Lone Survivor: A Book Review

(Back Bay/Little, Brown, $14.95)

Hooyah, Petty Officer Luttrell!

If you understand the accolades in those four humble words, you'll love Lone Survivor. If you are scratching your head wondering what Hooyah means, the strength and sacrifice your freedom extracted from Petty Officer Luttrell's life will be lost in the heroism that bleeds, literally, from the fast action pace of Lone Survivor. Part blistering fast war narrative, part didactic tale for 'doing the right thing,' and part polemic on the sensationalism of the liberal press, Lone Survivor highlights the challenges and concerns our fighting men face on the frontlines of the 21^st century's battlefield.

Many readers first heard of Luttrell's story as a dramatic, failed rescue attempt to save his comrades and him as it unfolded slowly on on-line news services around the world. Luttrell's team, on a mission to observe an Afghani tribal leader, was outmanned and pinned down by heavy gunfire in a remote Afghani mountain region. SEALs at headquarters listening to the horrific drama unfolding on the mountain above them launched the failed rescue attempt that epitomized the SEAL mantra, "Never leave a man behind." Arriving in heavy gunfire, the would-be saviors, however, fell victim to the enemy and 8 rescuing US servicemen and three of Luttrell's team paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The war story and battle scenes are disturbing and highlight the heroism this braves souls possessed. More shocking, Luttrell, however, exposes how in the War on Terrorism the press ties our fighting men's hands. Throughout Lone Survivor, Luttrell relates how our boots on the ground, "all harbor fears about untrained, half-educated journalists who only want a good story to justify their fears and expense accounts. Don't think it's just me. We all detest them, partly for their lack of judgment, mostly because of their ignorance and toe-curling opportunism. The first minute an armed conflict turns into a media war, the news becomes someone's opinion, not hard truths. When the media gets involved in a war you've got a damned good chance of losing, because the restrictions on us are immediately amplified, and that's sensationally good news for our enemy."

At the cost of American human life, Luttrell relates how a soldier has to weigh battle time decisions on the responses of how the news will play back home and in effect, the American press has effectively unarmed our troops. Luttrell's heartrending struggles with the decisions his team and he had to make in instances of extreme combat situations highlights the government's need to rewrite our special forces rules of engagement and allow them to respond to situations in kind rather than inline with how those within the Beltway believe they should behave.

If you are a patriot, you must read Lone Survivor. The story is riveting and essential reading to understand the challenges our troops face in the War on Terrorism. Told from the perspective of a man in the field getting his hands dirty Lone Survivor paints an honest assessment of the frustrations and constraints our everyday, boots in the mud, warriors face with the media and with the dangers of the battlefield.

From one Texan to another, "HOOYAH, Petty Officer Luttrell."