Commandos: The Making of America's Secret Soldiers, from Training to Desert Storm (Hardcover)

by Douglas Waller (Author) "The helicopter ride was surprisingly boring..." (more)
Key Phrases: area command meeting, tail scanner, bowline man, Hell Week, Pave Low, Saudi Arabia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Despite General Schwarzkopf's reluctance to employ them, more than 7000 U.S. special-operations personnel took part in Desert Storm. Waller, a Newsweek reporter, describes an Air Force special-ops helicopter raid that knocked out early-warning radar in Iraq, a Navy SEAL mission on Kuwait's coastline that pinned down two Iraqi divisions, a deep-penetration mission into Iraq by Green Beret teams and the destruction of Scud missiles by Delta Force commandos. There is also a chapter on the contribution of the Army's 4th Psychological Operations Group, which dropped tons of propaganda leaflets that purportedly prompted the surrender of thousands of Iraqi soldiers. Waller argues convincingly that Schwarzkopf, the theater commander, bypassed many opportunities to deploy special-ops forces effectively during the Gulf War, and ascribes his reluctance in large part to the U.S. high command's traditional distrust of "elite" troops. Based on interviews with some 200 members of the special-operations community and his observation of its training methods, Waller has written a revealing, involving appraisal of the nation's most highly trained and specialized soldiers. Photos. First serial to Newsweek; Military Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Waller ( Congress and the Nuclear Freeze , LJ 6/1/87) attacks his new subject with impunity. The OSS played a heroic role during World War II. The Green Berets have been vilified as the Vietnam War's loose cannons. What of todays's commando types? Did they measure up during Desert Storm? In a dynamite prologue, Waller drops the reader along with eight Green Berets behind Iraqi lines gathering intelligence: the eight stand off a reinforced Iraqi infantry company until extracted by helicopters. A chapter each is invested in illustrating the stringent training and selection procedures Green Berets, SEALS, Delta Force, and Pave Low pilots undergo. The book's second half deals with Desert Storm. Waller argues that the Special Forces remain too politically sensitive for their deployment to be left in the military's hands; their role, as ever, must confine them to the shadows. Highly recommended for modern military collections.
- Richard Paul Snyder, Cty. of Los Angeles P.L., Lakewood
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 2nd printing edition (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671787179
• ISBN-13: 978-0671787172
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,392,199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A rollicking ride that starts strong but finishes slow., October 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Commandos (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a very insightful book that is clearly well researched. The author really sheds light on the types of training and the selection process that American Special Forces soldiers must endure. The Green Beret training was particularly insightful because the author takes you along on some of the war games that the soldiers have to play. The author travels along to "Hell Week" that all Navy Seals have to endure. Where the author stands out, is that he successfully captures the personalities and emotions of the people that he follows. They all come from unique backgrounds, and the author really captures how their personalities affect their thinking as soldiers. I especially liked the fact that the author did a section on Air Force special forces pilots, the guys who fly the helicopters that deliver the more glamourous ground troops. They don't get enough recognition in the action world of hollywood. However, one wonders who designed such a complicated helicopter. REad the book, and all will be explained. The one big disappointment in the book (the reason I'm giving it three stars) is the limited look at Delta Force (the anti-terrorist force). Compared with the rest of the book, this section lacked the detail that made the other sections interesting. This was probably the section that I was most looking forward to so it was quite a disappointment. 3/4 of the book is hugely enjoyable but that one section was a bit lacking.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Commandos goes "above and beyond", April 28, 2000

By	Brian A McLaughlin (Tucson, Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Commandos (Mass Market Paperback)

Commandos is the most in-depth and accurate book about special operations that I have ever read. It is refreshing, and surprising, to see this subject openly addressed, giving hard-earned credit to the men who have worked their tails off to become the absolute best, in the service of their country, while allowing uninitiated readers a realistic glimpse into a mysterious world. I don't claim to personally be completely knowledgeable about this field, but I have worked in the special ops community for a dozen years, in a support role. Based on my knowledge, I can say with confidence that Waller is right on target. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in elite military forces. I also recommend Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down, which deals specifically with the 1993 Task Force Ranger raid in Mogadishu, Somalia.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Special Ops "Appetizer", July 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Commandos (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is about the best general overview of the various Special Forces units in the American arsenal from a "signal to noise" ratio that I have read to date. By that I mean what the book presumes to offer and what it actually delivers is pretty much on par. Everybody looks for different things in these kinds of books but generally I think people who read books about special ops are looking for organizational details of how these units do what they do and "sea stories" of them doing it for real.

Like any book that covers a lot of ground, however, it is more of a general look than an in-depth study. There are certainly better books that drill down on a particular service this book is the best I've read so far at wrapping them all up in a single package without skimping too much or misrepresenting the content. Now, there are some chapters that are just barley enough to whet one's appetite. For example, the chapter on Delta Force is not much more than what you'd find in an exclusive magazine article on the subject. This is simply because the author was not given the same level of access to Delta Force as he was able to gain for the SEALs or the Green Berets so it is not at all well balanced from a unit perspective.

What is balanced is the author's approach to explaining what the core mission is for the units he examines (namely the Army Green Berets, Delta Force and PSYOPS, Navy SEALs and the Air Force Special Operations chopper pilots) and a taste of what they do. The author takes a contemporary view of his subjects rather than bogging things down too much with the unit's past histories. Instead he focuses on what they were doing at the time the book was written (late 90's). The latter half of the book is a look at some of the ops that these units participated in during the Gulf War. I appreciated this approach since I feel that Special Ops is definitely an up-to-date topic meaning that I am more interested in what these units are doing now than what they did decades ago.

This then becomes the book's major downfall. Namely that it is out of date being written in the late `90s. Despite this disadvantage I think the basic mission parameters and operating styles of the units showcased are essentially the same so it is still a valid reference for general information on the special ops forces involved. Overall, though, I think the balance achieved was good and it is well worth a paperback price. I look forward to a similar book that covers the work that these units have done in Afghanistan.