To Kill A Terrorist In Self Defense: The Matthew E. O'Neil Story

At the time he was cleared O'Neil held an Associate of Applied Science degree in Information Technology from The Community College of the Air Force. He graduated on February 11, 1999. O'Neil's immediate commanding officer while stationed in the Middle East was Captain Dickey Rounsaville. O'Neil worked as a truck driver, base telephone operator, and computer network administrator as an Airman First Class and Senior Airman while a member of 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron. O'Neil was stationed at Schriever Air Force Base at the time of the incident as a member of 11th Space Warning Squadron. Schriever Air Force Base was renamed Schriever Space Force Base in 2021. 11th Space Warning Squadron's Commander from December 1997 to July 2000 was Lt. Colonel Suzanne Vautrinot. He briefed a U.S. Air Force Captain and a Lockheed Martin employee about the incident. O'Neil entered active duty on August 28, 1996 and was honorably discharged from the active duty U.S. Air Force on August 27, 2000. He was honorably discharged from the Individual Ready Reserve U.S. Air Force on July 24, 2004. He entered the United States Armed Forces through MEPS Boston in the summer of 1996.O'Neil's Air Force Specialty Code was 3C051 Communications-Computer Systems Operator Journeyman. He helped install 11th Space Warning Squadron's computer network, including laying network cables and installing computer hardware and software for about 100 computers. O'Neil was ordered to the Schriever Air Force Base martial arts sensei in 1997. He was instructed in boxing, wrestling, and kung fu punching. He had been using the weight training and boxing room in the basement of the Joint National Test Facility on Schriever Air Force Base regularly in the months leading up to the killing.

O'Neil was stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base as part of 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS) from May 1999 until September 1999. 763rd EARS was in support of Operation Southern Watch. When he was at a Colorado Springs business a Middle Eastern man with a foreign accent punched O'Neil as hard as he could, told him he was going to kill him, and said he had a partner. O'Neil landed a kung fu punch and broke the terrorists neck. The terrorist died immediately upon impact. O'Neil had an eyewitness for the event. O'Neil believes that the Middle Eastern man was a terrorist. The Middle Eastern man was in his 30's or 40's, stood approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed roughly 190 pounds. The terrorist may have been sponsored by Saddam Hussein and Iraq. The Iraq War started in 2003. The incident is in the records department of the Cape Cod Military Museum which is run by Joe Yukna. It is also recorded at the website TogetherWeServed under 11th SWS.