Military paper shoots down 'broke' Navy SEAL who shot Osama's claim of no free health care
Washington, Feb. 13 : The former Navy SEAL who said he shot down three bullets in the head of Osama bin Laden is in fact eligible for the same free health care extended to all vets, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes has said.
The newspaper's claim came after it took issue with a report that said that the shooter is 'screwed' as he returns to civilian life and was getting no heath care.
A lengthy profile of the SEAL, released by Esquire magazine, said that the respected vet has retired after 16 years of military service and got little support from the U.S. Government.
According to the New York Daily News, the name of the piece is 'The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden... Is Screwed'.
Author Phil Bronstein wrote that 'here is what he gets from his employer and a grateful nation: nothing, no pension, no health care and no protection for himself or his family.
The SEAL, identified in the story as 'the Shooter' had said he had to buy private health insurance for himself and his family, as the government did not help him.
The SEAL said that the US Government told him that he was out of service, thanking him for his sixteen years, adding 'go f--k yourself'.
The independent military news source Stars and Stripes reported that the assertions about insurance were "wrong."
The newspaper said that 'like every combat veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the former SEAL was automatically eligible for five years of free healthcare through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to the report, Esquire defended the 15,000-word piece on Tuesday, saying there were references to the VA health plan in the original story "and while the Shooter may be eligible for some direct benefits from the VA, his wife and two children are eligible for nothing."