'No Easy Day': six top revelations from book on the bin Laden mission

The Navy SEAL Team 6 operators hand-picked to raid Osama bin Laden’s compound in 2011 had some unwelcome surprises waiting for them as they hit the ground, according to Matt Bissonnette in his controversial book “No Easy Day.” The training that went into the mission included key help from female operators, practical jokes, and an audition of sorts for top US officials, who watched it before deciding whether the Special Operations Forces should go ahead with the raid.

4. The SEALs enjoyed practical jokes, even as they were preparing for missions

Pranks were so frequent within Bissonnette’s SEAL squadron ranks that the operators “eventually built a wire diagram connecting all the suspected culprits,” he writes. “We used this same wire diagram to track terrorists.”

Pranks included cutting shoelaces and demagnetizing credit cards with large magnets. One of the most popular pranks involved “glitter bombing.”

“I don’t know how many pouches and uniforms I had to replace,” Bissonnette laments, “because purple glitter was caked on Velcro or trapped in the folds of fabric.”

4 of 6
You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us