An inside look at the real world of the legendary Green Berets discusses the special qualities of members of the Special Forces, their rigorous training and intense teamwork, and their changing role in the U.S. military. 20,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

By design, the U.S. Army's Special Forces--we call them Green Berets, but they tend to avoid that term--are very secretive. As a result, there isn't much to counterbalance their popular Ramboesque image. This book does a lot to set the record straight. Simons, a Harvard Ph.D. in anthropology, befriended some SFers while she was doing fieldwork in Somalia. Later, back in the States, she married one of them. The Company They Keep was written once she had the unrivaled access of a Special Forces team-member's wife; it covers more than a year in the life of some SF soldiers, covering every phase of their initiation and training. The reader will feel reassured as the narrative makes it clear that these forces America increasingly relies on in low-intensity scenarios such as Somalia and Haiti emphasize not individual bravado, but smooth functioning as a members of a team; so much so that loyalty to the team tends to take precedence over personal concerns and family. The divorce rate is high.

From Booklist

Simons is uniquely qualified to study the U.S. Army Special Forces (who may wear them but do not like to be called green berets), for she is a professional anthropologist and the wife of a Special Forces sergeant. And hers is a unique and excellent book that focuses less on the history and combat achievements of the Special Forces than on their current personnel selection, training, corporate culture, internal politics, and relations with an army bureaucracy predominated by downsizing and conventionality. It is full of memorable personal portraits (including those of wives) that demonstrate that "male bonding" is not just a phrase, and it argues persuasively for keeping the emphasis of Special Forces missions the training of foreign soldiers rather than firefights. Although some background knowledge of both military history and anthropology will make reading the whole book more rewarding, Simons' unusual set of insights into the world and people of special operations is invaluable. Roland Green

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Product details

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Free Press (March 17, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684828162
ISBN-13: 978-0684828169
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 10 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 14 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #117 in Military Life & Institutions History
- #8670 in American Military History
- #7629 in Military Leader Biographies

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5 star		65%
4 star		8%
3 star		27%
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14 customer reviews

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Myckls

get it if youre considering sf

December 10, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

awesome book. its like a "behind the scenes" view of life in sf. normally i only read books written by people who actually did what they are writing about but this book was recommended by another sf book so i risked it.

its written by a woman and i think that actually makes it better because 1) its honest without the usual tough guy stuff that accompanies a military book 2) it explains things that a man probably wouldn't include, such as home life during deployment and wife/gf roles.

its a great book that talks about more than the usual running-and-gunning, parachuting, PT, and general azz-kickery that you're used to reading in sof books.

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Howard

just another book

November 15, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

i found the book typical writing by a person not familiar with special forces to much hem hawing around

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TRACY L. DAWKINS

Three Stars

July 27, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Book was fairly good read.

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Aaron E. Gietzen

Having spent 20 years in Special Forces, of that ...

December 1, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Having spent 20 years in Special Forces, of that, 16 years on a team, I found this book to be amazingly accurate.

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Killer Imp

Five Stars

December 17, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Great insights

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Emmitt L. Williams

Five Stars

March 16, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

My son loved the book

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COL V

SF training for non-SF personnel

January 11, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Having gone through the Special Qualification training myself, I found it difficult to stay engaged with the subject matter. It was, for me, like reading an after action report of the training experience. I strongly suspect that this book will be fascinating for those who have not been through the training course. It would have been for me. COL V

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David K. Taggart

Coming of Age on Smoke Bomb Hill

June 14, 2002

Format: Paperback

Anna Simons, a Harvard-trained anthropologist, studies the dynamics of the U. S. Army Special Forces in THE COMPANY THEY KEEP. And she gets it totally right. This is one of the finest books written about Special Forces, the U. S. Army, and the role of the officer/NCO relationship in the American Armed Forces.
"The third Special Forces soldier I met I would up marrying." That's the hook for the book's Prologue. Given almost unlimited access to 3rd SF Group over an 18 month period. We see the team rooms, patrol bases, Q Course, the plain hard work that goes into training, analyzed from a professional outsider's point of view.
And Simons gets it right -- she joins the select group of outsiders -- Ward Just, Maureen Mylander, Mark Bowden, Rick Atkinson, among others -- who really understand the American military.

4 people found this helpful

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The COMPANY THEY KEEP Hardcover – March 17, 1997

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