from here.
http://thisainthell.us/blog/
