Lone Survivor: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Luttrell and his SEAL team fly over the Gulf of Oman. They’re headed over the Arabian Sea, toward the region of Baluchistan, a part of modern-day Pakistan. The plane lands in Baluchistan, on a base outside of the city of Dalbandin. Baluchistan, a mountainous area, is a haven for terrorists.

Luttrell thinks about his home. He’s from East Texas, and he’s still very close with his identical twin, Morgan Luttrell. Morgan is also a Navy SEAL. The twins grew up in a nice house in Texas, overlooking pastures of oak trees and cows—“a peaceful place for a God-fearing family.” Luttrell and his twin were raised to love God. He wasn’t baptized, but Catholicism “suits me,” he says, and he imagines that Pope John Paul II would have made a good SEAL.

Luttrell’s mother, Holly Luttrell, is a “brilliant horsewoman,” and Luttrell grew up surrounded by horses. Holly is a seventh-generation Texan, and Luttrell believes that Texas is a part of his own spirit. Texans, he believes, are the kindest, friendliest, most hospitable people in the world.

How did Luttrell, “a farm boy from the backwoods of East Texas,” become a Navy SEAL? To begin with, Luttrell has always been strong. Even as a child, he was great at sports, largely because he didn’t mind practicing for hours. From his father, Luttrell learned about the importance of hard work. Luttrell’s father was a savvy investor and horse breeder, and he often made huge profits selling stallions. Around this time, the Texas oil market was booming. But in the late 1970s, with the Iranian revolution, the price of oil dropped. By the mid-1980s, the oil market was tanking, and almost everyone in Texas felt the effects. Luttrell’s family had to sell their house and horses.

When Luttrell was in his twenties, his family was very poor, and he and Morgan had to work hard to pay for college. After Morgan broke his leg, he was forced to undergo an operation without anesthetic because his family couldn’t front the money for it. Luttrell and Morgan have always been tough, Luttrell says. When they were children, their father beat them for getting bad grades. The twins grew up to be adept swimmers, runners, and marksmen, thanks to their father’s training.

Luttrell’s father always wanted his children to be Navy SEALs. By the time Luttrell was twelve, he knew he wanted to be a SEAL, and he had a sense of how hard it would be to become one. In East Texas, there were many ex-SEALs and Green Berets. When Luttrell was a teenager, a man named Billy Shelton, an ex-Green Beret, trained Marcus Luttrell and Morgan Luttrell to fight and bulk up. They were terrified of Billy, but this made them work harder and become better soldiers.

During SEAL training, most recruits drop out. People don’t understand how hard it is to become a SEAL, and they often don’t have the willpower to work as hard as it takes. Becoming a SEAL, Luttrell says, is probably harder than getting into Harvard. And yet SEALs tend to be humble, even though they know how important their service to their country is.

Back in 2005, Luttrell and the SEALs fly across the Regestan Desert, over the peaks of the Hindu Kush mountains. Luttrell reads through his training materials, learning as much about Afghanistan and the Taliban as he can. There isn’t a lot of reliable information about the Hindu Kush: the enemy is too unpredictable. However, Luttrell knows that Taliban warriors and al Qaeda operatives are waiting for a chance to kill American citizens.

In the weeks leading up to the SEALs’ arrival in Afghanistan, there’s been a lot of violence in the country. The Taliban have increased attacks on President Hamid Karzai’s government. The Taliban have been in existence since 1994, when they were led by a Mullah (Muslim clergyman) named Mohammed Omar. By 1998, the Taliban had conquered the capital city of Kabul, and controlled most of Afghanistan. Once in power, they became more repressive and authoritarian, banning women from attending school and persecuting non-Muslims.

The Taliban also collaborated with al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, throughout the late ‘90s. During the presidency of Bill Clinton, the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden to the military, and in response the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Afghanistan. In the 2000s, the Taliban became more authoritarian. In 2001, they detonated two statues of the Bamiyan Buddha—an act “tantamount to blowing up the Pyramids of Giza.” The Taliban were determined to wipe out all non-Muslim culture.

After September 11, 2001, the American government again demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden. By October, the military had unleashed a major attack on Afghanistan, but Mullah Mohammed Omar was able to escape. The American military continued to attack Afghanistan, aiming to wipe out the al Qaeda operatives who’d planned 9/11. By the end of 2001, the Taliban and al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan were in retreat. But by the time Luttrell and his team were preparing to land in Afghanistan, the Taliban had made a resurgence.

To understand Afghanistan, Luttrell says, it’s important to understand the Pashtuns, a “tribal group” that make up a large portion of Afghanistan’s population. They’re also “the quintessential supporters of the Taliban”—the Pashtuns get along with the Taliban, Luttrell argues, because of their military heritage and fierce code of honor. Pashtun women are expected to bear children and perpetuate the Pashtun line, even if this means separating those women from society (through purdah: the practice of living in a separate room from men, or wearing clothes that entirely cover one’s body). Perhaps “the finest virtue” of the Pashtun tribe, Luttrell claims, is its emphasis on hospitality and protection. Tribes often engage in the practice of lokhay warkawal, which involves offering protection and hospitality to others: literally “the giving of a pot.” Luttrell has reason to be “eternally grateful” for lokhay.

Luttrell and the SEAL team land in the American military base in Bagram, in the heart of Afghanistan. They’re excited for the task ahead of them, which involves fighting the Taliban to the best of their abilities. Luttrell has brought a DVD of his favorite movie, The Count of Monte Cristo, based on the book by Alexandre Dumas. The movie, with its tale of a lone man seeking vengeance against powerful foes, inspires Luttrell. Luttrell thinks about the words the hero writes on a cave: “God will give me justice.”