Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses violence, suicide, and racism.

Carr is explicit that the novel is not autobiographical; however, his experience as a Navy SEAL, like James Reece, lends the novel authenticity. This is equally suggested by the fact that the US Department of Defense reviewed the book—something they do with all published works that may compromise national security—and found that aspects of the novel needed to be redacted, indicating that there was some material too truthful to be published. By leaving that redacted information in the novel and emphasizing his career as a SEAL, Carr lends the novel verisimilitude in a plot that otherwise emulates conspiracy theory.

It is extremely competitive and difficult to become a SEAL, and SEALs are hand-selected and highly trained for duty. Carr began training in 1996 and worked as a SEAL sniper for over six years; he also fulfilled roles as a team leader and platoon, troop, and task unit commander.

Navy SEALs are often romanticized in American popular culture. The male protagonists of both Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980) and Baywatch (1989-1999) are former Navy SEALs, several of the G.I. Joe action figures (1982-1994) were styled as Navy SEALs, and actress Demi Moore played a woman training to become a Navy SEAL in G.