The Lone Survivor

boatBurner

boatBurner

shutup, crime!
Feb 24, 2012
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When something as shitty as war is forcing people into horrific situations, you get some pretty amazing stories of courage and overcoming adversity.

The Lone Survivor is the story of Operation Redwing, a Navy Seal op that took place in Afghanistan (Kunar province) as recalled by Marcus Luttrell. Their mission was to stake out a village known to be heavily populated by Taliban in order to capture or kill a VIP target thought to be Osama Bin Laden. During the operation, 4 of the Seals were discovered by a local boy and two shepherds. Having their position compromised by locals guaranteed that they'd be in a firefight with an unmatchable number of Taliban fighters if they allowed the boy and two shepherds to live. The decision was made to let them go, and as expected, the team of 4 is surrounded by the entire population of Taliban fighters.

Of the four Seals and eight Army spec ops that attempted a helo rescue, only one of them survived the mission (Marcus Luttrel) and he did so because a local Pashtun villager took him in, aided his wounds, and protected him from the Taliban. Marcus talks about the relationship he developed with the villager and how it shaped his life.

It's an amazing story that I'm sure some of you beta faggots can't appreciate, but I highly recommend the book. As it turns out, they're making a movie out of it. It looks promising, but like all Hollywood stories, I'm sure it'll get romanticized and overdone. Check it out.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFk4JK_RM"]Lone Survivor Official Trailer #1 (2013) - Mark Wahlberg Movie HD - YouTube[/ame]
 


MyOwnDemon said:
Hollywood never runs out of ammo.
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Yah, I'm sure this'll be exploited quite well in the wrong direction. I've seen footage of the real battle and there are already small inaccuracies from the trailer and the real thing.

But the story is truly amazing, and I definitely recommend you check out the book. It's not just a war novel of recounted events.

They had a video of feed of these guys from ISR into the command operating center, and they were just watching them get plucked off. The commanding officer became enraged that they couldn't do anything to immediately help them, he kicked every low-ranking man out of the room, and only officers and senior enlisted participated in the recovery mission.
 
A few things confuse me here...

1. Invading, occupying and murdering people in an inhumane war of aggression makes people heros?

2. A team of 10 Navy Seals are going to voluntarily let a kid and some shepherds compromise their mission and put them in a position where they're guaranteed to be slaughtered by a superior force? Like they can't call in a fucking Apache and shoot 30cal rounds 360* killing everyone in a 4 mile radius?

3. "Beta fags" can't appreciate what? That you were a brainwashed contract killer acting on behalf of corporatist special interests for minimum wage, not doing a damn thing to "defend" this country but making it less safe through legalized cold-blooded murder and breeding more hate and provoking more terrorist attacks?

4. How many of the 20k+ airstrikes and countless slaughtering of innocent civilians were carried out under the guise of killing/capturing OBL over the last 10 years?

5. If a foreign country invaded the US, would it be fair to label those who tried to repel them as "insurgents" or "terrorists" for attempting to defend themselves and their families against foreign invaders who happen to be psychopathic murderers?

Harsh, I know.

But man up and own it. There is no honor in war. This war is not "defending" us against anything. There is no just war.

"One Survivor" makes a great marketing story but the reality is the others should have never been there, and those who died did so because of evil, greedy corporatist agendas. Sure they thought they were defending us against some boogie man in a cave but that's not the reality.

Clear your brain of that propaganda bullshit, put it behind you and start dedicating your life to making the world a better place.

Sincerely,

Veteran of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" - 2004-2005

P.S. In case you plan on attacking me for stating the truth, ask yourself if you'd send your father, mother, wife or kids to fight in that war. Or if watching your best friend get blown to pieces is worth "the cause".

Say what you want. But ask yourself if you or anyone you know filling a body bag is really worth serving the "greater good" before you try to shit on me with the stars and stripes rhetoric.
 
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scottspfd82 said:
Fair enough.



It's very much implied in the video you posted.
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FYI: Deleted original reply to provide a little more clarification, not realizing you responded.

The video I posted is a hollywood trailer. How you're linking that to my philosophical views on war isn't an issue worth working out.
 
boatBurner said:
FYI: Deleted original reply to provide a little more clarification, not realizing you responded.

The video I posted is a hollywood trailer. How you're linking that to my philosophical views on war isn't an issue worth working out.
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Agreed.

I don't expect to change your philosophy on war.

And for the record, I have a lot of respect for you. I read your posts, I've watched your videos. You admit your faults, you have tremendous hustle and you're a smart guy.

The point of my earlier post isn't to belittle you.

I've been there too. I was honorably discharged, I have a chest full of combat medals and I totally drank the kool-aid after 9/11.

The point of my post, if just one person reads it and realizes "okay, murdering people isn't okay" then it's totally worth it. I'm just trying to make people think, that's all.
 
scottspfd82 said:
I'm just trying to make people think, that's all.
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I appreciate that.

To be clear, the part of this story that I'm a fan of has little to do with the actual warring. What's great is the relationship between a Pashtun villager, someone equally drinking the kool-aid from his local Tali-bebes and a Navy Seal sharing a common bond in a pretty unlikely scenario, and how that experience went on to shape his entire life.

It's an amazing story of humanity on the backdrop of the Afghanistan war, and no matter your thoughts on the U.S. war machine or war in general, it's a good read.
 
scottspfd82 said:
The point of my post, if just one person reads it and realizes "okay, murdering people isn't okay" then it's totally worth it. I'm just trying to make people think, that's all.
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Did you even read this far into OP's post:

Having their position compromised by locals guaranteed that they'd be in a firefight with an unmatchable number of Taliban fighters if they allowed the boy and two shepherds to live. The decision was made to let them go

Or does this not matter? Because the message I'm getting from you is that basically anyone in a uniform, from Marvin the mess cook to General Jones, is a murderer.

And if that's your opinion you're entitled to it, but just remember...

 
infoslob said:
Did you even read this far into OP's post:

Having their position compromised by locals guaranteed that they'd be in a firefight with an unmatchable number of Taliban fighters if they allowed the boy and two shepherds to live. The decision was made to let them go

Or does this not matter? Because the message I'm getting from you is that basically anyone in a uniform, from Marvin the mess cook to General Jones, is a murderer.

And if that's your opinion you're entitled to it, but just remember...

Click to expand...


Yeah, I did read that far.

And while I wasn't a Navy SEAL, if I was in that position SOP would dictate that you detain the potential compromise to your mission until it's safe to release them.

Letting them alert an overwhelming force to your position would be suicide.

Also, there's no such thing as a spec ops unit of 10. If they thought OBL was the target they'd have as much backup and firepower as needed.

There's no way it could be feel good propaganda. Like Jessica Lynch or any of thousands of other propeganda peices put together to decieve the masses into blindly cheering on immoral wars of aggression.
 
scottspfd82 said:
Yeah, I did read that far.

And while I wasn't a Navy SEAL, if I was in that position SOP would dictate that you detain the potential compromise to your mission until it's safe to release them.
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A few things to note. You said you served OIF 05-06. ROEs changed pretty dramatically from 2005 to 2007. You might have seen the tail end of that.

You and I both know that SOPs change pending mission requirements, especially something as high profile as a spec ops mission.

Lastly, c'mon bro. What's the single most mission-ending point of failure? Comms. And in this situation, that was the case. No joy = bad day.

2005 was awhile ago, but I know this is still day 1 stuff for you.

Anyway, from a fellow advocate against violence and war, read the book. It's good.
 
While I'm at it: On Call in Hell ([ame="http://www.amazon.com/On-Call-In-Hell-Doctors/dp/B000RWD3GY"]On Call in Hell[/ame]) is another great read. It follows a former Marine who became a trauma surgeon on a Naval scholarship and then left a promising career at 38 to provide medical aid during the raid of Fallujah. It's a pretty amazing account of how he opened and maintained a hospital during that initial invasion, and as you can imagine, it's a pretty emotional and graphic story. Another must read for humanitarians.
 
scottspfd82 said:
Yeah, I did read that far.
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Good. You probably went deeper than me then.

There's more murder in Chicago than in Afghanistan. Care factor is low so no wing of government has to shoulder the blame. Even the murderers elude public scrutiny. Must be good to be a gangsta.
 
Of the ten men sent, four returned.
Of those four, three wrote books about what happened.
Of those three books, two got published.
Of those two, just one got a movie deal.
 
Hollywood will romanticize the shit outta this to sell the military to the next bunch of recruits.

Story looks good though. Kinda reminds me of this one:

220px-Behind_Enemy_Lines_movie.jpg
 
Fiver said:
Hollywood will romanticize the shit outta this to sell the military to the next bunch of recruits.

Story looks good though. Kinda reminds me of this one:

220px-Behind_Enemy_Lines_movie.jpg
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I think I made a mistake by including the movie trailer.

It cheapened the entire story.
 
Read the book when it came out.

I thought it was written well, and kept you on the edge of your seat the entire way through.

If done right the movie could be interesting, but I don't think it will be nearly as good as the written account of the story even if it was done very well.

Either way I`ll see it :)
 
according to the story, elite special forces got discovered by a local boy and 2 sheppards... doesnt say much about their abilities?
 
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