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Unconventional Warfare: Rebuilding U.S. Special Operation Forces (Rediscovering Government Series) Paperback – April 1, 1997
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For four decades after World War II, U.S. Special Operations Forcesincluding Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Air Force special operations aircrews and Special Tactics Groupsuffered from mistrust and inadequate funding from the military services. They were nearly eliminated from the active force following the Vietnam War. But in the past fifteen years, special operations forces have risen from the ashes of the failed 1980 rescue of American hostages in Iran to become one of the most frequently deployed elements of the U.S. military. They are now adequately funded, better-equipped, and well-trained. Special operations forces are often the nation's first military response when faced with a crisis in today's uncertain and unstable international security environment.
What caused this dramatic turnaround? As this book shows, it was a long way from congressional outrage at TV images of burned bodies of U.S. servicemen in the Iranian desert to the establishment of a special operations force of nearly 45,000 active and reserve personnel. The drama of how this happened sheds light on how public policy is made and implemented. It illustrates the complex interaction between internal forces within the special operations community, as well as between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. The implementation of legislation establishing a special operations capability is seen to rebuild and protect these forces to an extent never imagined by the early "quiet professionals."
While offering insights into how the U.S. government makes policy, Susan Marquis also offers a revealing look at the special operations community, including their storied past, extreme training, and recent operational experience that continues to forge their distinctive organizational mission and culture. She describes the decade-long struggle to rebuild special operations forces, resulting in new SOF organizations with independence that is unique among U.S. military forces, an independence approaching that of a new military service.
- Print length336 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBrookings Institution Press
- Publication dateApril 1, 1997
- Dimensions6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100815754752
- ISBN-13978-0815754756
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Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Susan L. Marquis is a division director in the office of the Secretary of Defense in Program Analysis & Evaluation.
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Product details
- Publisher : Brookings Institution Press (April 1, 1997)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0815754752
- ISBN-13 : 978-0815754756
- Item Weight : 11.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,482,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,374 in History of Technology
- #2,917 in National & International Security (Books)
- #9,525 in U.S. Political Science
- Customer Reviews:
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Phil Bucklew was a lowly Navy trainee in the early period; specifically, a boat handler. He had nothing whatsoever to do with establishing the Ft. Pierce ATB program. Again, the facts concerning his remarkable, and controversial, military career are not difficult to access. Thus, it is hard to fathom how the author missed them.
This may seem a small thing to writers concerned mainly with the history of more recent developments in special warfare. To the cadre dedicated to delivering the truth about events in World War II, a fascinating time of programmatic struggle in special operations, it's discouraging to see an otherwise commendable researcher get it so wrong.
Jim O'Dell
Until I read this book I didn't understand how we got from Desert One to having our own CINC. This is a great effort by Ms. Marquis, meticulously researched and footnoted. Anyone interested in the evolution and the future of Special Operations Forces must read this book! Hats off to the author!







