Code name Geronimo controversy The code name Geronimo controversy came about after media reports that the U . S . operation to kill Osama bin Laden used the code name " Geronimo " to refer to either the overall operation , to fugitive bin Laden himself or to the act of killing or capturing bin Laden . Press reports claimed that " Geronimo " was used in the raid to refer to bin Laden himself , but this was later contradicted by official sources . The official mission code name was " Operation Neptune Spear " ( a reference to the trident in the SEAL insignia ) , with " Jackpot " as the code name for bin Laden as an individual and " Geronimo " as the code word for bin Laden ' s capture or death . In the book " No Easy Day " , former SEAL Matt Bissonnette , who participated in the mission , states that " Geronimo " was the code name for bin Laden . The historical Geronimo was a leader of the Chiricahua Apache who defied the U . S . government and eluded capture . " Channel 4 News " said " According to some analysis today , the U . S . military chose the code name because bin Laden , like Geronimo , had evaded capture for years . If they were trying to avoid mythmaking , it seems they chose the wrong code name . " Once bin Laden was killed , one of the commanders reported " Geronimo E - KIA " , meaning that the mission had ended with the " Enemy Killed In Action " . Many Native Americans objected to the use of the name " Geronimo " . " It ' s how deeply embedded the ' Indian as enemy ' is in the collective mind of America , " said Suzan Shown Harjo , president of the Washington , D . C . - based Morning Star Institute , a Native American advocacy group . " There is little doubt [ the ] use of a leader like Geronimo to refer to bin Laden is ill - advised , " wrote Keith Harper , an attorney and member of the Cherokee Nation , in an email with a reporter for the " The Washington Post " . The leaders of several native American Indian tribes urged President Obama to retroactively rename the military code name " Geronimo " used by the SEALS during the killing of bin Laden . Fort Sill Apache Tribal Chairman Jeff Houser sent a letter to President Obama , decrying the linking of " the legendary Apache warrior " to a " mass murder and cowardly terrorist . . . Unlike the coward Osama bin Laden , Geronimo faced his enemy in numerous battles and engagements . He is perhaps one of the greatest symbols of Native American resistance in the history of the United States . " Questions to the White House about the code name were referred to the Defense Department , which stated no disrespect was meant and that code names are generally chosen at random . Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly told " The Washington Times " that " Even though the operation to capture or kill bin Laden is over . . . the name should be changed so that children don ' t encounter it in the history books . " The Onondaga Council of Chiefs said that the use of code name Geronimo perpetuates negative stereotypes about Indians . Nez Perce member Loretta Tuell , staff director and chief counsel for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee said " These inappropriate uses of Native American icons and cultures are prevalent throughout our society , and the impacts to Native and non - Native children are devastating " . Jeff Houser , chairman of Geronimo ' s Fort Sill Apache Tribe wrote a letter to President Obama saying " We are quite certain that the use of the name Geronimo as a code for Osama bin Laden was based on misunderstood and misconceived historical perspectives of Geronimo and his armed struggle against the United States and Mexican governments " . Geronimo ' s great - grandson , Vietnam War veteran Harlyn Geronimo , issued a statement requesting explanations and apologies . On 8 May 2011 , President Obama was interviewed by " 60 Minutes " saying " There was a point before folks had left , before we had gotten everybody back on the helicopter and were flying back to base , where they said Geronimo has been killed , and Geronimo was the code name for bin Laden . "