Operation Neptune Spear: Killing bin Laden | 60 Minutes Archive
In a Nutshell
Mark Owen, a SEAL Team 6 operator, recounts Operation Neptune Spear—the 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Osama bin Laden—detailing the helicopter crash, improvised assaults clearing the compound, bin Laden's identification via child/wife confirmation and DNA/photos, and exfiltration after 38 minutes on the ground. Despite mission hitches like the crash and hostile locals, SEALs adapted seamlessly, grabbing vital intel and confirming the kill with codeword "Geronimo E-K-I-A" before Obama's announcement. In *No Easy Day*, Owen honors the decade-long intel/planning effort by hundreds, emphasizing team valor over individual shots, while defending the book against Pentagon claims of secrecy breaches.
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Mark Owen, pseudonym for a SEAL Team 6 member who recently left the Navy's elite counterterrorism unit, shot Osama bin Laden. He was on the helicopter that crashed into the compound, second man in bin Laden's bedroom, took pictures of the body. Received Silver Star for valor and Purple Heart for wound in raid. No Easy Day is tribute to hundreds of Americans who gathered intelligence, planned, trained over ten years; SEAL Team 6 handled last 40 minutes.
Mission was kill or capture, not kill-only. Training emphasized capture alive if feasible, not assassination.
Raid on May 1, 2011, years in making. Best-laid plans failed, SEALs improvised from near disaster. Operation one of most significant in U.S. history. Owen in disguise for interview to focus on book, not himself; for security as enemy has long memory. Appearance altered with four hours makeup, shadows, voice changed. Navy 14 years, read about SEALs in junior high. 13 combat deployments since 9/11: Afghanistan, Iraq, all over. Rose to SEAL Team 6, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, multiple squadrons. His squadron chosen as available for training, nothing special about them or 24 guys.
April 2011, returned from Afghanistan, reported to North Carolina for exercise. Briefing room had model of compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Buddies said they found bin Laden, or think so; rehearse ground option. CIA tracked bin Laden courier to compound. Compound too big for neighborhood, no telephone, burned trash, 12-foot wall, walled-in balcony. Pacer paced yard for exercise, walked in circles in courtyard with vegetation blocking surveillance, sometimes with female, never helped with work, acted like boss. In Abbottabad five years, city of one million, mile from Pakistani Military Academy. Zero intel on inside layout.
Operation Neptune Spear, CIA authority. Two modified Blackhawks: Chalk 1 (Owen's) hover over compound, fast rope into courtyard; Chalk 2 land by road, drop external containment team for security, patrol perimeter with two men and Belgian Malinois dog Cairo for tunnels. Chalk 2 then hover over third floor, drop to balcony, assault top down; Chalk 1 bottom up. Rehearsed 100 times on full-size mock-up in three weeks, very unusual. Audience included Admiral Mike Mullen (Joint Chiefs Chairman), Admiral Eric Olson (Special Operations head), White House observers. Admirals shook hands, asked if ready; all said yes.
Days off at Easter, late April flew to U.S. base in Afghanistan. President not convinced, no confirmation bin Laden was Pacer; on standby. CIA analyst (five years on trail) 100% sure he was there. April 30, President approved at White House Correspondents' Dinner. Commanding officer announced approval. Raid delayed from April 30 due to weather. Vice Admiral William McRaven (SEAL, JSOC head) saw off.
Just before midnight, Blackhawks from Jalalabad, 150 miles to Abbottabad, 1.5 hours, blacked out, moonless night, treetop level under Pakistani radar, night vision goggles. Guys slept en route, mentally prepared. 1 a.m., 66 degrees, 65% humidity, calm winds. Neighborhood blackout. Door opened, legs out for fast rope.
Banked hard 90 degrees, something wrong. Lost lift in downdraft magnified by walls. Chalk 1 crashed into courtyard, tail rotor missed wall, slid/fell, stopped inches from disaster. Pilots best in world. Owen grabbed by buddy to avoid being thrown out. Thought "this is going to suck." Plan out window. Chalk 2 aborted roof, landed outside wall.
Pilot ditched in courtyard as rehearsed. Rotors still turning, couldn't recreate. Props to pilots. If not intact, Chalk 2 on ground would handle. McRaven said get guys on ground, they'll figure it out. Pilot looked 50, experienced. Planned 30 minutes on ground, now late. Owen's team hopped out, went to front door of outer building. Cleared southern compound, expected courier.
SEALs like pickup basketball: shoot, move, communicate. External team outside wall. Roof team found way in. At double doors, locked, sledgehammer failed, set explosive. Rounds came through door. Returned fire blindly. Arabic-speaking SEAL called out, door opened: female with kids, said husband dead, shot. Owen had minor shoulder frag wound, bullet stuck in bolt cutters near neck, not big deal.
Cleared outer house in five minutes. Main building first floor: courier with assault rifle, wife jumped in front. Women very hostile, aggressive unlike Afghanistan/Iraq. Secured ground, second floors.
Single file up stairs, point man first, Owen second. Pitch black, night vision. Second floor: intel said Khalid bin Laden lived there. Head popped out, point man whispered "Khalid," shot him when looked again.
Quiet, calm, not like movies; slow, done a million times. Khalid dead on landing. Point man stepped past, took shots ahead, someone disappeared into room. Point man rushed two females by door, pushed to far wall. Owen and next assaulter engaged man on floor several times (handful), as still moving, possible grenade under chest. SEAL behind also shot. Body still. Didn't recognize; could be anyone. Continued clearing.
20 minutes in. CIA analyst everything right. Knelt by body: looked younger, black beard (not gray), very tall (bin Laden 6'4"), nose matched profile. Pretty sure it was him but not calling it; suspected President listening at White House. Crash reported up chain. Wanted proof before radio confirmation. Time ticking: helicopter low fuel, Pakistanis discovering SEALs outside, military soon aware. One SEAL called time: 20, 15, 10 minutes.
SEAL speaking Arabic moved to women and kids, grabbed a younger child and asked who was inside. Child said, "Osama." SEAL asked, "Osama who?" Child replied, "Osama bin Laden." SEAL grabbed a female and asked again; she confirmed, "Osama bin Laden." No cheers or celebrations among SEALs; all business. At 1:00 a.m., called commanding officer upstairs. Showed body: tall, women and kid confirm. Commander took one look and said, "OK, I think that's him." Used code word Geronimo for bin Laden, passed message to Admiral McRaven: "For God and country, I pass Geronimo, Geronimo, E-K-I-A" (enemy killed in action). 20 minutes passed, 10 minutes left on 30-minute schedule.
Collected DNA samples (blood and saliva by one SEAL), photographs (Owen took pictures, cleaned face with water from Camelback backpack and bed sheet to make identifiable, good angles including profile). Photos described as gruesome due to bullet wound in head. Two SEALs took body downstairs, zipped into bag. Wanted duplicates of DNA and photos in case helicopter shot down with body. In bedroom, found assault rifle and pistol on shelf.
Point man took shots because first door engaged by enemy fire; AK found next to Khalid on stairs; boxes checked for threats. Guy sticking head around corner could have gun; no waiting for AK, grenade, or suicide vest. Bin Laden had gun but didn't use it. SEAL opinion: bin Laden taught martyrdom and masterminded 9/11 but wouldn't fight himself; speaks for itself.
Grabbed computers, discs, flash drives, videotapes—more priceless intelligence than could carry. Used carried bags, filled them, then old gym bags from house. One SEAL ran out like Santa Claus with bag of intel in one hand, computer terminal in other. Plan: 30 minutes on ground, but now few minutes late, after 1:30 a.m. Neighbors waking, approaching outside wall with questions. Outer team handled what-ifs: police or military. Interpreter told neighbors, "Police operation, go back home," and they did.
Crashed helicopter (secret design, secret gear) needed blowing up. Message to EOD man (explosives expert): "Prep it to blow." Vague "it"; EOD thought house, set charges on first floor. Stopped: "Not the house, the helicopter in courtyard." Rigged helicopter to blow.
Past time to go. Two CH-47 helicopters (reinforcements, fuel) standing by. Remaining Black Hawk picked up half SEALs; CH-47 rest. Ran through field carrying body bag, loaded Black Hawk, lifted off. While waiting for CH-47, demo timer ticking: under 30 seconds. Team leader radioed CH-47 for go-around south; explosion boomed as it circled. CH-47 landed, loaded, airborne. SEALs on ground 38 minutes. Glow at compound: helicopter on fire. Black Hawk low on fuel (flashing red lights in cockpit).
During escape, landed in Pakistan; one CH-47 waiting, refueled Black Hawk. Concerned Pakistanis would get them on way out. Radio: "We're back in Afghanistan." Big sigh of relief: "Wow, we might have pulled this off. This is crazy."
No handshakes during; after landing, hugged, high-fived, took photos, five-minute "cool, we pulled it off," then back to work.
Loaded body on pickup truck to hangar; Vice Admiral McRaven (JSOC head) waiting. Unzipped bag. CIA analyst (100% certain it was bin Laden) nearby, started crying—significant event. Six hours later, President Obama announced: "Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda." SEALs watched live in hangar, still in camouflage uniforms and gear.
Landing in US: surreal, from hush-hush to biggest news story. Bus back to work, given days off. Grabbed keys, drove home, hit Taco Bell drive-through for two tacos and bean burrito, ate in car—routine.
Days later, squadron on C-130 (same used in 1980 failed Iran hostage rescue). Fitting history to secret meeting with President at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Obama speech: "The terrorist leader who struck our nation on 9-11 will never threaten America again." Met bin Laden team privately; all received Silver Star for valor. Obama asked who shot bin Laden; told him wouldn't say. "Pulling a trigger is easy... not about who that one person was. It's about the team, helicopter pilots, intel folks. Who cares who the one person is? It doesn't matter."
Owen's book gives sense of being there, no secrets, no tactics. Support from fellow SEALs: "If anybody can tell this story and do it right, it's you." Pentagon unhappy, differing account (bin Laden first shot inside bedroom). Spokesman George Little: Owen breached secrecy agreements, book contains sensitive/classified info. Owen insists no compromise to US secrets or SEAL safety. Release timed to 9/11 anniversary to avoid politics: "This book is not political... if crazies on either side want to make it political, shame on them." Cable news reported real name (60 Minutes won't).
Raid was Owen's last. Visited Ground Zero first time: emotional, nearly 3,000 killed there. "Full circle... team avenged those deaths." Donates most book profits to charities for fallen troops' families. Book as public service for history straight, tribute to every Navy SEAL.
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