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American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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ordered that the ship be boarded and searched: just the sort of job<br />

SEALs excel at.<br />

We had a platoon in Djibouti, which was a hell of a lot closer to<br />

the craft than we were. But because of the way the chain of command<br />

and assignments worked—the unit happened to be working for the<br />

Marines while we were directly under a Navy command—we were<br />

tasked to take down the freighter.<br />

You can imagine how happy our sister platoon was to see us when<br />

we landed in Djibouti. Not only had we “stolen” a mission they considered<br />

theirs, they had to suffer the indignity of helping us offload<br />

and get ready for action.<br />

As soon as I got off the plane, I spotted a buddy.<br />

“Hey!” I shouted.<br />

“Fuck off,” he answered.<br />

“What’s up”<br />

“Fuck you.”<br />

That was the extent of his welcome. I couldn’t blame him; in his<br />

place, I’d have been pissed myself. He and the others eventually came<br />

around—they weren’t mad at us; they were mad at the situation.<br />

Grudgingly, they helped us prepare for the mission, then got us aboard<br />

a mail-and-resupply helicopter from the USS Nassau, an amphibious<br />

assault ship out in the Indian Ocean.<br />

Amphibs, as they’re called, are large assault ships that carry<br />

troops and helicopters, and occasionally Marine Harrier attack aircraft.<br />

They look like old-fashioned aircraft carriers with a straightthrough<br />

flight deck. They’re fairly large, and have command and control<br />

facilities that can be used as forward planning and command posts<br />

during assault operations.

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