The Rescue Story Behind Lone Survivor (SOFREP) - Operation Red Wings

I found very fascinating how diligently and thoroughly the different branches of the military worked together to bring back the Seals and men lost in the helicopter that was shot down trying to rescue them.

I understand that this book is for the sole purpose of detailing the rescue of Marcus Lutrell, and to rescue or recover Michael Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matthew Axelson. To that end I believe the author has done a service to all of these men, as well as those who perished in the crash of the first helicopter attempt at rescue. At the end of the book, Mr. Nealen spoke very eloquently of his trust in the lone survivor,Marcus Lutrell in his telling of the horrible tragedy that played out on Murphy's Ridge in Afghanistan's mountains. The insipid remarks that have been made regarding Lutrell's only witness account shed a light on how some in our country have no faith in our military. Those theories can be bandied about because our military has fought and died so that these who speak out of ignorance can do so without any threat or fear of retribution. Enough said, except thank you Mr. Nealen for this body of work and for your defense of Mr. Lutrell.

To those who constantly write fluffy nonsense and call it "true events" but have never hiked a klick or been on patrol for days, this is how you should write. Absolutely Amazing Book. Make sure to also read Lone Survivor. To the author, keep up the Great Work.

After reading "lone Survivor" this is a good read to fill in the other side of the rescue. For those not in special forces the description of what these combat pilots go through and risk is incredible. Hats off to "Skinny" and "Spanky" both. I have the deepest respect for all our special force troops and military personnel. Thank you for your service to our country....it is appreciated.

Nealen does a great job of pulling together the time lines and behind the scenes logistics that completed Operation Red Wings. He has both the expert knowledge of this subject and the experience to give it the credibility and closure needed.
In this age of political finger pointing and lack of accountability, it is essential to remember that there are men and women who still believe in honor, duty and sacrifice. Don't blame the warriors for the war. Be thankful that there are still brave warriors willing to stand on that wall so that others may enjoy their freedom.

I have read the two books that Marcus wrote about the mission and the rescue and they were excellent. But this one while good and informative. It didn't give very much new information on the recovery efforts that had not already been covered in the two books that Marcus wrote or the books that have been written about both Danny and Murphy's families. I have not read the book that Matt's brother Jeff wrote yet. But Marcus did an excellent job of getting the story out to the public and he did an excellent job of covering everything as best as he could given that he was almost killed on that mountain as well.
This did help fill in some of the details that have not been told already. I would like to read a book by one of the brave rescuers on what they were doing on the rescue and in time I am sure will be available. But until that happens this is the only one I am aware of and its a good read but extremely short and better as a web blog on the authors web page and forum. Where there is some other good information that is told in this book.
If you are new to the story and have not read the other books you will probably enjoy this book more than I did. In fact I am positive that if you like books like this and have only seen the movie and read the original book you will love it. Not to slight the author (Webb) he is a good author and the other books that he has written and I have read are good and show that he is a very good author and have been fast reads for me.

An excellent companion to "Lone Survivor" that details what went into the multiple recovery efforts. As with previous SOFREP publications, this book makes use of key primary sources with first hand knowledge and experience. Well written and informative.

Good read - very quick read. Compliments other books about the same operation. I would read this book if looking for a quick overview of the operations following what is detailed in Luttrell's "Lone Survivor"

Good read - very quick read. Compliments other books about the same operation. I would read this book if looking for a quick overview of the operations following what is detailed in Luttrell's "Lone Survivor"

I applaud the respect given to ALL the heroes that participated in the initial OP and resulting rescue mission. This brief story dives deeper into some of important details of the decisions, logistics & challenges that these professionals faced.

This book is amazing! Knowing exactly what happened during this operation and how heroic our men were gives me great pride in my country and my military! RIP to those men who have the ultimate sacrifice so that I can remain free.

Read this only after you read the lone survivor to get the whole picture. No blood boiling action, but just facts! A helicopter view of the entire rescue operation and honoring the responsible party: rangers, pj, etc

After re-reading Lone Survivor, I cast about for anything "Operation Red Wings." This book certainly fit the bill but it was short on character development. Although it gives the story, if I had not read Lone Survivor I would not have had an understanding of what these guys go through just to become operational.

This is a good background/companion read for anyone who read (or is reading) Marcus Luttrell's account. It sheds some light on the behind the scenes effort and sacrifice these men will do for their brothers in arms.

I enjoyed the real world perspective of the author. The report is brief and concise which allows the reader to gain a un biased view of the rescue and the difficulty of completing the mission and recovering our SEALS. I don't trust what the media says about much any more,I do trust SOFREP.

I am very loathe to criticise these soldiers who place themselves in danger. Interesting to read about the rest of the recovery operation. The rescuers seemed to have none of the bravado on the original team.

Pete, thanks for the time you took to research this event and put pen to paper. I enjoyed reading the book. I hope it highlights the complexities of not only these types of missions but the processes needed to happen to effect a rescue package. The disjointed communications and complete lack of intra-AO coordination is a perpetual military cancer that seems impossible to cure. You are spot-on about listening to the guy on the ground. It should be respected a lot more than paying simple lip service to. Thanks again

Awfully short book for the money spent. I expected a book about as long as the lone survivor. Wasn't even close. Content was average at best. To be fair though I was hoping for it to be "lone survivor" good.