In Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10, a book that Luttrell co-authored, several helicopters flew over different areas to confuse those on the ground. We kept going, working away through the nights. The Saudi Arabian founder and head of al Qaeda, the organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, and the figure most associated with the enemy side during Americas War on Terror. Bin Laden was killed by American troops in 2011. Fortunately, his neighbor, Billy Shelton, was a US Army veteran. I was one of 146,000 American and coalition troops in there, under the command of General Tommy Franks. Then there was my best friend, Lieutenant Michael Patrick Murphy, also not yet thirty, an honors graduate from Penn State, a hockey player, accepted by several law schools before he turned the rudder hard over and changed course for the United States Navy. Over 5 days, the men who want to be SEALs will run, swim, carry boats, tread in freezing water, crawl through sand, and more. Our missions in the city were sometimes interrupted by intense searches for whatever or whoever happened to be missing. Others questioned whether Spotify had something to do with the episode ending. It was gut wrenching to hear Marcus Luttrell talk about it. Gone were the treacherous, dusty backstreets of Baghdad, where even children of three and four were taught to hate us. Well pause. The Brits had just taken Basra. Gulabs house wasnt destroyed, nor did the Taliban fire shots into the village. I am a patriot; I ?ght for the U.S.A. and for my home state of Texas. This was where bin Laden's ?ghters found a home training base. He was unfailingly certain that his way was the best way, mostly the only way. I asked. Excerpted from LONE SURVIVOR: THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF OPERATION REDWING AND THE LOST HEROES OF SEAL TEAM 10 by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson by arrangement with Back Bay Books / Little, Brown and Company Hachette Book Group. Also, neither of us could sleep if we were under the slightest pressure. He'd been to our home in Texas, and he and I had been together for a long time in SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, Alfa Platoon. This small island state is where Marcus and his men were stationed and where he went to go finish his tour. I remember feeling very sad, and it would not be for the last time. Luttrell published his bestseller in 2007, and the movie based on it came out in 2013. The accepted opinion was that Saddam had a mobile spinning program which could not easily be found, and in fact could be either lost and buried in the desert or alternatively driven across the border into Syria or even Jordan. When the team is spotted, it's a fight for survival as the four try to escape and make it home. Right now these very same guys, the remnants of the Taliban and the last few tribal warriors of al Qaeda, were preparing to start over, trying to ?ght their way through the mountain passes, intent on setting up new training camps and military headquarters and, eventually, their own government in place of the democratically elected one. According to the screenplay, Gulab helps: According to the book, none of this happened. Especially Iraq. Honestly that was some of the worst quick scoping I've seen in a long time. Saddam was deposed by the U.S. and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This is where Marcus and his comrades took off to go out on their mission. Concentrate. First of all, make him drop his gun and get his a** on the ground. I learned never to underestimate him. Heres how the screenplay reads: According to Luttrells memoir, however, he was not in mortal danger. Christ, he's in trouble - that was my ?rst thought. No complacency. Because everyone knows liberals have never been wrong about anything. According to Luttrell, however, Gulab wanted more money than he was willing to give. Pentagons chief of Naval Operations, and one of the many high-ranking military officials who personally meets with, Pope and leader of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005, and greatly admired by. Only Mike Murphy. Seemed ?tting. In a sense, we were all alone. this lot's gotta go. But it didn't sport the Rangers logo. Unfortunately, he failed to graduate because of an injury, so Luttrell instead graduated with Class 228 on April 21, 2000. Stay on your toes. Neither Gulab nor Luttrell were shot, and Luttrell didnt stab an attacker with a knife. Lone Survivor Vocabulary & Cast of Characters, Sea, air, and land hardcore special force, The failed United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission _____ ______ _____, during which a four-man SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team was tasked to track down and kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. However, from the standpoint of the U.S. combat soldier, Ranger, SEAL, Green Beret, or whatever, those ROE represent a very serious conundrum. This article was updated on 10-31-2016, the team members named and killed were incorrect, we sincerely apologize for this error. That's what I'm all about.". The pure clarity of purpose was inspirational to us. It happened all the time. In battle, he held his own and didn't get ruffled, which was extremely invaluable since he handled the radio. We operate differently, because we are a much smaller force. Luttrell is saved at the last minute by the local villagers, who fire off their AK-47s to threaten the attackers. Luttrell may have been the firefight's lone survivor, but he hardly emerged unscathed. Mikey was an inveterate reader. We were coming after the guys who did it. We'd go in fast, driving into the most dangerous districts in the city, screaming through the streets in Humvees, or even fast-roping in from helicopters if necessary. In our view, the question of whether Saddam Hussein had biological and chemical weapons was answered. The Marines brought in SEALs to gain access to aviation support. Anything for a buck, right? Like Shane, he'd gone through basic airborne training at Fort Benning and gone forward to join Alfa Platoon. Right then our lead man would head the charge inside the building, which was always a shock for the residents. Luttrell was then reassigned with SEAL Team 10 in 2005 this time in Afghanistan. re until we are ?red upon or have positively identi?ed our enemy and have proof of his intentions. We were just trying to stop these crazy pricks from blowing up and wiping out the civilian population of the country we had just liberated from one of the biggest bastards in history. determined. This might be, perhaps, a little daunting for regular soldiers. They offered Gulab money in exchange for Luttrell. My protg. Jamie and I will talk about you. Rogan then laughed and said, Alright, well be right back, and the podcast episode ended. All rights reserved. And I can state with absolute certainty that all six of us were excited by the prospect, looking forward to doing our job out there in the open, con?dent of our ultimate success, sure of our training, experience, and judgment. Rogan revealed on Instagram why the conversation with the Texas native did not continue and why theres no second part listeners were hoping for. Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. One of the good things about this film, says Chris Bown, whose brother-in-law was among the SEALs who perished, is it reminds people there are guys over there, still fighting, still dying.. Brutal, no mercy. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. We were operating out of Zodiacs and found nothing except for a bicycle tire and an old ladder. . Around that time, with the search for weapons of mass destruction still under way, we were detailed to the gigantic Lake Buhayrat ath Tharthar, where supposedly a large cache had been hidden by Saddam. And that's as sharp as it gets. Hussein was accused (by the. This most northerly rocky shelf which juts out into the Gulf of Hormuz is the closest foreign point to the Iranian base at Bandar Abbas. As the primary communications operator, I had Shane as my number two. Only two U.S. soldiers or Marines died in Kunar province in 2005 before Operation Red Wings. You don't get a phone call, there are officers and chaplains who only job is to go inform and assist the families. Other times a man might inform us about arms dumps, but this usually required money. In writing, explain how you can use this demonstration to guide you in choosing colors for your wardrobe. He was 29. In our platoon, James was right up there with Axe and Shane as a SEAL of high intelligence and supreme reliability under ?re. We never give these guys one inch of latitude. Increasing the size of the enemy that day makes for a much better story. He was the son of a Navy SEAL, and his quiet, rarely uttered ambition was to be just like his dad, James J. Patton. Why? Hans Blix, the United Nations' chief weapons inspector, had retired from public life, and the U.S. Armed Forces were now keeping a careful watch. Somewhere up above us, swinging in his hammock, headset on, listening to rock-and-roll music, was Petty Of?cer Second Class Shane Patton, twenty-two-year-old surfer and skateboarder originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. Thus we often found ourselves in what looked like respectable streets but which were in fact piles of rubble, perfect hiding places for insurgents or even Sunni Muslim terrorists still ?ghting for their erstwhile leader. He was close to Shane and was a tough SEAL. We knew the American intelligence agencies believed he had such a program, that somewhere in this vast country - it's bigger than Germany, nearly as big as Texas - there were centrifuges trying to manufacture the world's most dangerous substance. That's kind of why I think it's the best war movie ever made. Together, they grew up on a ranch in Texas filled with oak trees and grazing animals. As a child, he already knew what he wanted - to become a Navy SEAL, a member of the elite special operations unit that was the cream of the US military. Marcus Luttrell Didnt Pull a Bullet From His Leg. Excerpted from LONE SURVIVOR: . Still, it's easy to appreciate Lone Survivor 's detailed, presentable 2.40:1 transfer. As for Luttrell, he was taken to Salar Ban a village. And that was why all of us were here. Above: (L to R) Navy SEALs Matthew G. Axelson, Daniel R. Healy, James Suh, Marcus Luttrell, Eric S. Patton, and Michael P. Murphy in Afghanistan. Even though the Americans had reason to believe Afghans in that Taliban-controlled region were unfriendly, the SEALs let them leave. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a SEAL, and at the age . (This is when they settle down for tea. "It's just so cool, man," he replied, terminating further discussion. It was amazing no one was killed or hurt out there. With the exception of Luttrell, all were killed June 28, 2005, by enemy forces while supporting Operation Red Wings. A simple Afghan villager, but he is as brave a hero as there is. We continued our operations, looking for the key insurgents, forcing or bribing the information out of them. None of this happened. Later, his schoolteacher gave his class an assignment to write a short story. This was a major stretch of water, nearly ?fty miles long and in some places thirty miles wide, set on a ?at, verdant plain between the Euphrates and the Tigris, south of Tikrit. At ?rst, this slightly irritated me; you know, telling a much junior guy what you want done, and it turns out he's already done it. Below: (L to R) Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Matt Axe Axelson (Ben Foster) and Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) in Lone Survivor. They couldnt afford to lose the support of the villagers. Until you've encountered one of these guys, you don't understand the meaning of the word hate. Synopsis: Set during the War in Afghanistan, the film dramatizes the United States Navy SEALs mission Operation Red Wings, in which a four-man SEAL team was tasked to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. You know that feeling when you're playing a first-person shooter and you just can't get past a certain point? There might be someone upstairs trying to ?re down on us, which could be a massive pain in the a**. Despite this, I can guarantee you that if three SEALs were put into a crowded airport, I would spot them all, just by their bearing, their con?dence, their obvious discipline, the way they walk. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. We needed all our skill, moving up to the corner blocks, opening ?re out there in the night as we rounded these strange, dark, foreign street junctions. Up to that point, only 5 Marines had died in combat since the war started. None of which had the slightest bearing on our mission, which was to help root out and if necessary destroy what little opposition was left and then help with the search for weapons of mass destruction. As a child, he already knew what he wanted - to become a Navy SEAL, a member of the elite special operations unit that was the cream of the US military. Luttrell told Rogan, I havent seen it, I havent watched it all the way through. Now, the guy who went out on the rock to get a signal with his sat phone didn't exactly just sit there and take round after round. Marcus Luttrell is the protagonist, narrator, and hero of Lone Survivor. He excelled in math at the University of Florida but decided to join the Navy when he graduated. Despite all our efforts, the suicide bombers just continued, young Iraqis convinced by the teachings of the extremist ayatollahs that the murder of their perceived enemies would open the gateway to paradise for them - that the three trumpets would sound and they would cross the bridge into the arms of Allah and everlasting happiness. One of the hardest physical and mental exercises anywhere in the world. Each one of us had grown a beard in order to look more like Afghan ?ghters. Complete your free account to request a guide. The Luttrells had written to the government, alleging that Gulab had threatened them a claim he denies. Someone described us as the shadow warriors. Lone Survivor Vocabulary & Cast of Characters Learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. So if you're feeling froggy, then you better jump, because this frogman's been there, done that and is going back for more. If the guy we'd arrested was especially stubborn, we'd cuff him and send him back to base for a more professional interrogation. Sometimes we would get an address. LitCharts Teacher Editions. "Good luck, Mikey." "Get away from me, Marcus!" ", "Right away, Marcus. No one ever has. (A solid line of at least fifty Taliban in firing positions on top of the hill above them.), Photos courtesy Universal Pictures,U.S. Skin tones. They live together in an apartment in Coronado, CA and have a close relationship. This literally means 'the way of the Pashtuns', and is a tribal honor code that has governed the Pashtun way of life for centuries. We loaded and stowed our essential equipment: heavy weaps (machine guns), M4 ri?es, SIG-Sauer 9mm pistols, pigstickers (combat knives), ammunition belts, grenades, medical and communication gear. He was very popular on the base. For money. He was right. However, one point was crystalline clear, at least to the six SEALs in that rumbling Hercules high above the Arabian desert. My twin brother, Morgan, was his best friend. Get your game faces on. The article has been adapted and reprinted with their permission below. In the film, Matthew Axelson (played by Ben Foster) claims that Shah killed 20 Marines in the week before Operation Red Wings. First thing he'd say was "Hey, hey, not me. The horror and the heroism of that day will be recounted in the film version of a book by the one SEAL who made it out alive, Marcus Luttrells Lone Survivor, which opens Friday. Sign In. It's a hell of a process and takes up to seven years, at which time, if you've had a trouble-free run, you cut off the outside edges of the uranium and there you have a large hunk of heavy-molecule uranium-235. The sixth member of our group was James Suh, a twentyeight-year-old native of Chicago who was raised in south Florida. Great episode!.