The revelation in the Mail Online
came ahead of a Fox News interview in which Mr O'Neill is expected to discuss
the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the terror mastermind was
killed.
The website described Mr O'Neill,
38, as a veteran Navy SEAL who had concluded several tours of duty, including
in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He
earned two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Combat "V" among
other decorations, the report said. He left the service after 16 years.
His decision to come out as the
killer of al Qaeda leader bin Laden was made in part because he lost some
military benefits, having left the SEALs before a full 20 years of service,
according to the report.
He
did so fully aware of the risks he faced.
"People are asking if we are
worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public," his
father, Tom O'Neill, told the Mail Online.
"I say I'll paint a big target
on my front door and say 'come and get us'."
Mr
O'Neill had already spoken to Esquire magazine in a piece published last year,
but his identity had not been revealed and he had been identified only as
"The Shooter".
In that interview, he said he had
joined the US Navy at the age of 19 following a heartbreak. He described the
top secret lead-up to the raid, his training and finally the mission.
"I'm not religious, but I
always felt I was put on the Earth to do something specific. After that
mission, I knew what it was," he told Esquire.
US
Navy SEALs, both on active duty and retired, possess highly sensitive
information about tactics and techniques that are central to the success of
their secret and often dangerous missions overseas.
That is why they are obliged to
sign non-disclosure agreements when they enter service and when they leave.
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