Most Lethal Sniper in American History Essay

Chris Kyle was a natural born killer from the first time he was handed a gun. Born in Odessa, Texas, he began hunting with his own rifles and shotguns at age eight. After he finished school, he became a professional bronco rider, but his career ended quickly after he injured his arm. After his arm healed he turned to the military for a job, but was turned down because of the pins in his arm. After a few months he received a call and was invited to the training for the Navy SEALS. He ended up becoming a sniper in SEAL Team 3 and served four tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Over the four tours of duty, Kyle racked up 255 claimed kills and 160 confirmed kills. His longest successful shot was 2,100 yards or 1.2 miles, just outside Sadr City in 2008. Chivalric Codes were a huge part of a knight’s life, was developed to keep knights in check during a time where laws were difficult to come by. They generally consisted of honoring the church, protecting and serving the people, the lord of the land and the country, being honorable as a person, perseverance, honoring your enemy, protecting women and children, and to protect your fellow knights. Chris Kyle upheld the Code of Chivalry in many ways but in others he did not. These breaks in the code were not always his fault though, because of the radical change in war from the middle ages to now, and the decisions of whether to protect his countrymen or the values of chivalry. Kyle’s first kill was an example of a decision between elements of the code. A woman with a grenade was approaching a group of Marines. Kyle was reluctant to shoot a woman, which is generally against the Rules Of Engagement, and most soldiers’ moral standards. He hesitated before shooting her and saving his troops lives. He said afterward that he was angry at the woman for putting him in that situation. It was the only time he ever killed anyone other than a male enemy. Another way that he strayed from the Code of Chivalry, was that he claims that all of his actions were done out of necessity, not for glory. He constantly repeats that no true hero ever does anything for glory. He says throughout his book that all of his kills were necessary to protect his fellow soldiers. The last way that Chris Kyle broke the code of chivalry was that most of his kills were unfair fights. His training and weapons gave him a huge advantage over his Iraqi adversaries, who were equipped with low-tech equipment and had no training. He often shot enemies from far away in concealed hiding spots, and sometimes in the back. This was a huge infraction in medieval times, but with the advances in warfare and technology, in order to stay alive on the battlefield today you must kill your enemy as soon as possible or he could kill you in an instant. Kyle was not totally against the code of chivalry though, he was a devout Christian, as you would expect as his father was a Sunday school teacher. He justifies his killings by citing that the Commandment is against murder, and killing innocent people not against killing people trying to kill you and your countrymen. Kyle also shows exceptional patriotism and service to his country and the President, our equivalent to a knight’s king. He was awarded two silver stars and five bronze stars with valor, but denies that he ever did anything special to deserve them. He says any soldier would have done the same thing to protect the freedom of America and its people. All in all, Chris Kyle will always be remembered as a hero in the War on Terror, and a modern day testament to the values of chivalry. Although he was not able to uphold all of the values, he did the best he could in the situations he was put in. It is impossible for him to uphold a code as old as that in the changing conditions of war. Many parts are just not feasible to the modern day soldier. With what Kyle was able to accomplish and be able to uphold the standards that he did, Chris Kyle was definitely as chivalrous as he could possibly be. Works Cited Kyle, Chris. American Sniper. N.p.: HarperCollins, n.d. Print. Seidl, Jonathon M. â€Å"This Navy SEAL Sniper Is the ‘Deadliest in U.S. History’ — Can You Guess His Longest Shot?† The Blaze. N.p., 2 Jan. 2012. Web. 04 Oct. 2012. . Smith, Terry. â€Å"What Are the Rules of Engagement With Military Use of Force?† EHow. N.p., 16 Feb. 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2012. .