Lokhay Warkawal

WARNING-I AM GIVING AWAY INFORMATION ON THE BOOK "LONE SURVIVOR"

I just got done reading the book "Lone Survivor" a while ago and wanted to post on a couple things I read in it. One the title of my post Lokhay Warkawal, the other is one of the situations the SEAL team was put in.

LOKHAY WARKAWAL: Lokhay Warkawal literally means `giving of a pot' but it implies the protection of an individual or a tribe. A weaker tribe to a stronger one with the object of ensuring its safety and security generally gives Lokhay. It is accepted in the form of a sacrificial animal such as a goat or a sheep. When a tribe accepts a Lokhay from another tribe, it undertakes the responsibility of safeguarding the latter's interests against its enemies and protects it at all costs.

AT ALL COSTS!!! I get protecting someone at all costs when I love them and know them. But someone I don't know, a complete stranger, that would never happen. Well thats exactly what happened in this book. Keep in mind this book is based on true events. Marcus Luttrell is the author and is the "Lone Survivor" of "Operation Red Wings" If you don't feel like follwing the link I'll give you a "quick" background. Keep in mind its been a while since I read the book, but I'll do my best.

Marcus Luttrell was part of a four man SEAL recon team trying to find one of Bin Ladens high ranking men. When needed they would call in reenforcements and take on the enemy with a bigger force. Luttrell and the team ran into a problem, the problem soon escalated to four men against 150 to 200 men. Outnumbered fifty to one the SEALs held them off for a while. But the odds were against them. Slowly the team dwindeled down to one, Marcus Luttrell. Luttrell severely wounded, eventually finding aid by the people he would least expect, Pashtun villagers. The village leader gave Lokahy Warkawal to Luttrell. Meaning they would protect him at all costs. And being full of pride and tradition these strangers protected him against the enemy. The enemy came in to the village a couple time looking for him, the villagers hid him on a few occassions, and one time the enemy found him and slapped him around. The village leader found out, came into the room and even the enemy feared/respected the elder. They stopped and listened to him.

I feel a little ashamed for not being so bold in my faith. Being a christian I'm supposed to love others even if they don't share the same beliefs. I'm even supposed to love those who blaspheme the one and true living God. I'm supposed to pray for my enemies. Instead what do I do? I sit here and talk about how much I hate them, and wish them dead. Granted I'm a soldier in the united states army, but I'm also a soldier in God's army. I should be praying for the people over there, realizing they aren't all bad. They are all people created by my father in heaven. I need to love them, pray for them, intercede on their behalf.

Now on to the second thing that stuck out to me. I found this excerpt here and it summarizes the situation the team was put in.

...The four Seals zigzagged all night and through the morning until they reached a wooded slope. An Afghan man wearing a turban suddenly appeared, then a farmer and a teenage boy. Luttrell gave a PowerBar to the boy while the Seals debated whether the Afghans would live or die.

If the Seals killed the unarmed civilians, they would violate military rules of engagement; if they let them go, they risked alerting the Taliban. According to Luttrell, one Seal voted to kill them, one voted to spare them and one abstained. It was up to Luttrell.

Part of his calculus was practical. "I didn't want to go to jail." Ultimately, the core of his decision was moral. "A frogman has two personalities. The military guy in me wanted to kill them," he recalled. And yet: "They just seemed like -- people. I'm not a murderer."

Luttrell, by his account, voted to let the Afghans go. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about that decision," he said. "Not a second goes by."

At 1:20 p.m., about an hour after the Seals released the Afghans, dozens of Taliban members overwhelmed them. The civilians he had spared, Luttrell believed, had betrayed them. At the end of a two-hour firefight, only he remained alive...

I first started writting this post a few months ago after finishing the book. Life has been crazy since then and now I can't remember why I started writting it in the first place. But after writting this I can tell you how I feel now. I feel torn between my duty as a soldier and my duty as a christian. If I was faced with the situation like they were on the mountain, what would I have done? As a soldier I would have the same thoughts as the team did. But as a christian man, am I supposed to just let them live knowing the real chance of them warning the enemy? I've never been in that situation, and never hope to be. But to assure my wife and my brothers in arms, if I or my brothers are face to face with a known enemy, I wouldn't hesitate. My brothers lives and mine come before the known enemy. I guess I just need prayer on how to deal with all of this. Pray for wisdom, strength and always, Gods will to be done.