Special Forces Handbook [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by U.S. Army (Author) "I. MISSION OF SPECIAL FORCES: a. To plan and conduct unconventional warfare operations in areas not under friendly control..." (more)
Key Phrases: incendiary mix, absolute altitude, reception committee, Drug Store (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
From Vietnam and Laos to Central America and Africa, the U.S. Army Special Forces has won renown for its expertise in guerrilla warfare. Special Forces Handbook--a classic in the field--covers guerrilla tactics and missions, demolition techniques such as improvised incendiaries, air ops, weapons, communications, survival skills and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press; illustrated edition edition (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873641094
• ISBN-13: 978-0873641098
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #685,214 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars cut & dry, May 25, 2000

By	Steven R DiSebastian (USA) - See all my reviews

This book is everything that the review says it is. The best thing about military handbooks it that they get right to the nitty gritty without all the fluff and bull that are in other books; they simply give the information in the most straight forward and easy way to understand. This handbook has a lot of illustrations and graphs. Some highlights are the ground-air emergancy code chart and the weapons, survival, and first aid manuals. Plus there are some stuff in here that not all people should have knowledge of, such as demolitions. Just so you know, since it's not mentioned elsewhere, this handbook comes small and pocket size.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good info., just severely limited, September 29, 2004

By	J. F. Kubissa - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The manual contains some very good information that is otherwise obscure from the public's view. The main problems are that this information is very limited in the entire substance of the manual which is filled with complicated engineering and demolitions instructions, charts, and diagrams. This information is not pertinent unless someone has the facility and resources to test it out. Likewise, I may not have much familiarity with demolitions, construction, or anything of that nature, but I think that this is more complicated material that only people with expertise would be able to perform. The Rangers Handbook is a much better buy for anyone in terms of overall information, unless that is they are really familiar with, and looking into demolitions and military engineering.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Oldie But A Goodie, February 24, 2007

By	Frank 7SFG "skipidar" (Norman, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

I first saw this book when it was being assembled by stapling the pages together, which were even smaller then than they are in this version. Some information has been added since then but otherwise it is still the same as it was when it was published as ST31-180 in 1965. It is very basic information but still good field information for those who know how to use it, and it is interesting as a historical document. Other than that, I doubt if it is of much interest to civilians without military experience. It would be interesting to know from today's Special Forces soldiers how valuable the manual is in the modern army.