Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan

by Sean Parnell

The infantryman’s way of life has a knack for distilling a man’s character down to its most essential elements. If he measures up, nothing else matters. That’s what bonded those two. They measured up.

Looking around at the men busy at their tasks, he lowered his voice and said, “You know, these soldiers respect your decisions.” Without thinking, I said, “I love these men, sir.” I’d never said that out loud before.

just men who are not afraid to love. I thought of Brown, Howie, and McCleod. I thought of Dixon picking up Baldwin even after he’d been shot and was going into shock. I thought of Pantoja ignoring the ragged hole in his face as he treated everyone around him. Love cements selflessness.

Love’s the only thing that will see us through this. If that love fails, or if we let circumstance and friction grind it down, we will surely die.

In combat, those who are willing to fight follow only those who are willing to lead, and lead competently. When bullets fly, rank does not matter.

Marine Corps commandant, General Charles C. Krulak: ‘When the hard times come . . . and they will . . . people will cling to leaders they know and trust . . . To those who are not detached, but involved . . . and to those who have consciences. They will seek out leaders who stand for something bigger than themselves and who have the moral courage and strength of character

Not a man refused his duty. Despite everything, we had not lost the one thing that mattered most: faith in one another.