I came across Marcus Littrell’s account of escaping Afghanistan, whilst wounded, while he was serving as team with the US Navy SEALs today, and I have to say it is quite frankly astonishing.
It isn’t the obviously heroic endeavour which saw him travelling wounded through enemy lines to escape into Pakistan, what I find most astounding is the sheer amount of attitude he puts forward, bordering on egotistical at times. This man truly believes that the SEALs are gods among men and can do do wrong. He actually tells us that many SEALs believe themselves almost immortal due to their skill and confidence.
Whilst it may be true that these badass boys are pretty hardcore, I cannot help feeling that waking into a battle zone, thinking you are immortal, is a pretty good way to go about getting a bullet in the head.
I have to believe that his over the top representation of life as a SEAL is nothing short of a marketing ploy to sell more copies of his book, which was recently published. I certainly will not be reading it if it is full of the same kind of bullshit as this article.
I have the utmost respect for the US Navy SEALs, but people like this, who are milking the cow for every penny they can make by selling their own war stories, do much to harm the overall reputation of this elite fighting unit.
February 8th, 2009 - 6:53 pm
Man, you are obviously totally missing the point. Just because your jealous ass isn’t getting any props in your neck of the woods, you sure are coming down hard on a fellow Brethren putting his story in print. This is trully a story that needed to be told, this way no one dies or lives, in vain. All soldiers are heroes, even you, Bro. Maybe one day you will see your name in lights, lets just hope its above ground.
Signed,
A proud American.
April 8th, 2009 - 9:25 am
Amen to that… Clearly the author of this blog doesnt understand the mindset. Makes you wonder how much the author even knows about spec ops and spec forces life.
May 7th, 2009 - 6:35 am
Wow- this man put his life on the line wearing the uniform of the United States of America- went through Hell and back- and it is “bullshit” for him to tell his story. The Seals- and all Military men and women are the few heroes we have left in this country- and should be treated accordingly…I suppose this guy read Obama’s book and thought it was great…lol.
May 3rd, 2011 - 4:24 pm
What’s the scoop? Are you a SEAL? Why would you feel that way? It doesn’t seem right that the countryside is littered with American Patriots simply because they spared the life of a goat herder and his kid. Each of those men died fighting insurmountable odds. I for one am damn glad that he survived to tell their story and breathe life into their memories. If it were not for his story, we would we wouldn’t have the details. It would have been good to be there with him. A few more men and there wouldn’t have been any American casualties. A little more firepower would have shut down the enemy. Relax. Someday we may be reading your account and glad you were there and published the events.