The Navy SEALs are among the most elite combat units in the history of the military. Readers dive into what makes them so good as they take a close look at the extreme training regimen and weaponry used. An exciting blow-by-blow account of some of the SEALs most clandestine missions, including the hunt for Osama bin Laden, will engage readers from cover-to-cover.
The Marine Corps Special Operations Command engage in direct action, reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information-gathering, and unconventional warfare. Readers are provided enthralling details, including explanations of the training that enrollees endure and special inside missions that show the skills and discipline of the members of one of the world's most exclusive defense forces.
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.
First In, Last Out, is the motto of the U.S. Air Force Combat Control Team, and this elite group certainly lives by that slogan. Readers get a captivating look into this lesser-known branch of the special forces. Additionally, as-told-by accounts of clandestine missions offer a window into what it's really like to be the first ones in and the last ones out of war zones.
The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed Bin Laden and Zarqawi, rescued Captain Phillips and captured Saddam Hussein. Its commander can direct cruise missile strikes from nuclear submarines and conduct special operations raids anywhere in the world. Relentless Strike tells the inside story of Joint Special Operations Command, the secret military organization that during the past decade has revolutionized counterterrorism, seamlessly fusing intelligence and operational skills to conduct missions that hit the headlines, and those that have remained in the shadows-until now. Because JSOC includes the military's most storied special operations units-Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the 75th Ranger Regiment-as well as America's most secret aviation and intelligence units, this is their story, too. Relentless Strike reveals tension-drenched meetings in war rooms from the Pentagon to Iraq and special operations battles from the cabin of an MH-60 Black Hawk to the driver's seat of Delta Force's Pinzgauer vehicles as they approach their targets. Through exclusive interviews, reporter Sean Naylor uses his unique access to reveal how an organization designed in the 1980s for a very limited mission set transformed itself after 9/11 to become the military's premier weapon in the war against terrorism and how it continues to evolve today.
Vice Adm. William H. McRaven helped to devise the strategy for how to bring down Osama bin Laden, and commanded the courageous U.S. military unit that carried it out on May 1, 2011, ending one of the greatest manhunts in history. In Spec Ops, a well-organized and deeply researched study, McRaven analyzes eight classic special operations. Six are from WWII: the German commando raid on the Belgian fort Eben Emael (1940); the Italian torpedo attack on the Alexandria harbor (1941); the British commando raid on Nazaire, France (1942); the German glider rescue of Benito Mussolini (1943); the British midget-submarine attack on the Tirpitz (1943); and the U.S. Ranger rescue mission at the Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines (1945). The two post-WWII examples are the U.S. Army raid on the Son Tay POW camp in North Vietnam (1970) and the Israeli rescue of the skyjacked hostages in Entebbe, Uganda (1976). McRaven—who commands a U.S. Navy SEAL team—pinpoints six essential principles of “spec ops” success: simplicity, security, repetition, surprise, speed and purpose. For each of the case studies, he provides political and military context, a meticulous reconstruction of the mission itself and an analysis of the operation in relation to his six principles. McRaven deems the Son Tay raid “the best modern example of a successful spec op [which] should be considered textbook material for future missions.” His own book is an instructive textbook that will be closely studied by students of the military arts. Maps, photos.
For individuals aspiring to earn a place in a U.S. Special Ops force, the intensity and rigor of boot camp are only the beginning. Training for these elite forces can sometimes be as secret to the public as their missions are and demands a level of physical and mental endurance beyond what most people believe is possible. Readers will learn what members of various Special Ops Forces have had to survive, including such unforgiving scenarios as torture and ambushes—all without losing focus on the mission at hand—before they could count themselves among the country’s most highly trained soldiers.
In Navy SEALs: Mission at the Caves, the first book in the Special Operations Files series, highly decorated former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb tells his incredible true story. Brandon Webb is a Navy SEAL on a mission with his platoon. As the SEALs explore a network of caves in Afghanistan, they encounter enemy soldiers. Outnumbered and with few resources at their disposal, Brandon and his team must call on their training to complete their operation—and to stay alive. Packed with photos and maps for context, the Special Operations Files series provides insight into the most elite forces in the U.S. military. These uniquely trained soldiers do what no one else can: employ high-tech weaponry and old-fashioned bravery to get the job done!
