US Navy SEALs (Elite) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was quite anxious to get this book as it's publication date was repeatedly pushed back since it's origianl publication date almost a year ago. What I finally got was very disappointing. Osprey and the author have done much better in the past, but stay away from this one. The cover of the book pretty much sums it up -- the title is US NAVY SEALS, but there is not a SEAL in sight on the cover. The section of the book descriping the naval spec ops community looks like it was cut and pasted verbatim from Specialoperations.com circa 1999. It spends alot of time descrbing the SEALS as there were a few years ago, but glances over the major changes that have occurred in the community recently and how they are currently structured and operate today. The artwork is poor and lacks the crispness and realism of other Osprey titles. There is nothing in it that has not been presented much better elsewhere. Wanna learn about the SEALS? Read Dick Couch's books. The Navy SEALS and the navy's Special Operations community deserves a better effort from Osprey, I hope that they give it another go.

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After the United States' failures in special operations missions during the late 1970s and 1980, a decision was made to revamp its unconventional military capabilities. The subsequent reorganization and redesignation in 1983 created the SEALs as they are known today, and later the all-encompassing command for US special operations forces under which they operate. Since then, these Navy Special Warfare (NSW) forces have operated in Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti, and Liberia. NSW units have also participated in the ongoing missions of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. This book looks at the history, organization, training, uniforms, equipment and missions of the US Navy SEALs since their redesignation until the recent conflict in the Gulf.

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The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 Review

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(More customer reviews)There are lots of books on SEALs out there, some good, most bad, very few great. This is one of the great ones. Why? Because it takes a theme that has been done to death, the training of the Navy SEALs, and writes what is probably the definitive book on the subject while doing what none of the other books has done. For the first time, a book follows the trainees through BUDs, through Hell Week, and keeps going all of the way to the assignment to an active team. It emphasizes the fact that the vaunted Hell Week, long portrayed as the horrible endurance contest that it is, is in fact just one of the gut checks along the way to becoming a SEAL. It's not a magical peak where everything after is easy, it's a point that weeds out many but is more preparation for the rigors ahead than a line to cross. To put it bluntly, there is no need to write another book on the training of the Navy SEALs, this is the final word. If you have dreams of becoming a SEAL, read this book. There is much wisdom in these pages. Ever think that "your reputation begins at BUDs"? You'll learn that here.
Finally, a book that reaches the levels set by books such as "Brave Men, Dark Waters" and "Class-29 : The Making of U.S. Navy SEALs". Well written, insightful, and just simply excellent. Buy this book!
Matt

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The Finishing School: Earning the Navy SEAL Trident Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Finishing School" is a terrific book, and every bit as fascinating as "The Warrior Elite." Dick Couch shows exceptional tenacity in following every twist and turn of training that these incredible warriors go through, and he handles the narrator's job superbly--giving us a personal reaction every now and then from his perspective as a SEAL in the Vietnam era.
Couch provides insight into what makes SEALS succeed (or fail) and enriches our understanding of how crucial training is to their complicated missions. I felt like I was there in the classroom and on the range with them at all times. Yes, the training evolutions do seem to go on without end, but that's one of the book's points: these guys are the best trained, toughest warriors the world has ever seen, and they will come after you from the sea, the air, or on land.
I particularly enjoyed the sections dealing with the SEAL weaponry; the choices they have are fascinating and scary. If you're a Navy buff, or in the least bit interested in what force America can project almost anywhere on earth, then this book is for you.

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In America's new war, the first guns in the fight are special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs, specially trained warriors who operate with precision, swiftness, and lethal force. In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units—small in number, flexible, stealthy, and ef?cient—are more vital than ever to America's security as they take the battle to an elusive enemy around the globe.But how are Navy SEALs made? Dick Couch, author of the acclaimed Warrior Elite, follows SEALs on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tactical Training, where they master combat skills such as precision shooting, demolitions, secure communications, parachuting, diving, and first aid. From there, the men enter operational platoons, where they subordinate their individual abilities to the mission of the group and train for special operations in specific geographic environments. Never before has a civilian writer been granted such close access to the training of America's most elite military forces. The Finishing School is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what goes into the making of America's best warriors.

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Good to Go: The Life And Times Of A Decorated Member Of The U.s. Navy's Elite Seal Team Two Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a frank and honest look at the exploits of a Navy SEAL.
While his actual combat exploits I have no way of proving true, his revealing and in-depth look at his own personal failures and in service power struggles surely don't all have happy endings, and the author is unflinching in his appraisal.
His time in country could of ended on his first mission. He first got tangled in the tow rope, and the boat pulling away dragged him underwater before he cut himself free, struggling with his gear and swimming back to shore. He then mistakenly interpreted a hand signal and made his first killing as a scared SEAL when he silently intercepted a VC lookout and knifed him. He was told to keep silent. He then got seperated from his recon platoon and made his way back to the rendevous point by himself while being pursued, and all the while he was unsure of which way to go. This was the start of three tours of duty that saw much action and direct combat with VC and NVA. This elite soldier found himself in the business of hand to hand combat many times, and his stories are told as if this author actually relished the amount of violence he was able to bring to bear. A warrior who looked for action, he later leaves this theater and sees firsthand the rivalry and disrespect he and other warriors feel for those officers spent little or no time in Vietnam and looked disdainfully upon those who actually fought there. This jealously, and the countering lack of respect, almost cost the author his Navy career on more than one occasion. In the end it proved his undoing in the military.
A very interesting tale of an insiders view of Vietnam, this book also explores his personal struggles and the bonds he forged in combat.

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Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 Review

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(More customer reviews)This book takes you inside the Navy SEALs training program in Coronado. You are with Marcus Luttrell throughout BUD/S and Hell Week. You fly with him and his teammates in a C-130 to the Hindu Kush, where the hunt begins for bin Laden's right-hand man. But then it all goes terribly wrong, up there in the mountains of Afghanistan.
This book, written by Patrick Robinson, reads like a fast-paced thriller, told in Marcus's understated voice. It is a rivetting, important, sad story of lost friends, valor, courage and the intricacies of modern war. It is an important book, destined to become an American classic.

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Four US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to be very close to Bin Laden with a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive.This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history. His squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.A born and raised Texan, Marcus Luttrell takes us from the rigors of SEAL training, where he and his fellow SEALs discovered what it took to join the most elite of the American special forces, to a fight in the desolate hills of Afghanistan for which they never could have been prepared. His account of his squadmates' heroism and mutual support renders an experience that is both heartrending and life-affirming. In this rich chronicle of courage and sacrifice, honor and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers a powerful narrative of modern war.

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