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| Book Review : Lone Survivor, M. Luttrell
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Not since "Fallen Angels" have I read a account that thoroughly describes the mayhem, bravery, death, and suffering of the battlefield. You can smell the blood and the fear in the air.
Luttrell spends a lot of time chronicling his childhood and training for the Navy SEALS, but it all fits when he and his team are trapped in an ambush by 300 Taliban militia and they try virtually everything they can think of to escape.
Despite all of their training, they are hamstrung by an odious set of Rules of Engagement such as making sure that the enemy is the enemy and they are looking to do you harm specifically, before you can engage them. These are rules brought about by media attention and Congressional edict and make it very difficult to stay alive when the bad guys come over the hill.
I guess if they surrond you and throw grenades at you and fire ASPG's at you and then open up with machine guns, that is enough provocation to open up on them. But not firing until they have tried to kill you? Not a recipe for a long life.
It makes you wonder why these kids strive to complete these SEAL and Ranger/Green beret courses when they are considered expendable and cannot fire the first shot. Their intelligence gathering capabilities are legendary and they are so sneaky that the first bombs dropped in both Gulf wars were guided by these types of warriors on the ground. if Bin Laden is ever found it will be these folks who will find him as they scramble around the rocks and crags of Afganisthan looking for bad guys.
Glad to have them on my side. God Bless them.
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Posted by LCBorden on 2007-12-28 23:29:18 | Rating: | Views: 74
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