Kevin Maries was the first military sniper I ever met. Kevin, you are a marvel, and your friendship means more to me than I can ever express. We may go months or even years without seeing each other, but I always know you’re there. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.
Dan, Tyson, Randy, Darren, and Nate—you guys are the best. Thanks for all your time and effort; I hope you feel like we’ve done the sniper section justice here. And guys, thank you for letting me be a small part of the battalion’s training operations from 2007–2013. Those are weekends I’ll never forget, and my appreciation for everything you all accomplished was reinforced by those experiences.
To Jason and Adam, new friends made through this book—thank you for everything. Adam, I’m still listening to that song you told me about! Jason, I hope we can link up in New York at your restaurant some day; I’m really looking forward to that.
Chris Kyle, though you’ll never read these words, it was a great privilege to get to know you a little bit back in the fall of 2011. When we talked about your mission to kill or capture Thomas Tucker’s abductors, this book became personal to me. Thomas was an Oregonian. I met one of his cousins in a restaurant in Independence a short time after he’d been killed. The pain of his loss was evident, so being able to write about the justice exacted on those responsible for that pain made Shock Factor more a crusade than just a book for me. Thank you for sharing those memories.
Jim Hornfischer—what can I say? You’ve been a friend, a rock, a man who transformed my life in 2006, then transformed it again after I came home from Afghanistan. Your efforts, your honesty, and your integrity in a business that Stephen King once called a “Tiger Pit” is utterly unique. Thank you for all that you have done for me and my family—and one of these days we really need to have a beer, damnit!
Allison—your support and faith in my writing has never wavered. Even after I returned home unsure of the way forward, feeling lost and questioning the course of my career, you’ve been there to remind me why I’ve been put here in the first place. It wasn’t for fluffy kitten stories. Honoring those who served with the best words I can find is more than a profession, it is for me almost a monastic calling. You made sure I never lost sight of that again. Thank you for reminding me who I am and will always be. And when the sadness and pain of loss that surrounds what I do seems overwhelming, you are there with warmth and humor to lift me back up. Thank you for so many gifts so selflessly shared over these many years.
Lastly, Taylor Marks: I carry your spirit with me through every day, every decision. I’ve lived with your sense of adventure, your strength and courage as my guide every day since the war took you from us. My family will never forget.
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Abu Ghraib
AC-130 Spectre gunship
Ach-Dead
Adair (General)
Afghanistan
AGM-65 Maverick missiles
Aidid, Mohamed Farrah
AK-47
Albany, Oregon
Albert (PFC)
Alpha Platoon
ambulances
ambush, nonlinear
ambush method
American Army
American Revolution
American Sniper (Kyle)
Amtracs
Anbar Awakening movement
Al Anbar Province, Iraq. See also Husaybah, Iraq; Ramadi, Iraq
camp K-70
Sunni in
Anbar Provincial Government
Al Andols district, Iraq
angle of the dangle
AN/PVS 10 scope
Arkansas brigade. See 39th Enhanced Brigade
armored vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB)
Ash, John
AT-4 rocket
Aviles, Andrew
AVLB. See armored vehicle-launched bridge
Ba’ath Party headquarters
Ba’athists
Babineau, David
Badr Brigade
Baghdad, Iraq
Baghdad Combat Support Hospital
Bakersfield, California
Barnum, Bill
barrel discipline
Barrett .50 caliber rifle
battering ram
Beirut airport
Belle Chase Hospital
Benford, Jason
Beretta M12 9mm submachine gun
Berg, Nicholas
Al Betawain raid
Black Gun
Blackhawk Down
Blackwater
Blon, Joe
Blue Element
body language
Boeholt, Chris
Boston Globe
Boyce, Ross
financier hideout and
Iraqi Police Academy and
leadership by
in Sadr City, Iraq
Braddock, Edward
Brave Men (Pyle)
Bravo Company
Bremer, Paul
Browning .50 caliber M2 machine gun
Buchholz, Darren (“Buck”)
Iraqi Police Academy and
at MOI building
pregnant girl and
in Sadr City, Iraq
at warehouse raid
Bud (spotter)
buddy teams
Bull Run
Bumgardner, Tyson
Iraqi Police Academy and
in New Orleans
in Sadr City, Iraq
Bush, George
Buyinah, Iraq
C2 packets
CAAT. See Combined Anti-Armor Team
cadet corps
Camp Corregidor
Camp Gannon
camp K-70
Camp Lee
Blue Element
Gold Team
Camp Robinson
car bombs
Carl Gustav rocket launchers
CASEVAC. See casualty evacuation
Casica, Ken
Casteel, Steve
casualties, civilian
casualty evacuation (CASEVAC)
CH-47 Chinook helicopter
CH-53 Super Stallion Marine helicopter
Charlie Company
Chastain, Ronald
Chechens
Chef Menteur Boulevard
Chiarelli, Peter
chicken switches
Christmas
Claymore mines
Coalition Provisional Authority
AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships
combat outpost (COP)
Eagle’s Nest
Firecracker
Iron
leapfrogging from
Combined Anti-Armor Team (CAAT)
Conley, Brunk
Continental Congress
COP in a Box
COP in a Can
Cornwallis, Charles
Corvallis, Oregon
couples
Cowpens
curfew
Da Nang, Vietnam
Dallas, Oregon
Dave (sniper)
Davenport, Jesse
death
Delfiorintino, Brandon
Delgado, Jason
Delta Company
Democrats
Desert Storm
Die Hard
Ditto, Brandon
Diyala Bridge
DOPE on the Scope
Downs, Adam (“Redneck Mujahideen”)
Downs, Dale
Downs, Justin
Dragunov sniper rifle
drawing
Dunham, Jason
The Economist
18 Delta Combat Medic school
8th Marine Regiment
82 mm mortar
Elko, Illinois
Engle, Keith
Iraq
i Police Academy and
at MOI building
in New Orleans
at warehouse raid
EOD. See explosive ordnance disposal specialist
Eugene, Oregon
Evnin, Mark
explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist
F/A-18 Super Hornet
Fallujah, Iraq
Fedayeen
1st Infantry Division
1st Armored Division
1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
1st Cavalry Division
Fisters
Fizbo
Fort Duquesne, Pennsylvania
Fort Hood, Texas
Fort Polk, Louisiana
41st Brigade
forward artillery observer
Forward Operating Base Provider. See Patrol Base Volunteer
440
4th Infantry Division
Francis, John
Francis, Mike
Gannon, Richard
ghilly suit
Ghostbuster Charges
Gilliland, Jim
Giordano, Mike
Iraqi Police Academy and
in Sadr City, Iraq
Glade, Phil
glass
Gold Team
Gordon, George
Green Zone
Grenada
grenades. See also rocket-propelled grenades
Gunmetal Ink
Gushwa, Nate
financier hideout and
in Sadr City, Iraq
at warehouse raid
Habbaniyah, Iraq
Hathcock, Carlos
HEAPI. See High Explosive Armor Piercing Incendiary
Hellman, Andy
Hendrickson, Dan
financier hideout and
Iraqi Police Academy and
leadership by
in New Orleans
in Sadr City, Iraq
warehouse raid and
Hezbollah
Higgins, Jack
High Explosive Armor Piercing Incendiary (HEAPI)
Holland, Daryl
Homestead, Kevin
Howe, Wes
human shields
Hurricane Katrina
Husaybah, Iraq
Hussein, Saddam
Hussein, Uday
IEDs. See improvised explosive devices
Iman Ali Shrine
improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
in buildings
capabilities of
damage from
failed
makers of
minefield of
155mm artillery shell
in roads
timing of
Independence, Texas
Indoctrination (Indoc)
IP. See Iraqi Police
Iraqi Army
Iraqi National Guard
Iraqi Olympic training facility
Iraqi Police (IP)
Academy
border
brutality of
Mahdi Militia in
at Operation Graveyard
Shia
stations
Sunni
tower
Al Iskan district, Iraq
Islam, radical
Jackson, Andrew
JAG officers
JDAM. See joint direct attack munition
Job, Ryan
jogging lead
Johnson, David
joint direct attack munition (JDAM)
joint terminal attack controller (JTAC)
Jones (Brigadier General)
JTAC. See joint terminal attack controller
Jundis
Kadim, Karim
Karbala, Iraq
Kentucky Riflemen
Kilo Company
Kiowa scout helicopter
Klimp, Jack
Korea
Kuhlman, Casey
Al Kut, Iraq
Kuwait
Kyle, Chris (“The Legend”)
laser-guided bombs
Lassiter
Leupold scope
Little Rock, Arkansas
looting
Lopez (Lieutenant Colonel)
Luttrell, Marcus
M1 Abrams tanks
M1 Garand rifle
M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles
M4 Carbine
M14 rifle
M16 rifle
M21 rifle
M22 binoculars
M24 rifle
M40 rifle
M40A3 rifle
M-60 machine guns
M82 Barrett
M107 Barrett semi-automatic
M-113 armored personnel carrier
M203 grenade launcher
M240 Bravo machine gun
M249 SAW
M1114s
Ma Deuce
MacArthur, Douglas
MacMillan .50 caliber
Madras, Oregon
magazines
Mahdi Militia
capture of
in IP
in Najaf, Iraq
in Sadr City, Iraq
at warehouse raid
weapons of
Manassas
Mangus, Charlie
Maries, Kevin
Iraqi Police Academy and
leadership by
at MOI building
in Sadr City, Iraq
Marines
2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Division
2nd Marine Division
3rd Battalion, 4th Marines
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines
3rd Battalion, 7th Marines
3rd Battalion, 8th Marines
3rd Marine Division
8th Marine Regiment
Indoc
snipers
Special Operations Command
training for
Mark 11
Mark 12
Mark 19
Mark 48
Mark 48 machine gun
Marlin 18 .22
martyrs
Martyr’s Monument
al-Masri, Abu Ayyub
Mavica, Joshua
Mawhinney, Chuck
McCain, John
McCoy, Bryan
McDowell, Jeff
Meals Ready to Eat (MREs)
Medal of Honor
Medellin, Jesus
MEDEVAC
Menchaca, Kristian
mil lead
Ministry of Interior (MOI) building
Mitts, Randy
Mogadishu, Somalia
MOI. See Ministry of Interior building
Monsoor, Mike
Morgan, Daniel
Mosul, Iraq
MREs. See Meals Ready to Eat
Muhammad (al-Qaida leader)
Mujahideen Shura Council of Iraq
Murder Inc.
Mustafa
Najaf, Battle of
Najaf, Iraq
National Guard. See New York, National Guardsmen; 2nd Battalion, 162 Infantry (2–162)
Nelson, Travis
New Orleans, Battle of
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans Baptist Seminary
New Orleans Rifles
New York, National Guardsmen
Nigeria
Nightforce scope
9/11. See September 11
911
93rd Highlanders
9th Infantry Division
Obama, Barack
155mm artillery shell
101st Airborne Division
OP Sandbag
Operation Graveyard
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Operation Red Wings
Oregon. See specific Oregon towns
Oregonian
Oregonians. See 2nd Battalion, 162 Infantry (2–162)
parapets
Parson Limited
Patrol Base Volunteer
Paul, Dustin
Pendleton
PEQ-14 laser designator
pigeons
Planning the Target Zone
Point of Origin (POO)
politicians
POO. See Point of Origin
press
Abu Ghraib prison in
Iraqi Police Academy in
in Sadr City, Iraq
P-Sectors
Putin, Vladimir
PVS-22 night scope
Pyle, Ernie
al-Qaida
in Al Anbar Province
capture by
children working for
communication in
leadership of
marriages by
Ramadi declaration by
resistance to
Shuria Law under
Sudanese in
Sunni and
Al Qaim, Iraq
QRF. See quick reaction force
Quebec, Canada
quick reaction force (QRF)
Ramadi, Iraq
Ramadi Inn
Rat Rig
rear echelon motherfucker (REMF)
Redneck Mujahideen. See Downs, Adam
regret
REMF. See rear echelon motherfucker
Remington 700 civilian bolt action rifle
Rennie (Colonel)
Republican Guards
rifles
rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs)
ROEs. See Rules of Engagement
Romania
Roosevelt High School
Route 31 October
Route Hamms
Route Pluto
Route Rouge
Rover
RPGs. See rocket-propelled grenades
RPK machine gun
Rules of Engagement (ROEs)
Rules of Land Warfare
Rumsfeld, Donald
run lead
Rushdi Mulla, Iraq
RX51-PETN
Saddam Canal
al-Sadr, Moqtada
Sadr City, Iraq
Samarra, Iraq
Saratoga Campaign
Schmorde, Jim
Schreffler, George
Scout Sniper Basic Course
Screaming Eagles
SEALs
Team Five
Team Ten
Team Three
training in
Second Officers quarters
2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Division (2/8 Marines)
2nd Battalion, 162 Infantry (2–162)
second deployment of
2nd Marine Division
September 11 (9/11)
7.62mm
17th Street COP
Shadow Team
Shahada
Al Shatan (“The Devil”). See Kyle, Chris (“The Legend”)
Shema
Sheraton Hotel
Shia. See also Mahdi Militia
assassinations of
as enemies
IP
rebellions of
Sudanese targeting by
Sunni and
Shia Uprising
Shia Uprising, Second
Shock Factor
autopilot from
freezing as
irrational behavior from
training for
shooter’s statement
Shuria Law
Sierra Four
Sierra Three
simunitions
smuggling
snipers
adaptability of