Seven Members of Navy’s Seal Team Six Disciplined For Work on Video Game

[PurpleGaga27 40]

Looks like they blew their cover that can't remain secretive.

 

Seven current members of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six, including one involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, have received non-judicial punishments for having served as paid consultants for the video game “Medal of Honor: Warfighter.” Four other SEALs who previously belonged to the unit remain under investigation.

 

The newly released game by Electronic Arts features special operations forces, including SEALs, in combat situations. Promotional materials for the game mention the fact that, to make the game as realistic as possible, input came from special operators, including Navy SEALS.

 

A Navy official says 11 active duty SEALS worked as consultants on the game over two days earlier this year. At the time all of them were members of SEAL Team Six. A senior Navy official told ABC News that one of the seven SEALs was involved in the May 1, 2011, raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden.

 

The SEALs were punished for having violated their nondisclosure agreements and for having revealed tactics, techniques and procedures. Non-judicial punishments allow commanders to discipline service members administratively instead of pursuing a legal process that could lead to a court martial. The news that active duty SEALS had been punished for their involvement with the video game was first reported by CBS News.

 

The official confirmed that on Thursday morning seven senior enlisted sailors, who are still part of the unit, had received letters of reprimand and been fined two months’ pay. Letters of reprimand are seen as career-enders because they typically prevent further promotions. The investigation continues into the four West Coast based SEALs who were part of the unit at the time that they served as consultants.

 

A Defense official said that in an unusual move, the punishments were read out loud to the seven SEALs in front of their peers to send the message that this kind of activity would not be tolerated.

 

In a statement, Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli, deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, said his command “takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and conducts investigations to determine the facts. We likewise take seriously the Non-Disclosure Agreements signed by Sailors and adherence to the articles of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).”

 

The Navy first became aware of the SEALs’ involvement following the release of the book “No Easy Day,” written by the pseudonym Mark Owen, a former SEAL Team Six member who detailed his role in the bin Laden raid.

 

Owen was investigated by the Pentagon for having violated his non-disclosure agreements and for not having his book vetted by the Pentagon. He too served as a consultant on the Medal of Honor video game.

 

The Navy official said the participation by the 11 SEALs was discovered following a review prompted by the publication of Owen’s book. The official said after the book came out, it was decided that a review should be made of what “outside engagements” current SEALs might have been involved with for which they may have received compensation.

 

On Friday, Peter Nguyen, a spokesperson foro Medal of Honor Warfighter said in a statement, “There are no plans to recall Medal of Honor Warfighter from store shelves and we have no plans to alter the content contributed by combat veterans in the game. We have no further comments.”

 

Source: http://abcnews.go.co...-on-video-game/

 

I can't believe EALA's (Danger Close studio) Medal of Honor: Warfighter is a disgrace (and already an epic fail game from critics) after reading this article. I hope Call of Duty and Battlefield do not follow those new gameplay methods into their games in the future.

Edited November 9, 2012 by zocom7

[Guest Rabbit]

In the United States military, a non-judicial punishment is the easiest punishment you could get aside from being verbally reprimanded. It does literally nothing to affect your record, and the most severely you could be punished is a loss of one rank, a temporary cutback in pay, or specific restrictions that last up to 60 days. In the military, this means nothing, especially to a Navy Seal. The only reason they were even punished is because the news caught wind of things.

 

How does receiving inside information from people actually in the military make it a disgrace? That's realism right there, and if anything, the only thing "disgraceful" about it is the service members breaking military rules. The only rules they could have broken are talking about classified information, or breaking the military rule that active service members are not allowed to take a second job. These Seals could have easily just been consultants using their experience for the sake of helping people make games, without even disclosing classified information.

 

That's about it. This really isn't news.

[Luk3us 63]

You know what is really sad about this game?

 

Despite their input...

 

IT STILL ****ING SUCKS! Its just mediocre dribble.