a lot has been said about US.snipers because of the movie recently released. the sniper in the movie had 160 kills. I have mixed feelings, he said "i did it to save American lives"

that's ok with me, but, I don't think snipers should be idolized, I don't think young boys should want to grow up to be snipers. not if all they want to do is kill! kill! kill!

what do you think about snipers with high body counts?

They do gods work.

Snipers, like any of our soldiers, are doing the thing that I sure as hell don't have the guts to do: fighting to preserve and protect the freedoms that you and I share here in the United States. They are fighting an enemy that would have no qualms about beheading your children before your very eyes. Should one aspire to be a killer? Of course not, but snipers aren't killers in the same way that...say...some piece of shit gang banger is. They don't kill indiscriminately. There's a difference between a cold-blooded murderer and a soldier sent to kill an enemy that would slaughter him, his brothers, and his entire family if given the opportunity. It takes some nerve for scumbags like Michael Moore to openly criticize ANYBODY who is fighting for his freedom to be an ignorant asshole.

Are they heroes? Damn right, they are.

that movie is pure propaganda, plain and simple! it was cringe worthy, one of the opening scenes with kyle's dad giving a speech about wolves, sheep and sheepdogs with his belt on the table gave me that feeling where you are so embarrassed for other people that it makes you feel like an idiot just for being a witness to the foolishness. ditto for the spotter telling kyle that if he makes the wrong call, they'll fry him in levenworth! clint eastwood should be ashamed of himself!

chris kyle was a pathological liar, proven not only in court but for anyone capable of independent thought. the fact that a movie was made about the life of a known liar speaks volumes to how fucked up things presently are. the guy was everything that honorable military personal strive not to be!

the US army is over-idolized imo, but I, unlike others, don't hold the premise that any and all US military intervention can be equated to "protecting our freedoms", so opinions will of course vary wildly as to whether being in the army automatically makes you a hero.

great post, red zone. I keep wondering why did the guy keep count? also, I keep in mind it's a volunteer army, they all volunterred, so if another kid enlists with the purpose of going above 160 confirmed kills to get notoriety, I think this is wrong.

five felonies, I see your points, could we say that a sniper with 160 kills is a serial killer, but, the army and many people hail him as a hero? or is he just an American serviceman doing his job?

it angers a lot of people but, those who have a problem with the sniper movie, still have the right to express their feelings.

It depends on how many of the 160 that were non threatening towards him or the troops a sniper would usually watch over. I haven't seen nor read the book (I know there are a lot in the book that is up in the air if it really happened or not). Overall though, not every soldier is a hero. A sniper can be a hero if they save troop's lives from another sniper,ambush,etc. I mean really snipers have turned tides in battle's for centuries.

Oh yeah the new movie. Guy's got an impressive kill ratio.. still he hasn't got nothing on the Finnish guy, Simo Hayha.. now he was THE "perfect" military sniper. The soviets used to call heavy artillery strikes in forests where he was suspected of hiding.. anybody who knows something about warfare knows what a desperate move that is. He used to keep snow in his mouth so his breath wouldn't give away his position. Oh, and he didn't even use a scope!



That's exactly what the taliban snipers believe too. I'm not trying to defend them or start a debate, but war is war.. there's no black and white.

Wow! He also survived from a sniper shot in the face, with half of his face gone.

Yeah his whole story is so extreme and crazy it sounds like fiction! I'm a little surprised some people STILL haven't heard of him, his story has been covered in plenty of different places, like in Cracked magazine, etc.

I think Snipers with high body counts are to be honored no more or less than any soldier serving in combat, they were trained to do a job and they are being effective.

It is a big deal on the battle field. The enemy has to expose himself to fire at someone and actually hit what your aiming at.. You might think twice about doing that if you know a sniper is around. So they will do like our finest do here in Ny. They shoot their guns without actually aiming. The enemy will do that as well. So you will hit less people even though your firing more bullets.

Snipers go out with two or more people.

The best sniper they say was the guy Hathcock from Vietnam he went out alone.

Yeah, sadly his story and other allies stories would be overshadowed by those like Audie Murphy, Patton, McArthur, and Eisenhower. In the HBO docudrama Hemingway & Gellhorn, there was suppose to be a scene with Steven Wiig as Hayha but it was cut to shorten the time.

Hayha is the sort of person a movie should've been made about. Random Finnish farmer decides to pick up his Rifle and force the Red Army to give him a nickname .

I haven't watched American Sniper, nor am i familiar with his life story so i'll just let people more informed speak about Chris.

My ex son in laws brother was one of the cops who was sent to Iraq to help train Iraqi police after the original conflict in Iraq ended.

he brought back two dvd's to me how the army were trying to stop the burying of explosives just outside Baghdad.

Helicopter flys around in the middle of the night. Their night vision is so good they can see things so far away. They could not even hear a helicopter was around.

It was like 8 people both men and women in three cars and a steam shovel that was Mobil.

They fire explosive rounds at them. They did not range it right it was so far away they did not hear it.

They range it right blew them apart you saw body parts flying around. Then you see one guy crawling out from underneath a truck. Their was one car left not hit. He was behind the car they waited until he was in line with the car and shot through the car and got him as well.

That got my attention.

My cousin served 12 years on Seal Team 6, was one of the Seals on the Bin Laden raid...he's never been the same. At some point, these guys become a few sandwiches short of a stack. The atrocities that our soldiers see and our snipers have to commit have everlasting affects. We argue over fantasy football, we get stressed around the holidays and get bored with the daily routines of life...while these guys who are in their 20's and 30's are sitting on a building about to kill a 10 year old because his mother or father gave him a bomb to kill Americans for Allah. NONE OF US who haven't served in the military could even comprehend...not even a little.

I think if a mother and father give their son a bomb to kill someone. If it was me protecting that someone. I would have no problem killing that kid. I would only feel bad about not being able to kill his mother and father for forcing that kid to do something like that.

Your cousin is a hero.

I agree...but the fact is that an 8 year old who is brainwashed by his parents from a young age doesn't even understand. Sad all around and the damage it does psychologically has a domino affect. Families get ruined because of it.

yeah, all the veterans of Iraq, and Afghanistan, come back pretty much screwed up, and the V.A. doesn't do nearly enough for them, I feel sorry for these guys coming back with missing arms, legs, feet, hands. the roadside bombs in Iraq did tremendous damage to young kids.

the only question I have is after all the dead soldiers, and trillions of dollars spent. where is the return for the money? if all that money was spent in our own country nobody would be out of work.

Don't agree with that. First the most important job of the president is to protect the country.

If our president had an extra 10 trillion dollars he would piss away that extra trillion.

The return of the money is basically you paying what you pay for a gallon of gas and not 10 times that.

From these posts, it appears no one read Kyle's book, "American Sniper". I am 80% finished with the book. I haven't seen the movie. My take on Chris Kyle; he was a very intensely, "delusional" man. He justified killing all "insurgents" as protecting America and his fellow combatants. But it should be understood that all his "kills" were documented by the Rules Of Engagements" ROEs. He - and all aggressive actions - had to be justified to military administration. This is not my opinion, its in the book. Kyle was a Navy SEAL to the ultimate definition. He wanted to engage the enemy, he wanted to protect his fellow SEALS. He truly believe his mission was for the good of America. He was a deeply committed soldier. In my opinion, he was psychotic.

could be. because he counted his kills, and didn't he re- enlist, because he wanted to keep killing.

He went in with a team. They had to confirm the kills he had. I think he was too busy killing to count his own kills.

I keep wondering how General Patton would fare in the age of the Internet and the 24 hour media.

He did four tours when his wife did not want to go back. It had to be a power trip for him. Everyone would like to be God like have the power of life and death over other men.

I m a lot older than you and, ive talked to many world war 2 veterans, and I can honestly say they all loved the guy.

and one thing always comes up, it doesn't mean anything to this generation or even the last two, but, the guys that were in pattons army, the big question they always asked.

why wasn't pattons army allowed to enter berlin before the Russians? he was ready to go into berlin and was stopped, letting the Russians enter first.

good question. but, im off topic, sorry.

Absolutely. He was revered by the troops.

Are you kidding? Imagine handing him a pair of night vision goggles and a drone. The guy would never sleep