Chris Kyle

Great way to fight a war - be prepared to defend yourself for winning.

States HarperCollins Publishers

It’s true that it can be difficult to sort out civilians from insurgents in certain situations, but here the bad guys made it easy for us.

My guys were going back to war and I was flying home. That sucked. I felt like I was letting them down, shirking my duty. It was a conflict — family and country, family and brothers in arms — that I never really resolved.

(One note about the body armor — Navy-issued body armor has been known to fall apart. In light of that fact, my wife’s parents very generously bought me some Dragon Skin armor after my third deployment. It’s super-heavy, but it’s extremely good armor, the best you can get.)

Why a ball cap? Ninety percent of being cool is looking cool. And you look so much cooler wearing a ball cap.

It was a tragic end to a heroic life.

I’ve had good officers. But all the great ones were humble.

I was raised with, and still believe in, the Christian faith. If I had to order my priorities, they would be God, Country, Family. There might be some debate on where those last two fall — these days I’ve come around to believing that Family may, under some circumstances, outrank Country. But it’s a close race.

I don't worry about what other people think of me. It's one of the things I most admired about my dad growing up. He didn't give a hoot what others thought. He was who he was. It's one of the qualities that has kept me most sane.

I felt sad for everything he'd been through. And I felt terribly torn about needing him. I did need him, tremendously. But at the same time, I had to get along without him so much that I developed an attitude that I didn't need him, or at least that I shouldn't need him. - Taya Kyle, his wife

When I think about the patriotism that drives SEALs, I am reminded of Ryan recovering in a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. There he was, freshly wounded, almost fatally, and blind for life. Many reconstructive surgeries to his face loomed ahead. You know what he asked for? He asked for someone to wheel him to a flag and give him some time. He sat in his wheelchair for close to a half-hour saluting as the American flag whipped in the wind. That’s Ryan: a true patriot. A genuine warrior, with a heart of gold. Of course we all gave him shit and told him somebody probably wheeled him in front of a Dumpster and just told him it was a flag. Being Ryan, he dished out as many blind jokes as he took and had us all rolling every time we talked.

it takes more than personal toughness to be good leaders.

It’s important to remember that perfect circles do not exist in nature,

The good people of this world are very far from being satisfied with each other and my arms are the best peacemakers.” — Samuel Colt, 1852