Bartholomew Roberts
Member
About a week ago, I finished reading Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor" book. Marcus Luttrell was a Navy SEAL with SDV 1 that was attached to SEAL Team 10 for an Afghanistan deployment. His unit specialized in reconaissance of targets and he tells the tale of a misson gone awry for his four-man team.
The team started out light with two M4s and two Mk12 SPRs among the four men (as well as P226 pistols). With the camera and radio equipment and a primary mission to just observe, they didn't take any heavier weaponry. Unfortunately, in order to observe their target (a high-ranking Taliban commander), they were forced to deploy in barren and mountainous terrain where they were discovered by goat herders. After attempting to contact HQ, they discovered they were out of radio contact as well. Despite the tough situation, they decided to release the men, even though they appeared hostile to them, because they were unarmed non-combatants. The team then moved to a new location but were discovered by a large enemy force estimated to number around 100 men.
In the resulting battle, all three of Luttrell's teammates were killed and a rescue element composed of SEAL Team 10 in a Chinook was shot down by an RPG fired down the loading ramp. It was the single largest loss of life for the SEALs in their history. Luttrell managed to evade capture and with the help of the Afghan people (several of whom risked their lives and families to help him), he eventually was recovered by U.S. forces. Luttrell spends most of the book recounting the bravery of his teammates.
The book is a great read and an amazing testimony to what men are capable of (in a variety of ways); but from a firearms perspective, a couple of things stood out:
1. Firearms are not death rays and motivation counts for a lot - every one of the men on Luttrell's team (except Luttrell) was shot multiple times by a rifle. Every last one of them continued to fight after being hit in the torso with a centerfire rifle at least twice. Several of them continued to fight after being hit in the head and neck by rifle fire.
Luttrell was the least wounded member of his team having only been forced to jump off a cliff face three times and be blown off by a grenade the final time - as well as being shot in the leg during his attempt to evade.
2. Mountainous Afghan terrain and a Mk12. You would think this would be the perfect environment for some long range shooting. Despite this, the longest shot reported in the book was 100yds. During the initial fight, the enemy was detected at a distance of 80yds and the fight started at 20yds when the enemy finally detected them as well. The majority of the fighting discussed in the book took place at distances of 40yds and less.
The team started out light with two M4s and two Mk12 SPRs among the four men (as well as P226 pistols). With the camera and radio equipment and a primary mission to just observe, they didn't take any heavier weaponry. Unfortunately, in order to observe their target (a high-ranking Taliban commander), they were forced to deploy in barren and mountainous terrain where they were discovered by goat herders. After attempting to contact HQ, they discovered they were out of radio contact as well. Despite the tough situation, they decided to release the men, even though they appeared hostile to them, because they were unarmed non-combatants. The team then moved to a new location but were discovered by a large enemy force estimated to number around 100 men.
In the resulting battle, all three of Luttrell's teammates were killed and a rescue element composed of SEAL Team 10 in a Chinook was shot down by an RPG fired down the loading ramp. It was the single largest loss of life for the SEALs in their history. Luttrell managed to evade capture and with the help of the Afghan people (several of whom risked their lives and families to help him), he eventually was recovered by U.S. forces. Luttrell spends most of the book recounting the bravery of his teammates.
The book is a great read and an amazing testimony to what men are capable of (in a variety of ways); but from a firearms perspective, a couple of things stood out:
1. Firearms are not death rays and motivation counts for a lot - every one of the men on Luttrell's team (except Luttrell) was shot multiple times by a rifle. Every last one of them continued to fight after being hit in the torso with a centerfire rifle at least twice. Several of them continued to fight after being hit in the head and neck by rifle fire.
Luttrell was the least wounded member of his team having only been forced to jump off a cliff face three times and be blown off by a grenade the final time - as well as being shot in the leg during his attempt to evade.
2. Mountainous Afghan terrain and a Mk12. You would think this would be the perfect environment for some long range shooting. Despite this, the longest shot reported in the book was 100yds. During the initial fight, the enemy was detected at a distance of 80yds and the fight started at 20yds when the enemy finally detected them as well. The majority of the fighting discussed in the book took place at distances of 40yds and less.
