Lone Survivor

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I had bought the book a few years ago, but just thought to pick it up and read it on Saturday.
While I was familiar with the movie, and, ultimately, know the ending, I dove into the book and got hooked.

For those who've not read it, the majority is about the SEALS - training, BUD/S, Hell Week etc
It was very fascinating.

And, then, the mission.

Im sure Im not presenting anything new to this group, but if you have a chance, pick up the book for a great read. I had a hard time putting it down
 
The movie portrayed a whiny bunch of girls compared to the book. There's no quit in those guys.

Now, Ive not seen the movie in a couple of years, but how you reckon?
The movie portrayed beaten and shot men who fought till the death, except for the...LONE SURVIVOR (who still fought through many injuries).
 
You would probably like Fearless too about Adam Brown. It's more about his story then just his time in the SEAL's. Great book.

Thanks for the head's up, I'll look into it!
 
You would probably like Fearless too about Adam Brown. It's more about his story then just his time in the SEAL's. Great book.
Just finished Fearless
Amazing read

Also, I like the book Lone Survivor, as it detaile Luttrell’s ordeal on the ground, which lasted about a week, whereas in the movie it seemed much shorter.

I will say this, I am a total geek for movie accuracy, and as someone who wrote their senior thesis on suppressor technology, this is the only movie I’ve seen that got what a suppressed 556 round sounds like...
I know, I’m a huge dork, but I really dug the authenticity
 
Now, Ive not seen the movie in a couple of years, but how you reckon?
The movie portrayed beaten and shot men who fought till the death, except for the...LONE SURVIVOR (who still fought through many injuries).
All the debate about whether to kill the goat herder. A unit isn't a democracy and they weren't taking votes. Plus every time I see Marky Mark in a debate he seems whiny to me.
 
I read the book first and was terribly disappointed with the movie. They really marginalized the efforts of the villagers that came to Marcus' aid. And...the whole "flat lining" scene at the end was pure Hollywood.
 
All the debate about whether to kill the goat herder. A unit isn't a democracy and they weren't taking votes. Plus every time I see Marky Mark in a debate he seems whiny to me.

In the book they did discuss what to do.
 
I read the book first and was terribly disappointed with the movie. They really marginalized the efforts of the villagers that came to Marcus' aid. And...the whole "flat lining" scene at the end was pure Hollywood.
Agreed
Additionally it shows a full body shot of Marky Mark in his underwear,
He is 5’6’, Marcus Luttrell is 6’6’, so he’s so tiny it’s barely believable
 
All the debate about whether to kill the goat herder. A unit isn't a democracy and they weren't taking votes. Plus every time I see Marky Mark in a debate he seems whiny to me.
Ironically,
The EXACT SAME thing happened to Andy Mcnab’s SAS unit in Desert Storm,
Fricken’ goat herders

It’s called “Bravo Two Zero”
Pretty badass story
They let the goat herders live,
The Iraqis come at them with about 700 troops
They kill about 200 immediately
Then run a double marathon,
through the desert
And the temperature drops to the coldest Iraq had been in 30 years
 
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Now i must say,

The Rangers that were the rescue found Marcus's plate carrier with full mags and not one smoke or frag was missing. All his ammo was accounted for.

For the other three guys, that were only missing 1 mag each.

The ISR feed shows clear as hell three SEALs setting up comm's near two trees and 7 Taliban that jumped them and the fall down the cliff starts.

Now i say that because its true. But i am still a Marcus fan and like his podcast and the work he does for others .

I think the hero badass gun fight story is proven to be fake, but i get it. Having your friends killed like a bunch of dogs in a pin is not good for the cause. the MOH to Murphy was uplifted to its level to unhook others from fault.

If you question my post, google is your friend
 
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Ironically,
The EXACT SAME thing happened to Andy Mcnab’s SAS unit in Desert Storm,
Fricken’ goat herders

It’s called “Bravo Two Zero”
Pretty badass story
They let the goat herders live,
The Iraqis come at them with about 700 troops
They kill about 200 immediately
Then run a double marathon,
through the desert
And the temperature drops to the coldest Iraq had been in 30 years

You know that story of Bravo Two Zero gun fight was found to be a lie also right?

Not to be the fun sponge here guys but if you enjoy these stories study them and the people around them. You will learn more and better real stories about human ability then the "official grabage"
 
Now i must say,

The Rangers that were the rescue found Marcus's plate carrier with full mags and not one smoke or frag was missing. All his ammo was accounted for.

For the other three guys, that were only missing 1 mag each.

The ISR feed shows clear as hell three SEALs setting up comm's near two trees and 7 Taliban that jumped them and the fall down the cliff starts.

Now i say that because its true. But i am still a Marcus fan and like his podcast and the work he does for others .

I think the hero badass gun fight story is proven to be fake, but i get it. Having your friends killed like a bunch of dogs in a pin is not good for the cause. the MOH to Murphy was uplifted to its level to unhook others from fault.

If you question my post, google is your friend
Thats the fact's that ive read as well. I've also seen details stating that the guys were roughly "newer" guys and shouldnt have been let out on a mission like that in the first place. Not sure how true that is.

It's a good movie for sure, but very far from the truth, sadly.
 
You know that story of Bravo Two Zero gun fight was found to be a lie also right?

Not to be the fun sponge here guys but if you enjoy these stories study them and the people around them. You will learn more and better real stories about human ability then the "official grabage"
OK but don't you start no crap about Audie Murphy now!
 
Thats the fact's that ive read as well. I've also seen details stating that the guys were roughly "newer" guys and shouldnt have been let out on a mission like that in the first place. Not sure how true that is.

It's a good movie for sure, but very far from the truth, sadly.

Thats correct only Axe had 2 combat patrols before this happened in the same tour. The RS team was deployed in a separate operation at the time this kicked off so the comander of the TF put three snipers with other primary skills, commo, medical with the best officer he had and sent them off on a RS mission.

That process what against regulations since vietnam. Your RS teams are the MOST experienced teams not cracker jacks like this team was.

That team building was done without higher ups knowing the full story, so when allhell broke out covering ass was the name of the game and metals are issued and stories are cooked up.

As to the point of all of this, the teams looking for Marcus were the top tier RS teams 1 from from RRD and 1 from G Squadron with 2plt Bco 2/75 as the muscle
 
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If you question my post, google is your friend

I did question your post. And I did google. And then, I spent quite some time reading. It seems to me that some very well respected folks not only question Luttrell's story, they outright debunk most of it.
 
Yes the story turns out a lot different when the goat herders don’t live. For everyone. Since my dads passed now I can outright tell you he did it in Vietnam. Personally. Watched it damn near eat him alive too. In his case, they were kids and he was Force Recon in a tough spot, not near friendlies, and collecting intel instead of engaging.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Agreed
Additionally it shows a full body shot of Marky Mark in his underwear,
He is 5’6’, Marcus Luttrell is 6’6’, so he’s so tiny it’s barely believable
H'wood did the same thing, casting Cruise, 5'7, as Jack Reacher, 6'5"
But then they cast Cumberbun as the Corrupt Midget, Billy Bulger, in Black Mass, when his Doctor Watson, Martin Freeman, was a near perfect fit. The casting director must have been a women.
 
So Ive been looking more into it, specifically Gulab, the 'policeman' of the village that protected him and helped to save his life.
Seems like Gulab also questioned some facts about the book.

What a bummer.
 
I liked the book. I liked the movie. But I am very aware it's from a broken first-person narrative. It was a shit-show of epic proportions, muscling in on an op on which they should not have been a part. That was supposed to have been part 1 of a 2-part Marine op (they did do the second part, Operation Whalers). Their plan for part 1 (Red Wings) was co-opted by NSW/SOCOM.

The Marines knew the area, the terrain (both physical and human), had been in and out of that area a lot.
 
The first ~150 pages are just the training. That was a wild read all by itself. It was covered by nothing but some scenes during the opening credits...but that's how you trim it down to something people would sit through.

The major part (to me) that was in the book but not the movie was the struggle to find water. In the book, he thought that's how he would die...survive the firefight and then die from lack of clean water. Pages and pages devoted to it. In the movie, he falls down, hides under a rock and sleeps/passes out, wakes up and walks over to a stream. Ta-da...water.
 
The first ~150 pages are just the training. That was a wild read all by itself. It was covered by nothing but some scenes during the opening credits...but that's how you trim it down to something people would sit through.

That first part, the opening credits with the for-real BUDS footage, was the best part.
 
I was at the Patriot Tour when it came to Charlotte 5 or so years ago. Marcus was one of the speakers and recounted his experience. I will honestly admit I can't remember everything he said, but I distinctly remember him talking about his weapon system and using it. Since I didn't serve that was the first time I had heard that term and how it sticks with me.
If all of his ammo was truly accounted for and he didn't fire a single round, well I guess all in attendance were lied to. Not to take anything away from what he endured in the ordeal, but I'm not sure I still consider him the "hero," most that paid money to hear him speak did.
Again, IF, that is true, is embellishing a combat story for personal gain much different than stolen valor?
 
If all of his ammo was truly accounted for and he didn't fire a single round, well I guess all in attendance were lied to. Not to take anything away from what he endured in the ordeal, but I'm not sure I still consider him the "hero," most that paid money to hear him speak did. Again, IF, that is true, is embellishing a combat story for personal gain much different than stolen valor?

First person narratives of any high-stress situation are almost always wrong; in combat, it's times 100. It doesn't mean the person is lying but saw the event through a very specific and broken lens. Ask 5 people who saw a car wreck on the interstate you get 5 different stories. This is why when the military is researching someone for the MoH they interview almost everyone involved. I think knowingly embellishing is definitely a shitty thing to do, and I agree, up there with stolen valor. Giving a first person account that goes "this is how I recall...." is different.

Separate but related, NSW has a real problem with self-promotion and pushing false narratives in order to make itself look good. Proportionately they get more high-level awards, a lot of which are bogus. Anytime I see a SEAL book or hear a SEAL story I read/listen/watch through this lens.
 
I was at the Patriot Tour when it came to Charlotte 5 or so years ago. Marcus was one of the speakers and recounted his experience. I will honestly admit I can't remember everything he said, but I distinctly remember him talking about his weapon system and using it. Since I didn't serve that was the first time I had heard that term and how it sticks with me.
If all of his ammo was truly accounted for and he didn't fire a single round, well I guess all in attendance were lied to. Not to take anything away from what he endured in the ordeal, but I'm not sure I still consider him the "hero," most that paid money to hear him speak did.
Again, IF, that is true, is embellishing a combat story for personal gain much different than stolen valor?

With his MK12Mod0 he could of had a 30rnd mag in the gun. For a Sniper with a Sniper rifle 30rnds is at least 10 targets.

So shooting his gun is one answer, shooting all ammo on his person is a different story.

I do not doubt Marcus's story. I doubt the extended story from his comand and others
 
Do you guys really think Lone Survivor would be 100% accurate? On a relatively recent military boondoggle that resulted in some high profile deaths? You don't think it went through military censors? Or Fearless? Or American Sniper? There will be some "tweaking" of the story. Those guys were still accountable to the military with what they did, knew, and saw. And you can bury stuff from the public in an official report easier than you can in a best selling book. IIRC, Marcus has stated as much about the book. It's not the entire story.

Then you have Longest Day, which had less military revision but has been called out for old fashioned BS by folks that claim to know.

You are being sold things, and the truth may not sell as well.

And I enjoyed Fearless and American Sniper. Really enjoyed Marine Sniper, but chances are good some of that story was "adjusted" for public consumption. Although being written so long after might increase the ability to speak frankly about what happened.
 
Recalling a high pressure event slightly inaccurately is not the same as saying something to the effect of "I took 11 mags, I was down to 2" when you had 11 left (or even 10).


And I expect some fabrication and such from a movie, but not from a first hand account of the event in a book.
 
With his MK12Mod0 he could of had a 30rnd mag in the gun. For a Sniper with a Sniper rifle 30rnds is at least 10 targets.

So shooting his gun is one answer, shooting all ammo on his person is a different story.

I do not doubt Marcus's story. I doubt the extended story from his comand and others

I don't doubt Marcus's story is as he recalls it. And I fully agree, about NSW's desire to edit events. That's old news.
 
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