Legion of Brothers Page #3

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It didn't sit well with me.

I mean, it--

It almost promoted

just the promiscuous use

Of military power.

I don't know how to explain it.

It's just--

I mean, we would

have died otherwise.

There was no alternative.

But something just didn't

feel quite right about it.

I mean, in the end,

we slaughtered them, you know.

And as they were retreating,

we kept bombing them.

I mean, we wiped them out.

But I didn't feel good

about how we had to do it.

I just felt like--

Felt like I should have been

looking the enemy in the eye

Before I killed him.

- We went down, and we started

doing battle damage assessment

And counting, you know,

destroyed vehicles.

And, you know, in some of them,

There were still

some charred bodies

That were just...

They're traveling

in these little toyota trucks,

And you jam as many guys

in the back of the truck

And as many guys in the front

of the truck as you could.

So there might be

eight or nine people

In a toyota truck,

And there was, you know,

hundreds of those trucks.

- I don't know

how to describe it.

It was just--

It was just what it is,

you know?

You just--you're, like,

initially kind of--

I don't want to say shocked,

but you're just like, "wow."

I mean, you're seeing people

That are literally

burnt and charred to death.

You know, you're like,

"ooh, wow."

- That was the first

of any of that carnage

That I had seen, you know,

with my own two eyes.

It didn't really bother me.

It was just kind of gruesome,

whatever.

But you're the enemy,

and so it's okay.

And that's kind of

how you programmed it.

"if I don't do this to you,

you're gonna do it to me."

And it's really that simple.

- One of the things people--

they just--

First thing out of their mouth,

"how many people you kill?"

I didn't know we were counting.

I didn't know

we were supposed to count.

If you know how many people

you've killed,

It's probably not enough.

- It's not a scorecard.

- It's not a scorecard.

- You know, it's--

- And there's a difference

Between shooting somebody

face-to-face

And somebody from a distance

dropping a bomb.

It's impersonal,

you know what I mean?

"ah, got him.

Ooh, dust, whoo-hoo, high-five."

You know,

little bit longer shot,

"wow, the mechanics

of that shot was great."

Face-to-face, I could tell you

what they smelled like,

You know, how long

it took them to bleed.

Some guys can't get rid

of the smell, okay?

Smell of a burning body

Is different than

the smell of a burning tire.

And you never know

until you walk by

And you're like, "oh, sh*t,"

'cause that smell is now

implanted in your brain,

What that means.

- My beard was covered in blood.

I mean, I didn't

just see, smell; I tasted.

I thought I'd broke my nose,

but then I realized,

I didn't get hit by anything,

and why am I bleeding?

And, oh, it wasn't my blood.

And I still--I will get

that flash smell on occasion,

And it'll take me right back.

You just--that's--

You know, that's the horror

of it all.

It's very personal.

- I grew up with that

strong american cowboy,

U.S. Cavalry heritage.

I was probably on a horse

before I could walk.

You know, I'd studied u.S.

And confederate

Cavalry commanders.

We had walked the battlefields

of gettysburg

And down through

the tennessee campaign.

It was not lost on me

that here I am,

In the 21st century,

And I'm leading

a 19th century cavalry.

- One of the things

about the sf guys,

Most of them are kind of

rough and tumble guys

To begin with.

- She goes, I expect...

- And just slide the bar

the other day with that--

- There's no weight

behind that.

- No, put that down first.

Put that down.

- The way I grew up

in west virginia,

It was clan-ish, you know.

Certain hollows, all these

families lived up this one.

All these families

live up that one.

And, you know, if you make

an enemy of one guy here,

There's more.

- Afghani...

- Yeah, understanding

how tribal people think

Is obviously gonna help.

- Every one of these leaders

told us,

Do not become portrayed

as the invaders.

You're here as liberators.

That's what you've said.

Because we were so few guys,

We could actually portray

That taliban are actually

the foreign invaders,

The pakistani taliban

that had come over,

The al-qaeda

that had taken over

And hijacked

these people's country.

- Straight ahead.

- Straight ahead.

- That is foreign taliban.

- Foreign taliban.

- Okay, the one to the left...

- We've now raised this army,

Who are gonna rise up

across the northern provinces,

And we're gonna press

for mazar-e sharif.

The situation dictated

that we needed to decentralize.

Each of these

three-man cells, then,

Is tasked to support

an afghan commander

That had between

300 to 750 fighters.

Each of those cells is a four-

to eight-hour horse ride.

It was hot, dusty, dirty,

Riding the meanest, rankest,

nastiest horse.

- I rode vince's horse

that one time.

- Rusty?

- I was like,

"oh, my god, vince,

How are you staying

on this thing"

- That horse was cross-bred

with a werewolf.

That thing...

- The americans

would get bucked off.

The afghans would

get bucked off.

And everybody would

kind of cheer.

That was another

bonding experience.

- Extraordinary

defense department photo

Released today.

United states special forces

on horseback.

- When was the last time

you saw u.S. Military personnel

In combat on horseback?

- Haven't had them in combat

in a long time.

That's a tough mission.

- Not till I saw him on tv.

- Yeah, that was

kind of a giveaway.

- Yeah, that was

when I got the phone call

At 3:
00 in the morning.

- Well, and 2 and 2

still make 4.

It's like, "oh, let's see,

where could they be?

Afghanistan perhaps?"

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- We couldn't talk

about where we were at

Or anything we were

about to do.

And coming back

from a skirmish, then,

I get a message:

"something's wrong; call home."

- I had--

I had kaya.

And michelle,

bless her heart,

She was on the phone,

Trying to find a way

to get a hold of mark

To let him know that I had

delivered our daughter.

And--but I didn't hear

from him

Till we were already

discharged and at home

Several days later.

- Amy went in

for an appointment,

A normal appointment,

And there were some

complications, evidently,

And the ob specialist

Said, "you're having

this baby today."

And it was over, what,

a month early?

- Yeah, she said I had two hours

to get my affairs in order,

And I was not to leave,

That I had to stay

on the hospital grounds.

So I called--

- She called these wasps.

- These ladies.

- And they came.

And from what I understand,

Every one of you

were in the delivery room.

- But it's what you do.

You just do

what you have to do

To keep your house in order,

To keep your kids doing what

they're supposed to be doing.

- And safe.

- Yeah.

And while they're doing

what they do,

You do what you have to do,

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