| Army
Rangers in Action (Special
Ops) (Library Binding), by Michael Sandler, Bearport Publishing (January 2008). Information
Green
Berets: The U.S. Army Special Forces (Inside Special Operations) (Library Binding), by
Jan Goldberg, Rosen Publishing Group; 1 edition (October 2002).
A
look at the Special Forces, better known as the Green Berets, including their purpose,
history, missions, requirements, training, and equipment. Information
Marine
Force Recon in Action (Special Ops) (Library Binding), by Michael Sandler, Bearport
Publishing (January 2008). Information
Perilous
Options: Special Operations as an Instrument of U.S. Foreign Policy (Hardcover),
by Lucien S. Vandenbroucke, Oxford University Press, USA (October 28, 1993).
Drawing
extensively on declassified government documents, interviews with key decision makers and
participants in these episodes, and other primary material, Perilous Options identifies
recurrent problems in the way the United States government has prepared and executed such
operations. These recurrent problems, outlined by key participants in these four special
operations, include faulty intelligence, poor interagency and interservice cooperation and
coordination, inadequate information and advice provided to decisionmakers, wishful
thinking on the part of decisionmakers, and overcontrol of mission execution from outside
the theater of operations. Vandenbroucke also explores the extent to which recent efforts
to revitalize the U.S. operations capability have addressed these problems, identifying
additional changes that can improve the government's ability to plan,
evaluate, and execute such operations. Information
Serving
Your Country: Air Assault Teams/Green Berets/U.S. Army Rangers/U.S. Navy Seals/U.S. Marine
Corps/U.S. Air Force/U.S. Army/U.S. Navy (Serving Your Country) (School &
Library Binding), by Michael Green, Capstone Press (June 1998). Information
Special
Forces, Terrorism and Strategy: Warfare By Other Means (Cass
Military Studies) (Hardcover), by Finlan, Routledge; 1 edition (September 18, 2007).
This
volume undertakes a systematic analysis of the relationship between Special Forces and
contemporary strategy, explaining the resurgence of interest in Special Forces,
particularly in the West, by exploring their appeal over traditional conventional force
options in the current War on Terror. Information
The
Only Easy Day Was Yesterday: Making Navy SEALs (Hardcover),
by Richard D. Schoenberg, Naval Institute Press (March 1, 2006).
This
is the second edition of the "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday". The book has
been revised and contains a new dedication page. Now
published by the Naval Institute Press. Information
To
Be a U.S. Navy SEAL (Paperback), by Cliff Hollenbeck, Zenith Press (August 2003).
This
is an introduction into what it really means to be a U.S. Navy SEAL in today's U.S.
Navy-in the sea, in the air, and on the land. The U.S. Navy's elite specialists are among
the most highly trained forces capable of undertaking dangerous missions into enemy
territory. Hollenbeck takes you through the relentless twenty-five week training,
including 'hell' week, when soldiers are put through five days of training with fewer than
4 hours of sleep. Information
To
Fight with Intrepidity: The Complete History of the U.S. Army Rangers 1622 to Present (Hardcover),
by J. D. Lock (Author), Harold G. Moore (Foreword), Fenestra Books; 2 edition (October 1,
2001).
General
Colin L. Powell, U.S. Army (Ret): A fascinating and informative history of the most elite
of the Army's troops. Information
U.S.
Air Force Special Forces: Special Operations Wings (Warfare and Weapons) (Library
Binding), by Tracey Boraas, Capstone Press (January 2000). Information
U.S.
Air Force Special Operations Training Handbook (World
Business Library) (Paperback), Intl Business Pubns USA (September 2002). Information
US
Special Forces and Couterinsurgency in Vietnam: Military Innovation and Institutional
Failure, 1961-63
(Strategy and History) (Hardcover), by Ives, Routledge; 1 edition (February 23, 2007). Information
US
Special Operations Forces in Action: The Challenge of Unconventional Warfare
(Paperback), by Thomas K. Adams, Routledge; 1 edition (June 1, 1998).
Modern
armies are planned and structured to fight massive World War II-type operations involving
the large-scale movements of tanks and machinery across continents. In fact they are
rarely called upon to participate in such conflicts. It is far more common for them to
find themselves involved in lower-level, ill-defined, politically charged, messy
situations known collectively as "unconventional warfare", typified by the 1990s
conflicts in Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Thomas Adams argues that, for the most part, the conventional war-fighting forces of the USA
are not the best military forces to deal with such situations, where there is a lack of a
clearly-defined enemy and a need for persuasion, negotiation and even community leadership
alongside elements who are willing to resort to deadly force. The appropriate components
of the US miltary to deal with this, in his view, are the Special Operations Forces (SOF).
He discusses the composition of the SOF and their varying roles, discussing their
evoluation, strengths and weaknesses, and gives a history of US involvement in
non-conventional warfare from the American revolution to the 1990s. He argues that the US
Department of Defense still sees military conflict in the form of conventional warfare,
with its emphasis on high-technology combat. The very existence of high-technology
systems, however, makes conventional warfare less likely, with the result that the US Army
may become vulnerable to "low-tech" offensives, and already there has been an
increase in "unconventional" conflicts since the demise of the Soviet Union.
Adams proposes a change in strategic thinking together with investment in training and a
usable military doctrine to guide development. A shift in expectations is required, with a
greater willingness to accept lengthy commitments and incremental progress. Information
Weapon
of Choice: United States Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan
(Center of Military History Publication) (Paperback), by Charles H. Briscoe, Richard L.
Kiper, James A. Schroder and Kalev I. Sepp, Combat Studies Institute (U.S.) (Producer), United
States Dept. of Defense (June 13, 2006). Information
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