Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)In the Crosshairs: Chris Kyle, a decorated sniper, tried to help a troubled veteran, tragic [View all]
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/03/in-the-crosshairs
JUNE 3, 2013 ISSUE
Chris Kyle, a decorated sniper, tried to help a troubled veteran. The result was tragic.
BY NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE
On the morning of August 2, 2006, three Navy SEALs walked onto the roof of a four-story apartment building in Ramadi, in central Iraq. One of them, a petty officer and a sniper named Chris Kyle, got into position with his rifle. Peering through his guns scope, Kyle scanned the streets below; as other American soldiers searched and cordoned off homes, he waited for insurgents to appear in his sight line.
It was an especially bloody phase of the war, and Kyle, who was thirty-two at the time, had distinguished himself amid the violence. That summer, he recorded his hundredth career killninety-one of them in Ramadi. He was on his way to becoming one of the deadliest snipers in American history, with a hundred and sixty confirmed kills. In a written evaluation, his commanding officer reported that Kyle had single-handedly thwarted a large-scale attack on a U.S. Marine Combat Outpost, adding that his performance under fire cannot be overstated. Two previous evaluations had recommended Kyle for SEAL Team Six, the unit that later killed Osama bin Laden, and Kyle had received two Silver Stars for his achievements in combat.
Eddie Ray Routh, left, served in the Marines for four years. Kyle, right, wrote a best-selling memoir about his life as a SEAL.
CREDIT A. J. FRACKATTACK; PHOTOGRAPH: LEFT: REUTERS; RIGHT: ERIC TANNER
In American Sniper, a memoir that was published in 2012, and went on to sell more than a million copies, Kyle recounted some of his most dramatic tales of marksmanship. There was the time in Ramadi that he shot two insurgents who were riding tandem on a moped with a single bullet. When youre in a profession where your job is to kill people, you start getting creative, Kyle wrote. On another occasion, he killed an enemy fighter from more than a mile away. A former officer in Kyles platoon said that Kyle was willing to spend hours setting up the perfect shot, and joked, He was extremely patient while being a sniper. He was not that patient otherwise.
To other servicemen, Kyle, an affable, brawny Texan with reddish-blond hair, could seem like Paul Bunyan in fatigues. An ex-Ranger, whose unit was housed in Ramadi on the same base as Kyles SEAL platoon, recently told me about the day that two Iraqi spiesboth working for the Americansreported being trailed by members of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The spies feared that they would be kidnapped. Kyle climbed a ladder that had been affixed to a palm tree and hid among the fronds. When the Al Qaeda members appeared, he killed them both.
FULL story at link.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
43 replies, 10222 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (2)
ReplyReply to this post
43 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
In the Crosshairs: Chris Kyle, a decorated sniper, tried to help a troubled veteran, tragic [View all]
Omaha Steve
Dec 2014
OP
Maybe starting PTSD treatment with something the person suffering from it was familiar with?
cherokeeprogressive
Dec 2014
#2
You're calling a dead man who was killed by someone he was trying to help a racist and liar.
cherokeeprogressive
Dec 2014
#4
Well; drywall and microscopes are not aerodynamic either so swallow anchors until you turn green.
cherokeeprogressive
Dec 2014
#12
doesn't matter , it doesn't excuse his lies which were about someone else who served the country
JI7
Dec 2014
#14
yes, i'mnot a ventura fan but kyle still lied about him and VEntura won a lawsuit over it also
JI7
Dec 2014
#17
Jesse "The Body" had his ass kicked by four different guys I know of...
cherokeeprogressive
Dec 2014
#20
"Fuck Jesse Ventura with a cactus and someday I hope he chokes to death on the word SEAL"
JI7
Dec 2014
#23
I can still participate in shoving the cactus up Jesse's ass. Chris Kyle is dead and buried.
cherokeeprogressive
Dec 2014
#25
LOL, but it proves fucking Kyle lied about shit. "not going to say when and where" says it all!!!! n
Logical
Dec 2014
#39
Thats what snipers do, they create a kill zone and kill everything that moves in it.
Jesus Malverde
Dec 2014
#11