In 2013, O'Neill told "The Montana Standard" that he helped rescue SEAL Marcus Luttrell in Afghanistan, and that he was SEAL Team Six's "lead paratrooper" in the rescue of Richard Phillips from the "Maersk Alabama" hijacking; these missions were the bases of the 2013 films "Lone Survivor" and "Captain Phillips", respectively. However, the former commander of SEAL Team Six said in 2014 that O'Neill had not played a "singular role" on either mission, adding that "O’Neill's specific role on any of these missions is irrelevant because everything we do is as a team."