How realistic is Lone Survivor when a soldier pulls a gun on a friendly pilot?
In a scene from Lone Survivor shortly after
one of the two MH-47 Chinook helicopters crashed,
a soldier on the second helicopter pulls a gun on his own pilot, telling him to land despite the area clearly being a hot landing zone with a lot of gun fire and other helicopter and soldier threatening ordnance.
Viewing it from a practical standpoint, killing one of the pilots of the helicopter you are on is not a very smart decision. Adding to that the legal repercussions only makes things worse.
On the other hand the whole operation was unquestionably an intense matter for the soldiers involved, so such a move could also be attributed to being overwhelmed by stress and fear. Then again the soldier most likely is a DEVGRU operator, so this excuse might have no merit.
I can only assume that this is a case of artistic license to heighten the drama. But hypothetically, would such a snap be tolerated by any branch of the United States Armed Forces? By tolerated I mean minor or no impact on career and/or criminal record.
Generally the answer probably is no, but I am interested if there are loopholes for special soldiers or circumstances.
Best Answer
There is a chain of command for following orders. If the pilot was ordered by a General to land in a specific area unless the area became hot, and a soldier forced the pilot to land in a hot zone, then the soldier would definitely be reprimanded while the pilot would be cleared due to a) the situation was life or death, and b) the situation arose by being forced to disobey the General's order in favor of a subordinate's order.
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