Lone Survivor Comm problems

I saw the movie recently, but haven't read the book yet. It was pretty clear that serious comm problems were the real undoing of their situation. It appeared the gear was working OK, as Mike Murphy was able to make contact from an exposed position later on. Given the Seals practice to battle test everything they carry, it would also seem that the and their bosses should have known the operational limitations and quirks of the gear they were using. That is, was the gear being used outside of its operating range/conditions? Has anyone determined why the comms were so bad?

Have not seen the movie, still can't watch movies based on out there not because of wehat I experienced out there but what I experienced when I can back.


If you don't have comm that is a severe handicap.

It was very evident for us up in the North in the sandbox because of the mountains. LoS comms were useless as most towns were far away and there were no repeaters because we didn't have the ability to place and defend a repeater station. In mountainous areas we barely had access to the part of the sky to get a unobstructed satellite shot.

Our "GPS" equipment even had troubles from time to time.

I hear ya, and that makes a lot of sense. Maybe the answer was "it was the best they could do at the time". These days I would think they would have a few redundant and reliable comm systems, including a high-altitude drone overhead acting as a repeater.

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Originally Posted by Singlestack

I hear ya, and that makes a lot of sense. Maybe the answer was "it was the best they could do at the time". These days I would think they would have a few redundant and reliable comm systems, including a high-altitude drone overhead acting as a repeater.

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If they were special forces I guarantee they did. But just regular infantry? Us up in the north had virtually nothing. Every vehicle had LoS comms, but even the beer can sat antennas that would allow you to hit a satellite we hade very few but it was a directional antenna so you had to be stopped. The x-wings which were more omni-directional satcom antennas we only had two. so...

it's hard to get a good frequency connect when you've got 5000 feet of higher peaks on ALL SIDES OF YOU.

They had a plan in place: If we miss two windows, come get us.

Having walked around some of that same terrain within the last couple years, it is a very unsettling experience to know what has happened in the past.

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Originally Posted by TheBelly

it's hard to get a good frequency connect when you've got 5000 feet of higher peaks on ALL SIDES OF YOU.

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Winner winner chicken dinner. LPI/LPD signals (which are the kind that are needed) - are very hard to predict and are very finicky for many many many reasons - especially in unknown areas.

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Originally Posted by asmo

Winner winner chicken dinner. LPI/LPD signals (which are the kind that are needed) - are very hard to predict and are very finicky for many many many reasons - especially in unknown areas.

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I actually had a nice chicken dinner tonight. Good job, Asmo!

Please don't disturb asmo - he is studying for his Ham test on Feb 1!!!

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Originally Posted by Singlestack

Please don't disturb asmo - he is studying for his Ham test on Feb 1!!!

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He should be able to pass; he predicted my chicken dinner.

satellite communications (SATCOM, GPS) generally need visibility at 15 deg above the horizon to work effectively .

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Originally Posted by Singlestack

Please don't disturb asmo - he is studying for his Ham test on Feb 1!!!

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