Customer Reviews

Special Forces Operational Techniques (Department of the Army Field Manual, FM 31-20)

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SInce this books talks about different topics, like psychologic, radio transmitters and antennas, survival, and about how to make soap from nature, anyone will find it very interesting, its easy to read, and very enjoyable for those people who want to know a little about everything.

This is a military handbook meant for use in the field by trained Special Forces troopers, which means those who are already skilled in operations and intelligence, demolitions, communications, weapons, and advanced medical skills. It has a great deal more information than the SPECIAL FORCES HANDBOOK and is more specific in its instructions and info. I assume that it has been replaced in today's army by more up-to-date publications, but for what it is, it is very good, dry and concise but quite useful. Those considering buying it (which presumably excludes active duty military personnel) should look inside the book first and see if it fits their needs or interests. Some of the information is definitely dated. For instance, the radio and communications data was intended for equipment no longer in use by the army. The same applies to the other equipment described in the manual. The underlying principles are still the same, however.

I would like to recommend other things in addition to this book.

First of all; if you would like to know something about SOF, you should start reading the US doctrine of Spec Ops. This subject is not available for civilians for a while; as far as i know...it's apprx. 1100 pages.

But... you can study FM 21-75,FM 21-76 and FM 21-76-1.If you can get them...

In addition i recommend FM 31-70 "Basic Cold Weather Training"
You should know that it won't be easy to find these now..But they are a valueable asset in understanding some matters.

There is also an other book available:
Theory of Special Operations(Case Study)
This one is a must read...Not only for enlisted personnel but also for civilians. And it's easy to get this...

At last i would like to attend you on the fact of philosophy and warfare.. And why a soldair should be a thinker first..If you agree with me then you should read: Gates of Fire or Tides of War

Know that you won't find "Gates of Fire" nor "Tides of War" easy to read...

With a pocket size, this book has all you have to know about guerrilla warfare, counterguerrilla tactics, Unconventional Warfare, demolitions, raids & ambushes, water ops, etc, etc, etc.

It even has a whole section dedicated to Psychological ops!

All the info in the book is great, well exept the infiltration part that doesnt have pics or more detailed info.

Im telling you, this is da book!

The good aspects of this FM have been praised by others, and as far as that goes, I fully agree... However...

Special Forces often operate with indigenous populations, whose trust they must earn. It is not enough to learn some of the local language. It is important not to look stupid, or else all respect, and incentive to cooperate is lost.

FM 31-20 has some "cultural `No-No's" that would inevitably make us look stupid... Example: Page 289, "Dust Initiator". It says, as an example of "cultural stupidity":
"From 1.36 to 2.67 kilograms of surround should be provided for each 28.32 cubic meters of target."

This was clearly "translated" in response to a directive "go metric" from the original text:

"From 3 to 6 pounds of of surround should be provided for each 1000 cubic feet of target"

Whereas the original sounds practical, the "translation" sounds so stupid that only the retarded would want to work with us... Remember, those natives, just because they speak English with an accent, or not at all, are not dumber than we are!

What it should say is: "Use 1.5 to 3 kilograms of surround for each 30 cubic meters of target - or if you wish, for each target volume of 3m x 3m x 3m".

There are a large number of examples of this kind of "cultural dumbness" in the manual. This is not just hair-splitting. If they think we are dumb, they sure will not help us. Perhaps pretend to do so, but not for long...

With a pocket size, this book has all you have to know about guerrilla warfare, counterguerrilla tactics, Unconventional Warfare, demolitions, raids & ambushes, water ops, etc, etc, etc.

It even has a whole section dedicated to Psychological ops!

All the info in the book is great, well exept the infiltration part that doesnt have pics or more detailed info.

Im telling you, this is da book!