Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniper [Paperback]

Hans Halberstadt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2009

Both a uniquely intimate look at what makes a sniper tick and a harrowing read filled with dramatic war tales, Trigger Men is a book about killing and what it takes to be the ultimate warrior.

            Halberstadt takes readers deeper inside the elusive world of snipers than ever before, from recruitment and training to the brutality of the killing fields. Mixed into the thrilling narrative, for the first time ever in their own words, American combat snipers talk about what it is like to kill a man and what it takes to become one of the elite. Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews, Halberstadt gets inside the sniper mind and shows how Shadow Team confidence led to success that led to even more aggressive operations. Readers will learn how snipers think and interact as a team, how missions are planned and executed, how the weapons work, and even what happens when a bullet strikes its target.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Halberstadt (Roughneck Nine-One), a prolific chronicler of the U.S. military, pulls no punches in this uncompromising examination of the shadowy world of the combat sniper. Halberstadt warns forthrightly that this is a book about "the business of hunting people . . . and killing them in a calculated, methodical way" and "requires brave readers." Drawing on the observations of thirty military snipers and his own time shadowing Army Sniper Class 2006-3 through five weeks of grueling training, the author methodically surveys the training, weapons, traditions, and missions of modern military snipers. There is ample technical information about the snipers' primary weapons-the M24 and M40 sniper rifles-and the vagaries of engaging long-range targets-referred to as voodoo ballistics by practitioners. There also is an insightful analysis-with first-person commentary from veterans of Iraq-of the changing role of the sniper on the modern urban battlefield. No longer the "unloved stepchild," today's sniper is a major part of the new battle space and is responsible for a disproportionate number of enemy casualties. As Halberstadt warns, this book is not for the squeamish, but for those looking for a thorough primer on the role of the military sniper in today's counterinsurgency missions, this is a solid introduction.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Bordering on indispensable." --Booklist

“An insightful analysis-with first-person commentary from veterans of Iraq-of the changing role of the sniper on the modern urban battlefield…not for the squeamish, but for those looking for a thorough primer on the role of the military sniper in today's counterinsurgency missions, this is a solid introduction.” -–Publishers Weekly

"A chilling look inside what a sniper's effect has on both friend and foe. Straightforward and insightful. A must read for all Americans. --Jack Coughlin, New York Times bestselling author of Shooter

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031235472X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312354725
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > History > Military > Iraq War
  • #91 in Books > History > Middle East > Iraq

More About the Author

New Book About to Hit the Street: US NAVY SEALS
My "author copies" of the new edition of US NAVY SEALS just showed up last week and that's a pretty good sign that it will soon show up here on Amazon and in the bookstores. This seems to be my 66th book, although it gets hard to count when revisions and second editions are considered. Part of it includes a discussion of the story behind the story of the Osama bin Laden mission, written with a little help from several friends in the SOF community but including some educated guesses. At the time, the mainstream news media were dishing out the usual BS about it all, based on misleading information from the WARCOM public affairs shop. But a lot has changed in the Naval Special Warfare community since my first book on the subject and it was time for an update. If you read it and have comments -- good or bad -- drop me a line, but be sure to sign your real name, please, because I will answer your note no matter what it says.

AN ODD HISTORY FOR A WRITER
People often ask how I became a writer and generally assume that anybody who has written a lot of military books must have a passion for the process. The awful truth is that I was a poor student in high school English classes and became a writer entirely by accident. The accident was a happy one, though, and I love writing about the men and women of our modern armed forces. I really learned to write while in the Army when I corresponded with several very pretty girls. Writing those letters without an English teacher poised to pounce on every error became fun, and it paid off, too -- I am still friends with a couple of them many years later.

My training is in documentary film, a discipline that requires a lot of writing and a good ear for conversational speech. My first books resulted from documentary film productions, the first on stained glass (STAINED GLASS -- MUSIC FOR THE EYE, with Bob and Jill Hill). The book was Bob's idea and was a huge success thanks to a sweet review in Newsweek magazine. A public relations film for Exxon led to a chance meeting with Capt. James Shanower, a US Coast Guard officer who invited me to spend some time on his ship, the Morgenthau. That experience accidentally resulted in my first solo book, USCG -- ALWAYS READY, for Presidio Press, published in 1984.

Well, it was all downhill from there -- next, a book about the Army's Airborne, then another on Green Berets. "Let me do one on Army aviation!" I begged Richard Kane at Presidio Press. "Please!" He tossed me a contract for that one, then another for a book about tanks. I was hooked! Pretty soon I was neglecting my film projects and writing books instead. I thought I could quit any time and get back to honest work, but I couldn't help myself. One book followed another. I tried a twelve-step program for people who write too much, but they threw me out when the leader discovered I was taking notes for a book about it all.

In case it matters, I have lived in California most of my life, am married to a gorgeous babe named Miss April, and have lived in the same neighborhood for thirty-five years. I belong to a few organizations -- E Clampus Vitus, the UDT/SEAL Association, Association of the US Army (Life), and Author's Guild. I am working on a book about brothels and bordellos, but that's another story from Your Faithful Scribe, Hans Halberstadt.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "SNIPERS: FROM VIET NAM TO PANAMA TO IRAQ!", March 25, 2008

By 

Rick Shaq Goldstein "*SHAQ*" (Danville, Ca, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniper (Hardcover)

A sniper's preferred method of killing people is when they are not expecting to be killed. "This is the story of the ways people are selected and slain, sometimes at long range, sometimes at very close quarters, by soldiers who are, in effect, invisible to their targets. This is the story of the art and science of precision long-range marksmanship and the effect of a bullet on the human body. It is about ambush, battle, mayhem, slaughter, winning, losing, living, dying, and war." "The sniper community is incredibly tiny; add up all snipers from the Marines, the U.S. Army, the SEALs, and the Rangers who are behind a gun in a combat zone at any one minute, and they will add up to about a few hundred men and no women." "Add up the kills these snipers make and compare them to the results of infantry battalions and brigades and divisions, and you'll find that many of them individually make more kills than entire battalions or brigades operating at the same time in the same area."

I am a Viet Nam era veteran and I find the study of the changing landscape of battle since the time I served extremely interesting. I believe the biggest change is in the evolution of the "SNIPER". One of the most powerful components this book provides is detailed reporting of not only the role "sniper/scouts" play in the current war in the Middle East, but also their prior roles in Viet Nam and even Panama. (Operation Just Cause). The United States has absorbed a hard earned education. Whereas in the past, a couple of snipers or marksman would accompany a battalion and all their armored equipment, now in today's urban, building to building fighting, the battalion and armored vehicles support the sniper teams.

This book details the training required not only in structured schools, but also in on-the-job-training, when the need for additional sniping/scouting/spotting personnel is immediate and on the battlefront. One of the real life stories involves successfully adding two cooks to the sniper team. This tale is at its absolute best when being narrated by actual snipers. At times the author bogs down the flow with too much minutiae about the weapons themselves. I have read many sniper books recently, and this one not only doesn't pull any punches about the "unique" mindset of the type of individual that would fit the parameters of a successful sniper, it also doesn't shy away from the celebration accorded the up close and personal ending of an enemy combatant's life.

The author and "ALL" the snipers portrayed, make it blatantly obvious to anyone who has ever served in combat, that more care and regard to the "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT" (ROE) are observed by our American troops in a week, than all our enemies combined do in a lifetime. I shudder at the thought of how many American lives have been lost while we go through chain of command before we shoot, as compared to terrorists walking into schools, restaurants and places of worship, and with no conscience at all, destroy uncounted civilian lives from toddlers to adults.

It takes a very, very, unique individual to be a United States Sniper. And as it's obvious to see, the ranks of these highly qualified warriors must increase for us to be successful in today's type of war. It should be noted that one of the main pre-requisites as stated in "DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SNIPER TRAINING FIELD MANUAL FM-23-10 SECTION 1-3 (Washington DC,1994)": "THE SNIPER MUST BE ABLE TO CALMLY AND DELIBERATELY KILL TARGETS THAT MAY NOT POSE AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO HIM. IT IS MUCH EASIER TO KILL IN SELF-DEFENSE OF OTHERS THAN IT IS TO KILL WITHOUT APPARENT PROVOCATION. THE SNIPER MUST NOT BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO EMOTIONS SUCH AS ANXIETY OR REMORSE."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating and deeply researched story, March 25, 2008

By 

Dalton Fury (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniper (Hardcover)

This book couldn't have been written before the tragic events of 9/11. Not because snipers on the battlefield are a new weapon of war but rather how snipers have reshaped and marketed themselves as much more than a "one shot, one kill" asset. In fact, as Hans Halberstadt makes perfectly clear with exceptionally thorough and smooth writing, snipers in the war on terror seldom leave the comfort of their firebase with a single shot and scoot mentality. The numerous fascinating vignettes of real 21st century snipers, using both Vietnam era rifles or today's most advanced weaponry, are a lesson in true courage, deadly skill, and rifle scope face-to-face reality of executioner within the limits of a sometimes shifting combat rules of engagement. And although Hans leaves little to the imagination, and does without apology, the subtle but inarguable lesson is that the snipers' work has evolved. Iraq presents an urban jungle of high angles, dilapidated structures and stairwells, and narrow dark alleys spaghettied with low hanging high power lines. And although the sniper seeks secreted points of domination to overwatch a specific area for insurgent activity, it still requires a gutsy commander to approve the operation. Hans tells us how it took awhile, sometimes years actually, for many peacetime commanders to finally realize that a risk averse mindset actually led to more casualties of their own as IEDs were planted with impunity, insurgents established armed checkpoints, or ambushed passer bys at will. Hans tells us how snipers in Iraq were initially misunderstood, not employed with any imagination, and kept on a close leash for fear a sniper team might be overrun. Fortunately this paradigm has been shattered, as Hans explains with incredible skill of prose, as the asymmetrical advantage of today's snipers can't be denied by skiddish commanders. The talented and brave snipers in this book tell you just why that is so. Ultimately, nobody truly wants to go to war and Trigger Men is a story many probably would prefer as fiction. However, the reality is that today's efforts absolutely require men (and sometimes women it seems) that can aim a rifle, settle the crosshairs, control their heartbeat, and squeeze out a few pounds of trigger pressure. The feedback is immediate as the destruction is obvious, and although Hans tells us they execute their job "without remorse" even when the target is unfortunately a child, the chronic mental struggles and deep dark demons are baggage the commander can rationalize and ignore - it certainly is a different story for the trigger men. A truly fascinating story of brave modern day warriors.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Wars and Old Games, March 19, 2008

By 

Gregory Mast (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniper (Hardcover)

In the spirit of full disclosure, I've known Hans Halberstadt for nearly 20 years. He and I worked on a couple of books together and I followed his progress as he put this book together over the past two years. When I got my advance copy of the book I was, even after all the hours of discussion with Hans about the content, thoroughly engaged by the stories inside "Trigger Men". In particular, the stories from Iraq drive home the point that the ancient craft of sniping is rapidly adapting to the dynamics of a new type of war.

Hans strips away the delicate Pentagonese that is often used to describe a sniper's job, the sanitary euphemisms that cloak the brutally efficient task of killing people, one bullet at a time. This is not a glorification of murder but an honest account of what happens when a country asks men (and sometimes women) to take up the difficult and isolated task of eliminating specific targets with a well aimed rifle shot.

I can recommend this thought provoking book on several levels but I found it most interesting as an oral history of a topic that is not often covered.

[This review was edited to correct spelling errors]