Bin Laden Navy SEAL had ties to Wrangell

A former U.S. Navy SEAL operator with ties to Wrangell is making news nationally after being exposed as the co-author of a book on his part in the top-secret raid that killed terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Chief Petty Officer Matt Bissonnette, writing under the pseudonym “Mark Owen” is set to release his book No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden on Sept. 4. The book is being co-authored with renowned wartime correspondent Kevin Maurer and will be published by Dutton Books, an imprint of Penguin Publications.

The book had originally been scheduled for release on Sept. 11, but the publishers moved the date up one week due to high demand, with a planned run of 575,000 hardcover copies also moving up from the original total of 300,000.

Bissonnette honorably separated from the U.S. Navy in April. He attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer in 2007.

Fox News and other national media outlets outed Bissonnette last week as the co-author of the book – and incorrectly reported that the former SEAL was from Wrangell.

His father, Terry A. Bissonnette, is a former Wrangell magistrate who served in that position from 1998 until his retirement in 2004. The former magistrate now lives in Northern California.

The book has been kept under a veil of secrecy by Penguin – which says it could be one of the best-selling books of 2012 – and that the details contained in it could potentially affect the coming presidential election in November.

According to the Associated Press, both a current and former U.S. military official confirmed the name, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss military personnel matters.

The U.S. Navy has declined to offer comment on the publication of the book, other than to say that the government did not vet it at any point during the writing or publication process.

In an Aug. 23 email from the White House Press Office, Press Secretary Jay Carney said, “We were unaware of this book until (Wednesday) and the press reports about it. So, I don’t know what’s in it.”

Christine Ball, a spokesperson for Dutton, claims that they fact-checked the book internally, and that the firm utilized an attorney who is reportedly well versed in military and special operations issues.

Ball also stood by Dutton’s decision to publish the book under an assumed name.

“Mark Owen, like every SEAL he has served with, has put his life on the line time and again for his country for more than a decade,” Ball said in an emailed statement. “Sharing the true story of his personal experience in No Easy Day is a courageous act in the face of obvious risks to his personal security. That personal security is the sole reason the book is being published under a pseudonym.”

CIA spokesman Preston Golson added that they could not speak on the record about Bissonnette’s identity, but that the agency never heard of the book until news of it was broken online.

“The CIA isn’t offering any comment on the identity of the book author,” Golson said in an email. ”As far as we can determine, this book was not submitted for pre-publication review.”

U.S. officials said Monday that they are reviewing a copy of a soon-to-be-published account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, checking for leaks of classified information.

Pentagon spokesman George Little said Defense Department officials “received the manuscript and we are looking at it.”

Golson would only say that, “the CIA has a copy of the book.”

The AP also reported that Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. James Gregory said that if the book reveals classified information about the raid, the Pentagon would “defer to the Department of Justice.”

Admiral William McRaven, the former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, said Bissonnette could find himself in hot water if the book discloses sensitive information.

“Every member of the special-operations community with a security clearance signed a non-disclosure agreement that was binding during and after service in the military,” Adm. McRaven stated. “If the U.S. Special Operations Command finds that an active-duty, retired or former service member violated that agreement and that exposure of information was detrimental to the safety of U.S. forces, then we will pursue every option available to hold members accountable, including criminal prosecution where appropriate.”

As a civilian, the Department of Justice, rather than a military tribunal, would prosecute Bissonnette.

The book’s release comes as a group of retired special operations and CIA officers has launched a campaign accusing the president of revealing classified details of the mission and turning the killing of the terror mastermind into a campaign issue. The group is also stating that the president is taking undue credit for the operation.

Bissonnette also took part in the rescue of Richard Phillips in the Indian Ocean in 2009 when SEAL snipers shot and killed three Somali pirates.

In a statement released by Bissonnette before he was identified as the co-author he said, “It is time to set the record straight about one of the most important missions in U.S. military history.”

The former SEAL is also reported to have spoken with Academy Award® winning director Steven Spielberg about making a film based on the book. Spielberg decided to pass on the making of a film due to the scrutiny the book is receiving from the intelligence community.

Bissonnette graduated from Aniak High School in 1994 before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1998. He also graduated from Biola University in La Mirada, Calif. in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science.

He passed the BUDS and SEAL training program in April 1999 and was stationed with both East and West Coast Navy SEAL units. His awards include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and a pair of Combat Action Ribbons.