до августа…

I’m now in Vermont, where I will be immersing myself in Russian and speaking no English until August 16.

Anything posted here will have to be in Russian, so I probably will not be posting anything (maybe on our spring break day…haha. We’ll see).

See you all in August!

Book Review: Lone Survivor

by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson

Какая хорошая книга!

… just kidding, I’m not writing this in Russian. The pledge doesn’t start until tomorrow. I did finish the book on the plane over here though, so here you go.

In all seriousness though, this is one of the better books I’ve ever heard, up there with One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick, although I liked One Bullet Away more. I may be slightly biased because the book is about Navy SEALs… and we all know how I feel about SEALs [One Bullet Away, as a side note, is about Marines]

Lone Survivor is the story of a four man team in Afghanistan that was ambushed by a group of Taliban after a poor choice (influenced by the MSM, whom we all know and love) and ended in the most number of deaths suffered by a SEAL team (11 SEALs and 8 Army SF). Luttrell, the author, was the the sole survivor from the group, which continues to haunt him. He says he still has nightmares where he hears his friends crying him to help them. (I’ll admit that I cried).

What gets you most about the book is how fiercely dedicated each man is to his teammates. One of the men shoots to provide cover for another even after being shot in the hand. Another goes straight into the fire to pull another man to (relative) safety. Their leader sacrifices himself in an attempt to make sure backup will arrive. There is nothing that would make these guys give up. I’ve heard some people say it’s stupid to sacrifice your life for someone who’s not going to make it, but you really see how these SEALs draw strength from knowing that they will not not be left behind and they will all fight as long as they are able – no matter what. Those guys are freaking amazing.

There’s also a section about BUD/S, which is always interesting to read about. Plus Luttrell’s class is the one covered by Dick Couch in The Warrior Elite(another good book).

Another interesting point that gets brought up is how the influence of the American public and main stream media are affecting the way we conduct our wars. War is a dirty business, and we’re not going to win by placing limits on ourselves that the other side doesn’t obey. This does not mean I’m condoning torture (my definition of torture, which does not include humiliation or loud music or strobe lights), but simply that I’m recognizing the fact that the other side plays dirty. The best defense is a good offense. None of this ‘no shooting until you’re shot at’ business. When the people critiquing the military’s techniques go out and fight, maybe I’ll allow them some say in how we fight the war. Probably not though… I like to win.

I really wish I could be a Navy SEAL. *sigh*

Go buy the book. Read it as soon as you can.