Extraordinary Gentlemen

I just got done reading "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell.

I don't have the words to express my admiration for these incredible warriors.

If you haven't read the book, do so. HM1 Luttrell (known in the SEAL world as "the ONE") is not a professional storyteller, he is a warrior, and his story is told in a warrior's words.

If you do not know anyone who is part of the Special Operations Force (SPECOPFOR in military jargon - SEALs, Green Berets, etc) this book gives you a bit of insight into the culture that breeds these special men.

If you do not know the story of Operation Redwing, the Soldiers of 160th SOAR, or the Sailors from SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 and SEAL Team 10, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this book.

Most liberals will dismiss them as simply nothing more than trained killers. Yet another example where they are moronically wrong on most things.

There is nothing simple about these men, and although they are indeed well trained in the art of killing, there is much more.

A successful SEAL mission is the one that the enemy never finds out about. These men go in, complete their mission, and if possible never make contact. It is the intelligence that they gather that makes the difference, because a small team will never be able to kill enough of the enemy by themselves to make a real difference in the body count.

They are also trained snipers, because it is true that while killing a lot of people may only make a small difference, there are times when killing just one will make a huge difference. But there again, they are trained to get in, complete their mission, and get out undetected (except for the obvious calling card of a corpse where there wasn't one before).

"Lone Survivor" is the tale of what happens when it all goes wrong. And if you do it long enough, it will go wrong sometime. This time it went horribly wrong, and just got worse.

The American SPECOPS warrior is the best there is, but Petty Officer Luttrell also acknowledges their weaknesses. And even though he takes two full chapters just to get from Iraq to Afghanistan, the story is riveting.

That's all the spoilers you are going to get. Get the book. You won't regret it.

Unless you are one of those liberals I mentioned before.

Click on the picture to learn more about the US Navy SEALs