During an interview with Fox Business host Stuart Varney, the Navy SEAL infamous for killing Osama Bin Laden, admitted that women in combat don’t bother him in the slightest.
Tim O’Neill is known for being fearless in the face of terrorism. When he received threats from ISIS militants hungry for vengeance, O’Neill responded that he was always ready to defend himself. In short, this is a hardcore guy who doesn’t flinch even when the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization wants him dead.
It thus shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the prospect of admitting women into the special forces doesn’t really phase O’Neill either.
“I’ve [conducted operations] with women. They’ve actually come with us on special operations that include searching women and children, cultural sensitivity type stuff,” O’Neill told Varney. “I know that these Islamic fighters, they don’t fear death but they do fear hell. If they get killed by women, they go to hell as far as they know.”
O’Neill concluded that so long as the standards for combat jobs and special operations weren’t lowered for women, all service members deserve the same opportunities.
“Lock n’ load, ladies,” he added.
Varney, after explaining that he has never been in combat, asked, “Are you telling me you are perfectly okay going into a life or death situation with a woman by your side? I’m told that it changes the dynamics of the group that you’re operating with.”
O’Neill agreed that it’s not as simple as just opening the floodgates and allowing women to charge onto the battlefield. He doesn’t want the military to become “a social experiment,” but if a woman can pass the rigorous training and meet the standards set by the special forces, they should be allowed to proceed just like a man.
“The hardest military training in the world is the Navy SEALs,” O’Neill said. “If she can make it, she deserves a shot.”