A former Navy SEAL who says he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden shared his experiences and a message of positivity at a GOP rally in Murray Friday night.
Robert O’Neill was on SEAL Team Six during the raid on bin Laden’s Pakistan compound in 2011. The decorated veteran is now a motivational speaker.
He said the message he wants to send to west Kentucky is "Regardless of what you see on television and social media pretty much everyone in the country is good and that we're all kind of in it for each other. The sky is not falling in. And then life is what happens around you while you're planning for something else."
During the event, O’Neill talked about keeping a positive attitude and described his Navy SEAL training as well as some of the notable missions he undertook. Many in the audience identified as having served in the armed forces.
He said it's easy to get negative, but that should be avoided. He said it doesn't matter what you look like or where you're from. "I mean, I'm living proof of that… Guy from Montana who couldn't swim became a Navy SEAL and ended up in Osama bin Laden's bedroom."
Another message was that "it's okay to be afraid because fear makes you think more clearly. It's just a fine line with don't panic. Panicking will get us all killed and it's very contagious."
O'Neill encouraged positivity and urged people to not check Twitter first thing in the morning, but rather go outside and breathe some fresh air.
Governor Matt Bevin made O’Neill a Kentucky Colonel after his speech Friday night.
