Vietnam was the US Special Forces most complex and controversial mission, one that began in 1957 and ended in 1973. Camp strike forces, mobile strike forces, mobile guerrilla forces, special reconnaissance projects, training missions and headquarters duty provided vastly differing experiences and circumstances for SF soldiers. Other fluctuating factors were the terrain, the weather and the shifting course of the war itself. Gordon Rottman examines the training, life, weapons and combat experiences of the Special Forces soldier in this challenging environment.
The rough-and-tumble life of Special Forces vet and Sixties pop star Barry Sadler The top Billboard Hot 100 single of 1966 wasn’t “Paint It Black” or “Yellow Submarine”--it was “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” a hyper-patriotic tribute to the men of the Special Forces by Vietnam vet Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler. But Sadler’s clean-cut, all-American image hid a darker side, a Hunter Thompson-esque life of booze, girls, and guns. Unable to score another hit song, he wrote articles for Soldier of Fortune and pulp novels that made “Rambo look like a stroll through Disneyland.” He killed a lover’s ex-boyfriend in Tennessee. Settling in Central America, Sadler ran guns, allegedly trained guerrillas, provided medical care to residents, and caroused at his villa. In 1988 he was shot in the head by a robber on the streets of Guatemala and died a year later. This life-and-times biography of an American character recounts the sensational details of Sadler’s life vividly but soberly, setting his meteoric rise and tragic fall against the big picture of American society and culture during and after the Vietnam War.
War has a way of shooting holes in your best-laid plans. Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Stube (Ret.) suffered life-changing wounds during the battle of Operation Medusa in Afghanistan in 2006, but using the Green Beret methods he learned in the Special Forces, Stube knew he could conquer anything. Service in the elite A-Team teaches you to come up with smart, well-researched, and flexible battle plans for completing the mission—every mission. Even when that mission is to spend an arduous year in a hospital recovering from being blown up, badly burned, and shot multiple times. Greg shares the leadership principles and values he learned as a member of an A-Team and teaches us how to apply Special Forces strategies to our personal and business lives. Conquer Anything is a Special Forces book, but even more than that it is a leadership book designed to help each of us achieve the highest goals possible in our professional and private lives. “The greatest leaders I know lead by example. They are role models who adhere to standards they set for others and never ask more of them than they demand of themselves. Great leaders don’t just “manage” or “motivate.” They inspire courage, tenacity, perseverance, resilience, and commitment in all who work with them. Greg Stube is such a leader—and an American Hero. In Conquer Anything Greg draws on a lifetime of “lessons learned” as a highly decorated U.S. Army Special Forces medic in this lucid, straightforward resource for parents, teachers, students, athletes, employers, supervisors, and soldiers. If “success” is in your vocabulary, Conquer Anything is a must read.”—Oliver L. North, Lt Col USMC [Ret.], Host of War Stories on FOX News
The perfect home-reference book for both seasoned outdoorsmen and average citizens to learn comprehensive outdoor survival techniques. This practical survival guide from U.S. Special Forces Captain and outdoor survival expert Mykel Hawke includes illustrated instruction on: shelter and water food and fire tools and medicine navigation and signaling survival psychology Hawke's engaging style and matter-of-fact attitude-not to mention his incredible resume in the survival arena-elevates this book above its competition.
A retired lieutenant colonel presents a behind-the-scenes portrait of the legendary North Carolina camps where Special Forces soldiers are trained, outlining the infamous Q Course where leaders endure brutal tests of strength, stamina, and ingenuity.
The untold story of US Special Forces in Laos, one of the longest secret wars of the Cold War—by a military historian and Special Forces veteran. The Secret War in Laos was one of the first “long wars” fought by US Special Forces, spanning a period of about thirteen years. It was one of the largest CIA-paramilitary operations of the time, kept out of the view of the American public until now. Between 1959 and 1974, Green Berets were covertly deployed to Laos during the Laotian Civil War to prevent the Communist Pathet Lao from taking over the country. Operators disguised as civilians and answering only to “Mister,“ were delivered to the country by Air America, where they reported to the US Ambassador. With limited resources, they faced a country in chaos. Maps had large blank areas. and essential supplies often didn’t arrive at all. In challenging tropical conditions, they trained and undertook combat advisory duties with the Royal Lao Government. Shrouded in secrecy until the 1990s, this was one of the first major applications of special warfare doctrine. Now, the story is comprehensively told for the first time using official archival documents and interviews with veterans.
The Special forces Green Berets are known as masters at getting things done. By using some of their principles you will be able to plan and use your time more effectively, increase your confidence, reduce distractions, train for success and improve commitment for both personal and business success.
Through one man's career, "Colt Terry, Green Beret" portrays the birth and development of America's most elite fighting unit. The 10th Special Forces Group was the first of the Green Beret units.
