7 Navy SEALs, including one involved in Osama op, punished for leaking secrets to video game maker
London, Nov 9 (ANI)
Seven members of the secretive Navy SEALs, including one involved in the mission to get Al-Qeada leader Osama bin Laden, have been punished for disclosing classified information, a senior official has revealed.
The members of the elite SEAL Team 6 were charged with dereliction of duty for 'disclosure of classified materials and unauthorized use of unit equipment for two days of off-the-clock work' earlier this year.
According to the New York Daily News, the SEALs are alleged to have divulged classified information to a firm named EA, the maker of a video game.
The SEALS were helping the firm EA with its new first-person shooter "Medal of Honor: Warfighter," which came out last month.
CBS News reported one of the disciplined sailors was on the May 2011 raid killed bin Laden in his Pakistan compound.
EA's website boasts that "Written by active U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas and inspired by real world threats," the game "delivers an aggressive, gritty, and authentic experience that puts gamers in the boots of today's most precise and disciplined warrior."
The game does not portray the bin Laden raid, but does feature a fight against Somali pirates, one of the unit's targets.
According to the paper, all seven are senior enlisted men who received nonjudicial punishments.
The letters of reprimand will prevent promotion and effectively end their careers under the military's "up or out" doctrine, the paper said.