American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

More documents

Recommendations

Info

2 Jackhammered WELCOME TO BUD/S “Drop! One hundred push-ups! NOW!” Two hundred and twenty-some bodies hit the asphalt and started pumping. We were all in camis—camouflage BDUs, or battle-dress uniforms—with freshly painted green helmets. It was the start of BUD/S training. We were bold, excited, and nervous as hell. We were about to get beat down, and we were loving it. The instructor didn’t even bother to come out of his office inside the building a short distance away. His deep voice, slightly sadistic, carried easily out the hall into the courtyard where we were gathered. “More push-ups! Give me forty! FOUR-TEEE!” My arms hadn’t quite started to burn yet when I heard a strange hissing noise. I glanced up to see what was going on.
33/439 I was rewarded with a blast of water in my face. Some of the other instructors had appeared and were working us over with fire hoses. Anyone stupid enough to look up, got hosed. Welcome to BUD/S. “Flutter kicks! GO!” BUD/S stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL and it is the introductory course that all candidates must pass to become SEALs. It’s currently given at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California. It starts with “indoc” or indoctrination, which is designed to introduce candidates to what will be required. Three phases follow: physical training, diving, land warfare. There have been a number of stories and documentaries over the years about BUD/S and how tough it is. Pretty much everything they’ve said on that score is true. (Or at least mostly true. The Navy and the instructors tone it down a bit for national consumption on TV reality shows and other broadcasts. Still, even the watered-down version is true enough.) Essentially, the instructors beat you down, then beat you down some more. When that’s done, they kick your ass, and beat what’s left down again. You get the idea. I loved it. Hated it, loathed it, cursed it . . . but loved it. LAME AND LAMER It had taken me the better part of a year to reach that point. I’d joined the Navy and reported for basic training in February 1999. Boot camp was pretty lame. I remember calling my dad at one point and saying
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 and 30: 29/439 training in Wikipedia. But b
Page 31: “Why” “We want you,” said t
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
show all

American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?