One of the U.S. military’s most accomplished snipers says politics got in the way of a successful conclusion to our mission in Iraq, leaving ISIS to gobble up territory American heroes tied to bring under control from Islamic radicals.
Nicholas Irving served six years in uniform. most of them as a U.S. Army Ranger demolition assaulter and sniper. Over a four-month stretch in 2009, Irving recorded 33 enemy kills, a record for a single deployment. He is also the author of “Way of the Reaper: My Greatest Untold Missions and the Art of Being a Sniper.”
Irving left uniformed service in 2010 but was back in Iraq as a private contractor in 2011 as the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq was unfolding. He says the rise of ISIS is proof that politics trumped mission success.
“I think politics got way too involved with this whole global war on terrorism and didn’t allow us to do our jobs effectively. We lost a lot of lives and things got out of hand. We look at ISIS today. They’ve gotten out of hand because we didn’t stop them when we had the opportunity,” said Irving.
He says seeing the unimpeded advance of ISIS in 2013-2014 was tough to watch for service members who gave so much taking that land away from terrorists.
“All of the places that ISIS controls right now in Iraq are the same exact places I was deployed to . You have to ask sometimes, what was it for? Was it worth it? It’s a weird, weird struggle and question I often ask myself. We all do,” said Irving.
Regardless of who is elected president in November, Irving has one urgent plea for our next commander-in-chief.
“Let the guys do their job. That’s all we ask. Just let the guys do their job,” said Irving, referring to increasingly restrictive rules of engagement in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
It’s those guys and the sacrifices so many made during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan that Irving thinks of most.
“They’re my blood brothers is what it feels like and that’s how I relate to them,” said Irving.
The feeling is mutual for the men Irving and his fellow snipers protected in combat.
“A few years later, I got an email from a guy and he just wanted to thank me for being his guardian angel. I never looked at it like that and I don’t really take compliments too well. I did a job and did what I had to do. If I was a guardian angel then so be it,” said Irving.
When the box office smash “American Sniper” hit theaters in early 2015, some liberals recoiled at the idea that snipers were hero. Activist filmmaker Michael Moore created the most headlines with his slam at the late Chris Kyle and other snipers.
“My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren’t heroes. And invaders r worse,” tweeted Moore. “But if you’re on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who’ve come 7K miles, you are not a sniper, u are brave, u are a neighbor.”
Moore received immense backlash at the time. Irving has a much more succinct response to the suggestion he and his brothers in arms were cowards.
“I have a one-way ticket with his name on it to Afghanistan. I want to see if he changes his opinion on using the word coward. Cowards are what the terrorists are,” said Irving.
For Irving, his job was a childhood dream come true.
“It’s one of those things I always wanted to do. I set my mind to it. It was a goal that I had, and I definitely loved the job,” he said.
He says most people can be taught to shoot with precision and survey a combat zone, but he believes there is in innate quality that all snipers have.
“I think you’re born with some of the traits of being a sniper. The mental aptitude tests and some of the psychological evaluations we take, you have to be born with a certain thing. I’m not sure what it is,” said Irving. “I guess the separation of watching a target and then taking that target out, maybe that’s what they’re looking for.”
Irving says 90 percent of sniper work is watching and communicating and “only ten percent is being a surgeon with bullets.” He says he and his men didn’t want to shoot unless they had to, which usually meant the enemy was trying to kill them or their friends.
He says he wrote the book to honor those who served alongside him and to let all Americans know what life is like for those who go to fight for us on the other side of the world.
“Supermen. That’s how I described all my guys. They were like supermen. Having the chance to see that sacrifice these guys make day in and day out, the superheroes they are and having the chance to serve with them and how regular we all are,” said Irving.
