Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heros of SEAL Team 10

This weekend I read a book that is a must read for every patriotic American. Lone Survivor tells the heart wrenching story of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, a battle against 150 Taliban terrorists. In June of 2005 Luttrell, Danny Dietz, Matt Axelson and Michael Murphy set out on a mission in the treacherous mountains of eastern Afghanistan to find a Taliban leader and his henchmen. They positioned themselves on a mountain where they would be able to keep an eye on him and once he was spotted they would call for back up and reinforcements. As Luttrell lay in a hollowed out tree he saw an Afghani goat herder walking right up to him with an axe, followed by two more goat herders and about 100 goats. The team of SEALs gathered around the goat herders and although they were unarmed (although I think an ax can be used as a weapon) they were uncooperative and refused to answer any questions. What happened next was heartbreaking to read as these heroes were about to seal their fate. They were in a quandary of whether they should kill the goat herders or let them loose. These four heroes were faced with a dilemma that should never had made it's way onto the battlefield - those arcane Rules of Engagement, which states that a soldier may not fire on an unarmed civilian. On this heated mountain they all discussed that if they killed these goat guys, they would spend many, many years in an American prison and the liberal media would tear them apart. Luttrell made the fateful deciding vote to let the goat fucks loose. Within 45 minuted they were surrounded by 150 Taliban fighters armed to the teeth. These four brave men fought and killed over one hundred Taliban. The SEALs were severely wounded, one missing part of his face, another missing part of his hand, yet they kept fighting. One of the tragic parts of all this was that one of the radios were not working. So, the only way to get in touch with their base was by cell phone. Murphy made the heroic decision that cost him his life to go out into the open and make that cell phone call. While on the phone he was shot in the stomach and back, but the call went through and when he hung up the phone he picked up his gun and continued fighting until he died. There were many acts of heroism on the mountain on that day and it is truly heart wrenching and moving to read. I think I used an entire box of tissues reading this book. The helicopter that came to rescue these SEALs was attacked by an RPG and all 16 on board were killed.

Luttrell spent the next 40 hours crawling around the mountain killing Taliban while trying to remain hidden. He was severely wounded and had lost his pants. He heard Army helicopters around him but his throat was clogged with mud and could not speak into his radio. I will not go into the harrowing details how he searches for water while dodging Taliban bullets. He manages to find a stream of water and at the stream he met some Afghani shepard's who decide to protect him. They took him to their village, risking the lives of everyone in the village. The Taliban had surrounded the town and placed a bounty on Luttrell's head. After several days, he was no longer safe in the village and started to head out to an Army post several miles away. He was met by special ops guys and the rest is history.

I can not even begin to imagine the suffering this Luttrell went through. To see all your friends die, you are in a foreign country, on enemy territory, not knowing if people know you are alive, seeing rescue so close - yet so far. The stamina, courage, faith and strength is a testament of what a real man is made of and the fantastic training of the Navy SEALs. Reading about his ordeal of his days all alone and wounded in the mountain and in the village (although some villagers were friendly - some came to torture him) and the reality of the unknown still sends shivers down my spine. It's amazing that he never lost hope, kept fighting and his determination to get out alive is inspirational. He knew it was his job to tell the world about how his friends died as a heroes.

The part of the book that made me mad was that all these 19 men would be alive today if not for the phony rules of engagement. Rules written by some politician who probably never fired a gun or put on a uniform. Our soldiers are professional warriors, war is their job, the battlefield is their office. Once on the battlefield, there should be no second guessing about any rules, no thoughts of "if I shoot this raghead, will I spend the next 20 years behind bars." The rules must be abolished and let the soldiers do what they are trained to do. It is unnerving to think that 19 of this country's very best would be alive today if the ROE's did not weigh so heavily on the minds of those SEALs that day on the mountain. What if the SEALs had killed the goat herders and even if the locals would find the bodies or they would have come looking for the goats, the SEALs still would have had enough time to call for help and reassess the mission. Lt. Murphy could have used the cell phone to call without a barrage of bullets raining down on him. Even if the Taliban came looking for them, it could have been 4 or 5 hours later instead of 45 minuted later.

May God avenge the blood of these heroes and may their lives serve as an inspiration to all of us!