Essay Questions

Why did Luttrell and the rest of SDVT-1 decide not to kill the boy and goat shepherds?

The two men decided not to kill the boy and goat shepherds for both moral and practical reasons.

Morally, the men couldn't come to terms with killing three people -- one of whom a child -- when they were innocent and did not deserve to have their lives taken from them. In other words, they felt that they shouldn't kill people for no reason and wouldn't be able to live with themselves if they chose to kill the boy and the shepherds.

The men also chose not to kill the boy and the goat shepherds because they would be breaking the rules of engagement. If they killed the boy and the goat shepherds and their bodies were found, the men would have been in tremendous trouble -- in the short term by the Taliban and in the long term by news agencies like CNN.

Because they couldn't agree on killing the boy and the goat shepherds (because of moral and practical reasons), the SEALs did not do so.

How did Luttrell end up surviving his ordeal?

Luttrell was incredibly lucky to survival his ordeal in the mountains of Afghanistan. As he and his team retreated, he got lucky when they fell off cliffs, rolled down hills, and retreated. He got lucky by not get fatally hit by a bullet. More than anything, though, Luttrell survived because of a village of Pashtun people, who took him in, fed him, and rendered aid to him despite great risk to themselves because of the Taliban that menaced them.

Ultimately, Luttrell ended up surviving because of luck, good medical care, and through the kindness of strangers.