What does it take, both physically and mentally, to join the world's most respected--and feared--military units? Lewis looks at the origins, training, tactics, weapons, and achievements of regiments such as Britain's SAS and Paratroopers, the US Navy SEALS, Delta Force, Army Rangers and Green Berets, Russia's Spetsnaz, and the Israeli Special Forces, as well as the codes that bind their members together. He looks at training in everything from wilderness survival to hand-to-hand combat.

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.

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.

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.

Merriam Press Military Monograph 220. Seventh Edition (March 2012). The story of Merrill's Marauders in the CBI is the latest work by a dedicated, well-known special forces historian. From formation and training to first combat and final action at Myitkyina, this is their story. Includes details and photos of insignia. Contents: * Introduction by Gary A. Linderer, Executive Editor, Behind the Lines * The Entering Wedge * Roadblock at Walawbum * Under Siege * Myitkyina, MARS and Beyond * Afterword * Bibliography * 35 photos * 8 maps * 2 illustrations * 2 organization charts The Author: Michael Frederic Dilley is a former paratrooper, serving in XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division. He served in Vietnam for two years. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1984 after duty as a counterintelligence agent, intelligence analyst, case officer, and interrogator. During his last eighteen months in the 82nd Airborne, he helped to develop SERE training for high risk personnel. He has a B.A. in History from Columbia College in Missouri. Michael is a staff writer for Behind the Lines magazine, specializing in military history articles about World War II special operations. He also reviews books with special operations themes for Infantry and Behind the Lines. His second book, co-written with Lance Q. Zedric, Elite Warriors: 300 Years of America's Best Troops, was published in 1996 by Pathfinder Publications.

When American and British forces invaded Iraq in March 2003, select teams of special forces and intelligence operatives got to work looking for the WMD their governments had promised were there. They quickly realized no such weapons existed. Instead they faced an insurgency--a soaring spiral of extremism and violence that was almost impossible to understand, let alone reverse.

Facing defeat, the Coalition waged a hidden war within a war. Major-General Stan McChrystal devised a campaign fusing special forces, aircraft, and the latest surveillance technology with the aim of taking down the enemy faster than it could regenerate. Guided by intelligence, British and American special forces conducted a relentless onslaught, night after night targeting al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups.

In "Task Force Black, " author Mark Urban reveals not only the intensity of the secret fight that turned the tide in Baghdad but the rivalries and personal battles that had to be overcome along the way. Incisive, dramatic, exceptionally revealing, the war in Iraq cannot be understood without this book.

"The electrifying true story of the pursuit for the man behind al Qaeda's suicide bombing campaign in Iraq

Kill or Capture "is a true-life thriller that tells the story of senior military interrogator Matthew Alexander's adrenalinefilled, "outside the wire" pursuit of a notorious Syrian mass murderer named Zafar--the leader of al Qaeda in northern Iraq--a killer with the blood of thousands of innocents on his hands.

In a breathless thirty-day period, Alexander and a small Special Operations task force brave the hazards of the Iraqi insurgency to conduct dangerous kill-or-capture missions and hunt down a murderer. "Kill or Capture "immerses readers in the dangerous world of battlefield interrogations as the author and his team climb the ladder of al Qaeda leadership in a series of raids, braving roadside bombs, near death by electrocution and circles within circles of lies.

On Friday, August 13, 2010, just as St. Martin's Press was readying its initial shipment of this book, the Department of Defense contacted us to express its concern that our publication of "Operation Dark Heart" could cause damage to U.S. national security. After consulting with our author, " "we agreed to" "incorporate some of the government's changes into a revised edition of his book while redacting other text he was told was classified. The newly revised book keeps our national interests secure, but this highly qualified warrior's story is still intact. "Shaffer's assessment of successes and failures in Afghanistan remains dramatic, shocking, and crucial reading for anyone concerned about" "the outcome" "of the war."

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"While I do not agree with the edits in many ways, the DoD redactions enhance the reader's understanding by drawing attention to the flawed results created by a disorganized and heavy handed military intelligence bureaucracy." --Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer

Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer had run intelligence operations for years before he arrived in Afghanistan. He was part of the "dark side of the force"---the shadowy elements of the U.S. government that function outside the bounds of the normal system. His group called themselves the Jedi Knights and pledged to use the dark arts of espionage to protect the country from its enemies.

Shaffer's mission to Afghanistan, however, was unlike any he had ever experienced before.

There, he led a black-ops team on the forefront of the military efforts to block the Taliban's resurgence. They not only planned complex intelligence operations to beat back the insurgents, but also played a key role in executing those operations---outside the wire. They succeeded in striking at the core of the Taliban and their safe havens across the border in Pakistan. For a moment Shaffer saw us winning the war.

Then the military brass got involved. The policies that top officials relied on were hopelessly flawed. Shaffer and his team were forced to sit and watch as the insurgency grew---just across the border in Pakistan.

This wasn't the first time he had seen bureaucracy stand in the way of national security. He had participated in Able Danger, the aborted intelligence operation that identified many of the future 9/11 terrorists but failed to pursue them. His attempt to reveal the truth to the 9/11 Commission would not go over well with his higher-ups.

"Operation Dark Heart" tells the story of what really went on--and what went wrong--in Afghanistan. Shaffer witnessed firsthand the tipping point, when what seemed like certain victory turned into failure. Now, in this book, he maps out a way that could put us on the path to winning the war.

FBI operative Raymond W. Holcomb's assignments took him across America, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa, and involved espionage, counter narcotics, Mafia takedowns, national security, Special Weapons and Tactics, and much more. He and his men captured the terrorists behind the 1993 assault on the World Trade Center, investigated the bombings of U.S. embassies, and pursued the killers of the seventeen American sailors who died in the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole. After 9/11, he assisted in interrogating Yemeni prisoners who had information about the attack, which led to identifying al Qaeda and some of the hijackers. After the capture of one of 9/11's most lethal masterminds, he went on a secret followup mission to Afghanistan. Holcomb's memoir provides detailed information about the FBI that only a longtime bureau insider can reveal, such as prison conditions and interrogation techniques in Guantanamo and Afghanistan. He describes hunting down and grilling criminals of every ilk around the world, and then creating and leading the FBI's elite cadre of counterterrorism agents who were at the helm of every major post-9/11 investigation, including the infiltration of homegrown conspiracies. Holcomb's absorbing account gives anyone interested in the training and activities of the FBI's elite tactical units a window into these highly effective organizations within the bureau.

In FBI terms, leaders who pick up their own brass casings at the firing range are more effective than those who expect someone else to do it for them. To those at the bureau, this small action speaks louder than words and is largely indicative of a person's overall management style. Through a host of real-life FBI stories, from the streets to the corner offices, Pick Up Your Own Brass: Leadership the FBI Way reveals the leadership qualities that have enabled the bureau to successfully navigate through a century of war, espionage, organized crime, terrorism, fraud, and corruption. Offering fifty essential leadership lessons based on challenges that FBI officials have faced over the course of their careers, this book can help anyone-established leaders, aspiring leaders, minority leaders, and even "accidental executives" who find themselves managing more than they imagined-build a culture of leadership.

This annotated bibliography was initially developed in conjunction with the initiative of the Department of the Army in 1983 to develop the force structure for 10,000-man light infantry divisions. Its goals were to provide annotated historical references for the combat experiences of previous light divisions and to list historical sources on the force design process, especially in regard to attempts to lighten the force or to respond to improvements in technology on the battlefield. The first draft of this bibliography was distributed in September and October 1983 as a quick reference to force planners across the Army. Since that time, the bibliography has been expanded, but the general focus remains the same, historical light divisions and the force design process. It addresses light infantry forces of the twentieth century with primary emphasis on World War II and later. This document can serve as a starting point for force designers' research into the origins, organizations, capabilities, and combat experiences of light infantry forces. In order to permit widespread distribution of this bibliography, only unclassified sources have been cited. However, additional classified documents on the subject exist, particularly in regard to technical analyses of force capabilities. A number of these are available in the Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The enclosed charts describe light infantry and close combat forces of World War II as well as some of those in being today.

Brothers-in-arms - SAS bonds can never be broken 'Jones knew the score with "deniable" operations that were sanctioned secretly at the highest levels. If they turned to custard and the cover was blown, the powers-that-be would simply deny everything and disown all involved, from the military down to the spooks and, at the bottom of the food chain, Hired guns like him.' What happens to the elite, close-knit soldiers of Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment after they leave the Who Dares Wins world of special forces? For some, there are highly paid jobs in the world's war zones and trouble spots protecting global corporations from terrorism, sabotage and violence. Others become powerful government advisers, many join foreign armies to train their special forces and expand the global botherhood. Most risky of all is the shadowy world of deniable 'black ops'. Guarding a deadly secret military cargo - a new missle system brokered through a spook under the guise of a Middle Eastern arms dealer - is all in a day's work. these are the risky yet vital jobs that governments will never admit. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa and Asia, award-winning defence writer Ian McPhedran uncovers a virtually unknown network and tells how Australia's top soldiers are forever linked in a seemingly borderless world.