First Recon Second To None

Whether they were beating through razor-sharp elephant grass or spending all night soaked and shivering in the monsoon, walking into an ambush or getting caught in a hot LZ, sudden death for the First Recon was never far away. Second Lieutenant Paul Young had to be concerned not only with his own life but also with those of the men in his command. For Vietnam too often seemed like a monster with an insatiable appetite for blood.

From Army Rangers to Green Berets to the U.S. Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden, this book explains what makes Special Forces "special," covering the rich and varied history of elite formations in American military history and describing their recruitment, intense training, and equipment in depth. Most civilians have only a vague idea of what the U.S. Special Forces are all about—who they are, how they differ from our "normal" military forces, what they've accomplished throughout our history, and how they operate today. Fighting Elites: A History of U.S. Special Forces examines the rich and varied history of U.S. Special Forces, identifies their contributions to specific conflicts from colonial times forward, and highlights their present operational excellence. In this first-ever reference guide to U.S. Special Forces, military historian John C. Fredriksen provides a carefully balanced presentation, describing all units in their own detailed section that discusses their origins, recruitment, training, tactics, and equipment, and defining military engagements, if known. The text also contains 20 biographical entries of noted personalities associated with special purpose activities.

In 1976 Maj. James Capers Jr. welcomed new men and their families into a force reconnaissance company. 'Only the most capable Marines are selected for this duty due to rigid mental and physical demands. A very thorough screening of each applicant is conducted ... to test alertness and endurance. The result is a small elite unit with highly qualified Marines who are considered the best in the world'. Ex-Marine Charles D Melson examines the history, equipment and insignia of the Marine's amphibious and ground long-range patrol reconnaissance specialists in this volume which contains a wealth of photographs and 12 full page colour plates by Paul Hannon.

A Vietnam veteran and scholar draws on personal memories of his time in Vietnam, bringing the war back in chapters on vocabulary, music, literature, and film, and examining how the immediacy of Vietnam's costs is dealt with in an evasive way by America.

One of the most influential strategies of the Vietnam War, the Stingray Patrol comprised seven to ten marines in small teams, inserted by chopper deep in enemy territory. Surrounded on all sides by North Vietnamese Army troops and Viet Cong guerillas, these small, high-effective teams brought death and destruction to the enemy without ever going head-to-head in a gunfight with them. Like todays Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Marine Force Recon units that operate behind enemy lines, these Stingray Patrols helped target the enemy for artillery and air strikes . . . with devastating accuracy and effect. Force Recon Marine and team leader Bruce "Doc" Norton participated in many Stingray missions and he takes the reader behind enemy lines, telling the full story of Stingrays origins and operations. STINGRAY is the definitive history of these units and missions, available now for the first time in eBook format.