Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Code over Country

  • The Tragedy and Corruption of SEAL Team Six
  • By: Matthew Cole
  • Narrated by: Braden Wright
  • Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (61 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Code over Country cover art

Code over Country

By: Matthew Cole
Narrated by: Braden Wright
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Operator cover art
MOB VI: A Seal Team Six Operator's Battles in the Fight for Good over Evil cover art
Black Ops cover art
All Secure cover art
No Easy Day cover art
We March at Midnight cover art
Fearless cover art
Unafraid cover art
The Man in the Arena cover art
Navy SEALs cover art
The Way Forward cover art
Survivor cover art
First into Action cover art
No Hero cover art
Murphy's Law cover art
Alone at Dawn cover art

Summary

A hard-hitting exposé of SEAL Team 6, the US military’s best-known brand, that reveals how the Navy SEALs were formed, then sacrificed, in service of American empire.

The Navy SEALs are, in the eyes of many Americans, the ultimate heroes. When they killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011, it was celebrated as a massive victory. Former SEALs rake in cash as leadership consultants for corporations, and young military-bound men dream of serving in their ranks.

But the SEALs have lost their bearings. Investigative journalist Matthew Cole tells the story of the most lauded unit, SEAL Team 6, revealing a troubling pattern of war crimes and the deep moral rot beneath authorized narratives. From their origins in World War II, the SEALs have trained to be specialized killers with short missions. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan became the endless War on Terror, their violence spiraled out of control.

Code Over Country details the high-level decisions that unleashed the SEALs’ carnage and the coverups that prevented their crimes from coming to light. It is a necessary and rigorous investigation of the unchecked power of the military—and the harms enacted by and upon soldiers in America’s name.

©2022 Matthew Cole (P)2022 Bold Type Books
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Code over Country

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A democrat rant

joseph biden? seriously? No doubt there are some bad eggs with itchy trigger fingers but l sleep better knowing they are there. Your mentions of Biden made me nauseous. Cowardly, demoncrat sensationalism.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very thought provoking

This is a very thought provoking book. As a former airman who served in an SF unit, now working as a police officer. I found it deeply disturbing. I am from the era before the most recent campaigns but can clearly see how some of these acts occurred and how and why they weren’t challenged. We would all like to think that we would challenge the wrong doer’s but in my present occupation I have come to realise that most people won’t.
I would hope that in the future strong leaders with honesty and integrity come to positions of power so that they can help redress the failings highlighted in this book. It will be a challenge for all involved. One I hope they have the moral courage to meet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A real eye opener

At first I did think that this was going to be 100% biased toward how bad the seals were. But it’s not actually that bad and although the book does talk about the issues the teams face. It still talks highly of the men who deserve to be. Great listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I didn’t believe most of the stories.

Unfortunately I didn’t believe most of the stories. This was just a one sided story about hundreds of servicemen in the unit. I am not American but I can see more than just one side of the story. A few rotten apples don’t make the three bad. This was wasted time to listen this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Well written but one sided

I enjoyed this book and it was well written. My issue with it is that it constantly quotes un-named operators who claim to have been there. These whistle blowers are always nameless and their quotes are always damning. Surely, unless these people are coming forward and giving their name little weight can be put to their account.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A very pleasant read

This book is amazing. All kinds of insights other spec ops book will not give you. Very well paced and just plain refreshing to take a look in the kitchen without it being heavily edited.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Casualties of the forever wars.

Sad but fascinating at the same time. Lessons to be learnt. I hope the team members read this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Stories that are neither confirmed or denied.

I decided to give this a listen after hearing a interview with Matthew on former Navy SEALs Andy Stumpfs pod cast Cleared Hot.
Andy has interviewed a number of SEALs including Eddie Gallagher and Jocko among other notables in the operator community.
Matthew came across as a really nice guy, serious about his work and honest. Then I listened to the book.
Now, I was in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman and Fleet Marine Force for 6 years and yes, there are things that happened that never made it off the base. Things that the Navy made disappear.
As with any organisation that your survival may depend on the guy next to you, there are codes of conduct and yes one of those is “no snitching”.
The problem I have with Matthews book is that there is a lot of he said she said and against a few well known people. To me it came across as he heard a story from a guy.
He did hit the nail with the Roberts Ridge event however, everyone in the community knows what happened and what is BS.
Matthew’s narrative on Eddie Gallagher is all wrong. He was accused, at first, of taking the photo. Then the sharks smelled blood in the water. Despite what you see on TV, NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) isn’t full of the best and brightest. Most of them are there ticking boxes to get promoted or move on to greener pastures. That is what happened to Eddie. They saw him as big game and went hunting.
I would have to say that if someone like Jocko or Chris Kyle were complicit in war crimes, those stories would have been sold to the media along time ago.
That’s why I only gave it two stars since, without evidence, it is just a book on a conspiracy theory.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Details That The US Navy Want The Public to Know About Their SEAL Community

Excellent journalist account of the criminality and human rights abuses by US Navy SEALS. The things the US military want to hide from public scrutiny.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A self-proclaimed "moral highground"

It is an interesting listening but unclear what the intention is from the journalist/author.
It does seem the journalist/author wants some kind of "revenge" towards the special operstions/SEAL-community. And it is unclear what this revenge is for.
The author does point out some matter of facts, but the intention of doing so is very unclear.
It also seems the author does not even consider the astronomical demands a combat environment has on a human and the factcthat this is why very few people are accepted into this community. It comes across, to me, like another "woke" wich-hunt.

The author genuinely claims that Jocko Willinks SEAL-team deliberetely and actively shot women and children in Iraq, with no legitimate source, which is a re-occurring theme in this book - "anonymous sources" in the dozens. Meaning they could be made up for all I as a reader know.
Especially the chapter that concerns Eddie Gallagher is highly contradictive and lacking an enormous amount of facts and contexts, and I would highly recommend people to listen to "Man In The Arena" which provides a Lot of important context that changes the narrative that Matthew Cole is trying to push.

I can only summarize that "Code Over Country" seems like a which hunt and defamation-campaign, providing very little context and the little context provided is highly selective to fit a specific narrative.
Code Over Country reminds me of someone who wanted to become a soldier but was rejected and thus he wants some kind of "revenge". It seems like Matthew Cole seeks fame and spotlight by ruining other peoples careers and lives. I don't like that he is trying to push a pre-determined narrative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!