This book was a very good read – it offered unique insight
into the mind of a soldier fighting in the Middle East – and Chris Kyle (the
author), has a great way of talking colloquially to the audience, making it
feel like he is telling you his story personally. He has some interesting
stories about the war in Iraq, the way things operate and what the soldiers are
doing on a daily basis. It’s hard to know if his experience is the ‘typical’
experience, considering he was a SEAL, and that he constantly mentions that one
of the main reasons he has so many kills is that he is ‘lucky’, in the sense
that he was involved in many attacks, battles, etc.
From his book, you understand that he is very patriotic. He
truly believes that he is killing these people to protect his country. And he
has no problems with this. He separates himself from the targets, calling the
insurgents ‘savages’. Another interesting aspect was that he says he is a
Christian, with his order of importance being “God, country, family”. This is a
hotly debated issue in Christianity, along the lines of ‘just war theory’,
whether going to war and killing is ever acceptable or allowed as a Christian.
Kyle clearly believes that it is okay, and seems to think that America is on
mission for God – killing all the evil insurgents. I’m not sure how I feel
about this – the Bible clearly calls us to love others, and Jesus died for all
of us, including Iraqis. However, it also talks about the government being put
in place by God, as well as the difference between murder and killing, the
focus being on the intentions – the posture of your heart. But that’s a debate
for another day.
I thought one of the most interesting things that Kyle talks
about is the strict Rules of Engagement (ROE). They had very strict rules on
when they could and could not shoot enemies, and Kyle talks about how seriously
these rules were followed. He said that every kill is tracked, and there is
extensive paperwork to make sure every kill is legal and following the ROE. I
had no idea that this was the case.
Interestingly, there are parts of the book written by his
wife. She is incredibly honest, giving insight into what it’s like to be
married to a soldier. It’s also very sad and heartbreaking. She clearly feels abandoned
at times, and who wouldn’t when their husband leaves two days after you give
birth to a child? She states that her order of importance is “God, family,
country”, which obviously clashes with what her husband believes. The uplifting
part is that they tough through it all – through him doing 4 tours in Iraq
before finally retiring and coming home for good. Kyle left the military in
2009, and started his own company, Craft International, which focused on
tactical training for military and police officers. He also worked extensively
with veterans. Tragically, in February 2013, he was killed at a gun range in
Texas by a young veteran with PTSD.
A movie, based on his autobiography, was just released
(starring Bradley Cooper). I went to see it and I thought that they actually
did a fairly good job of depicting his views and ideas. The events aren’t all
accurate – you can tell that they mixed together (and made up) certain things
to create a storyline that flowed. But the general feeling of the movie is
pretty accurate to his book and they actually show a lot of his interactions at
home, depicting the struggle that soldiers have when they leave the
battlefield. The movie also tells you what happened to Kyle – showing him
smiling and saying goodbye to his family before heading out to meet someone on
the range, and then words flashing on the screen telling you that he was killed
that day. It’s pretty sobering. I think what struck me the most was that Kyle
was killed by one of the very men that he would do anything to protect. Rather
than being killed by an Iraqi soldier, he was killed by an American soldier. He
survived 4 tours in Iraq, only to be killed at home. Overall, both the book and
the movie tell the story of a man who was so sure that his country was “good”,
that he was willing to die for it – that’s pretty powerful.
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