Into the Fire Quotes

“He wouldn’t have stood a chance had he not been able to handle a .50-cal, a 240 machine gun, a grenade launcher, and an M4 rifle without ever thinking. He had the muscle memory of a professional athlete, an instinct acquired by thousands of hours of practice.”
― Dakota Meyer, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War

“The officers in the TOC could see on the map that the fire missions were being called in close to the farming compounds; those officers could not see the friendly troops who were dying. That’s the problem—guys like that sit back and worry about protecting their rank more than taking risks and supporting the troops. Even worse, at the end of the day the troops not getting the support go home and have to deal with losing their friends while the officers get promoted and never have to see the results of their decisions up close.”
― Dakota Meyer, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War

“dispatch”
― Dakota Meyer, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War

“You either get them out alive, or you die trying,” he said on 60 Minutes. “If you didn’t die trying, you didn’t try hard enough.” Dakota believed he was accepting an award for failure, a burden he no doubt will carry with him for the rest of his life.”
― Dakota Meyer, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War

“The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise,” he wrote. “In my experience, the people closest to the problems are often in the best position to see the solutions. The key here is to empower and not be the bottleneck.”
― Dakota Meyer, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War

“So he was paying attention to all that and to the risks around us, and, as usual, said something funny to lighten us up, which makes you more alert. Fear slows down your logic circuits, gives you tunnel vision, and triples your heart rate, which isn’t helpful in modern combat.”
― Dakota Meyer, Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War