Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win

Chris Kyle served as a Navy SEAL sniper in author Babin’s Platoon Charlie of Task Unit Bruiser during the Battle of Ramadi. With over 150 confirmed wartime kills and numerous military honors, Kyle is remembered publicly through his autobiography, American Sniper, and a 2014 movie of the same name about his career. After retiring from service, Kyle died in 2013. Though the book protects the identities of SEAL team members in battle, Kyle clearly is part of many of the engagements described in the book; he’s an example of the calm, methodical excellence under pressure typical of US Navy SEALs who follow Extreme Ownership principles.

One of the few SEALs mentioned by name in the book, Ryan Job was blinded during an engagement in Ramadi. He was wounded on the same day that SEALS in Iraq suffered their first death, Marc Lee. Ryan returned to the US, where he got a business degree, married his sweetheart, practiced mountain climbing, and regaled friends and acquaintances with his great sense of humor. Ryan died suddenly while in surgery for his war wounds. He symbolizes the painful losses suffered by the SEALs in Iraq—losses felt acutely by Willink, who assumes responsibility for any injuries and deaths among his men.