Welcoming
Scott McEwen
Friday @ 7:00 p.m. PST
Bio:
Scott McEwen is the coauthor of Chris Kyle’s #1 New York Timesbestseller, American Sniper. He is a trial attorney in San Diego, California, and has taught at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. McEwen works with and provides support for several military charitable organizations, including the SEAL Team Foundation.
Thomas Koloniar is the author of the post-apocalyptic novel Cannibal Reign. A former police officer from Akron, Ohio, he currently lives in Mexico.
Look What’s Coming:
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The Movie
Coming in December!
Prologue
Coming in December!
Prologue
Evil in the Crosshairs
Late March 2003.
In the area of Nasiriya, Iraq I looked through the scope of the sniper rifle, scanning down the road of the tiny Iraqi town. Fifty yards away, a woman opened the door of a small house and stepped outside with her child. The rest of the street was deserted. The local Iraqis had gone inside, most of them scared. A few curious souls peeked out from behind curtains, waiting. They could hear the rumble of the approaching American unit. The Marines were flooding up the road, marching north to liberate the country from Saddam Hussein. It was my job to protect them. My platoon had taken over the building earlier in the day, sneaking into position to provide “overwatch”—prevent the enemy from ambushing the Marines as they came through. It didn’t seem like too difficult a task—if anything, I was glad the Marines were on my side. I’d seen the power of their weapons and I would’ve hated to have to fight them. The Iraq army didn’t stand a chance. And, in fact, they appeared to have abandoned the area already. The war had started roughly two weeks before. My platoon, “Charlie” (later “Cadillac”) of SEAL Team 3, helped kick it off during the early morning of March 20. We landed on al-Faw Peninsula and secured the oil terminal there so Saddam couldn’t set it ablaze as he had during the First Gulf War. Now we were tasked to assist the Marines as they marched north toward Baghdad.
I was a SEAL, a Navy commando trained in special operations. SEAL stands for “SEa, Air, Land,” and it pretty much describes the wide ranges of places we operate. In this case, we were far inland, much farther than SEALs traditionally operated, though as the war against terror continued, this would become common. I’d spent nearly three years training and learning how to become a warrior; I was ready for this fight, or at least as ready as anyone can be. The rifle I was holding was a .300 WinMag, a bolt-action, precision sniper weapon that belonged to my platoon chief. He’d been covering the street for a while and needed a break. He showed a great deal of confidence in me by choosing me to spot him and take the gun. I was still a new guy, a newbie or rookie in the Teams. By SEAL standards, I had yet to be fully tested. I was also not yet trained as a SEAL sniper. I wanted to be one in the worst way, but I had a long way to go. Giving me the rifle that morning was the chief’s way of testing me to see if I had the right stuff. We were on the roof of an old rundown building at the edge of a town the Marines were going to pass through. The wind kicked dirt and papers across the battered road below us. The place smelled like a sewer—the stench of Iraq was one thing I’d never get used to.
I was a SEAL, a Navy commando trained in special operations. SEAL stands for “SEa, Air, Land,” and it pretty much describes the wide ranges of places we operate. In this case, we were far inland, much farther than SEALs traditionally operated, though as the war against terror continued, this would become common. I’d spent nearly three years training and learning how to become a warrior; I was ready for this fight, or at least as ready as anyone can be. The rifle I was holding was a .300 WinMag, a bolt-action, precision sniper weapon that belonged to my platoon chief. He’d been covering the street for a while and needed a break. He showed a great deal of confidence in me by choosing me to spot him and take the gun. I was still a new guy, a newbie or rookie in the Teams. By SEAL standards, I had yet to be fully tested. I was also not yet trained as a SEAL sniper. I wanted to be one in the worst way, but I had a long way to go. Giving me the rifle that morning was the chief’s way of testing me to see if I had the right stuff. We were on the roof of an old rundown building at the edge of a town the Marines were going to pass through. The wind kicked dirt and papers across the battered road below us. The place smelled like a sewer—the stench of Iraq was one thing I’d never get used to.
HUBBY'S REVIEW:
THIS IS A FANTASTIC BOOK ABOUT THE SERVICE OF CHRIS KYLE. FROM THE TIME OF GOING INTO SEAL TRAINING AND THE FIRST TEAM HE WAS ASSIGNED TO. HE THEN EXPLAINS HIS TRAINING AS A SNIPER AND WHAT IT ENTAILED. FROM THERE HE GOES INTO THE HIS DEPLOYMENT AS A SNIPER AND WITH HIS COVERING OF NOT ONLY HIS TEAM BUT ALSO A MARINE UNIT THAT SEEMED LIKED THEY WERE IN CONSENT CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY. HE AND THE SEAL TEAM WORKED HAND AND HAND WITH THE MARINES AND ALONG WITH THE OFFICER OF THE UNIT THEY WERE ABLE TO TAKE OUT THE ENEMY SNIPER. THERE ARE MANY MORE STORIES LIKE THAT AND HOW THEY WOULD WORK AS A TEAM TO COVER EITHER THE SEAL TEAM GOING IN TO DO A MISSION OR COVERING THE MARINES AND WORKING WITH THE OFFICERS IN HOW TO HAVE AN A PLAN TO ENTER AN AREA AND TO EXIT. BY HIS THIRD TOUR HIS REPUTATION WAS BECOMING WELL KNOWN AND MEN WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING AROUND HIM. HE ALSO GOES INTO WHY HE DID NOT APPLY FOR SEAL TEAM SIX AND THERE ARE TIMES IN THE BOOK WHEN YOU HEAR FROM HIS WIFE AND THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY WOULD HAVE WITH HIS DEPLOYMENTS. THESE MOMENTS FROM HIS WIFE ADDED TO THE BOOK AND GAVE A GOOD LOOK ON THE TOTAL PICTURE OF MILITARY LIFE. HE GOES INTO LIFE AFTER SERVICE AND HOW HE WANTED TO GIVE BACK TO THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO CAME BACK AND PROBLEMS WITH PTSD. HE AND A FRIEND CAME UP WITH AN IDEA FOR A CAMP THAT DEALT WITH WORKING OUT THEIR PROBLEMS. THE SAD PART IS THAT LATER ON ONE OF THOSE MEN KILLED BOTH OF THOSE MEN. THIS IS STILL AN ON GOING STORY, BUT THIS BOOK IS A GOOD READ.
Navy Seal Foundation:
www.navysealfoundation.org
Our Mission
The Navy SEAL Foundation provides immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare Community and its families.
The Red Circle Foundation
redcirclefoundation.org/
When tragedy strikes our Special Operators and their families need immediate assistance
Red Circle Foundation's gap funding covers memorial services, emergency travel, and household expenses for these families.
The EOD Wounded Worrior Foundation
eodwarriorfoundation.org
Our
Vision
To provide timely and ongoing support to those in need from the joint service
explosive ordnance disposal community. Services include financial,
physical, social, emotional, and spiritual support.
Our
Mission
To manage an effective, transparent and accountable nonprofit organization that
provides direct and essential assistance and support to our EOD warriors and
their families and honors our fallen EOD warriors. We manage our fiduciary
responsibilities with the highest ethical standards and execute our mission.
Camp Patriot
camppatriot.org
Our programs challenge veterans
to learn new ways to overcome their wounds in order to accomplish amazing
goals. These challenges represent a crucible of change that proves to each participant that they can
overcome any obstacle. Camp Patriot alumni have gone on to become great leaders in their communities.
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