JD LEETE
Writer/Producer/Filmmaker
JD Leete is a retired US Navy Chief (SWCC/FPJ) who made his bones as a radioman for JSOC and the US Navy SEALS for over 20 years, starting in the early 1980’s. He is a decorated combat veteran who is one of only a few people who can honestly claim to have been in country during both the “hunt” for Pablo Escobar and Osama Bin Laden.
“It is a world of secrets. To rise to the top of this community you have to be extremely competent at your job, but most importantly’ you never talk about it. The guys who go around the world on real world ops, you will never hear about. You just know they weren’t at the command for a few weeks/months.”
Upon returning from leading a 14-man crew into Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom and retiring in 2004, Leete began his next career as a filmmaker. Let is behind the documentary Target of Opportunity: The US Navy SEALS and the Murder of Jennifer Evans.
Although Leete’s documentary explains the facts of the case, the potential for a narrative film has never escaped him. His knowledge of the crime; his interaction with all the living characters; and his understanding of the Special Warfare community makes him the only person capable of telling this story in its entirety.