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Bob Mayer's Reviews > Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
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First, when one is a Lone Survivor, there is only one tale to be told from one source.
Second, don't say that you told a mother her son died quickly and not in pain and then write in detail how agonizing and how long his death took.
Third: The first thing we did in planning for a Special Operations mission anywhere in the world was to discuss how we were going to handle being discovered by the locals. Because anywhere you go in the world, you WILL get discovered by the locals. Sad to say, these guys had no plan. When they were discovered, they had to sit there and discuss what to do. Should have been a standard part of mission preparation. The shame is all those brave men who jumped on that rescue helicopter died because the original team failed to do basic, rudimentary planning for their mission. The course of action they choose was, frankly, the worst of all possibilities. And they paid for it. Along with others.
One has to wonder what SEALs are doing in a landlocked country anyway. I have tremendous respect for SEALs. Of all Special Operations Forces, they are by far the most physically fit. I commanded a Special Forces A-Team that had a maritime operations focus, and operating in the water is very hard. I commend every man who has earned his badge.
I know my opinion isn't popular about this, but it seems we have a fascination with making a hero out of someone who failed in his mission and whose comrades all died.
I'm assuming Luttrell is donating all the money he is making, such as the three million dollar movie option, to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation so at least something positive could come out of what was essentially, a clusterfuck that cost many brave men their lives.
Second, don't say that you told a mother her son died quickly and not in pain and then write in detail how agonizing and how long his death took.
Third: The first thing we did in planning for a Special Operations mission anywhere in the world was to discuss how we were going to handle being discovered by the locals. Because anywhere you go in the world, you WILL get discovered by the locals. Sad to say, these guys had no plan. When they were discovered, they had to sit there and discuss what to do. Should have been a standard part of mission preparation. The shame is all those brave men who jumped on that rescue helicopter died because the original team failed to do basic, rudimentary planning for their mission. The course of action they choose was, frankly, the worst of all possibilities. And they paid for it. Along with others.
One has to wonder what SEALs are doing in a landlocked country anyway. I have tremendous respect for SEALs. Of all Special Operations Forces, they are by far the most physically fit. I commanded a Special Forces A-Team that had a maritime operations focus, and operating in the water is very hard. I commend every man who has earned his badge.
I know my opinion isn't popular about this, but it seems we have a fascination with making a hero out of someone who failed in his mission and whose comrades all died.
I'm assuming Luttrell is donating all the money he is making, such as the three million dollar movie option, to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation so at least something positive could come out of what was essentially, a clusterfuck that cost many brave men their lives.
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Bob
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rated it 1 star
Mar 19, 2011 04:07PM
Thanks-- it seems as if it's politically incorrect to point out facts-- a badly planned mission by men who weren't trained to conduct it. Cost a lot of good men their lives.
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It wasn't "these guys" it was mission central or whatever. Don't blame the SEALs; they go where they are and when they are told. And Marcus Luttrell made his own foundation, the Lone Survivor Foundation, to help wounded soldiers and their families renew their hope.
I haven't read the book yet, I was actually going through the reviews to see if this was something I wanted to read. I don't think that someone disliking the book means they are not American or not patriotic, like I've read in other reviews. I appreciate that critiquing a book like this is extremely difficult because people read a negative comment about the book as a negative comment towards the very brave actions depicted in the book. I respected your opinion until the statement about people having a fascination in making him a hero even though he failed. I couldn't believe I was reading that correctly. A hero isn't deemed a hero because they succeeded in what they were doing. A hero is someone that, regardless of their safety, put themselves in harms way to help others. They do things the majority of us would never have the courage to do. It doesn't matter what the outcome of any mission is, these brave men and women who fight for our freedom are all Heroes and deserve that title. Based on what I know about this story Marcus Luttrell is very much a hero, as are the men that didn't make it back home.
My problem with your review is that it is, in fact, not a review of the book, Lone Survivor. You've taken advantage of Goodreads and used it as a platform to spout politics and criticize the SEALs, their mission, and the war. Rather than having a discourse on a book, you attack the author and rate him based on your own politics. Disrespectful, bad form, and an unfair review. Save this kind of bloviation for your own blog space.
Thank you for your review. It was recommended to me by a friend, and we both appreciate hearing from someone with specialized military training and experience who could critique the book from that perspective. And unlike the reader above who thought your observations inappropriate, I think they are indeed germane since no one can read Lone Survivor without wondering about the very issues you raise. When I read the book (which I almost didn't finish due to the interminable propagandizing), I was astonished that the team was both surprised and completely unprepared to be discovered by locals. I found it hard to believe any military mission, especially one carried out by an elite special ops unit, would have no carefully coordinated contingency or escape plans for such an eventuality--which, as you point out, would seem not only likely but almost inevitable. But I'm glad in hindsight I didn't try to raise those questions in my review, since without your military credentials I would have angered even more readers than I already have just for critiquing the book, not the mission. So, thank you for sharing your opinion.
My ass you commanded a special forces team
sorry but I'm with Andrew... HA! fyi the plan was kill and abort. they tried to be humanistic and it backfired. pick up a weapon and defend a line then speak.
Yeah dude, why are you going so hard with this review? It wasn't just that they fucked up interacting with the civilians, it's also the fact that they were ambushed by a bunch of people and had no way out. Sure quite a few good men lost their lives during this Operation but Luttrell is being seen as a hero for trying to protect his comrades. I would like to see you find your and everyone else's asses out of a situation like that unscathed.
In effect this was a question that came to my mind as well. I don't blame the decisoon of not to kill the unarmed locals, but from then on, with a non working radio, they should have aborted the mission, not relocate some hundreds of meters away, and hope to become invisible...
You strike me VERY MUCH like a guy who commanded a special forces team during a time of peace and never actually saw combat. In fact, I'd bet money on it. First thing that happens when it gets real out there is that your elegant, decided-in-advance plan goes to sh*t and you have to improvise. It. Happens. Every. Time.
Bob, your comments are spot on. Ignore the people who attack you for peeling the paint off their "lone survivor hero mythology." The book is entertaining enough to rate better than one star but no experienced combat arms, SOF or other operational/intel planner could ever read it without wondering at the tactical cluelessness. And you do NOT have to be a combat vet to know these guys were poor mission planners. Luttrell blames politicians for putting them in the compromising position that led to his team's demise. That is enough to make you shake your head. As far as I can see, his team had FAR more control of their destiny than some of the good men we lost in places like Somalia, Laos and Lebanon. Oh, well. I wrote similar comments in my review. Keep the faith.
The mission breakdown was obviously uncertainty on how to handle the discovery by the herders above the target. They just let them go?? I'm not advocating killing noncombatants, but how about zipping them to each other to gain enough time to accomplish the objective? Monday morning quarterbacking is always dangerous but this appeared to be a fairly simple solution--buy yourselves some time!
This is not a review of Lone Survivor but rather the actions and decisions made by the members of the team. The members on the helicopter didn’t die because the original team “failed to make a rudimentary decision.” Hell, they aren’t the only ones responsible for planning. A entire team helps plan too. They made the morally right decision on that mountain. They chose the humanitarian option and payed for it. The team didn’t plan for this event because it wasn’t their mission. Their mission was kill and abort. There isn’t going to be a pre-planned response for every possible situation. It is called improvising. The SEALs are operating on land because they aren’t just a coastal-based entity. Frogmen operate throughout the world. And since you “commanded a Special Forces A-Team that had a maritime operation focus” you should know that. You’ve clearly never been a military commander or been in a position of authority in the military, so keep your tactical view out of this.
Marshall wrote: "This is not a review of Lone Survivor but rather the actions and decisions made by the members of the team. The members on the helicopter didn’t die because the original team “failed to make a rudi..."Thanks for your expert input. However, I am what I said I am and the team did fail to plan for an almost inevitable event. There is no place I have deployed where the locals did not eventually find us. Where did you deploy and remain hidden? Being spotted is absolutely one of the fundamentals of mission planning. It should not be an on the spot decision. It's up there with planning for wounded.
I don't question or doubt the bravery of all involved. To say "frogmen operate throughout the world" is true but the focus of their training is water-based or else why have them? My team attended the Royal Danish Navy Fromandlorpset combat swim school because we viewed water as a means of infil and exfil. The three lightning bolts on our patch stand for Air, Sea and Land, by the way.
The way you end your comment is nonsense. No need to make a false claim about someone's credentials who you don't know. All the best, Marshall.
