U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to America's Special Operations Units-The World's Most Elite Fighting Force (Paperback)

~ Samuel A. Southworth (Author), Stephen Tanner (Author) "As America enters the twenty-first century, its Special Operations Forces have gained vital new importance in the scheme of national defense..." (more)
Key Phrases: special operations forces, combat swimmers, rescue swimmer, World War, Force Recon, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A handy compendium to the most elite fighting force in the world today.

President George W. Bush has told all Americans that the war against terrorism will be like no other war. But what does this mean? Who will fight? How will they fight? What weapons will be used?

Most informed commentators agree that the war against terrorism will be fought largely by "special forces"--that is, by a relatively new community within the American military known as Special Operations Forces, or SOF's. This new "branch" of the armed forces was created in the mid-1980's and is organized under its own unified command, called U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Consisting of special units from the other branches of the armed forces, such as Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, and Delta Force, this new fighting command is recognized internationally as the most well-trained and well-equipped special operations force in the world. Their missions are varied--combat terrorism, search and rescue, reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping duty, conventional and unconventional warfare.

Despite its international reputation for excellence, Americans know little about this remarkable fighting force. U.S. Special Forces provides a handy and comprehensive compendium of America's SOF's. The book includes descriptions of the units and their operational specialties, their training, and their organization, as well as the equipment and technological gadgetry, weapons, armor, planes, helicopters, and support vehicles of each unit.

About the Author

Samuel A. Southworth is a researcher and writer living in New York City. He is the editor of the acclaimed Great Raids in History. In his spare time, he leads mountain wilderness trips for leadership groups.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (September 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306811650
• ISBN-13: 978-0306811654
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,748 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kind of like a "Special Forces for Dummies", June 2, 2003

By	Del C Brown (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews

I would recommend this book to people who do not have a very good understanding of US Special Forces. For those of us who have a deeper knowledge of the Special Forces that our country employs, I would not recommend this book.

The book reads well and includes chapters on the Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Operations (Combat Controllers and Pararescue Jumpers), Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Delta Force, Marine Force Recon, Army Airborne, Army 10th Mountain Division, Coast Guard Special Operations, and CIA Paramilitary Forces.

The inclusion of the Coast Guard "Special Operations" is a bit suspect as a special operations group, but that chapter is enlightening and informative.

The book does not go into very much detail on any of the special operations forces so I would only recommend this book to someone who wants a very general overview.

One of the major gripes that I had with the book (besides being overly simplistic) is on page 188. In the chapter about the 10th Mountain Division, the book mentions how a "young Lieutenant Bob Dole was badly wounded. After a couple years in a hospital he would go on to be vice president of the United States..." Umm, am I missing something here or was I asleep when Bob Dole was the Vice President?

Anyway, if you are a stranger to the world of US Special Forces, this is a decent book to get started. However, if one already has a pretty decent grasp of the subject, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Starter, May 10, 2003

By	Michael Kennedy (Savannah, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

I purchased this book just expecting a general overview and thats what I got. If just want to see an overview of all of America's special forces, this is the book for. If you're looking for lots of detail, find something else (recommend Tom Clancy's Special Forces, Airborne, and Marine)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars decent introduction for the uninitiated, September 25, 2002

By	"moondog24" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

I thought this book was a good primer on US special ops forces, although by no means exhaustive. Gives the histories, training, and capabilities of the various US SpecOps forces. I did think it could use more detail in some areas (eg. SEAL team Six and DEVGROUP) which were glossed over. I did like the inclusion of the 82 Airborne, 101st Airborne, and 10th Mountain Division, which aren't technically SpecOps forces, but do have specialized abilities and missions, and also the CIA paramilitary forces. All in all, the book is good for the uninitiated reader, but those with some knowledge will probably want to refer elsewhere.