The SEAL Team Six soldier whose unauthorized account of the killing of Osama bin Laden prompted legal threats from the Department of Defense also consulted on Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
Matt Bissonnette did not request approval to divulge details of operations in publishing his bestselling novel No Easy Day, nor did he or any of the two dozen active and former special members who consulted on the military first-person shooter, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
Col. Tim Nye, a spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command (which oversees the Navy SEALs) told the Times that personnel must receive clearance to work on civilian projects in order to prevent sensitive information from falling into the hands of enemies.
“In general terms, if any of these … service members signed a nondisclosure agreement, then that agreement would most likely be as binding for an electronic game as it is for a book or movie,” said Nye. “Having never played the game, I have no idea if it discloses any classified information or sensitive … tactics, techniques or procedures.”
An Electronic Arts spokesman said that the Department of Defense never requested to vet any of Warfighter or 2010's Medal of Honor, and was not responsible for ensuring its military consultants were properly authorized. EA did not directly initiate its interaction with Bisonnette, instead working with a contracted intermediary.
The Department of Defense threatened legal action in August over Bissonnette breaking his nondisclosure agreement with No Easy Day.
