Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 Mass Market Paperback – November 19, 2013

"I tried to get a hold of myself. But again in my mind I heard that terrible, terrible scream, the same one that awakens me, bullying its way into my solitary dreams, night after night, the confirmation of guilt. The endless guilt of the survivor. `Help me, Marcus! Please help me!' It was a desperate appeal in the mountains of a foreign land. It was a scream cried out in the echoing high canyons of one of the loneliest places on earth. It was the nearly unrecognizable cry of a mortally wounded creature. And it was a plea I could not answer. I can't forget it. Because it was made by one of the finest people I ever met, a man who happened to be my best friend."In 2005, Marcus Luttrell was part of a four-man mission in the mountains of Afghanistan. A member of the elite Navy SEALs, he was tasked with killing a Taliban leader who had close ties with Osama bin Laden. This small team was hidden outside a village, surveying the area and looking for their target, when a small group of goat herders stumbled upon them. The soldiers quickly detained the two men and the teenage boy and debated what they should do. The most obvious solution and the one that would be most conducive to their mission would be to immediately execute their prisoners. But when the four soldiers put it to a vote, it was determined that they should let these people go. Morality won over personal preservation. But was it morality or fear? "Was I afraid of these guys? No. Was I afraid of their possible buddies in the Taliban? No. Was I afraid of the liberal media back in the U.S.A.? Yes. And I suddenly flashed on the prospect of many, many years in a U.S. civilian jail alongside murderers and rapists." The former prisoners quickly and inevitably reported to the Taliban leaders and the SEALs were soon fighting for their lives. Before long three of the men were dead and the fourth, Luttrell, was running for his life (though not before they killed somewhere around 100 enemy soldiers. Don't mess with the SEALs!). It was a terrible slaughter, made worse when a helicopter carrying a rescue force was shot down, killing sixteen more Americans.Lone Survivor tells the story of this mission through the eyes of Littrell, the only man who lived to tell the tale. The book was released to great acclaim and has become a fixture on the bestseller lists. While the book is in many ways a typical war story (a description of SEAL training camp, tales of combat, lots and lots of bad language and tales of remarkable heroism) it goes beyond the story to share at least a couple of very important statements about warfare today. And this is, I think, where the reader stands to benefit most.One of this book's most important statements is that the current rules of engagement soldiers are required to adhere to are irrational and are the product of politicians who are far from the action. "Any government that thinks war is somehow fair and subject to rules like a baseball game probably should not get into one. Because nothing's fair in war, and occasionally the wrong people do get killed." American soldiers are being forced to fight in situations where they are almost guaranteed to take casualties because of restrictives rules of engagement. These rules may make sense to politicians safely ensconced in their Washington offices, but they are utterly unfair and unsafe on the battlefield. Luttrell states that these rules are costing lives and that the United States should not be willing to fight wars that she cannot fight to win.The other important statement is about the role of the media in modern warfare. Luttrell's disgust for the media knows no bounds. "It's been an insidious progression, the criticisms of the U.S. Armed Forces from politicians and from the liberal media, which knows nothing of combat, nothing of our training, and nothing of the mortal dangers we face out there on the front line." "I promise you, every insurgent, freedom fighter, and stray gunman in Iraq who we arrested knew the ropes, knew that the way out was to announce that he had been tortured by the Americans, ill treated, or prevented from reading the Koran or eating his breakfast or watching the television. They all knew al-Jazeera, the Arab broadcasters, would pick it up, and it would be relayed to the U.S.A., where the liberal media would joyfully accuse all of us of being murderers or barbarians or something. Those terrorist organizations laugh at the U.S. media, and they know exactly how to use the system against us." Those of us who have watched recent wars from afar can attest that this is exactly the case. The media, and particularly the liberal media, seems to side with the bad guys. Soldiers are fighting brutal warfare, all the wonder more terrified of their own nation's press than the guys shooting at them. They hardly know who the real enemy is.Lone Survivor is an enjoyable book, typical in many of its facets, but atypical in its deeper message. It is a book Americans would do well to read and to consider.

Good book

"Lone Survivor" is true story by Marcus Luttrell, a former Navy Seal and member of Seal team 10, about his experiences and his team mates on seal team 10 while deployed to Afghanistan on Operation Redwing. The story takes place in Afghanistan, 2005, on the dangerous mountains near Pakistan and close to Osama bin Laden's home and his Taliban fighters. His purpose of this book was not fame and glory for himself, but for everyone to remember his team mates and friends that didn't make it home alive from this mission. He wanted every American to know his brothers, "that is what soldiers call their team mates" and not forget them as they gave their lives for your peace and security.In June 2005, Seal Team 10 left their patrol base heading for the Pakistan border on a kill or capture mission deep in the Taliban stronghold territory. Four men were going deep into enemy territory and only 24 hours later one member of that team would still be alive to tell the story of what happened. That one last remaining member was Marcus Luttrell, a leading petty officer in the U.S. navy and member of seal team 10. Lone Survivor is the story of Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the battle fought in the Afghanistan Mountains that ultimately took the lives of his teammates or brothers as we now know.They started their mission like any other that morning in June; they were dropped off by a helicopter near the Hindu-Kush area of Afghanistan. Once they were set up and observing the village, a group of sheep herders wondered upon them merely by accident. The seals had to make a very hard choice decision at that moment, A decision that would be a matter of life or death to many. The decision was what to do with the sheep herders; let them go or simply kill them. If they decided to let them go, there was a chance that the sheep herders would notify the Taliban leaders of their location and if they killed them, then they would be in violation of their rules of engagement (ROE). They all took a vote and the last person voting was Marcus. His vote was the tie breaker vote that let the sheep herders go and return to their village.A little more than an hour later their position was surrounded by nearly 150 Taliban fighters. A big fire fight broke out that lasted for several hours. The seal managed to kill at least 100 of the Taliban fighters before being overrun. The seals fought a great battle. It was not until a grenade landed close to Marcus that he became separated from his brothers. The grenade blew him down a ravine and away from the enemy. After some confusion and situational awareness gathering, Marcus realized that he had to fall back and get out of the area. He then proceeded to run and eventually he was found upon by some friendly locals from the area, where they helped him and nourished him back to health the best they could. Eventually three of the seals would be killed and only Marcus would survive.Although this book would make Marcus Luttrell ore famous and known to many Americans, he didn't write the book for that reason. His only wish is for the people of America and his fellow brothers at arms is not to forget the men that served with him during the battle and that their legacy live on forever. This book is an outstanding testimony of an up-close and personal view of how our military and especially our special forces are fighting and protecting our lives from abroad. It is the story of men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country!!