I don´t trust this article at all, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that most of the young vets I know were in good shape financially (saved all their pay) when they left and had options. There is a huge boom in personal and corporate protection right now not to mention consulting for entertainment. This guy will be fine, as he should be. Further, being Esquire, they´ll manage to blame Bush Cheney for vets not having options...

#1, this man had a family to support while he was away. The number of returning veterans who don´t have jobs is astounding.

God willing, someone will see this article and hire this American hero.

I find it hard to believe a Navy Seal can´t find a job.

"young vets I know were in good shape financially (saved all their pay)" ahhhh,
don´t think so.

2 - I´m sure they will....special ops vets are among the most disciplined, intelligent, capable people on the planet. Employers YEARN for that. You apparently bought the Kool Aid of the article - I haven´t.

Something does not smell right... Why would a decorated veteran from Seal Team 6 leave the Navy at 16 years? All he needs to do is stay just foru more for his pension and health care for his family. There is only a few reasons someone would leave that late, most of them not good...

This article seems...hinky. Too many things that make this military spouse say "hmmmm". Big grain of salt recommended.

I would believe that Esquire would be seeking to discourage people from military service.

What a stupid name for a magazine.

I keep going back to the fact that Hussein identified SEAL TEAM 6. In his haste to take credit, he should have realized that this makes anyone from the team a target. Just how stupid is your (not mine!) prez? It doesn´t have to be any particular team member; just the fact that one is a member can set some of these crazies off. And the media contributes to this by identifying repeatedly and giving the sought-after notoriety to them.

Sounds like fiction, but if it´s true he can get a job with what was Blackwater and Xe. It´s now called Academi and they train civilians and cops.

Chris Kyle was getting too much media attention in the aftermath of his death and someone thinks they rate the same type of publicity. There is no way (especially with comment about ´witness protection´ that a former seal and one who was responsible for the lethal shot would allow a total stranger/newspaper journalist into his inner thoughts and knowledge.

I agree with #6. You don´t leave the military at 16 years unless there´s a bad reason. And I question whether someone as highly trained as a Navy Seal would sit around and yap about killing bin Laden. The whole article sounds fabricated.

What I can´t undestand is how anyone who has sworn to "protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic" can serve such a corrupt Congress and this President when we know at least 84 members of the Congress are Communist and certainly Obama suckled and was bounced on the knee of Communism.

I´m not interested in this I don´t have a job whine. Go get one.

I read the whole article (did you?), and I´m distressed by the drift of the comments. I know members of DEVGRU, and this article rings true.

Why is he getting out and not staying for his retirement at 20 years (actually 19 years, six months with Constructive Time)? Maybe he´s just worn out and doesn´t want to burden his team. Maybe it´s not worth it for a lousy two grand a month.

Is he entitled to a life? Entitled to an opportunity to reconcile with his wife and raise his children? Without being gone 300 days a year? With his life on the line?

So what are his marketable skills? Marksmanship? Parachute and SCUBA qualified? Small-unit Tactics? Transferable to what other occupation? Blackhawk operative, CIA Agent? Mercenary? Mall guard? More of the same.

The point is we wear these guys out and then chuck them aside.

"People Sleep Peacefully in Their Beds at Night Only Because Rough Men Stand Ready to Do Violence on Their Behalf"

I´ve read the entire article and I think it´s all plausible.
I think those who do not know military families have no idea what they sacrifice.

I agree in principle with #6 as well, but he needs to brush up on his military retirement info. I retired 20 years ago, and even by then there was no "family medical coverage". For 25 years or so, military members have been paying medical insurance premiums for their healthcare. Free medical care for your family is a paleolythic notion that is barely a faint memory.


Girl´s Hubby

I don´t see what the big deal is and a bit of a lie. . The man knows you need to stay in 20 before you get benefits. It was no secret to me. I got out after four and had the old GI Bill. He has the new GI bill, which is pretty generous.

Regarding healthcare, all he needs to do is re-up for four more and everything will be fine.

This story has a purpose and it is not to find former SEALs civilian jobs.

Bronstein was very kind in the article to Obama and his crew who blew the whistle on that SEAL team in the first place, thus giving the enemy at least a starting point as to where to look for the man who shot bin Laden.

I´m not sure of the validity, but even as a Navy SEAL, would you want to stay in for the next four years? Perhaps, especially as a SEAL?

I don´t believe this.

This is an Onion piece right? Oh. My bad, a Liberal wet dream! The man who shot that weasel in the head or Seal for that mater would not whine to Phil Bronstein from the Esquire Metrosexual Magazine.

The transition from "super hero" to "just plain citizen" is devastating to many individuals, whether or not all or part of this article is truthful. Some adjust but many do not. It is the same as retirement after many years of working, its difficult for some, easy for some, and impossible for some. Your life is turned upside down. This man probably feels he is now useless and there is nothing that can replace the feeling he had for all the years he was in the military. He had a purpose. He no longer feels that way and his pride stops him from taking a menial or normal job. It is not clear why he left the service, but if he is
not physically impaired, he might consider
calling the ND state job hotline, especially set up to bring workers to the ND oil fields.
Tough work, tough environment, excellent pay, a job with a purpose, and possible new friends with a common goal. With his military experience, working there might be like a vacation.

Agree with #20. Bronstein is not a reliable source. Maybe the Komodo dragon bite causes hallucinations.

No idea whether this is on the level, but I am from a military family. Everybody knows the deal going it. If you can´t hang in for 20 you get squat, no matter how good you did.

I really do feel for the guy, and have a relative still in SPECOPs now, and he is getting worn out, too, more deployments than I can imagine. There are training jobs that keep you off deployable list for a while.

Bottom line is - if you decide to jump before 20, and don´t do any reservist time, you won´t get retirement or medical. This is NOT news to anyone.

The guy is a hero, and deserves a lot of credit, but the pension rules have been set forever.