Meet The Real-Life Heroes of 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI

By Michelle McCue | January 12, 2016

“If you guys do not get here, we’re going to die.” – excerpt 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi

On the night of September 11, 2012, four Americans lost their lives in Benghazi – Ambassador Christopher Stevens (U.S. Ambassador to Libya), Sean Smith (Information Management Officer, U.S. Foreign Service), Tyrone “Rone” Woods (GRS Operator for Annex Security Team in Benghazi), Glen “Bub” Doherty (GRS Operator in Tripoli, Libya – part of the Quick Reaction Force sent from Tripoli to Benghazi after the compound was under attack).

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI, is based on the book 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi, written by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff and co-authored by five members of the Annex Security Team, including Kris “Tanto” Paronto, John “Tig” Tiegen and Mark “Oz” Geist.

13 HOURS tells the true account of the events of when Islamic militants attacked the U.S. State Department Special Mission Compound (or simply – the American diplomatic compound, it was not the U.S. Embassy) and a CIA station called The Annex in Benghazi, Libya from the personal stories of five of the surviving American private security operators that were on the ground that day.

While it was not their job to protect the state department, when the Annex Security Team found out that the U.S. diplomatic compound was under attack, they knew they had to help the fellow Americans (including U.S. Ambassador Stevens) that were in jeopardy. These operators live by the code that Americans help other Americans overseas.

Audiences embraced the film adaptations of LONE SURVIVOR and AMERICAN SNIPER. Now comes 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI.

Michael Bay’s new movie tells the true account of the events.

Readers truly got a sense of the chronology of the events in their thoroughly detailed book and their account provided chilling details of what really took place that night.

Former Marines who were not active duty military at the time of the attack, both Tiegen and Geist were members of the Annex Security Team hired by the CIA. Recently I had the profound honor of sitting down one to one with these real life American heroes to discuss the film and what’s happened since.

WAMG:  For those who haven’t read the book, what does the title 13 Hours represent?

John “Tig” Tiegen: “13 Hours” means from when we got the call to when the last guy went wheels up from Benghazi. It was a 13 hour ordeal.

WAMG:  When were you first approached about the movie?

Mark “Oz” Geist: 3 Arts is our agent and they have a literary division who represented us for the book. I think we all had the idea that this could be adapted into a great movie, but the biggest thing for us was that we didn’t lose the story in the making of the movie.

It’s what compelled us to write the book and the politics of this has taken the subject matter and split it apart to the far right, to the far left, and what happened that night and the fact that four Americans lost their lives, at least to us the honor and respect that should be brought to them wasn’t because of the politics.

The only way for us to truly get that right was to initially write the book. We could’ve gone on FOX or CNN or whichever other news station and they would have taken soundbites and made it into whatever they story they wanted to tell and not ours. The book is like putting it in stone – it’s there forever.

JT: Plus the history. It’s been 30 years since we lost an U.S. ambassador in a conflict, so now it’s written down and 30 years from now our kids will know it.

WAMG: I like how respectful Michael Bay is of the military. This is his third drama film based on real-life events, after PEARL HARBOR and PAIN & GAIN. What was your first thought when you were told Bay was directing the film? What sort of input did you have throughout the process?

MG: When it all first started developing, our biggest concern and what we expressed to Paramount and Michael Bay was, in no uncertain terms, if you do anything that brings disrespect to the four Americans, there will be issues.

At the same time they made it very clear in how they wanted to approach it and they wanted to do it the right way. We didn’t want anything of the story lost. Of course there will be certain things changed for the movie.

JT: Just to make it flow, but all the events in those 13 hours happened and are in the context of the movie. That’s what was important to us.

WAMG:  As we saw in the featurette Paramount released, you all were on the set.  How much of the movie have you seen?

MG: We’ve seen an extended piece of footage – about 20 minutes of it.

WAMG:  Recent war-themed adaptations such as LONE SURVIVOR and AMERICAN SNIPER have been unbelievably successful and hit that perfect emotional note with moviegoers. In your opinion, has Bay captured the essence of your book?

MG: I think he has. He shows the emotional side of the family’s stories and those relationships, along with the camaraderie, the action and the undying service to duty that LONE SURVIVOR, AMERICAN SNIPER and even BLACK HAWK DOWN did. He’s really brought that respectful approach to the whole thing.

WAMG:  What was it like being on the set in Malta and watching that night being played out?

JT: It was great to see how the whole thing was done. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. I had the chance to meet with Dominic Fumusa who plays me in the movie. They all got to know us and our personalities – the actors really wanted to get all the details right. It’ll be really accurate.

“The situation is beyond serious, people need our help, and we’re the only ones available. We need to go.” – excerpt 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi

WAMG: Was there any time while on set and during filming that you had to walk away?

JT: There was definitely a flashback when we walked onto the set that was The Annex – it was really close to how it was.

MG: This isn’t the first time either of us have been in a firefight like this, maybe not to this extent, but to me being on set was all about making a movie, so I was watching from a technical aspect. Michael Bay really gets it right.

WAMG: From what we’ve seen in the trailers, this will be a very visual film, for which Michael Bay is known for.

MG: I’ve read some reports saying, “Oh, it’s a Michael Bay film and there will be a lot of explosions.” I was there and there were a lot of explosions going on.

WAMG: I’ve spoken at great length to U.S. Marines who have read the book and are still bothered, even hostile, over the whole incident and what happened during the Benghazi hearings. While your book doesn’t take a political stance on either side, what was your take on those hearings?

JT: I didn’t watch it, but I did call Rone’s mom that night and she was pretty upset and very disappointed with the whole thing (Tyrone “Rone” Woods, GRS Operator for Annex Security Team in Benghazi).

WAMG: What are your thoughts about when Paramount Pictures will release the film in theaters?

JT: It’s the same time when AMERICAN SNIPER was released and they had really great reviews. (pauses) And it’s also Rone’s birthday.

MG: They didn’t know that when they decided on a date. The studio didn’t know it was his birthday, because when we both heard it was going to be released on January 15^th, we said to each other – what are the odds? It’s appropriate.

WAMG: Was there ever a public ceremony to honor all of you?

JT:  The State Department invited us and gave us awards, but the day before the ceremony we were uninvited. We went to the agency and did a private ceremony there. To me it’s a smack in the face because the cook and the maintenance guy got the same exact medal we did.

It was our jobs to provide security and we didn’t do it for awards or medals, but now I’d really rather have not received anything.

“We need to go. Right Now.” – excerpt 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi

WAMG: What do you want people seeing the movie and reading your book to take away from your courage and that tragic night?

MG: For me, I want people to know that there are private military security contractors working all over the world putting their lives on the line. Most of them are Veterans who have served their country for extended periods of time and have chosen another way of serving their country. The numbers that most people don’t realize is that there are between 3,500 and 5,000 contractors that have died since 2001 in 80 countries, and over 30,000 wounded.

I want people to know there are people who have chosen to serve their country and they are doing great things, and you never hear about it – this is a way to bring their story to light. Not only them, but the Ambassador who, even though he was appointed, came up through the ranks as a foreign service officer and served several different pots. He and Sean Smith had long histories of service to this country and they weren’t being honored after it was over. There was too much spin by the politicians.

JT: The first memorial ever done for the guys in Benghazi was done by a firefighter out of California. Why wasn’t our government doing it?

MG: He felt compelled. When he didn’t see anything being done, he made a plaque. He got the granite up by Whitefish, Montana and this plaque, which weighs about two or three tons, is now sitting up at that ranch. It has a bronze eagle mounted over it.

JT: It’s awesome.

MG: It took a civilian who had nothing to do with Benghazi to do that.

13 Hours Featurette ‘Faith’ from Michael Bay Dot Com on Vimeo.

Watch the recent interview with Mark ‘Oz’ Geist, Kris ‘Tanto’ Paronto and John ‘Tig’ Tiegen on ‘The Kelly File.’

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI opens in theaters Friday, January 15.

Listen to a sample of composer Lorne Balfe’s score here and here.

Visit the film’s official site: www.thirteenhoursmovie.com

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