the Gaza flotilla raid, where he helped in disarming two of the Israeli commandos who boarded the ship. O'Keefe served as a United States Marine in the First Gulf War. According to his own website, he was discharged because he "spoke out openly about abuse of power by my 'superiors' and as a consequence I paid a heavy price. I realised that honour and integrity were virtues which are often punished rather than rewarded and the Marines supplied me with my first serious taste of injustice."