Subject: The Oscars: I was a sniper in Iraq
From: "Garett Reppenhagen, VoteVets.org" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2015 18:32:26 +0000

Hunter - 

I spent many nights in Iraq, lying prone and looking through a 12-power sniper scope. 

As a sniper, you only see a limited view between the reticles, and it's necessary to keep both eyes open to track targets and establish 360 degrees of awareness. I would rotate with my spotter to see the whole battlefield, scrutinizing every target in my scope to determine if they were a threat.

In a way, it's an analogy for keeping the whole Iraq mission in perspective. 

No single service member has a monopoly on the war narrative -- it changes depending on where and when you served, your role, and a number of other random elements.

As people around the world get set to watch the Oscars tonight, it's important to understand that the movie "American Sniper" offers a limited view of the Iraq War. 

I shared my story in a piece called "I was an American Sniper, and Chris Kyle's war was not my war." I hope you'll read and share it before tonight's show.

http://www.votevets.org/press/i-was-an-american-sniper-and-chris-kyles-war-was-not-my-war

My war was completely different than Chris Kyle's war.  That doesn't mean his war is wrong and mine was right. But it does mean that no one experience is definitive. 

That's important to keep in mind when considering the hype around American Sniper.

Thanks for reading,

Garett Reppenhagen
Iraq War Veteran
VoteVets.org

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