Tillman and Kevin are finally sent on their first mission on March 31, 2003, along with a huge contingent of other troops dispatched to rescue Jessica Lynch, a U.S. soldier held prisoner by the Iraqi army. Lynch’s convoy was made up of cooks and clerks; they are hardly fighters. They miss a few crucial turns along a route and find themselves in the heart of Nasiriyah, an Iraqi military stronghold city. By the time they realize their error, they must turn around and go back through the city. The Iraqis fire on the convoy, injuring and killing soldiers. In their desperate flight from the city, Lynch’s Humvee crashes. Everyone perishes in the crash but Lynch and her best friend, Private Lori Piestewa. The Iraqi army takes them prisoner, and Piestewa dies shortly after capture.

At Saddam Hospital, a nurse’s husband claims to have seen Lynch. He gives U.S. intelligence detailed information about her injuries and where she is held. Based on this information, the rescue operation begins on March 31. Tillman and his crew stay on the outskirts of the field of engagement as backup. A team of Navy SEALs quickly and easily extracts Lynch from the hospital. The media aftermath, however, paints Lynch as an ultimate fighting heroine who emptied her machine gun in defense and was violently assaulted, stabbed, and raped before her rescue.