SEAL Team 6 is the Navy's elite Tier One counter-terrorism unit

PublishedNovember 12, 2025 4:00 AM EST•UpdatedNovember 11, 2025 9:47 PM EST

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SEAL Team 6 were absolute pros on the ground when it came time to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

The al-Qaeda founder was killed on May 2, 2011 local time in Abbottabad, Pakistan after years of being hunted across the region.

Two helicopters carrying SEAL Team 6 operators hit bin Laden's compound and engaged the terrorist leader.

Justice delayed, but ultimately delivered after the horrors of September 11, 2001.

Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011 when SEAL Team 6 hit his compound in Pakistan. (Photo by Getty Images)

SEAL Team 6 pulled high IQ move to kill Osama bin Laden.

Former SEAL Team 6 member and raid participant Matt Bissonnettee recently spoke with Shawn Ryan, also a former SEAL, in an outstanding interview about the raid and the government's issues with his book.

There are a ton of interesting nuggets in the interview (more on that later), but one that stood out to me was just how methodical the assault was.

Bissonnette spoke with Ryan about how there was no mad dash throughout the compound for one simple reason:

There was no need to use hostage rescue tactics because there weren't any hostages.

Instead, "combat clearance" was used, and Bissonnette described the tactic as "slower" and "much more methodical."

No need to run and gun around when time is on the side of the good guys, and they have all the best tools to get the job done. Specifically, night visions and lasers.

"There was no reason to just run into the room and clear things. So, makes a hell of a lot of sense, right," the former SEAL Team 6 operator explained.

He also noted the unit was "calmly clearing the space" as they searched for Bin Laden.

You can watch his full comments below, and let me know your thoughts at [email protected].

These comments go to show combat at an elite level isn't what the movies might make it out to be. Dudes aren't just running around at breakneck speed. They're moving as a team, taking their time, flowing with multiple members at once to clear different areas.

The kinds of tactics used on the ground weren't the only interesting nugget that Bissonnette revealed in the interview. He also confirmed the existence of an audio recording of the mission debrief.

I had known about the recording and its contents for some time, but that was the first time a member of the DEVGRU community publicly acknowledged a recording was made of the debrief. Imagine the headlines that recording would spark if the audio was released? It would be a deep dive for history buffs and people who love special operations.

For those of you who might have missed the bloody details of Bin Laden's final moments, you can watch it get broken down below.

What do you think of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden? Let me know at [email protected].