First introduced in 1979, the Handbook for Marine NCOs is recognized as the essential reference guide of the NCO corps. Marine NCOs of all grades rely on its reliability as the standard reference guide for the military professional. While this thoroughly revised 5th edition reflects all of the many changes in the organization of the corps since the publication of the previous edition in 1995, it continues to primarily focused on helping Marine NCOs“make the most of their chevrons and to get ahead in the corps.� It is the only book that provides a practical and easy- to-use reference guide to all of the many official military regulations and instructions that an NCO needs to know. It offers sound advice and up-to-date information on military matters that assists the new NCO to easily acquire a firm understanding of all of the different specialties and fields in the USMC and serves as a quick refresher for even the most seasoned NCO. This revised and updated edition will remain the standard reference guide for Marine NCOs for years to come.

By August 1974 the Portuguese had all but abandoned Angola, its erstwhile colony, and there was a fear in both the Intelligence services of South Africa and America that the country was likely to fall the hands of the MPLA, generally regarded as a Soviet surrogate. It was that fear that triggered the training by South Africa of guerrilla groups opposed to MPLA. One group of FNLA guerrillas trained by Recce Colonel Jan Breytenbach, later known as Bravo Group, was re-infiltrated back into Angola as part of South Africa ’s Task Force Zulu. It was this unit which would later form the genesis of South Africa ’s elite and much feared 32-Battalion. 32-Battalion became the backbone of all SADF operations launched across the Namibian border into a hostile Angola.

This book is about the most elite unit in the Israeli army, Talpiot. Instead of only being trained to fight the soldiers brought into this unit are taught how to think. The book details how this unit which specialises in teaching young cadets the military applications for computer science, physics and maths (properties needed for research and development) was conceived and developed in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, how the program came of age and how it surpassed even air force pilot training in terms of priority for the IDF. Instead of signing up for three years like most Israeli soldiers, if you are selected for Talpiot you must sign up for ten years. Graduates of this tiny unit, sometimes as few as 20 people a year are invited to enlist, have had a huge influence on the weapons Israel has developed through research and development and through the businesses they have founded after leaving the army, often using many of the technologies they developed in the IDF. The book contains dozens of interviews with Talpiot graduates and some of the early founders of the program. It explains Talpiot's ultra-successful methods of recruiting and it explains many of the secrets of the program's success. The book also profiles some of the most successful businesses founded by Talpiot graduates including Compugen, CheckPoint Software, Anobit which was recently bought by Apple and XIV recently bought by IBM. The soldiers of this unit are truly unsung heroes. No other military unit has had more of an impact on the State of Israel.

At nightfall on December 7 1942, twelve British canoeists arrived by submarine off the coast of France, tasked with infiltrating the dockyards of Bordeaux, and wreaking havoc with the German shipping they found there. Manning fragile 'cockles' through the turbulent waters of the Bay of Biscay, and making an assault on a port bristling with German soldiers ordered to execute any Allied Commando they captured, their prospects looked bleak. It was fully expected that all would die in the attempt. Featuring a cast of characters ranging from Blondie Hasler, the ingenious and courageous leader of the raid, to the Comtesse de Milleville, who risked outrageous danger as she ran a secret resistance network, Operation Suicide is an enthralling account of one of WWII's most iconic missions.

Established in 1932, the Vozdushno-desantnye voyska ('air-landing forces', or VDV) of the Red Army led the way in airborne doctrine and practice. Though they were initially handicapped by a lack of infrastructure, due in part to a turbulent political climate in the 1930s, they still conducted major drops during World War II, including at the Dnepr River in September 1943.

After the war ended, the VDV became independent of the Air Force and were elevated to the role of strategic asset. The newly rebuilt divisions were now organized and trained to conduct deep insertions behind enemy lines, attacking command-and-control facilities, lines of communication, and key infrastructure targets such as nuclear power plants. This training came into play in numerous Cold War confrontations, including Soviet operations in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). During the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979-89), the VDV proved to be the most formidable of the Mujahideen's opponents, with the development of the air assault concept - the transport, insertion and support of air-landed troops by helicopter rather than parachute.

This title explores the development of the VDV from their conception in 1930 to their role in the Cold War and in the later invasion of Afghanistan. Supported by contemporary photography and specially commissioned artwork of uniforms and battlescenes, this title is a comprehensive and engaging guide to the history of airborne forces in the Soviet period.

The United States Marine Corps came into its own in the Pacific Islands campaign against Japan in World War II. From Guadalcanal to Okinawa, US Marines formed the tip of the spear as Allied forces sought to push the Japanese back to their Home Islands.

This fascinating study tracks the deployments of the various Marine divisions throughout the war and explains their composition, but also goes deeper, to detail the individual regiments - the focus of the marines' identity and pride. It explains the organization of the Marine infantry regiment and its equipment, and how they evolved during the war. The marine infantryman's evolving uniforms, field equipment and weapons are illustrated throughout using specially commissioned artwork and detailed descriptions to produce a fitting portrait of the US military's elite fighting force in the Pacific.

This is a comprehensive history of Italian mountain troops (the Alpine infantry "Alpini" and the mountain artillery "Artiglieria da Montagna") from the 1870s to the present. The Alpini suffered a crushing defeat to the Ethiopian army at Adwa in 1896. During WWI, the Italian mountain troops fought against Austrian Gebirgsjager high in the Alps. This fighting, known as the war of snow and ice, involved some of the most demanding mountaineering and high-elevation combat of the modern era. Grueling mountain battles continued during the Second World War, and the Alpini remained ready to fight through the Cold War and beyond. The book addresses unit organization and development, missions, and uniforms and equipment from the inception of these units, through both world wars, and to the present. The narrative history of the Alpini is accompanied by more than 300 photographs. This is the first English-language history of this elite troop.

General Jerry Boykin is one of the original members of the Delta Force and has spent the majority of his career in Special Forces. His work in this area of the military placed him in many battles--some of them legendary. He was commander of the Delta Force team portrayed in the movie "Black Hawk Down."
These and other dramatic experiences make Boykin's life story read like the riveting fiction of Tom Clancy. He shares how his foundation of faith--while challenged and even broken--was restored and became the lifeblood that brought him through unimaginable circumstances to a rich and inspiring life.
In the end, the general realizes his life would have gone very differently, even tragically, without his faith.

Appel: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion is the first-hand account of the author's six years as a professional soldier during the 1990s, and his experience in the Legion's elite Groupe des Commandos Parachutistes (GCP). Joel Struthers recounts the dangers and demands of military life, from the rigours of recruitment and operational training in the rugged mountains of France, to face-to-face combat in the grasslands of some of Africa's most troubled nations. Told through the eyes of a soldier, and interspersed with humorous anecdotes, Appel is a fascinating story that debunks myths about the French Foreign Legion and shows it more accurately as a professional arm of the French military. Struthers provides insight into the rigorous discipline that the Legion instills in its young recruits, - who trade their identities as individuals for a life of adventure and a role in a unified fighting force whose motto is ""Honour and Loyalty."" Foreword by Col. Benoit Desmeulles, former commanding officer of the Legions 2e Regiment Etranger Parachutistes.

From SAS To Blood Diamond Wars is the story of an outstanding warrior, even by SAS standards.On the point of being demobbed from the SAS, Fred Marafono was recruited by David Stirling for his private security company. After Stirling's death, Fred found himself in the midst of Sierra Leone's Blood Diamond wars, and formed an unbreakable bonding with the country's champion of democracy, Chief Hinga Norman, whose leadership and tragic death are integral to the story.Fred was recruited by Simon Mann for the finest of all private military companies in Africa, Executive Outcomes. Fewer than two hundred of them defeated the rebels in their strongholds. Through political weakness, Executive Outcomes were made to leave the country, and chaos ensued. Committed men like Hinga Norman and British High Commissioner Peter Penfold saw that, in the absence of military commitment from the west, only highly professional former soldiers could spearhead the fight to restore democracy. Three of these veterans kept a vital air bridge open. Fred's final action was supporting the SAS in their brilliant hostage release, Operation Barras.Peter Penfold sums it all up in the book's foreword, writing of the, 'confidence, trust and admiration I have for this remarkable man. '

An unprecedented introduction to the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. On February 1, 2016, the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) celebrated its tenth anniversary. This benchmark passed largely unheralded. After all, few Canadians actually realize their nation possesses special operations forces, and fewer yet know Canada's long and distinguished history with these forces and the exceptional warriors who fill their ranks. CANSOFCOM carries on this tradition and in its short history has earned a reputation for courage, professionalism, and operational excellence. This book is a rare glimpse into the shadows, providing detailed information on CANSOFCOM and its units, as well as a pictorial history of the Command's evolution. Le 1er fevrier 2016, le Commandement des Forces d'operations speciales du Canada (COMFOSCAN) a celebre son dixieme anniversaire. Ce jalon est passe largement inapercu. Apres tout, peu de Canadiens savent que leur pays possede des forces d'operations speciales et encore moins de personnes savent que le Canada a une longue tradition prestigieuse avec ces forces et les guerriers exceptionnels qui les composent. Le COMFOSCAN poursuit cette tradition et, depuis sa creation, ses membres ont ete reconnus pour leur courage, leur professionnalisme et leur excellence operationnelle. Ce livre offre un rare apercu de ces guerriers de l'ombre. Il offre des informations detaillees sur le COMFOSCAN et ses unites, en plus de presenter l'histoire illustree de l'evolution du commandement.

Drawing on difficult-to-access wartime documents and other contemporary sources, this is the first compact, illustrated study of the tactics and techniques of the US fast carriers of Task Forces 50, 58 and 38 during the naval war against Japan in 1943-45.

This title concentrates on exactly how these highly successful forces actually operated: their composition in ships, aircraft and men; the essential technology at their disposal; the evolving doctrine for their employment; the opposition and dangers they faced; and how they overcame them at the tactical level. It explains in straightforward terms the intricate details of topics such as how ships manoeuvred, how aircraft were deployed and recovered, the formations and approaches used by fighters, dive-bombers and torpedo-bombers against naval and land targets, and how Task Forces defended themselves. The text is supported by a wide range of wartime photos and full-colour illustrations, showing, for example, the formations employed by ships and aircraft, with altitudes and ranges throughout the course of attacks

This is the first book ever to present the authentic ninja techniques in a highly accessible, illustrated 'how to' format. The shadowy figure of the ninja – expert commando, secret agent, maverick who operates outside social norms – continues to exert fascination in the West, yet much of what is presented as ninja fact today is distorted or wrong. Drawing on the scrolls created by historical Japanese ninjas (or shinobi, as they were then known), this book offers the real ninja teachings in 150 easy-to-follow, illustrated lessons designed to draw contemporary students of ninja straight into the world of these skilled spy-commandos. The truth about the ninja is so much more complex and intriguing than the Hollywood clichés we know today. We may think, for example, of a ninja as being always garbed in black and fighting with 'throwing stars' but in fact, a ninja had clothes in different colours to serve as disguises for different times of day, and their arsenal of weaponry could include anything from poison, poison gas, pepper spray and fire-creating tools to swords, spears and knives (but no throwing stars). The 150 lessons in this book cover all the basics of ninja warcraft, including clever ideas for infiltrating an enemy compound (from wearing 'silent sandals' to faking passes and passwords), tactics for hiding and retreat (in the racoon dog retreat, a ninja will crouch low and halt, allowing the pursuer to collide with him at speed, whereupon the agent kills his enemy), and ways of crossing marshes and water (for example, with special shoes made of boards, or using a foldaway floating seat). The description is made all the more vivid by step-by-step photographs of the fighting techniques, diagrams outlining military tactics and beautiful samples of Japanese calligraphy.

It was the right thing to do. And someone had to do it. Aziz was more than an interpreter for Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux during Chad's eight deployments to Afghanistan. He was a teammate, brother, and friend. More than once, Aziz saved Chad's life. And then he needed Chad to save his. When President Joe Biden announced in April 2021 that the United States would be making a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, Robichaux knew he had to get Aziz and his family out before Taliban forces took over the country. As the rescue team he'd pulled together began to go to work, they became aware of thousands more--US citizens, Afghan allies, women, and children--facing persecution or death if they were not saved from the Taliban's terrorist regime. Chad began leading the charge that would go on to rescue 17,000 evacuees within a few short weeks--12,000 of them within the first ten days. This gripping account of two heroes and a daring mission puts human hearts and names alongside the headlines of one of the most harrowing moments in our history, giving you a closer look at: The resilience of Afghanistan and its people Chad's direct interactions with the Taliban The twenty-year war that took place under four presidents Saving Aziz is a story of war and rescue. It is a story of a mission accomplished and work still to be done. It is a story of how looking into a stranger's eyes breaks down prejudice and apathy--and why risking it all is worth it when it comes to loving one another. Praise for Saving Aziz: "Saving Aziz is the story of two warriors...brought together by war and a brotherhood forged through years of battling...for the cause of freedom and captures the heroic efforts of those who took action to not only rescue Aziz and his family in the US withdrawal but thousands of others." --Tim Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author, US Army Special Forces, Sniper, UFC Fighter, Founder of Sheepdog Response, and Co-Founder of Save Our Allies

In the recent war in Iraq, the 7th Armoured Brigade, bearers of the Desert Rats insignia, was immediately engaged in some of the fiercest early fighting, ultimately taking Basra for the Allies. The war in Iraq revived public focus on the Desert Rats whose famous battles of World War II helped turn the tide of German dominance. After World War II the Desert Rats re-emerged as part of the NATO forces during the Cold War years, and in other major deployments in the 1991 Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo. In this latest of his military histories, John Parker once again draws heavily on the drama of first-hand accounts for a story that is a seminal part of modern military history.

When Neil Reynolds was first asked to work as a private military contractor in Iraq, he didn’t even know where it was on the map. But the Border War veteran and former SANDF officer would quickly learn the ins and outs of working and surviving in that war-torn country. It was 2003 and the US-led coalition that had toppled Saddam Hussein was confronted with a savage insurgency.

His candid, unvarnished account tells of the numerous challenges faced by private military contractors in Iraq: from avoiding ambushes on the highways in and around Baghdad to buying guns on the black market and dodging bullets on several hair-raising protection missions. He describes how his team’s low-profile approach allowed them to blend in with the local population and mostly kept them and their clients safe.

Reynolds also tells the tragic story of four South African colleagues who were kidnapped and killed outside Baghdad in 2006.

Drawing on extensive interviews and archival research, this biography uncovers the motivations and ideals that informed Smiley's commitment to covert action and intelligence during the Second World War and early part of the Cold War, often among tribally based societies. With particular reference to operations in Albania, Oman and Yemen, it addresses the wider issues of accountability and control of clandestine operations.

Follow America's elite warriors through the military's most grueling training and learn how they survive real special operations. Of the 18 months required to become a Navy SEAL, one week will cause over half of the trainees to quit ("ring the bell"). Only the toughest make it through. In Hell Week and Beyond, Scott McEwen takes the readers to the sands of Coronado Beach in San Diego, where Navy SEALs are put through the most grueling training known to mankind. Grit, commitment, heart, and soul are needed to become a SEAL, because these are the elite forces who go into the toughest battles for America. Many of the most well-known SEAL warriors have been interviewed for this book, providing the stories of what got them through and the humor of those that made it. (Those that make it almost always have one thing in common: humor. Find out why!) Part Top Gun, part Bull Durham, this book delivers that goods for those in the know, as well as general readers who admire the elite forces for all they do.

Part two of the defining work on Hitler's elite fanatical boy soldiers continues with the survivors of the bloody fighting in France regrouping to make a final stand in the Ardennes and Hungary before Germany was overcome by the Allies. A detailed and gripping account of the most famous, and infamous, division to fight in World War II for any side.

THE FIRST COMPLETE TRANSLATION OF A SAMURAI SCHOOL CURRICULUM, THE BOOK OF SAMURAI SERIES IS A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SAMURAI WARFARE. Book One: Fundamental Teachings reveals to the samurai student the basic traditions of Natori-Ryu, the renowned school of war founded in Japan in the sixteenth century. It offers a translation of two secret scrolls. The first, Heika Jodan, contains 290 lessons for samurai during times of peace, expanding students' martial abilities and preparing them mentally and tactically for the conflicts to come. The second scroll, Ippei Yoko, moves the student onto the field of battle, providing guidance for those taking up arms for the first time. Written by master tactician Natori Masazumi, the first two Natori-Ryu documents give an in-depth account of samurai skills and actual practice, opening up the lost world of these Japanese warriors to all readers interested in martial arts and the arts of war in general.In 1654 Natori Masazumi began his service under the powerful Kishu-Tokugawa clan. Faced with a decline in tactical and military prowess, and with a lack of wars to refine soldiery, he set about collecting a vast array of samurai arts into an assembly of scrolls, moulding and expanding his family traditions to make Natori-Ryu the premier warfare school of its time. He developed Natori-Ryu beyond its original focus on tactical and medical subjects, including, for example, the arts of the shinobi secret agents and of the military school Kusunoki-Ryu in his collated teachings. He also undertook the colossal project of compiling a samurai encyclopaedia, cataloguing arms, armour and other important tools of samurai life. All this was done with the aim of maintaining the true skills of the warrior class before its members evolved from men of prowess into mere bureaucrats.

In this book, two national-security experts put the exploits of America's special operation forces in historical and strategic context. David Tucker and Christopher J. Lamb offer an incisive overview of America's turbulent experience with special operations. Starting with in-depth interviews with special operators, the authors illustrate the diversity of modern special operations forces and the strategic value of their unique attributes. Despite longstanding and growing public fascination with special operators, these forces and their contribution to national security are poorly understood. With this book, Tucker and Lamb dispel common misconceptions and offer a penetrating analysis of how these unique and valuable forces can be employed to even better effect in the future. The book builds toward a comprehensive assessment of the strategic utility of special operations forces, which it then considers in light of the demands of future warfare. This second edition of United States Special Operations Forces, revised throughout to account for lessons learned in the twelve years since its first publication, includes two new case studies, one on High Value Target Teams and another on Village Stability Operations, and two new appendixes charting the evolution of special operation missions and the best literature on all aspects of U.S. special operation forces.