Tell me about your shirt.

It is a very moving place, and I think every Ameri- not even every American, everyone around the world should see it, because it takes you right back to 9/11.

And it's not a happy place.

It's a, it's, it's a place where you're gonna cry, if you have a soul.

[laughs] And, uh, I, w- um, I wanted to donate, uh, the shirt that I wore in the room where I killed Osama bin Laden to it.

Um, so the, w- um, just, uh, you know, it w- at first I did it, uh, I wanted to be, um, anonymous, and it was just a shirt that was present.

You know, that kind of thing.

As I understand it, Con- Congresswoman Maloney has invited you, and this is when you decide, "Hey, I, I'm gonna start to tell people who I am"?

September 11, where exactly was Rob O'Neill? What were you doing when you got that news?

I was deployed overseas.

I was part of SEAL Team Two, and our area of responsibilities at that time were, uh, North Africa, Europe, Coast of all, things like that.

So I was actually forward-staged in Germany, uh, at Naval Special Warfare Unit Two, which is like a deployed, uh, SEAL team.

And I was in the operations office, uh, um, office catching up on email.

There were three SEALs, and, uh, we had the news on in one corner.

It went to breaking news.

Do you attribute those differences to the fog of war?

Do you agree?

No, I agree the violence against the bad guys.

One big takeaway from the bin Laden raid, also the Maduro raid, is we've proven that we have the capabilities to come get you wherever you are, whenever we decide to.

We have the people with the will to do that.

Unfortunately, it seems to take something tragic to get us to that point.

I don't want to see that again.

One of the major things that we're missing right now is we don't know our history.

Do you feel that America is still prepared to defend against threats? And what are the big threats today?

It took about an hour and 40 minutes for them to go from Jalalabad in Afghanistan, the base there, into Pakistan to get to the compound.

We got on the helicopters that we launched, and we knew it was a 90-minute flight to get to the compound, to get to Osama bin Laden's house.

90 minutes to get there.

But we didn't know if the technology worked.

We didn't know.

Pakistan has some pretty good air defense systems.

We knew that if they spotted us, they could shoot us down.

And then there was about 20 minutes of silence, the longest 20 minutes in my lifetime.

It took about an hour and 40 minutes for them to go from Jalalabad in Afghanistan, the base there, into Pakistan to get to the compound.

We got on the helicopters that we launched, and we knew it was a 90-minute flight to get to the compound, to get to Osama bin Laden's house.

90 minutes to get there, but we didn't know if the technology worked.

We didn't know if...

Pakistan has some pretty good air defense systems.

We knew that if they spotted us, they could shoot us down, but we also knew that worrying about getting shot down wasn't going to stop the missiles.

And I've learned early on in life, if your worries... aren't going to affect any outcome.

And then there was about 20 minutes of silence, the longest 20 minutes in my lifetime.

Let's get to work.

We continued to be nervous until the helicopters finally got back and landed in Jalalabad.

And we knew that the mission had been completed.

And all of this was going on again, like the town next to West Point, maybe because, yeah, there was a massive military school right there with huge numbers of Pakistani military officials.

We had decided that in order to prevent bin Laden's burial site from becoming a shrine, that we would bury bin Laden at sea.

And so the body was taken from Jalalabad to a carrier off of the coast there.

And he was given a burial under Muslim law.

... are you prepared to show evidence that you filed, that you fired the shot?

Yeah, I mean, we have, we have everything in there, everything that I have it to include letters from the overall commander of the mission, Operation Neptune Spear, saying that I'm the shooter.

I mean, and then, uh, for people who didn't see it happen, I have letters from SEAL Team six operators, some guys on the mission, just, uh, as far as character, uh, goes.

I've got, actually the sniper who rescued Richard Phillips, and, uh, he...

I mean, I've, I've talked to him.

He, he's, he's, he's written a letter on my behalf.

And just stuff, too.

Hmm.

Do you agree?

No, I agree the violence against the bad guys.

One big takeaway from the bin Laden raid, also the Maduro raid, is we've proven that we have the capabilities to come get you wherever you are, whenever we decide to.

We have the people with the will to do that.

Unfortunately, it seems to take something tragic to get us to that point.

I don't want to see that again.

uh one of the major things that we're missing right now is we don't know our history we're not teaching it to our kids we've got to educate our kids with stuff that's real we've got to let people know adults you know people my age it's just because you're not at war with someone doesn't mean they're not at war with you to be vigilant to realize that it comes down to the community take care of your family your community know your first responders stuff like that just uh um you know there's a big difference between reality and your phone but reality can be there and i i just implore people to keep their head out of the sand

Do you feel that America is still prepared to defend against threats? And what are the big threats today?

Mm-hmm.

Like, that's, that's from the, the moment I joined the Navy to SEAL training, which is the hardest military training in the world, to the deployments with them pre-9/11, to deployments with them post-9/11, to selection for SEAL Team Six, which is where they take maybe 2% of Navy SEALs with combat experience, put them through a selection course that's nine months long.

50% of them don't make it, then a squadron.

Then you deploy and then, uh, just mission after mission.

I, um, I, I credit a lot of luck with it, but, uh, I was on the mission to rescue Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor, on my first deployment with SEAL Team Six.

I was the lead jumper to try to rescue Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates, where we left, um, my daughter's Easter tea party on my birthday, Good Friday, April 10th.

Mm-hmm.

Now we're gonna jump the boats into the water.

[laughs]

Um, but, um, I'm in line to get my stuff, and there's a dude in front of me who I'm assuming was, like, a lineman up on the power poles or whatever, and, and he's working all night, night shift.

Now he's off.

No hurry whatsoever, and he's one dude in front of me.

[laughs] And one of the things this dude, other than a, a big thing of coffee he's buying, was a USA Today, and the headline on the newspaper I could see over his shoulder, um, was about the mission we're trying to go do.

And very patriotically, he slammed it on the counter and kind of announced to the entire store, you know, whomever would listen, "Man, I sure wish someone would do something about this." And I, I'm recognizing the irony, and I tap him on the shoulder, and I go, "Buddy, pay for your shit and we will."

[laughs]

Um, but, uh, yeah, you know, like, I was your typical...

Yes.

They're not really sa- saying much.

Uh, the, the issue that I have is the- they, they wanna do it with an air campaign and an air campaign only, and I don't think it's, I don't think that's possible, and I've said that before.

If w- if we can hit hard and back off, uh, that would be great, but the problem is all Iran needs to do is wait it out.

They, they, the populace doesn't have really any weapons.

If we arm them, we're the...

It's damned if we do, damned if we don't, so they just need to sit there ands- and let the left-wing media all over the world just destroy the administration.

Wow.

Yes.

They're not really s- saying much.

Uh, the, the issue that I have is the, they, they wanna do it with an air campaign and an air campaign only, and I don't think it, I don't think that's possible, and I've said that before.

If w- if we can hit hard and back off, uh, that would be great.

But the problem is all Iran needs to do is wait it out.

They, they, the populace doesn't have really any weapons.

If we arm them, we're the, it's damned if we do, damned if we don't.

Okay.

We'll see you there.

Do they say, excuse

me,

I have to pee? You know what's funny is I would pee in...

Kelly asked a really good question.

No, that's a very...

That was one of our questions.

It's a 90-minute flight.

I mean, it was just... riveting

okay hey what is up this is robert j o'neill former co team six operator i was fortunate enough to be on some of the most important missions in modern history i was on the mountain we rescued the lone survivor marcus latrell i was the lead jumper we rescued richard phillips from somali pirates and i'm the guy that shot osama bin laden and you're going to hear about it on the rick and kelly show so please join us see you there Awesome.

How's that? How's that for one take? That was great.

And as he said that, I was sitting there thinking, this is one of those moments for me, when I can sit across from the guy who killed the worst terrorist on the planet, who the whole world was looking for, by the way, or most of

it, for

As one KBI agent later reflected, Susan's assistance was invaluable.

A fantastic lady by the name of Susan Galbraith that we came to know.

She was the person that was out front that took this case single-handedly and decided that she was going to try to do everything in her power to help find out what had happened to Jessica Curran.

It's a feeling warmly shared by KBI agent Bob O'Neill, who, even years later, maintained Susan's value in solving the case.

Here was a situation where her involvement was so great and so appreciated that in the middle of this case, we stopped and took a moment to recognize her for a job well done.

I don't think that we could have broke the case without Susan.

How do we make sure that sacrifice is not in vain?

Well, the first thing we should do is remember our history, remember our heritage, and why this country is great.

And then when we went overseas to fight, uh, you know, we, we went over there as a re- a result of what happened on 9/11 when we were attacked by radical Islam.

And people like me have been saying this even before 9/11, that there are a lot, uh, not...

Now there's, I guess, a lot of them, a certain sect of them that want to invade the West.

They want to get into Europe, which they're doing right now, and they want to get here.

Mm-hmm.

And the easiest way is to come here as a minority and claim refugee status and get all the benefits and all this stuff, and they're gonna be your best friend until they hit 51%.

Mm.

So no one expected us to go overseas, but I knew we were going somewhere where we, this, the Bin Laden raid was a high-risk mission.

We're, it's a one-way mission.

And so I told my three...

And I, we couldn't leave at night.

We had to leave during the day.

So I told her, "Hey, Dad's gotta go to work," and you know, uh, just a way to tell a three-year-old goodbye.

Yeah.

Is it common for you to go out and, and do campaign stuff, or are you just, uh, you love John James that much?

I love John James that much.

I think [laughs] it's ...

No, it's so important.

Uh, John is the American story all the way back to his father in Mississippi on land where he couldn't go to Mississippi State because the color of his skin, so he moved to Michigan, uh, and raised John here, raised a business here.

And, uh, I mean, in a, in a nutshell, it took John a second to get here to run for government because he was raised here.

You know, we had a, we, we had a ...

What does the Memorial Day season mean to you?

Is it common for you to go out and, and do campaign stuff, or you just, uh, you love John James that much?

I love John James that much.

I think [laughs] it's, no, it's so important.

Uh, John is the American story all the way back to his father in Mississippi on land where he couldn't go to Mississippi State because of the color of his skin, so he moved to Michigan, uh, and raised John here, raised a business here.

And, uh, I mean, in a, in a nutshell, it took John a second to get here to run for government because he was raised here.

You know, we had, we, we had a...

Uh, look at the story too.

What does the Memorial Day season mean to you?

Okay.

And then Delta Force was with them.

So the SAS, Delta Force, SBS with us, uh, inserting on the ground, SEAL Team Six.

And we just got into a shit storm one night.

Um, e- entering a house, we were, we were actually debating whether or not to use new tactics or to try new tactics, because we learned early on the worst thing you can say is, "This is the way we've always done it." And that's with anything in business, uh, 'cause your opponent sees what you're doing.

And if they're used to something, maybe we should adjust.

And we were ta- actually talking about adjusting as opposed to going as fast as we can because we're gonna get in a fight anyway, which is like a, an older tactic guys use.

They don't.

want.So if k- if the president decides to bring kinetic action back, end the ceasefire and start to hit high-value targets, both human and military and energy infrastructure, how can the Pentagon evaluate in advance the capacity Iran has to strike back desalination plants, uh, energy, uh, uh, maybe under- underwater cables for communications? How can the Pentagon make that evaluation?

Well, I mean, that's, that's hard to say and that, that's again, up to the, the people in the intelligence arena.

And they've been really good with their intelligence as far as I know.

I mean, one thing they're excellent at is not really telling anyone what they're doing, and they don't, they don't telegraph anything.

So it- it's hard to say.

I mean, I- Iran, all they can, all they can do is put out false narratives and then, um, destroy, destroy their own stuff like, uh, uh, try to, you know, mess with the Straits of Hormuz or their own infrastructure or whatever.

They don't, they don't have any capabilities really.

Who's the, who's the best, uh, Pentagon Secretary of your lifetime and why?

It shouldn't just be, "Well, we're gonna ride roughshod over that when it suits us." What do you think?

Yeah, I mean, it's, uh...

I'm gonna start this off by saying I'm not a journalist either.

Uh, I'm fortunate, though, over 400 combat missions, I was what we call the battlefield interrogator until we softened it to tactical questioner, which means after we take down a house, after we killed people and there's people still alive, I'm the one that gets to interrogate them.

So I get to talk to them face to face.

And I'm gonna tell you, from the time I had from the first time I did that in Iraq to the last time I did it probably in Afghanistan or Pakistan, I learned along the way torture does not work at all.

So you, you, you will get to a point where you hurt someone so bad they're gonna tell you what you want to hear.

But what do you think?

Uh, that, that certainly wasn't the only mission.

Right.

That wa- that wasn't even the last mission.

Eh, bin Laden wasn't even the last guy I killed with that same gun.

Um, I went back to Afghanistan in 2012, 11, 12.

Um, well, it started off before 9/11.

I, I joined the Navy in 1996, and I went to SEAL training, then got to SEAL Team Two in 1997.

In one of the frames you can see it coming out of his neck, and immediately after that comes out of his neck is when we start to see that blood flow.

Got it

... foot powder.

The Vietnam guy said if you need to run for your life, you can get rid of your least important shit.Never done it, never heard of it.

But I drop my shit and I'm running to the radio guy.

So he's another SEAL, but not SEAL Team Six.

He's never been in a gunfight.

He has a radio.

Yeah, yeah.

What did you make of this operation?

Yeah, this was, um, um, a rescue of a downed aviator and, uh, or air crew like we've never seen before, just the amount of assets that we had.

What was unique about this, though, is we're able to see exactly where they are pretty much all the time.

There's other air assets, other intelligence assets in the air watching.

When they're hit and they eject, obviously, it must have been at high altitude.

I don't know the exact, uh, details of the elevation, but they separated by a couple miles, and, um, at that point, everything stops, and we need to find them.

So j- they ended up going in with the tier one unit with SEAL Team six, and they flew in, uh, some C-130s with a lot of people.

What do you feel about that, Rob? I mean, the idea that people serving at high level in the military or the Pentagon would defy an instruction from the commander-in-chief to launch a nuclear weapon.