Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most secret elite U.S. military unit to serve in the Vietnam War-its very existence denied by the government. Composed entirely of volunteers from such ace fighting units as the Army Green Berets, Air Force Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, SOG took on the most dangerous covert assignments, in the deadliest and most forbidding theaters of operation.
John L. Plaster, a three-tour SOG veteran, shares the gripping account of SOG's stunning operations behind enemy lines-penetrating heavily- defended North Vietnamese military facilities, holding off mass enemy attacks, and launching daring missions to rescue downed U.S. pilots. From sabotage to espionage to hand-to-hand combat, these are some of the most extraordinary true stories of honor and heroism in the history of the U.S. military.

At the height of the Cold War, a new Soviet threat triggers a daring heist, and the stakes couldn't be higher'A defining novel of the genre and a lost classic' James SwallowBritish and American intelligence services have just learned of the Soviet Union's latest aircraft: the MiG-31. Codenamed "Firefox", the plane is a marvel of engineering - stealthy, hypersonic, with a thought-guided weapons system - outclassing anything flown by the West. Faced with Soviet air domination, MI6 and the CIA launch a daring mission to steal a Firefox prototype. Veteran US Air Force pilot Mitchell Gant, is sent to the Soviet Union under an assumed identity. He seems the perfect man for the job. But, deep within the icy heart of Soviet power, the stakes are overwhelming: fail this mission, and lose the war... Blending Cold War espionage suspense with high-altitude aerial action, Firefox is the original and greatest techno-thriller, from million-copy bestselling author Craig Thomas. Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum. Praise for Firefox 'Firefox is as tense and exciting as they come' TLS 'Writes far better than Ludlum' Washington Post

aA stirring tribute to the valor of Marines in Vietnam.a ( Nathaniel Fick, "New York Times" bestselling author of "One Bullet Away")
Thursday, October 12, 1967:
Marine Lance Corporal Kevin Cahill stepped onto a trail deep in the remote Hai Lang National Forest in South Vietnam. Following Cahill were the Marines of Charlie Company, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division. They would find hell on earth under the jungle canopy. Ambushed, surrounded, outnumbered, out-gunned, and quickly running low on ammunition, the marines of Operation Medina fought toe-to-toe with a ferocious, determined opponent.
Based on extensive interviews with survivors of Operation Medina, as well as with the friends and families of the men who didnat make it back, "Lions of Medina" takes readers through the tragedy and triumphs of war, and into the heart of a close-knit group of warriors who fought, bled, and died together, and the spirit of loyalty and camaraderie that binds them to this day.

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and archive illustrations, this engrossing study describes the US Marine Corps’ early operations and illustrates its evolving uniforms and personal equipment. The US Marine Corps’ uniforms, personal equipment, insignia, and weaponry are all described and illustrated in this book, complemented by a succinct history of the Marines’ military record from their beginnings to the eve of the American Civil War, by which time the US Marine Corps had established itself as a small but vitally important part of the United States’ armed forces. Organized in 1775, the first American Marines distinguished themselves throughout the American Revolutionary War, and even raided mainland Britain before being disbanded in 1783. Reestablished in 1798, the US Marine Corps fought in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, both at sea and on land. The years after 1815 saw the Corps involved in a wide variety of conflicts, from the Seminole Wars to the Mexican–American War; Marines even reached China and Japan. As the prospect of civil war began to threaten the United States, a small battalion of Marines was responsible for the capture of abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry on October 18, 1859. The diverse operations and evolving appearance of the Marines are captured in this absorbing study from an acknowledged authority on US military costume.

The men of the SBS are the maritime equivalent of their counterparts in the SAS; they are the elite of the British Special Forces and also the most secretive. Although SAS activity has been extensively documented, the SBS has remained in the state it prefers - a shadowy silhouette, with identities protected and missions kept from public view. Formed during the Second World War, when they took part in many daring raids (one of which was filmed as The Cockleshell Heroes), they were active in the jungle campaigns in the Far East, in the Falklands, the Gulf War and Bosnia. Since this seminal book was published in 1997, John Parker has been privy to much more inside information about the SBS's original operations and he brings the book right up to date with accounts of their exploits in East Timor, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and most recently in Iraq.

Written by one of the world's leading experts on D-Day, Smashing Hitler's Guns is a ground-breaking new history of the legendary Rangers' attack on Pointe-du-Hoc. The Ranger attack on the German gun batteries at Pointe-du-Hoc in the early morning hours of D-Day is the stuff of legend. The gun batteries were strategically positioned between the two American D-Day landing beaches, and were considered the main threat to the Operation Neptune landings. In spite of the confusion and chaos of the June 6, 1944 mission, the Rangers succeeded in scaling the 100-foot cliffs, but the guns were nowhere to be found. Spreading out in all directions, a Ranger team managed to find and spike the guns at their hidden location south of Pointe-du-Hoc. For two days, this small force fought off repeated German attacks, until an American relief force finally arrived on 8 June, by which time more than half the Rangers were casualties. The heroic Ranger mission at Pointe-du-Hoc has indeed become a sacred legend, and as a result there are many unexplored controversies. This new book on this famous raid takes a fresh and comprehensive look at the attack on Pointe-du-Hoc, examining the creation of the German gun battery, the initial Allied intelligence assessments of the threat, and the early plans to assault the site. The forgotten Allied bombing attacks on Pointe-du-Hoc are detailed, as well as the subsequent Allied intelligence investigations of the results. While most accounts of Pointe-du-Hoc are based on the published US Army history, the author has tracked down the long-forgotten original, unedited report in the archives that contains a number of curious changes from the better-known and widely accepted version. Little-known interviews of the Rangers who took part in the mission also shed fresh light and a significant number of German records provide the enemy perspective of the battle for control of the guns.

Following the success of his #1 New York Times bestseller Make Your Bed, which has sold over one million copies, Admiral William H. McRaven is back with amazing stories of bravery and heroism during his career as a Navy SEAL and commander of America's Special Operations Forces. Admiral William H. McRaven is a part of American military history, having been involved in some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.Sea Stories begins in 1963 at a French Officers' Club in France, where Allied officers and their wives gathered to have drinks and tell stories about their adventures during World War II-the place where a young Bill McRaven learned the value of a good story. Sea Stories is an unforgettable look back on one man's incredible life, from childhood days sneaking into high-security military sites to a day job of hunting terrorists and rescuing hostages.Action-packed, humorous, and full of valuable life lessons like those exemplified in McRaven's bestselling Make Your Bed, Sea Stories is a remarkable memoir from one of America's most accomplished leaders.

OFFICIAL TIE-IN TO THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE 12 STRONG, STARRING CHRIS HEMSWORTH On September 11th, 2001 the world watched in terror. On September 12th, 2001 they volunteered to fight. Twelve soldiers gave us a reason to hope. THE DECLASSIFIED TRUE STORY OF THE HORSE SOLDIERS. This is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who entered Afghanistan immediately following September 11, 2001 and, riding to war on horses, defeated the Taliban. Outnumbered 40 to 1, they capture the strategic Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, and thereby effectively defeat the Taliban throughout the rest of the country. They are welcomed as liberators as they ride on horses into the city, the streets thronged with Afghans overjoyed that the Taliban have been kicked out. The soldiers rest easy, as they feel they have accomplished their mission. And then, the action takes a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers are ambushed by the would-be P.O.W.s and, still dangerously outnumbered, they must fight for their lives in the city's ancient fortress known as Qala-I Janghi, or the House of War . . . Praise for Doug Stanton:- 'A thrilling action ride of a book.' New York Times 'As gripping as the most intricately-plotted thriller.' Vince Flynn 'A riveting story of the brave and resourceful American warriors who rode into Afghanistan after 9/11 and waged war against Al Qaeda.' Tom Brokaw 'This reads like a cross between an old-fashioned Western and a modern spy thriller.' Parade Magazine 'Spellbinding...action-packed prose. The book reads more like a novel.' USA Today

The term Panzergrenadier was introduced in 1942 and applied equally to the infantry component of Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and later Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiere divisions. As this classic new Images of War book describes, these elite divisions fought as mechanized infantry and escort for and in close cooperation with panzers and other armoured fighting vehicles. Trained to fight both mounted and on foot, their priority was to maintain the fast momentum of armoured troops on the battlefield. Using a wealth of rare, often unpublished, photographs with detailed captions and text, the author charts the fighting record of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe Panzergrenadiertruppe units. This includes their initial successes on the Eastern Front. But as defeat approached, they were forced on the defensive on all fronts including the bitter fighting in Italy and the Western Front. As well as describing their many actions, the book details the vehicles and weapons used and main personalities.

Tough, highly adaptable and efficient, the Parachute Regiment has established itself as one of the finest fighting forces in the world. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its founding, renowned historian Max Arthur has compiled this enthralling oral history of the modern Parachute Regiment. This unique chronicle is told through the voices of more than a hundred of the soldiers themselves, and of those involved closely with them. Whether in the Falklands, Kosovo, Iraq, Sierra Leone or Afghanistan, the Paras have maintained their reputation for being where the fighting is fiercest and where the odds of survival are often stacked heavily against them. The gripping, visceral first-person narrative makes The Paras stand apart from conventional regimental histories as one of the most remarkable accounts of conflict ever published.

From the US Department of Defense, the Skills, Tactics, and Traits of the Most Highly Skilled Soldiers in the World--Army Rangers. This handbook offers the techniques and tactics that make U.S. Army Rangers the best soldiers in the world. These highly trained, easily deployable, and widely skilled infantrymen specialize in airborne assault, raids, recovery of personnel and equipment, and airfield seizure, among other difficult and dangerous missions. Now, in this recently revised edition of the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook, you can get the latest info on everything from understanding the basics of Army operations and tactics to discovering what makes a soldier with good leadership qualities and character. Although primarily written for Rangers and other light infantry units, it serves as a handy reference for all military units, covering how infantry squad- and platoon-sized elements conduct combat operations in varied terrains. Drawing from over two centuries of lessons learned in special operations combat, this guide provides modern soldiers with best training possible. It effectively combines the lessons of the past with important insights for the future to help make army leaders the absolute best they can be. In straightforward, no-frills language, it covers deception, stealth, communications, escape and evasion, ambush operations, perimeter defense, counterintelligence, and much more. This book is the ultimate resource for anyone who wants to know how Rangers think and function.

The authorised illustrated history of the SAS by the number one bestselling author of Dunkirk, Joshua Levine. With never-before-seen photographs and unheard stories, this is the SAS’s wartime history in vivid and astonishing detail. The SAS began as a lie, a story of a British parachute unit in the North African desert, to convince the Axis they were under imminent threat. The lie was so effective that soon a small band of men were brought together to make it real. These recruits were the toughest and brightest of their cohort, the most resilient, most dynamic and most self-sufficient. Their first commanders, David Stirling and Paddy Mayne, would go down in history as unorthodox visionaries. Yet this book tells much more than the usual origin story of the unit and seeks out less well-known leaders like Bill Fraser, who was essential in helping the SAS achieve fame for their devastating raids. By looking beyond the myth, this book brings back to life a group of men who showed immense bravery and endured unimaginable risks behind enemy lines. Written with the full cooperation of the SAS and with exclusive access to SAS archives, Levine draws on individual stories and personal testimony, including interviews with veterans and family members. On every page, the book gives a visceral sense of what it was like to fight and train in the SAS in both North Africa and Europe during the Second World War, focusing on their failures as well as their successes. This book is vivid with the characters of the men, their eclectic personalities, their strengths, weaknesses and many disagreements. Levine has uncovered a remarkable portrait of this enigmatic unit with photographs and stories long thought lost to history

In a compelling new study, Gutmann offers an in-depth examination of the Swedish, Swiss and Danish men who worked and fought for the SS, during the Second World War. Dispelling a host of myths regarding foreign collaboration with Hitler's regime, it reveals how these men were highly motivated to affect a National Socialist revolution across North-Western or 'Germanic' Europe. Working behind Berlin desks, they played a pivotal part in shaping the Nazi New Order and actively participated in the regime's brutal atrocities on the Eastern Front and on the streets of Western Europe. The book argues that these men became a focal point for infighting in the regime regarding the role of non-Germans in National Socialism. Building a Nazi Europe sheds new light on historical conceptions of fascism, collaboration, transnational history and the Holocaust.

Two years before the action in Lone Survivor, a Green Berets A Team conducted a very different, successful mission in Afghanistan's notorious Pech Valley. Led by Captain Ronald Fry, the Hammerhead Six mission applied the principles of unconventional warfare to "win hearts and minds" and fight against the terrorist insurgency. In 2003, the Special Forces soldiers entered an area later called "the most dangerous place in Afghanistan." Here, where the line between civilians and armed zealots was indistinct, they illustrated the Afghan proverb: "I destroy my enemy by making him my friend." Fry recounts how they were seen as welcome guests rather than invaders. Soon after their deployment ended, the Pech Valley reverted to turmoil. Their success was never replicated. Hammerhead Six finally reveals how cultural respect, hard work (and the occasional machine-gun burst) were more than a match for the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The Geheime Feldpolizei (Secret Field Police) was the political police of the German Army during World War Two. Its members were drawn from both the regular German police, including detectives, as well as personnel from various Nazi security organizations. The mission of the GFP was numerous: protecting important political and military leaders, investigating black market activities, as well as acts of sabotage and espionage; tracking down deserters, examining anti-German activists, and hunting down partisans and partisan suspects. An additional role of the GFP was to act as liaison between the German Army and the Nazi SS. While performing some of these duties, members of the GFP eventually involved themselves directly in criminal activities. The GFP committed numerous crimes to both the Jewish community and the general population of Greece. Its leadership cadre was composed of dedicated Nazis and in one instance, included a former concentration camp commander! As the war progressed, their crimes in Greece increased in intensity and volume. The behavior of the GFP in Greece was a combination of the manner in which they operated in the West and East.

Twice a year, 150 anxious recruits gather at SAS headquarters in the UK, their minds focused on one objective: to become SAS soldiers in one of the world's most elite regiments. Yet between arriving and receiving the famous winged dagger badge, stands nearly four months of the toughest military selection process in the world. Could you rise to this exceptional challenge of mind and body? How to Pass the SAS and Special Forces Selection Course shows you how. Beginning with essential preparation, the book covers fitness training, navigation skills and the four-week selection course itself. Find out how to keep the instructors happy, how to deal with exhaustion during Test Week, and how to survive disaster strike on bleak mountains. But having been selected, there's still training. Learn how the recruits acquire the skills of an SAS soldier, from hostage rescue to handling foreign weapons, from parachute training to surviving jungle courses, from escape and evasion to resistance and interrogation. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and instructive artworks and including first-hand accounts, How to Pass the SAS and Special Forces Selection Course is an exhaustive, lively guide to the process of becoming one of the world's best soldiers.

Arctic explorer, survival expert and naturalist Freddy Spencer Chapman was trapped behind enemy lines when the Japanese overran Malaya in 1942. His response was to begin a commando campaign of such lethal effectiveness that the Japanese deployed an entire regiment to hunt him down, believing that a 200-strong guerrilla army was responsible for the wholesale destruction of their convoys. He was wounded, and racked by tropical disease. His companions were killed, or captured and then beheaded. Cut off from friendly forces, his only shelter the deep jungle, Chapman held out for three years and five months. Jungle Soldier recounts the thrilling and unforgettable adventures of the North country orphan who survived against all odds to become a legend of guerrilla warfare.

To understand wars and armed conflicts, we need to understand the inner logic of military institutions and warrior culture. Making Warriors in a Global Era provides ethnography, analyses, and discussions to infuse new debates among both military personnel and academics about the rise of special operations forces (SOF) and the ways they impact how armed conflicts are dealt with and how wars are fought. Based on a decade of research and her unprecedented access inside a Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commando, Tone Danielsen describes the culture, experiences, and skill sets, of small state special operations unit as well as exploring the historical and political implications these types of units have, not just on modern warfare but on society as a whole.

In this story from the frontlines of the undeclared battlefields of the War on Terror, Jeremy Scahill exposes America's new approach to war: fought far from any declared battlefield, by units that do not officially exist, in thousands of operations a month that are never publicly acknowledged. From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia and beyond, Scahill speaks to the CIA agents, mercenaries and elite Special Operations Forces operators. He goes deep into al Qaeda-held territory in Yemen and walks the streets of Mogadishu with CIA-backed warlords. We also meet the survivors of night raids and drone strikes - including families of US citizens targeted for assassination by their own government - who reveal the shocking human consequences of the dirty wars the United States struggle to keep hidden.

The Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment is the world's most deadly elite military unit. From spectacular hostage-rescue operations in the heart of London to covert counter-terrorist missions in Northern Ireland, the soldiers of the SAS are second to none. SAS: From WWII to the Gulf War 1941-1992 is the ultimate reference work on this famous organisation. With the aid of more than 600 alphabetically arranged entries, the book offers the reader an in-depth analysis of every aspect of the unit's 50-year-history. All the Regiment's battles and campaigns, together with their economic, political and strategic background, are listed. In addition, the weapons, equipment and techniques used by the Special Air Service are given in full. Biographies of all the leading personalities that have worn the famous winged dagger badge, men such as 'Paddy' Mayne, David Stirling, the Regiment's founder, and the man who commanded British forces during the First Gulf War - Sir Peter de la Billiere - are included. Accessibly written, and illustrated with 80 colour and 60 black-&-white photographs, as well as 15 maps and diagrams, SAS: From WWII to the Gulf War 1941-1992 is an expert reference work on the elite of elite special forces.

Theodore Knell went through hell in the SAS - but his biggest battle began when he left. A Hell for Heroes is a searingly honest autobiography about what life in the military service is really like. This is my life story and the story of my time in the SAS. I hope that any soldier who reads it will find some sort of connection with their own. I have tried to share my experiences honestly, and as such all of the incidents portrayed within this book are true, some so dark and painful that I often questioned whether I wanted to remain part of the human race.I hope it will provide you an insight into the life and mind of a soldier - what makes us the way we are, what drives us on when other men would fold, what binds us together like no other brotherhood on earth, what makes us laugh and what scares us shitless.Watching men die violently for the first time is not something I would wish on any young man. Yes, many who have not served will say 'It will make a man out of you son'. but what do they know? In reality it will destroy far more men than it makes, leaving many dead or crippled for life, some with wounds you can see, but far more with wounds which you cannot.

The Mossad, Israel's version of the CIA, is among the world's top intelligence agencies. Renowned both for its brilliance and its ruthlessness, the organization occupies a distinctive position in the arena of global covert operations. This book describes the clandestine missions that were defining moments in the evolution of the Mossad, including its pursuit of the Black September terrorists who murdered Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, its acquisition on the high seas of yellowcake uranium for Israel's undeclared nuclear weapons program, and its role in bringing to justice Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. The agency's more questionable deeds are also covered, among them the assassination of civilian scientists associated with Iraq's nuclear energy program and the abduction of Isreali citizen Mordechai Vanunu who, like Edward Snowden, has been variously depicted as a principled whistleblower and an unscrupulous traitor. Taken together, the missions discussed herein illustrate the Mossad's character, creativity and courage, while acknowledging the problematical moral dimensions of its operations.

Recent years have seen a growing role for private military contractors in national and international security. To understand the reasons for this, Elke Krahmann examines changing models of the state, the citizen and the soldier in the UK, the US and Germany. She focuses on both the national differences with regard to the outsourcing of military services to private companies and their specific consequences for the democratic control over the legitimate use of armed force. Tracing developments and debates from the late eighteenth century to the present, she explains the transition from the centralized warfare state of the Cold War era to the privatized and fragmented security governance, and the different national attitudes to the privatization of force.