--- description: The identity of the Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden was a secret until Thursday title: Revealed: The Navy SEAL Who Killed bin Laden image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ce156b83b4e204f/698767a3524fc019addea997/robert-oneill.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [National Security](/tag/national-security/) ## National Security Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Revealed: The Navy SEAL Who Killed bin Laden  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2014 7:37 PM CUT  Robert O'Neill, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, speaks at the "Best of Blount" Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, Tenn., Nov. 6, 2014. Robert O'Neill, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, speaks at the "Best of Blount" Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, Tenn., Nov. 6, 2014.Luke Sharrett—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2014 7:37 PM CUT The identity of the Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden was a closely held secret until Thursday, when a site operated by former SEALs disclosed his name. [Robert O’Neill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJYdTobSTsY "undefined"), a 38-year-old Montana native, was planning to reveal that he killed bin Laden in the May 2011 raid next week in interviews with Fox News and the Washington _Post_. But the former SEALs released his name in protest of his decision to come forward. [Read more at the Washington](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-seal-robert-oneill-reveals-himself-as-shooter-who-killed-osama-bin-laden/2014/11/06/2bf46f3e-65dc-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67%5Fstory.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm%5Ftwitter%5Fwashingtonpost "undefined")[ _Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-seal-robert-oneill-reveals-himself-as-shooter-who-killed-osama-bin-laden/2014/11/06/2bf46f3e-65dc-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67%5Fstory.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm%5Ftwitter%5Fwashingtonpost "undefined") _Read next:_ [_Former Navy SEAL Who Wrote Bin Laden Raid Book Under Investigation_](http://time.com/3550890/bin-laden-book-author-investigation/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3565526/navy-seal-osama-bin-laden-robert-oneill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3565526/navy-seal-osama-bin-laden-robert-oneill/"},"headline":"Revealed: The Navy SEAL Who Killed bin Laden","datePublished":"2014-11-06T19:37:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:17:14.125Z","description":"Former SEALs preemptively revealed his name in protest of his decision to come forward","url":"https://time.com/3565526/navy-seal-osama-bin-laden-robert-oneill/","keywords":["National Security","Pakistan","Terrorism","Osama Bin laden"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ce156b83b4e204f/698767a3524fc019addea997/robert-oneill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ce156b83b4e204f/698767a3524fc019addea997/robert-oneill.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill Who Killed Osama bin Laden Speaks At Chamber of Commerce","caption":"Robert O'Neill, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, speaks at the \"Best of Blount\" Chamber of Commerce awards ceremony at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville, Tenn., Nov. 6, 2014.","creditText":"Luke Sharrett—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3565526/navy-seal-osama-bin-laden-robert-oneill/","name":"Revealed: The Navy SEAL Who Killed bin Laden"}}]}] ```