Meet the man who killed Osama bin Laden

The Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden dead in the special force's most famous operation can be named today.

The Navy hero is set to give a full interview to Fox News later this month and waive his anonymity but MailOnline has established that he is Rob O'Neill, a highly-decorated veteran who quit after 16 years service.

In an exclusive interview Rob's father, Tom O'Neill, tells MailOnline, 'People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public. I say I'll paint a big target on my front door and say come and get us.'

Rob O'Neill, 38, is a former member of SEAL Team Six who has been portrayed on screen in Zero Dark Thirty, Captain Phillips and Lone Survivor.

He is one of the most distinguished members ever of the elite force - but now faces being frozen out of its circles for revealing its most closely-held secrets. 

O'Neill was personally congratulated for killing bin Laden - in his account at close range with three shots to his forehead - during the SEAL raid on Abbottobad, in Pakistan, on 2 May 2011. 

Questions have previously been raised over the exact narrative of how bin laden came to die, although the dispute centers on an alternative account which claims O'Neill shot him once, leaving him mortally-wounded and the terrorist was killed by two other SEALs with further shots to the chest rather than forehead. 

O'Neill's decision to speak out was prompted by losing some of his military benefits by quitting the SEALs after 16 years rather than staying for a full 20 years of service. 

Today details of his extraordinary military record can be disclosed.

In total he was deployed on more than a dozen tours of duty in active combat, in four different warzones, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the course of those tours he undertook more than 400 separate combat missions. 

He was decorated 52 times, leaving as senior chief petty officer. His decorations include two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with Valor, a Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor, three Presidential Unit citations, and two Navy/Marine Corps Commendations with Valor. 

Silver Stars, the military's third highest honor, are awarded for extraordinary gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. 

Bronze Stars with Valor are awarded for merit, signifying a heroic act and direct participation in combat operations. 

It is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces and the ninth highest military award overall. 

Joint Service Commendation Medals are given for senior service on a joint military staff and is the most senior of the commendation medals.

Details of three of his missions have been turned into Hollywood action hits.

O'Neill will speak fully of his role in that action later in November in the first part of a two-part Fox News interview.

However his decision to speak is at the center of huge controversy.

In a letter to past and present SEALs, Force Master Chief Michael. Magaraci and commander Rear Adm. Brian Losey, made it clear that the vow of silence remains one of the most important tenets of SEAL life.

The two leaders made it clear that O'Neill's decision to go public translates into shame among former SEALs, and that he could even face legal action.

'Classified information is protected by law,' they wrote.

'All members exposed to classified information have a duty obligation to protect this information, regardless of what may be reflected in the media, accurately or otherwise.

'We will actively seek judicial consequence for members who willfully violate the law, and place our Teammates, our Families, and potential future operations at risk.'

O'Neill's father says he cannot understand the fuss. 'He is not allowed to talk, yet they are using this big bullhorn to shut him up,' he said. 

'I support him in everything he is doing,' said the twice-divorced older man. 

'What are you supposed to do when you come out of the military after such service — become a greeter at Walmart?'

'He was one of the quiet professionals performing the most difficult tasks in the most difficult circumstances, serving his remarkable career in the shadows and keeping America safe in the process.'

He agreed to be interviewed on a Fox News special next week called 'The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden. In it he will talk of his training, and detail the mission to take out the al Qaeda leader.

It follows last year's Esquire magazine interview —by Sharon Stone's ex-husband Phil Bronstein — in which his identity was kept secret. He was referred to only as 'The Shooter.' 

He used the interview to raise concerns about how veterans - including himself - were treated. The interview, which was published in March 2013, began with a meeting in April 2012 as he prepared to leave the Navy.

He was especially worried about losing healthcare and pension benefits because he was leaving the service early.