Posted on 01/27/2016 7:18:04 AM PST by w1n1
There's good reason to see the Paramount blockbuster film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. It's the true story of a group of six former US military private security contractors who fight with awe inspiring bravery and professionalism to save the lives of their fellow Americans during the September 11-12, 2012 terrorist attacks on the American diplomatic compound and a CIA base (known as the Annex) in Benghazi, Libya. In a battle that eventually took on the feel of a small scale Alamo - odds
They opened a can of all-American whoop-ass on the terrorists
against them may have been higher than 10 to 1 - they steadfastly stuck to their guns, their duty as they saw it, and most importantly, they stuck together as team. They opened a can of all-American whoop-ass on the terrorists, won the firefights and made it possible to evacuate everyone to safety the next morning. A well trained, highly disciplined and motivated American warrior is a force to be reckoned with, and this comes out in the film's heart pumping battle sequences.
Another good reason to see 13 Hours is that you probably don't know what you think you know about how America really protects her interests abroad. The State Department and CIA have their own private security organizations to identify, hire and manage security contractors. Tens of thousands of former American military and law-enforcement personnel work for them in some very dangerous places, even our own American Shooting Journal executive editor is one of them. You hear very little about these contractors because their work in the diplomatic and intelligence communities requires them to keep their mouths shut. That's how you keep a secret after all.
It might come as a surprise, but the typical CIA agent isn't very much like James Bond at all. The guys the CIA hires to protect their agents and staff abroad are the heroes of this story. Those private security contractors are called Global Response Staff (GRS) and they make around $150,000 a year. That may, or may not, be good money depending on your feelings about being killed on the job. Dying is a very real possibility in this line of work. During the battle 13 Hours depicts, two GRS men were killed and another gravely wounded along with a State Department private security contractor (DS).
One thought provoking and disturbing aspect of the story is that the Benghazi attacks could likely have been prevented if the State Department had heeded warnings and beefed up security at the diplomatic compound. It was amazing to me to learn that the security at the front gate and emergency alert responsibility was left in the hands of a few disgruntled Libyan militiamen and three unarmed locally hired Libyan guards.
I had the honor of interviewing two of the five surviving Benghazi GRS operatives about the film and the battle. Mark "Oz" Geist organized the Annex for defense while his teammate Kris "Tanto" Paronto was part of the five-man group that retook the diplomatic compound. Both men fought off the attacks on the Annex that followed, and Oz was gravely wounded in the final mortar attack. Read the rest of the 13 hour: the secret soldiers of Benghazi interview here.
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An interesting interview.
Thanks for the update.
It is a “must see” movie and follows the book very closely. I was emotionally drained after watching it.
Those men are true heroes.
Benghazi’s Smoking Gun? Only President Can Give Cross-Border Authority
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