Switch is number two now, I guess.

[MikeG]

With 160 kills, Navy SEAL is America's deadliest sniper

Anyone worrying about Coriolis effect and bullets is shooting WAY too far.

Anyone shooting a .30-06 at 8 years old is kinda scary.

Autobiography = “American Sniper”

Secluded on the top floor of a bombed-out four-story apartment building north of war-scarred Fallujah, Iraq, Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle is just getting comfortable.

It’s November 2004. Thanksgiving time. The second battle of Fallujah has launched, and Kyle is swaddled in silence atop an upturned baby crib, studying the enemy through a Nightforce 4.5-22 power scope attached to a .300 Win Mag rifle.

He’s feeling badass.

“We just got word that the president of Iraq said that anyone left in the city is bad — meaning, clear to shoot,” he recalled for The Post. “From that point on, every fighting-age male was a target.”

That was just fine with Kyle, who spent five weeks in the hideout, protecting Marines on the ground and bagging seven confirmed kills — adding to his official total of 160, making him the deadliest sniper in US history.

“After the first kill, the others come easy. I don’t have to psych myself up, or do anything mentally — I look through the scope, get the target in the cross hairs and kill my enemy before he kills one of my people,” Kyle writes in his new autobiography, “American Sniper.”

During his 10-year career as a member of SEAL Team 3, Kyle, 37, saw action in every major battle during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He became known among his fellow SEALS as “The Legend.”

The enemy was less complimentary.

In Ramadi, insurgents put an $80,000 bounty on his head and branded him “Al-Shaitan Ramadi” — “The Devil of Ramadi.”

For Kyle, the enemy is a “savage” — there’s no room for gray, only black or white.

His Charlie platoon even adopted the insignia of the comic-book vigilante The Punisher, spray-painting skulls on their body armor, vehicles, helmets and guns.

“You see us? We’re the people kicking your ***. Fear us, because we will kill you, motherf--ker,” he writes.

The married father of two is now president of Craft International, an outfit that provides sniper and security training for the US military.

He teaches what’s required to take that perfect shot: Study the terrain, correct for elevation and wind, prepare for the vibration after the shot, and keep in mind the Coriolis effect, the effect of the rotation of the Earth on a bullet’s trajectory.

[Switchback]

Oh, I've got nothing on him!
...or so many other snipers for that matter. That may be worth a read, who knows. It sounds interesting.

[MikeG]

Oh, I've got nothing on him!
...or so many other snipers for that matter. That may be worth a read, who knows. It sounds interesting.

There's always the guy you never heard of. The BTDT guys don't talk much. At least not to the NBTDT guys. I'm sure he's a stud god but whether he's THE Stud God I doubt I'll ever know. There are guys that know who killed bin Laden. They haven't told me yet though. .

[MikeG]

Oh, I've got nothing on him!
...or so many other snipers for that matter. That may be worth a read, who knows. It sounds interesting.

Amazon just shipped it. I'm not qualified to review it, but I can tell you if I find it interesting.

[limeade]

About half way through it now [Thanks OP for the suggestion]

Fantastic so far, first off the guy is pretty dam funny. He talks like a cop, the things that he didn't "officially" do crack me up. He doesn't come off cocky and his stories and pretty dam impressive.

Highly recommended and this is from a guy that doesn't read a lot of books of this nature.

[MikeG]

About half way through it now [Thanks OP for the suggestion]

Fantastic so far, first off the guy is pretty dam funny. He talks like a cop, the things that he didn't "officially" do crack me up. He doesn't come off cocky and his stories and pretty dam impressive.

Highly recommended and this is from a guy that doesn't read a lot of books of this nature.

Me too. He tells little tidbit stories. There must be tons and tons of training because he is all over the place in encounters. All SEAL stuff I'm sure but the versatility is impressive. For example, in Fallujah he was assigned to cover marines that were clearing a portion of the city. After a few days though, insurgents figured out that they died if they went outside so they started punching holes in houses. Kyle doesn't like watching marines clear houses while he has nothing to shoot at so he goes down and starts leading the direct action house entry and clearing. Even though he's a sniper, he still has more experience and training as a SEAL at clearing houses than the Marines doing it. Apparently it's pretty productive too.

He talks about his gear too but it seemed pretty vanilla stuff. I found some things more practical that I never really thought about (like how his wound treatment kit is in his cargo pants pocket and the intended/practical way to get it is to cut the bottom out of the pocket - maybe that's standard but I never heard it and that was a good tip as opposed to trying to get at the flap).

First good one was the captain of the ship they boarded before Iraq war. Made their way from rigid hull boat, up the side, to bridge. Meet the captain that is a little portly and aggressive without a weapon going against SEALs in full body armor with sub-machine guns. The captain "ran into the barrel" and they both "slipped" with Kyles elbow "accidentally" landing on his face a couple time. lol.

The second was a story about SEAL hazing. The new guy is the designated driver of the van when they go out drinking. But that's not the hazing. Choking him out while he's driving is the hazing.

And beach balls. 16 tunisian fighters that joined insurgents in Iraq tried to cross the river. Kyle is sniping. They are crossing the river holding on to brightly colored beach balls with full gear and body armor. Four men to a ball. Halfway across the river, Kyle shoots the first ball. Those 4 then scramble to one of the other three and start fighting them for a spot (the ones that don't get on a ball sink and drown). Then he shoots the second ball..... That was funny as shiat.

There are tons of little funny stories (like getting attacked by dolphins and bitten by a sea lion to test the program using those animals for harbor protection.) Good book, easy read.

[MikeG]

Finished it. Good book. Lots of "moments."

It appears his life is best described as unbridled aggression. Lots of bar fights, arrests, and success on the battlefield. He does have a section on the Jesse Ventura fight. It sounds like he started to feel the effects of combat at the end. Getting the shakes, spike heart rate and BP after action.

I guess ability gave him some leeway with the arrests and military stuff. He left after making master chief - without testing (apparently it cost him a subway sandwich for his chief to explain him to the promo board). He also had no problem calling out the units and officers he didn't like. Not by name but they will be able to place themselves (like Jesse Ventura isn't named). He also calls out the ROE written by lawyers to protect generals from politicians. He had a few kills that were investigated but all had witnesses. He also didn't shoot a young boy sent to retrieve an RPG from a fallen insurgent which would have been within the ROE. He attributes almost all his skill to luck which is all BS. He sees what others miss and he has some talent with a rifle.

Army platoon OIC on radio: "Enemy has a sniper! get down. he's good too, nearly got me."
Kyle (NCO) on radio: "That's me, dumbass. look behind you. (dead insurgent with RPG ready to take down platoon)."

Best sniper shot (according to kyle): Insurgent sniper in a minaret at mosque. Air support called, bomb dropped. Goes through minaret window but detonates near ground so tower still intact. Sniping stops though. Investigated minaret and bomb had decapitated the enemy sniper when it passed through.

Longest confirmed kill was 2100 yards with .338 Lapua during Sadr uprising.

His "Reward" poster IDd him by the red Crusader Cross tatoo on his arm. lol.