Loyal and courageous, dogs are truly man's best friend on the battlefield. In War Dogs, Rebecca Frankel offers a riveting mix of on-the-ground reporting, her own hands-on experiences in the military working dog world, and a look at the science of dogs' special abilities from their amazing noses and powerful jaws to their enormous sensitivity to the emotions of their human companions. The history of dogs in the US military is long and rich, from the spirit-lifting mascots of the Civil War to the dogs still leading patrols hunting for IEDs today. Frankel not only interviewed handlers who deployed with dogs in wars from Vietnam to Iraq, but top military commanders, K-9 program managers, combat-trained therapists who brought dogs into war zones as part of a preemptive measure to stave off PTSD, and veterinary technicians stationed in Bagram. She makes a passionate case for maintaining a robust war-dog force. With a compelling cast of humans and animals, this moving book is a must read for all dog lovers, military and otherwise.

As an 18-year-old, John Urwin was posted to Cyprus, where he was recruited into a top-secret unit called the Sixteen, whose task was to assassinate key figures throughout the Middle East. Now he breaks his silence to tell their story. Their training was said to have surpassed that of the SAS in unarmed combat and weaponry. His description of their four key missions is explosive and a riveting account of the turbulent 1950s in the Middle East. The Cold War was approaching its height and when there was a mission to be undertaken that no government could be seen to endorse, the Sixteen would do the job. No previous depiction of a military group, in book or movie, has remotely compared to the secrecy, skills and sheer professionalism of the Sixteen.

In New York Times bestseller Level Zero Heroes, Michael Golembesky follows the members of US. Marine Special Operations Team 8222 on their assignment to the remote and isolated Taliban stronghold known as Bala Murghab as they conduct special operations in an effort to break the Taliban's grip on the Valley. What started out as a routine mission changed when two 82nd Airborne Paratroopers tragically drowned in the Bala Murghab River while trying to retrieve vital supplies from an air drop gone wrong. In that moment, the focus and purpose of the friendly forces at Forward Operating Base Todd was forever altered as a massive clearing operation was initiated to break the Taliban's stranglehold on the valley and recover the bodies. From close quarters firefights in Afghan villages to capturing key terrain from the Taliban in the unforgiving Afghan Winter, this intense and personal story depicts the brave actions and sacrifices of MSOT 8222. Readers will understand the hopelessness of being pinned down under a hail of enemy gunfire and the quake of the earth as a 2000 lb. guided bomb levels a fortified Taliban fighting position. A moving story of Marine Operators doing what they do best, Level Zero Heroes brings to life the mission of these selected few that fought side by side in Afghanistan, in a narrative as action packed and emotional as anything to emerge from the Special Operations community contribution to the Afghan War.

The epic story of one of America's greatest soldiers, Ranger Hall of Fame member Gary O'Neal, who served his country for forty years
Chief Warrant Officer Gary O'Neal is no ordinary soldier. For nearly forty years, he has fought America's enemies, becoming one of the greatest Warriors this nation has ever known. Part Native American, O'Neal was trained in both military combat and the ways of his native people, combining his commitment to freedom with his respect for the enemy, his technical fighting skills with his fierce warrior spirit.
From his first tour in Vietnam at seventeen to fighting in both Gulf wars, O'Neal was nothing less than a super soldier. A minefield of aggression bordering on a justice-seeking vigilante, O'Neal kept fighting even when wounded, refusing to surrender in the face of nine serious injuries and being left more than once. O'Neal earned countless military honors as a member of the elite Army Rangers corps, a founding member of the legendary first Department of Defense antiterrorist team, a member of the Golden Knights Parachuting Team, and more, devoting his life to training the next generation of soldiers. His unbelievable true stories are both shocking and moving, a reminder of what it means to be a true American hero.
In O'Neal's own words, he "wasn't born a warrior"--life made him one. "American Warrior" will serve as inspiration for American men and women in uniform today, as well as appeal to the countless veterans who served their country alongside O'Neal.

Employment till now of our nascent Special Forces have been analyzed including whether our Special Forces have actually been employed or used as Special Forces or primarily used in counter-insurgency operations for which we have any number of other units available. The book brings out whether a rare resource like Special Forces should or should not be employed for such missions that can be performed by a host of other groups. In the backdrop of 21st Century threats, what should be the Special Forces structure in India, their concept of employment and doctrine? These are the other questions this book has attempted to answer.

Employment till now of our nascent Special Forces have been analyzed including whether our Special Forces have actually been employed or used as Special Forces or primarily used in counter insurgency operations for which we have any number of other units available. The book brings out whether a rare resource like Special Forces should or should not be employed for such missions that can be performed by a host of other groups. In the backdrop of 21st Century threats, what should be the Special Forces structure in India, their concept of employment and doctrine? These are the other questions this book has attempted to answer.

"Major Jim Gant, a man seen by many of us as the 'perfect insurgent, '--an inspiring, gifted, courageous leader... -- GENERAL DAVID H. PETRAEUS (U.S. Army, Ret.) THE PAPER THAT ROCKED OSAMA BIN LADEN Team members during the May 2, 2011 U.S. military raid that killed Osama Bin Laden seized piles of Al Qaeda intelligence. One piece of evidence found in Bin Laden's personal sleeping quarters was an English language copy of Jim Gant's One Tribe at a Time. It contained notes in the margins consistent with others identified as written by Osama Bin Laden. A directive from Osama Bin Laden to his intelligence chief was also discovered. It identified Jim Gant by name as an impediment to Al Qaeda's operational objectives for eastern Afghanistan. Bin Laden ordered that Gant be assassinated. " One Tribe at a Time] was hugely important...at a time when I was looking for ideas on Afghanistan... Gant] was the first to write it down, in a very coherent fashion, very readable, very encouraging frankly...and there is enormous power in that." --General David H. Petraeus (U.S. Army, Ret.) quoted in American Spartan: The Promise, The Mission, and The Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant by Ann Scott Tyson

Written by the renowned expert Nigel West, this book exposes the operations of Britain's overseas intelligence-gathering organisation, the famed Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and traces its origins back to its inception in 1909. In this meticulously researched account, its activities and structure are described in detail, using original secret service documents. The main body of the book concerns MI6's operations during the Second World War, and includes some remarkable successes and failures, including how MI6 financed a glamorous confidant of the German secret service; how a suspected French traitor was murdered by mistake; how Franco's military advisors were bribed to keep Spain out of the war; how members of the Swedish secret police were blackmailed into helping the British war effort; how a sabotage operation in neutral Tangiers enabled the Allied landings in North Africa to proceed undetected; and how Britain's generals ignored the first ULTRA decrypts because MI6 said that the information had come from a well-placed source called BONIFACE'. In this new edition, operations undertaken by almost all of MI6's overseas stations are recounted in extraordinary detail. They will fascinate both the professional intelligence officer and the general reader. The book includes organisational charts to illustrate MI6's internal structure and its wartime network of overseas stations. Backed by numerous interviews with intelligence officers and their agents, this engaging inside story throws light on many wartime incidents that had previously remained unexplained.

The controversial "New York Times" bestseller that tells the "engrossing account of the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden." --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred)

On May 2, 2011, at 1:03 a.m. a satellite uplink was sent from Pakistan crackling into the situation room of the White House: "Geronimo, Echo, KIA." These words, spoken by a Navy SEAL, ended Osama bin Laden's reign of terror. "SEAL Target Geronimo "is the story of Neptune's Spear from the men who were there. After talking to members of the SEAL team involved in the raid, Pfarrer shares never-before-revealed details in an exclusive account of what happened as he takes readers inside the walls of Bin Laden's compound penetrating deep into the terrorist's lair to reach the exact spot where the Al Qaeda leader was cowering when the bullet entered his head. "SEAL Target Geronimo "is an explosive story of unparalleled valor and clockwork military precision carried out by the most elite fighting force in the world--the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team Six.

As a Navy SEAL on combat deployment in Iraq, Mike Ritland saw a military working dog in action and instantly knew he'd found his true calling. Ritland started his own company, training and supplying dogs for the SEAL teams, US Government, and Department of Defence. He knew that fewer than 1 per cent of all working dogs had what it takes to contribute to the success of our nation's elite combat units, and began searching the globe for animals who fit this specific profile. The results were a revelation: highly trained working dogs capable of handling both detection and apprehension work in the most extreme environments and the tensest of battlefield conditions. Though fiercely aggressive and athletic, these dogs develop a close bond with their handlers and other team members. Truly integrating themselves into their units, these K9 warriors are much like their human counterparts-unwavering in their devotion to duty, strong enough and tough enough to take it to the enemy through pain, injury, or fear.

Going Big by Getting Small examines how the United States Special Operations Forces apply operational art, the link between tactics and strategy, in the non-wartime, steady-state environments called Phase Zero. With revised and innovative operational art constructs, US Special Operations offer scalable and differentiated strategic options for US foreign policy goals. This book analyzes light footprint special operations approaches in Yemen, Indonesia, Thailand, and Colombia. When a large military presence may be inappropriate or counterproductive, Colonel Brian Petit makes the case for fresh thinking on Phase Zero operational art as applied by small, highly skilled, joint-force teams coupled with interagency partners. The past decade (2002-2012) of operations focused on large-scale, post-conflict counterinsurgency. Less publicized, but no less important in this same decade, was the emerging application of nuanced campaigns, actions, and activities in Phase Zero. These efforts were led or supported by special operations in countries and regions contested, but not at war. This book fills a gap in the literature of how to adapt the means, method, and logic of US military foreign engagements in a diplomacy-centric world with rapidly shifting power paradigms. Going Big by Getting Small is not a yarn on daring special operations raids nor a call for perpetual war. It is the polar opposite: this book contemplates the use of discreet engagements to sustain an advantageous peace, mitigate conflict, and prevent crises.

Brian Castner served three tours of duty in the Middle East, two of them in Iraq as the head of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit. Whenever IEDs were discovered, he and his men would lead the way in either disarming the deadly devices or searching through rubble and remains for clues to the bomb-makers' identities. And when robots and other remote means failed, one technician would suit up and take the Long Walk to disarm the bomb by hand. This lethal game of cat and mouse was, and continues to be, the real war within America's wars in the Middle East. When Brian returned stateside to his wife and family, he entered an equally inexorable struggle against the enemy within, which he comes to call the "Crazy."
This thrilling, heartbreaking, stunningly honest book alternates between two harrowing realities: the terror, excitement, and camaraderie of combat, and the lonely battle against the unshakeable fear, anxiety, and survivor guilt that he--like so many veterans--carries inside.

"Three hours later the search party found me, six miles away from the dropping zone, hanging helplessly from the highest branches of a clump of trees." Captain J. Dawes, during training First published in 1945 and comprising a compilation of fascinating primary accounts of airborne combat as told by the very men who fought in the action, 'By Air to Battle' is the official history of Airborne operations by British Paratroops in World War II. Spanning the introduction of the Central Landing Establishment to the end of the war, we follow the heroic exploits of the British First and Sixth Airborne Divisions. 'By Air to Battle' is an inspiring and at times very comic description of the true events that took place at such historic conflicts as Arnhem, the Rhine, Normandy and Bruneval as well as the Airborne forces in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. This is a must-read for any military history enthusiast.

"A gritty, no-holds-barred behind-the-scenes memoir of life as one of the world's top snipers"

In "Sniper Elite," Rob Maylor takes readers inside the closed world of the elite Special Forces sniper, detailing Maylor's dedication to the dark art of sniping and touching on the history of the great snipers who came before him. As one of Australia's most highly trained and successful combat marksmen, he tells the story of his years on the front lines, from his early service with the Royal Marines in Northern Ireland, to action in Iraq, and most recently in Afghanistan where he was involved in some of the heaviest fighting in the conflict. He also chronicles his near-death experience in a Blackhawk helicopter that crashed off Fiji, killing two of his friends, and how he would walk for hours, sometimes days, through hostile country until he found the right position. Then, when the moment was right, he aimed, and with absolute precision, put the bullet just where it was going to have the most effect.
Filled with dark humor and the almost-religious sense of brotherhood within such an exclusive group of warriors, this is an explosive and revealing combat memoir--and an inside look at the shadowy world of the modern sniper.