Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 , Marcus Luttrell

The dis-oriented author has two sons on active duty in the United States military. I read a great deal of history and military history. So when I heard Marcus Luttrell being interviewed on the radio — I knew I had to buy his book.

Luttrell is a US Navy Seal, his book Lone Survivor is about his four man reconnaissance team and the ill-fated Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Lutrell and his team ended up in a firefight with over one hundred Taliban fighters. As the title suggest, Luttrell was the lone survivor. This is Luttrel's story, why he became a Seal, what the training entails, the operation it self and how he managed to survive. But even more so, this is the story of 4 brave US Nave Seals, three of whom gave the ultimate sacrifice for their county.

This is the most compelling books I have read in a long time — I could not put it down.

Navy Seals are among the finest warriors on the face of the earth. According to Luttrell only the British SAS come anywhere close. Luttrell and his team were highly trained highly motivated warriors tasked with capturing a senior Taliban leader in the mountains of Afghanistan.

While doing covert reconnaissance, Luttrell's team was discovered by a couple of Afghan goatherds. The team decides to release them rather than kill them. Luttrell cast the deciding vote. One of the key conflicts in the story is whether to let them go. According to the rules of engagement and the Geneva Conventions, the goatherds are non-combatants. From a purely tactical point of view, they could very easily inform the Taliban where the team is.

Luttrell notes that the team was concerned about how their actions would be perceived if they killed the goatherds. The Arab press and the liberal media in the US would certainly pounce on it and the SEALs would likely find themselves facing murder charges in a US court.

Luttrell states that if he had it to do over again, he would not hesitate to kill the goatherds. While I do not agree with every conclusion Luttrell makes, his story is worth listening to.

Lone Survivior gets 5 of 5 dis-oriented smileys

Purchase Lone Survivor  from Amazon.com.