American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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30/439 The Navy disqualified me when my physical revealed that I had pins in my arm from the rodeo accident. I tried arguing, I tried pleading; nothing worked. I even offered to sign a waiver saying that I’d never make the Navy responsible for anything that happened to my arm. They flat-out turned me down. And that, I concluded, was the end of my military career. THE CALL With the military ruled out, I focused on making a career out of ranching and being a cowboy. Since I already had a good job on a ranch, I decided there was really no sense staying in school. I quit, even though I was less than sixty credits shy of graduating. David doubled my pay and gave me more responsibilities. Larger offers eventually lured me to other ranches, though for different reasons I kept coming back to David’s ranch. Eventually, just before the winter of 1997–98, I found my way out to Colorado. I took the job sight-unseen, which turned out to be a big mistake. My thinking was, I’d been spending all my time in the Texas flatlands, and a move to the mountains would be a welcome change of scenery. But wouldn’t you know it: I got a job at a ranch in the only part of Colorado flatter than Texas. And a good deal colder. It wasn’t long before I called up David and asked if he needed some help. “Come on back,” he told me. I started to pack, but I didn’t get very far. Before I finished making arrangements to move, I got a phone call from a Navy recruiter. “Are you still interested in being a SEAL” he asked.
“Why” “We want you,” said the recruiter. “Even with the pins in my arm” “Don’t worry about that.” I didn’t. I started working on the arrangements right away. 31/439
Page 2 and 3: American Sniper The Autobiography o
Page 4 and 5: Contents Dedication Author's Note M
Page 6 and 7: Author’s Note The events that hap
Page 9 and 10: Prologue Evil in the Crosshairs Lat
Page 11 and 12: 11/439 We were on the roof of an ol
Page 13 and 14: 13/439 I had a job to do as a SEAL.
Page 15 and 16: 15/439 That’s what war is. I love
Page 17 and 18: 17/439 come around to believing tha
Page 19 and 20: 19/439 Defending myself was a diffe
Page 21 and 22: 21/439 lusted after was my brother
Page 23 and 24: 23/439 I continued riding after I g
Page 25 and 26: 25/439 ranch, and then some. He was
Page 27 and 28: 27/439 a worthless piece of shit. B
Page 29: 29/439 training in Wikipedia. But b
Page 33 and 34: 33/439 I was rewarded with a blast
Page 35 and 36: 35/439 But it was during that train
Page 37 and 38: 37/439 It was dark, but not particu
Page 39 and 40: 39/439 whatever. It was the repetit
Page 41 and 42: 41/439 Probably everyone who’s he
Page 43 and 44: 43/439 After that, everything ran t
Page 45 and 46: 45/439 Lying in the surf, I thought
Page 47 and 48: 47/439 run. I was deep enough in th
Page 49 and 50: 49/439 don’t know if it’s share
Page 51 and 52: 51/439 happen, but at that point I
Page 53 and 54: 53/439 was still pretty bad, though
Page 55 and 56: 55/439 He hung around. I hung aroun
Page 57 and 58: 57/439 I woke up one morning to her
Page 59 and 60: 59/439 Demolition Teams, or UDTs. E
Page 61 and 62: 61/439 the worst thing to do is rub
Page 63 and 64: 63/439 guy would do. So I reacted i
Page 65 and 66: 65/439 your ass all day long. Then,
Page 67 and 68: 67/439 I hopped to. When I came bac
Page 69 and 70: 69/439 By then, the swelling in my
Page 71 and 72: 71/439 life raft and an open speedb
Page 73 and 74: 73/439 trained to handle the search
Page 75 and 76: 75/439 ordered that the ship be boa
Page 77 and 78: 77/439 Obviously, there was a lot g
Page 79 and 80: 79/439 They were small, radio-contr
Page 81 and 82:
81/439 barrel. It also has a rail s
Page 83 and 84:
83/439 we ended up in trouble. We w
Page 85 and 86:
85/439 worried that they would be r
Page 87 and 88:
87/439 “Feet wet!” said someone
Page 89 and 90:
89/439 The Iraqis had set up a defe
Page 91 and 92:
91/439 what was going on, we stared
Page 93 and 94:
93/439 THE RACE TO BAGHDAD By now,
Page 95 and 96:
95/439 performance can depend on th
Page 97 and 98:
97/439 One night a little later on,
Page 99 and 100:
99/439 But I also knew that Christi
Page 101 and 102:
101/439 I was still big brother, ho
Page 103 and 104:
103/439 And then I would die. I tho
Page 105 and 106:
5 Sniper Taya: The first time Chris
Page 107 and 108:
107/439 home in one piece. Meanwhil
Page 109 and 110:
109/439 After a while, I figured it
Page 111 and 112:
111/439 I will do whatever it takes
Page 113 and 114:
113/439 there are two types, one th
Page 115 and 116:
115/439 different story. We eventua
Page 117 and 118:
117/439 We didn’t have .338s in t
Page 119 and 120:
119/439 which has to do with the ro
Page 121 and 122:
121/439 should get your attention,
Page 123 and 124:
123/439 and wsait for the next guy
Page 125 and 126:
125/439 My companion in the raft wa
Page 127 and 128:
127/439 So, instead, I got a “fro
Page 129 and 130:
129/439 Most people don’t deal to
Page 131 and 132:
6 Dealing Death BACK TO WAR Toward
Page 133 and 134:
133/439 And, for the record, it doe
Page 135 and 136:
135/439 A lot of the places where r
Page 137 and 138:
137/439 Baghdad area, the fighting
Page 139 and 140:
139/439 The GROM were a lot like SE
Page 141 and 142:
141/439 In 2004, I brought over a S
Page 143 and 144:
143/439 generously bought me some D
Page 145 and 146:
145/439 In cool weather, I brought
Page 147 and 148:
147/439 who wanted peace—anyone w
Page 149 and 150:
149/439 While Marines from the Firs
Page 151 and 152:
151/439 “Look, babe, I can’t te
Page 153 and 154:
153/439 shot as much as I was of be
Page 155 and 156:
155/439 We hadn’t seen each other
Page 157 and 158:
157/439 The buildings were packed i
Page 159 and 160:
159/439 I would keep both eyes open
Page 161 and 162:
161/439 point where we could no lon
Page 163 and 164:
163/439 more than just religion and
Page 165 and 166:
165/439 FRY ME NOT You cannot be af
Page 167 and 168:
167/439 I leaned out and laid down
Page 169 and 170:
169/439 One of the Marines followin
Page 171 and 172:
171/439 We made it back to the rest
Page 173 and 174:
173/439 family members while they b
Page 175 and 176:
Photos Stick ’em up, Yankee . . .
Page 177 and 178:
I’ve been a cowboy pretty much fr
Page 179 and 180:
You’re not a real cowboy until yo
Page 181 and 182:
It’s a rough way to make a living
Page 183 and 184:
Fallujah in ’04. Here I am with m
Page 185 and 186:
General Peter Pace, the head of the
Page 187 and 188:
Marc Lee leading the platoon on pat
Page 189 and 190:
Here I am with the boys in ’06, j
Page 191 and 192:
Another sniping position I used in
Page 193 and 194:
Marc Lee. 193/439
Page 195 and 196:
Ryan Job. 195/439
Page 197 and 198:
When not on the gun myself, I like
Page 199 and 200:
Here I am on a helo training course
Page 201 and 202:
Me and Taya, the love of my life an
Page 203 and 204:
7 Down in the Shit ON THE STREET Th
Page 205 and 206:
205/439 “Look, I’m a SEAL, you
Page 207 and 208:
207/439 they were supposed to be re
Page 209 and 210:
209/439 I went over to the commande
Page 211 and 212:
211/439 There I took my helmet off
Page 213 and 214:
213/439 dome at the top, with two s
Page 215 and 216:
215/439 I was assigned to work with
Page 217 and 218:
217/439 want to let those people do
Page 219 and 220:
219/439 He was up on the roof with
Page 221 and 222:
221/439 insurgents might be able to
Page 223 and 224:
223/439 wearing full body armor and
Page 225 and 226:
225/439 That would turn out to be o
Page 227 and 228:
227/439 “Hey asshole.” And much
Page 229 and 230:
229/439 Baghdad International was o
Page 231 and 232:
231/439 People who are used to the
Page 233 and 234:
233/439 The sons of the election of
Page 235 and 236:
235/439 Fight over, I grabbed up th
Page 237 and 238:
237/439 It seemed like everywhere I
Page 239 and 240:
239/439 The next thing I knew, the
Page 241 and 242:
241/439 With Baghdad settling down,
Page 243 and 244:
243/439 house where a rather portly
Page 245 and 246:
245/439 Now, I was two rooms deep,
Page 247 and 248:
8 Family Conflicts Taya: We went ou
Page 249 and 250:
249/439 That wasn’t how I saw it
Page 251 and 252:
251/439 could get crazy. I might tr
Page 253 and 254:
253/439 I stole a car off Bourbon S
Page 255 and 256:
255/439 The consequences can be pre
Page 257 and 258:
257/439 anything to help my friend,
Page 259 and 260:
259/439 I would tell them what I th
Page 261 and 262:
261/439 so that didn’t carry too
Page 263 and 264:
263/439 of his head being bounced o
Page 265 and 266:
265/439 His briefs always started t
Page 267 and 268:
267/439 And I missed it. I missed t
Page 269 and 270:
269/439 artery and splashed blood a
Page 271 and 272:
271/439 pooling our creative resour
Page 273 and 274:
273/439 When I finally arrived, my
Page 275 and 276:
275/439 our group went downstairs a
Page 277 and 278:
277/439 The nickname “the Legend
Page 279 and 280:
279/439 You are bad. We are badder.
Page 281 and 282:
281/439 “There’s no reason for
Page 283 and 284:
283/439 they put together a little
Page 285 and 286:
285/439 dozen men fighting behind c
Page 287 and 288:
287/439 building, but the destructi
Page 289 and 290:
289/439 As we bumped out, the insur
Page 291 and 292:
291/439 “Hold on, we’ll find ou
Page 293 and 294:
293/439 run. They were extremely do
Page 295 and 296:
295/439 Because they flew low and h
Page 297 and 298:
297/439 Tony shot the driver in the
Page 299 and 300:
299/439 The Iraqis were there. Fron
Page 301 and 302:
301/439 be free people, but they di
Page 303 and 304:
303/439 The Army arrived with what
Page 305 and 306:
305/439 balance as I stepped off on
Page 307 and 308:
307/439 The people sleeping in the
Page 309 and 310:
309/439 The preference would be to
Page 311 and 312:
311/439 its strategic location; it
Page 313 and 314:
313/439 deployment. One of the guys
Page 315 and 316:
315/439 The captain’s unit was do
Page 317 and 318:
317/439 Before every op, a bunch of
Page 319 and 320:
319/439 Hours might pass before we
Page 321 and 322:
321/439 when he got back to Shark B
Page 323 and 324:
323/439 The battlefield is a bizarr
Page 325 and 326:
325/439 I checked for holes a few d
Page 327 and 328:
327/439 The “inkblot strategy”
Page 329 and 330:
329/439 Suddenly, shots flew throug
Page 331 and 332:
331/439 As soon as we got there, I
Page 333 and 334:
333/439 The tank captain came and g
Page 335 and 336:
335/439 Marc’s gear was right the
Page 337 and 338:
337/439 REPLACEMENTS We’d been in
Page 339 and 340:
339/439 Rank is a funny concept in
Page 341 and 342:
341/439 Dragunov (the Russian-made
Page 343 and 344:
343/439 mother made it clear she di
Page 345 and 346:
345/439 we came across in houses an
Page 347 and 348:
347/439 “All right.” I unfolded
Page 349 and 350:
349/439 The ROEs got so convoluted
Page 351 and 352:
351/439 Fortunately, we were alread
Page 353 and 354:
353/439 He would never tell me how
Page 355 and 356:
355/439 GETTING BETTER The doctors
Page 357 and 358:
357/439 about them at the moment, b
Page 359 and 360:
359/439 As the guys from Delta Plat
Page 361 and 362:
361/439 The guys were getting upset
Page 363 and 364:
363/439 I can’t say I blamed her
Page 365 and 366:
365/439 “All right,” he said, l
Page 367 and 368:
367/439 Let me say for the record t
Page 369 and 370:
369/439 Not only did we get the ter
Page 371 and 372:
371/439 a form of torture that shou
Page 373 and 374:
373/439 We set up a few rules that
Page 375 and 376:
375/439 Serving in the Teams is ser
Page 377 and 378:
377/439 There are a number of other
Page 379 and 380:
379/439 a fight with my friend, a S
Page 381 and 382:
381/439 tried to get transferred to
Page 383 and 384:
383/439 One of the other SEALs told
Page 385 and 386:
385/439 According to the chief, I h
Page 387 and 388:
387/439 Under fire, generally. And
Page 389 and 390:
389/439 “No,” I answered. “I
Page 391 and 392:
391/439 I knew it, too. But I also
Page 393 and 394:
393/439 The surveillance network ov
Page 395 and 396:
395/439 Taya: People always told me
Page 397 and 398:
397/439 COVERED WITH CRAP There wer
Page 399 and 400:
399/439 EXTRACTED One night we ente
Page 401 and 402:
401/439 We waited, continuing the f
Page 403 and 404:
403/439 In the Navy, you usually ha
Page 405 and 406:
405/439 He agreed. The other chief
Page 407 and 408:
407/439 Things seemed to go downhil
Page 409 and 410:
14 Home and Out DUCKING OUT It was
Page 411 and 412:
411/439 It used virtual reality to
Page 413 and 414:
413/439 To my mind, Chris had alrea
Page 415 and 416:
415/439 Dry, droll, and a heart of
Page 417 and 418:
417/439 There’s nothing random ab
Page 419 and 420:
419/439 ’ol boy English with subt
Page 421 and 422:
421/439 When my daughter was a baby
Page 423 and 424:
423/439 But real life doesn’t tra
Page 425 and 426:
425/439 Rick Kell and David Feherty
Page 427 and 428:
427/439 There’s no reason someone
Page 429 and 430:
429/439 Just like in any relationsh
Page 431 and 432:
431/439 Honestly, I don’t know wh
Page 433 and 434:
433/439 We worked on this book in a
Page 435 and 436:
435/439 JIM DEFELICE is the author
Page 437 and 438:
Copyright AMERICAN SNIPER. Copyrigh
Page 439:
439/439 77-85 Fulham Palace Road Lo
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