WATCH: Seal sniper recalls competing for kills with ‘legend’ Chris Kyle
SUMMARY
Kevin “Dauber” Lacz was a new-guy Navy SEAL sniper on his first deployment to Iraq when he served alongside Chris Kyle as one of the infamous “Punishers” of Cadillac Platoon, Task Unit Bruiser, in the 2006 Battle of Ramadi. Kyle, whose teammates in SEAL Team 3 dubbed him “The Legend,” holds the record in the US military for most confirmed kills with at least 150.
Kyle mentored Lacz in Ramadi, and the SEALs forged an unbreakable bond of brotherhood that carried on long after both men left the Navy. Kyle wrote about their friendship in his bestselling memoir American Sniper, and after Kyle was killed in 2013, Lacz helped further immortalize his friend, working as an adviser on the Oscar-nominated adaptation of Kyle’s memoir and playing himself in the film.
In 2016, Lacz published The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team THREE Sniper’s True Account of the Battle of Ramadi, and Kyle appears frequently in the book. While Ramadi was Lacz’s first combat tour, it was Kyle’s third and also his most lethal.
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The Legend’s Silver Star citation for his actions in Ramadi tells the story: “During 32 sniper overwatch missions, he personally accounted for 91 confirmed enemy fighters killed and dozens more probably killed or wounded.”
In this promotional video for The Last Punisher, Lacz, who now works as a physician assistant and runs the nonprofit Hunting for Healing, recalls what it was like working alongside The Legend during sniper overwatch missions in Ramadi.
Disclosure: The author of this article co-authored The Last Punisher with Lacz.
Kevin “Dauber” Lacz was a new-guy Navy SEAL sniper on his first deployment to Iraq when he served alongside Chris Kyle as one of the infamous “Punishers” of Cadillac Platoon, Task Unit Bruiser, in the 2006 Battle of Ramadi. Kyle, whose teammates in SEAL Team 3 dubbed him “The Legend,” holds the record in the US military for most confirmed kills with at least 150.
Kyle mentored Lacz in Ramadi, and the SEALs forged an unbreakable bond of brotherhood that carried on long after both men left the Navy. Kyle wrote about their friendship in his bestselling memoir American Sniper, and after Kyle was killed in 2013, Lacz helped further immortalize his friend, working as an adviser on the Oscar-nominated adaptation of Kyle’s memoir and playing himself in the film.
In 2016, Lacz published The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team THREE Sniper’s True Account of the Battle of Ramadi, and Kyle appears frequently in the book. While Ramadi was Lacz’s first combat tour, it was Kyle’s third and also his most lethal.
The Legend’s Silver Star citation for his actions in Ramadi tells the story: “During 32 sniper overwatch missions, he personally accounted for 91 confirmed enemy fighters killed and dozens more probably killed or wounded.”
In this promotional video for The Last Punisher, Lacz, who now works as a physician assistant and runs the nonprofit Hunting for Healing, recalls what it was like working alongside The Legend during sniper overwatch missions in Ramadi.
Disclosure: The author of this article co-authored The Last Punisher with Lacz.