Book Description
This book provides an insider's view of what it takes to become a member of the Army's Special Forces, the elite Green Berets. It describes the skills they learn and equipment and tactics used to engage in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, special reconnaissance, anti-terrorism missions, information operations, and counter-proliferation.
Customer Reviews:
Average.. yet Above Average.......2007-08-25
I'd give this book 3.5 but I cant... I found this book to be very well informing of all types of stages in trasining to be a green beret and the conciseness... Though it lacks detailed first-hand accounts on what the training is like and rather usually just gives a brief overview. It does however have alot of pictures and often times (brief but) particular information on other stages of the course like the Scuba and even has a course outline and pictures on SERE.
This book is really good for those that have no working foundation on process of becoming SF, yet its also good if you already have one because it presents the information in a clearer concise presentation. If you want more detailed first-hand accounts on the actual training read Dick Couch's "Chosen Soldier"
Excellent.......2007-01-26
Probably the best single resource I've ever seen about Army S.F., recommend to anyone interested in this field!
informative.......2006-03-24
This book is amazing, because of its pictures and diagrams. It gives you an exact idea of chronological order of what happens in your training of becoming an SF soldier. It gives you respect for these soldiers and what they are capable of doing. very informative. However, since i am not interested in becoming a green beret, i haven't been able to finish it. i have read the "to be a u.s. army ranger" because it seems to pertain to me more. however it is a good book and i would recommend to those who really don't mind spending money on just buying books to satisfy their curiosity and those who want to be SF.
Gold for possible SF er's.......2005-07-17
This book provides great insight in to what it takes to be the best. It breaks down the process from the beginning of basic to the last phase of the Q Course. I thought I knew pretty much everything I needed,boy was I wrong. The info. is from BTDT's and students going through the training. The pictures are vivid and clear. If you have "To be a U.S. Army Ranger", its in the same format, just a little bigger in size(HxW). This is a must for anyone wanting to go SF.
Book Description
A handy compendium to the most elite fighting force in the world today.
President George W. Bush has told all Americans that the war against terrorism will be like no other war. But what does this mean? Who will fight? How will they fight? What weapons will be used?
Most informed commentators agree that the war against terrorism will be fought largely by "special forces"--that is, by a relatively new community within the American military known as Special Operations Forces, or SOF's. This new "branch" of the armed forces was created in the mid-1980's and is organized under its own unified command, called U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Consisting of special units from the other branches of the armed forces, such as Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, and Delta Force, this new fighting command is recognized internationally as the most well-trained and well-equipped special operations force in the world. Their missions are varied--combat terrorism, search and rescue, reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping duty, conventional and unconventional warfare.
Despite its international reputation for excellence, Americans know little about this remarkable fighting force. U.S. Special Forces provides a handy and comprehensive compendium of America's SOF's. The book includes descriptions of the units and their operational specialties, their training, and their organization, as well as the equipment and technological gadgetry, weapons, armor, planes, helicopters, and support vehicles of each unit.
Customer Reviews:
good information, good reading.......2006-03-24
this book tells of history of different special operation forces. however it should go into more detail with each, but i guess this makes a good eye opener of what each group is and how they're different. there were some cool things about the air force, but i thought they could've removed the part about coast guard.
So Far So Good........2005-08-16
I'm on the chapter about the 10th Mountain Division and so far this book is a great read. I know a lot about SOF but this book tossed in a few things I didn't know. I've never known much about the 10th Mountain Division. And the Coast Guard spec ops guys aren't really special operations. They're Special Operations Capable. I think the Marin Force Recon is gonna be considered SOF now cause they committed a select few to SOCOM in 02. It's about timeis all I can say. The Navy didn't want SEALs under SOCOM's command but look where it's gotten them. Although they lost a lot of men at Patilla Airfield in Panama, they still accomplished the mission. This is definately a good read for anybody interested in U.S. SOF.
Great Little Book.......2004-01-22
I was suprised at how small this book was, but it's still a very good book on US Special Operations Units. It gives a brief history of each unit, describes the selection and training programs, and lists the missions each unit has taken part in. There is also a section on the equipment and weapons they use. This book and "America's Special Forces" by David Boher are probably the two best books on the subject.
Kind of like a "Special Forces for Dummies".......2003-06-03
I would recommend this book to people who do not have a very good understanding of US Special Forces. For those of us who have a deeper knowledge of the Special Forces that our country employs, I would not recommend this book.
The book reads well and includes chapters on the Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Operations (Combat Controllers and Pararescue Jumpers), Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Delta Force, Marine Force Recon, Army Airborne, Army 10th Mountain Division, Coast Guard Special Operations, and CIA Paramilitary Forces.
The inclusion of the Coast Guard "Special Operations" is a bit suspect as a special operations group, but that chapter is enlightening and informative.
The book does not go into very much detail on any of the special operations forces so I would only recommend this book to someone who wants a very general overview.
One of the major gripes that I had with the book (besides being overly simplistic) is on page 188. In the chapter about the 10th Mountain Division, the book mentions how a "young Lieutenant Bob Dole was badly wounded. After a couple years in a hospital he would go on to be vice president of the United States..." Umm, am I missing something here or was I asleep when Bob Dole was the Vice President?
Anyway, if you are a stranger to the world of US Special Forces, this is a decent book to get started. However, if one already has a pretty decent grasp of the subject, I would recommend looking elsewhere.
Pretty Good Starter.......2003-05-11
I purchased this book just expecting a general overview and thats what I got. If just want to see an overview of all of America's special forces, this is the book for. If you're looking for lots of detail, find something else (recommend Tom Clancy's Special Forces, Airborne, and Marine)
Book Description
In the hours before the D-Day landing, their brilliant success behind enemy lines changed the course of history.
In the tradition of Steven Ambrose's D-Day and Band of Brothers, The First Men In tells the remarkable story of the American paratroopers who took on one of the most important and dangerous missions of World War II. On the eve of D-Day, the 82nd Airborne Division parachuted into key positions along the Normandy coast, spearheading the assault on Fortress Europe. Using extensive firsthand interviews with the men of the 82nd, Ed Ruggero vividly brings them to life. This "first-rate story-teller" (Denver Post) weaves their improbable achievement into an unforgettable narrative.
Only one unit of the 82nd -- the 3,000 men of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment -- had previously been tested in battle. These heroes of the brutal 1943 invasion of Sicily -- whose story was brilliantly told in Ruggero's Combat Jump -- were given one of the toughest assignments, that of securing the critical crossroads town of Ste. Mère Eglise, the gateway to Utah Beach, through which half of the U.S. invasion force had to pass. Within hours of landing in Normandy, the 505th had accomplished its mission and seized Ste. Mère Eglise, the first town in Europe to be liberated. But as the sun rose on June 6, 1944, and as the assault waves struggled ashore on fire-swept beaches, the airborne commanders realized that most of the nearly 14,000 paratroopers dropped on the extreme right flank of the Allied invasion area had missed their targets.
The scattered troopers fought in small groups, cut off from one another by the dense Norman hedgerows and cleverly dug-in German defenders. Putting themselves between the vulnerable landing beaches and repeated enemy assaults, the lightly armed paratroopers fought for no-name crossroads and isolated fields on the first few miles of the long road to Berlin. Their training, courage, and leadership paid off; with their blood, they purchased the critical hours the Allies needed to get ashore. Often outnumbered and frequently outgunned, the men of the 82nd accomplished every mission, held every piece of ground they gained, and thus helped secure the success of the greatest amphibious invasion in history.
Customer Reviews:
A welcome addition to WWll history.......2007-07-25
This is an excellent and easy reading book; however, I would recommend that the reader be apprised of D-Day history before reading it. It gives a wonderful insight to one more important advance into Normandy!
NO BETTER PLACE TO DIE.......2007-04-28
"I don't know a better place than this to die." When Lt. John "Red dog" Dolan scratched out this single line to a hard pressed squad leader at the La Fiere bridge, he simultaneously scribed his name into the short roll call of those Americans who have placed the love of their country and the freedom of its people ahead of their very own next breath.
I have read the account of Lt. Dolan at the little bridge over the Merderet in three other books of paratrooper history and none of them carry the weight and measure of Ed Ruggero's version in The First Men In. It is nearly impossible to read through chapter 12 and not find yourself gazing off into the ether, overcome by the willingness of these young men of the Greatest Generation to sacrifice themselves for less-great generations yet unborn.
While The First Men In is not a small unit combat history such as Band of Brothers, it follows several men - G.I. and officers - from their enlistment through their training, their midnight jump into the Cotentin and through the first days of the Battle of Normandy, delivering the intimate kinship with the characters that the reader so desires as well as the great sweep and desperate fear of near hopeless combat.
The First Men In is a book you will read more than once. In the way you might take a second look at a sunset, the heroism of the men in the pages compels you to turn and look over your shoulder again and again until the very last light fades, leaving you asking yourself at the last glint of purple if such a marvelous thing was really possible in the first place.
If you want to know why General Bradley would not land troops on Utah beach without these men, if you want to know why these men are correctly titled America's Guard of Honor, if you want to know why the local French have re-named the bridge at Chef du Pont the Pont du Capitaine Roy Creek, if you want to once again be warmed and comforted by the greatness of your country, read The First Men In.
Amazing book!.......2007-03-13
I read this hoping to learn about the history of the paratroopers on D-Day and got more than I expected. It gives the history of D-Day, but it tells it in such an exciting, storytelling fashion that it gives you a first person feeling for how terrible those days were. The sacrifices our troops made in WWII were incredible. Let's never forget them.
A Great book of history that reads like a novel.......2006-09-10
Ed Ruggero has written an absolutely fantastic history of some of the most significant airborne operations surrounding the Normandy invasion. To nit-pick the selection of the book title or a minute detail of 82nd Medal of Honor history from World War I doesn't do justice to the otherwise meticulous research and master story-telling of this inspiring author. This well-written prose is fast-paced and as readable as any historical fiction. Ruggero is superb in his description of small unit airborne operations in World War II. In my opinion, much better than the previous standard set by MacDonald's World War II memoir COMPANY COMMANDER. And just as good as Vietnam small unit memoirs - McDonough's PLATOON LEADER and Moore and Galloway's WE WERE SOLDIERS.
The First Men In: US Paratroopers and the Fight to Save D-Day.......2006-08-29
I have a friend who was in the 82nd Airborne's A Company and was a Pathfinder. He was 19 years old. I bought it for him and read it first. I have seen all the movies and heard all stories about Normandy but to read this book made me realize just how really terrible the battle for the bridge was. I had no idea just what they faced. I had visited the site and still had no real understanding of the battle until I read this book. I have even more respect for Max than I did before. What a tale. Bob Morriss
Amazon.com
The seventh in a series of books by Tom Clancy offering in-depth "tours" of the U.S. military, Special Forces surveys the soldiers who "are perhaps America's most professional and capable warriors." Who are they? They are the men--and only men, for women are not allowed to become SF soldiers--who are "specially selected, specially trained, specially equipped, and given special missions and support." The Army Special Forces--known to much of the public as Green Berets--are often the first troops on the scene in a crisis. They're also incredibly versatile: "If you're looking for a Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger, don't expect to find them in today's Army Special Forces." That's because specialized missions--involving anything from psychological operations meant to undermine enemy morale to guerilla warfare in remote jungles--require flexibility. "Specialized missions (paradoxically) require a broad range of general capabilities and skills," which means SF soldiers, "while physically fit, tend to be more balanced (like triathletes) than specialized (like marathoners and weightlifters)."
Clancy and his coauthor, John Gresham, describe how SF soldiers are recruited, trained, and assigned. There are plenty of interesting notes about SF culture: They don't especially like being called "Green Berets," for instance, even though most units carry a copy of the John Wayne movie The Green Berets in their traveling video libraries. They are typically in their 30s, divorced and remarried, intelligent, interested in the news, and able to speak more than one language. There are also lots of details on weaponry, chronicles of training missions, and plenty of maps and pictures. The book ends with a fictionalized account of an SF mission in 2005 and 2006.
Special Forces is replete with Clancy's tough-guy prose: "The overall media presentation of the Army Special Forces has generally been one of contrived crap." And the book is essentially a celebration of a premier fighting force, rather than a critical treatment of it. But this is not necessarily a weakness. Special Forces will appeal to anybody interested in the modern military, and it may bring civilians closer than they'll ever come to these important troops. --John J. Miller
Book Description
They are sent to the world's hot spots-on covert missions fraught with danger. They are called on to perform at the peak of their physical and mental capabilities, primed for combat and surveillance, yet ready to pitch in with disaster relief operations. They are the Army's Special Forces Groups. Now follow Tom Clancy as he delves into the training and tools, missions and mindset of these elite operatives.
Special Forces includes:
• The making of Special Forces personnel: recruitment and training
• A rare look at actual Special Forces Group deployment exercises
• Tools of the trade: weapons, communications and sensor equipment, survival gear
• Roles and missions: a mini-novel illustrates a probable scenario of Special Forces intervention
• Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams
Plus: an interview with General Hugh Shelton, USA, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command-USSOCOM)
Customer Reviews:
Typical Clancy.......2007-01-22
Very dry, almost boring. Typical Clancy writing. I realize it is not a novel but I have read other books on SF and they are much more interesting although not as in depth as Clancy's. This book is a little outdated now. You can probably find more up to date information on SF.
Beyond the Beret: Clancy's book dispels myths about SF...........2004-02-13
Special Forces, the seventh and final entry in Tom Clancy's nonfiction Guided Tour series about America's armed forces, sets its sights on the shadowy -- and often misunderstood -- roles and missions of the men the author calls "the quiet professionals" of the Army's Special Forces command.
Although the public image of the Special Forces stems from such movies as John Wayne's 1968 cornball classic The Green Berets and the Rambo trilogy (Stallone's John Rambo is a former SF veteran who served in Vietnam) and Sgt. Barry Sadler's once-popular "Ballad of the Green Berets," Clancy and his co-author John D. Gresham point out that far from being hell-for-leather, shoot-first-ask-questions-later killing machines, SF soldiers are actually among the best troops in the U.S. Army. They have to be, because their missions -- ranging from blowing up a bridge or weapons factory far behind enemy lines to organizing, training, advising, and assisting foreign armies and police forces of "host" countries "to protect their societies or free them from subversion, lawlessness, insurgency, and terrorism." This means that in addition to their combat roles in Afghanistan and Iraq, SF teams are among the busiest of America's soldiers.
One of the more interesting insights I got from reading Special Forces is related to the role played by SF deployments in El Salvador during the darkest days of that Central American nation's long-running civil war. The Reagan Administration, knowing that any major American military intervention would be very unpopular at home and abroad (a Vietnam II in our own back yard, to put it bluntly), was caught in a decision-making dilemma. Clearly they did not wish El Salvador to "go Red" as Cuba and Nicaragua had in the past, yet they knew the ruling class -- derived from the wealthy class of landowners and other top honchos -- was also very indifferent about the conditions of the Salvadoran poor, particularly those in the countryside. Using the army and national guard -- themselves derived from El Salvador's small middle class -- in repressive and counterproductive ways, El Salvador's government just made matters worse, using indiscriminate tactics and the infamous death squads. Surely, Washington couldn't be too closely linked to a small group of wealthy "patrones" whose only interest was to maintain their lock on power and to ignore the people's legitimate demands for justice and social reform.
The solution? To use Special Forces to gradually change the mindset of the Salvadoran army. It took time, and quite a few of the SF advisers lost their lives in the crossfire between leftist forces and the army. Nevertheless, the Salvadoran officers and soldiers were "re-educated" and, as Clancy writes, "the Salvadoran Army tried acting in other than brutal and repressive ways toward their fellow countrymen, they began to halt activities of their death squads and to actually show respect for basic human rights.
As a result, the rebels lost a lot of support, the Army started winning hearts, minds, and territory, and "by the end of the Cold War [a] peace treaty was a done deal, the civil war had ended, and today there is a coalition government...." Granted, the SF deployments alone were not responsible for this achievement, but they had a major effect in getting the Salvadoran people to see that the way things were being handled by both the government and the rebels were just leading to more bloodshed and chaos.
As in all the Guided Tour series, which are being updated to reflect changes in technology, doctrine, and world realities, Special Forces gives the general reading audience a look at the equipment, training, organization, and the soldiers themselves. There is an interview with Gen. Henry H. Shelton USA (Ret) former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an experienced Special Operations veteran who served with the Special Forces and also commanded Special Operations Command from 1996 to 1998. There are also overviews of the larger Special Operations Command and, finally, a short fictional account of SF personnel in action.
(Oh, and while the Special Forces troops are proud of their famous headgear, they really don't like to be called "Green Berets." As one of them told the authors, "We are NOT hats!")
A Weak Showing from the 'Master of the Techno Thriller'.......2003-03-08
I should have known when I noticed in the store that this book lacked an index, that I should have put it back on the shelf. The omission of an index in what is purportedly an information resource is generally a bad omen, as illustrated by this book.
The book feels rushed and half-hearted. The information included, whether on weapons systems or unit history is spotty, at best, and missing or incorrect at worst. Delta, which admittedly is not officially operational, rates only a single, offhanded mention. There is a definite biased slant towards Army Special Forces at the expense of other branches, and while it would be expected if this were written by an USASOC denizen, it is inappropriate and unprofessionial in this context.
The photos are grainy and rather oddly chosen and the use of black and white printing, presumably to save money, shows a sincere lack of attention when the book shows different SF unit badges as uniformly gray patches.
This book pales when compared to earlier efforts like Marine or Carrier and comes across as a quickly produced reaction to growing interest in U.S. Special Operations.
He Could Do Better.......2002-04-16
I want to say right at the front that I am a very big fan of Clancy, both his fiction and non-fiction work. After the current war in Afghanistan started and there were descriptions that the start of the fighting was being carried out by Special Forces, I thought this book would be a great educational tool to help me better understand the new reports. The book does give a broad understanding of the different US military Special Forces groups, a run down on training, tactics and weapons, but it did not offer much punch in the writing. I also felt like many chapters were almost cut and paste jobs from the chapters before. Overall I felt that the book could have been about 30 - 50 pages shorter and said the same thing, this disappoints me because those pages could have been filled with more real life examples as to the missions these guys actually perform.
Overall this is a good effort by the Clancy team; it is not as good as the Submarine or Carrier books in this line, but a solid effort. I guess I am just expecting more from one of my favorite authors.
Early Sp. For........2002-02-05
I was in Special Forces Bad Tolz Germany July 1954 to Oct 1956. Most of the books I have read always say that we did not wear the "green beret" till after President Kennedy 1955. We took traning with the French in 1954, at that time they gave us the Green Beret. I have pictures of that. Carl Arndt
Book 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.
Customer Reviews:
Great Read.......2007-07-04
I love this book. It's condensed, interesting and thought stimulating. I guess some of the novelty comes from knowing that people have actually used this book to liberate peoples we aren't aware of. The book is interesting, but some of the information is definitely sensitive and otherwise strictly for educational purposes.
An Oldie But A Goodie.......2007-02-25
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.
Not reading material.......2005-11-30
This is an army manual. It is not for entertainment and most of it would be to hard for civilians to understand. If you are in S.F. and you need this book you can find it for free through your command or the local tm/mos library, but if I have to tell you that your probably not really S.F.
Good info., just severely limited.......2004-09-30
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.
Definitely CUT and DRY with NO INFORMATION in it.......2003-01-17
SAVE YOUR MONEY guys this book is definitely CUT and DRY to the bone... with very little information in it...and the very little information that is contained is PREHISTORIC stuff. USELESS, practically nothing on guerilla warfare..The information in the book that is contained is TOO OUT OF DATE...PRE VIETNAM and POST 2WW...The information is not even good enough for the infantry to use there is so little in it...if you don't belive me then buy it...
Book Description
Paladin is now offering the most up-to-date version in print of the famed U.S. Army Ranger Handbook. This manual draws from bloody lessons learned from two centuries of special operations combat. Crammed with info on demolitions, booby traps, communications, patrolling, tactical movement, battle drills, combat intelligence and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Great Read.......2007-07-05
Definitely interesting, though it's a dry read. It's worth a buy simply because it's so fascinating if you're a military buff or a paintball buff.
Small for a Reason.......2006-03-23
I went to Ranger School in 1973. After that the SF Q course. This book, so everyone knows, is small because it was not meant to be read in an armchair and sit in a library. It is the book that fits as the sole field reference book for a Ranger or Infantryman in general, in his BDU pocket. It is pocket sized for that reason only. Real Rangers and Infantrmen who would carry it to the field would put it inside a ziplock baggy to keep it dry and clean and stuff it in his rucksack or pocket and consider it a luxury item! I have about 6 or 7 editions/versions of this over my 30 year career. The book is printed by the print shop at Fort Benning, Georgia, and each Ranger school student gets a copy, and you can pick up a copy for free at the Fort Benning post publications center. You can also buy copies off base for a premium. The print of the Fort Benning issue copies is of course small, but very readable. And they are stapled together. Anything else is probably some publisher taking a copy, photocoping or camera copying the handbook, putting the resolutions in a computer, and printing their own version. The originals are printed under the USAIS (U.S. Army Infantry School) of which the U.S. Army Ranger School is a part of. This is a book that every member of the 75th Ranger Regiment )(the unit involved when someone says Army Rangers did this or that...). Going to Ranger school is not the same thing as being in the 75th Ranger Regiment, though nearly all members of the 75th RgrRegt have been to Ranger School, or will go as soon as they get a school slot. In the 75th all leaders of any rank have been to Ranger School. Only some of the newest privates who have volunteered to go, but not yet had a school slot have not been. Ranger School is just he "basics" of Ranger training for those in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Ranger school trained soldiers are common and in many units of the Army. The 75th Regt has a very elite and challenging work and training ethic befitting who they are and the missions given to them. This handbook is not their sole reference, not even close...FM 7-8, FM 7-10, FM 7-20, etc, etc are also their guiding books...but this is a handbook every Ranger has and often carries. If for no other reason that it is a lot simplier to look up the calculations, placement, and detonation for a specific demolitions charge for a specific target than try to memorize the tables. LOL The rest of the stuff in the book is trained on so throughly every Ranger pretty much could recite it, and more importantly, implement it when under fire in combat, automatically without hesitation and a second thought. Interested civilians might find this interesting. The handbook is a compilation of bits and pieces of information available in many other Army references (Field Manuals, Training Bulletins, etc) but is gathered together in the Ranger Handbook so it is in one small and useful resource.
A pocket-sized look inside an elite military organization.......2005-06-29
This is a great document. The editors distilled an incredible amount of information about being not only an infantryman, but an elite infantryman into a book about the same size as a copy of Reader's Digest.
And it begins well, with Major Robert Rogers's original admonitions to his troopers ("Standing Orders, Rogers' Rangers") when they were fighting in the French and Indian War.
To quote from the editors' notes:
"Ranger techniques and methods were an inherent characteristics of the frontiersmen in the colonies, but Major Rogers was the first to capitalize on them and organize them into a permanently organized fighting force. His "Standing Orders" were written in the year 1759. Even though they were over 200 years old, they apply just as well to Ranger operations conducted on today's battlefield."
And the Standing Orders themselves:
"1. Don't forget nothing.
2. Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatched scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute's warning.
3. When you're on the march, act the way you would if you were sneaking up on a deer. See the enemy first.
4. Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. There is an Army depending on us for correct information. You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers, but don't never lie to a Ranger or officer.... "
and so on, for a total of 19 standing orders.
The rest of the book (the part Major Rogers DIDN'T write) is more grammatical, but no less down-to-earth, mostly. Lots of information about how to be a combat leader, and detailed lists of lots of things (probably not everything by a long shot) expected of a Ranger, lists of standard operating procedures of our Army's elite infantry troops - even down to informal advice on when to set booby traps and how to rig dipole antennas for long-range radios.
What's so great about this book? It allows the reader to more fully understand the way of life of troops who train so hard that many trainees don't complete the Ranger course. And in this day and age that is no bad thing, because in Afghanistan and Iraq and places we'll probably never learn the names of, people who must read, mark and inwardly digest what's in this book defend us and destroy our enemies.
The Ranger Handbook got 4 stars because it is an authentic example of a rare genre, a military training document that transmits knowledge from elite warrior to apprentice elite warrior with no bureaucrats or technical writers in between. As such, it's a reasonably good, candid peek at the training of a member of an elite military organization.
Perhaps lots of military organizations have books of this sort, but the US Army Rangers seem to be the only organization whose informal in-house document is widely circulated outside its parent organization without a lot of fiddling around with the text, changes to the art, etc. Any book purporting to be "The Official US Armed Forces (whatever)" probably isn't.
NOT THE MOST UP TODATE VERSION.......2004-10-23
On Amazon this book is not the most up to date version as they the publisher says. Ranger SH-76 book isbn number 097590096X is the most current.
Best book on the subject, ever!.......2004-09-17
Yes, and I mean it. This is the best book, on the subject, ever....if you've got or are part of an army. Oh, and you've got to be at war too. Of course, I suspect this book might be useful, perhaps even very useful, for those involved (I mean really involved) in paintball competitions or even for those on the fringe who practice this stuff out in the sticks preparing for "the rev" . However, for practical purposes I'd suggest looking elsewhere. It is compact (small w/small print too)to the point of impracticality and for most it doesn't address true to life survival practices.
Book Description
By Charles H. Briscoe, et al. Tells the story of Iraqi Freedom, the second Army Special Operations (ASO) campaign in America's Global War on Terrorism. Shows how the ASO supported a US-led conventional air and ground offensive to collapse the regime of Saddam Hussein and capture Baghdad.
Book Description
In every respect, except for our weatherproof cover and handy pocket size, this is an exact reprint of the famous Army Field Manual 31-20. Covers improvised weapons, intelligence, psychological ops, communications, logistics, survival, infiltration, Special Forces field maneuvers, demolition, raids and ambushes, amphibious air ops and more.
Customer Reviews:
Special Forces Ops Then & Now.......2007-02-25
This is a military handbook meant for use in the field by trained Special Forces troopers, which means those who are already skilled in operations and intelligence, demolitions, communications, weapons, and advanced medical skills. It has a great deal more information than the SPECIAL FORCES HANDBOOK and is more specific in its instructions and info. I assume that it has been replaced in today's army by more up-to-date publications, but for what it is, it is very good, dry and concise but quite useful. Those considering buying it (which presumably excludes active duty military personnel) should look inside the book first and see if it fits their needs or interests. Some of the information is definitely dated. For instance, the radio and communications data was intended for equipment no longer in use by the army. The same applies to the other equipment described in the manual. The underlying principles are still the same, however.
We must look retarded to the natives..........2006-10-24
The good aspects of this FM have been praised by others, and as far as that goes, I fully agree... However...
Special Forces often operate with indigenous populations, whose trust they must earn. It is not enough to learn some of the local language. It is important not to look stupid, or else all respect, and incentive to cooperate is lost.
FM 31-20 has some "cultural `No-No's" that would inevitably make us look stupid... Example: Page 289, "Dust Initiator". It says, as an example of "cultural stupidity":
"From 1.36 to 2.67 kilograms of surround should be provided for each 28.32 cubic meters of target."
This was clearly "translated" in response to a directive "go metric" from the original text:
"From 3 to 6 pounds of of surround should be provided for each 1000 cubic feet of target"
Whereas the original sounds practical, the "translation" sounds so stupid that only the retarded would want to work with us... Remember, those natives, just because they speak English with an accent, or not at all, are not dumber than we are!
What it should say is: "Use 1.5 to 3 kilograms of surround for each 30 cubic meters of target - or if you wish, for each target volume of 3m x 3m x 3m".
There are a large number of examples of this kind of "cultural dumbness" in the manual. This is not just hair-splitting. If they think we are dumb, they sure will not help us. Perhaps pretend to do so, but not for long...
Well Done.......2003-02-28
I would like to recommend other things in addition to this book.
First of all; if you would like to know something about SOF, you should start reading the US doctrine of Spec Ops. This subject is not available for civilians for a while; as far as i know...it's apprx. 1100 pages.
But... you can study FM 21-75,FM 21-76 and FM 21-76-1.If you can get them...
In addition i recommend FM 31-70 "Basic Cold Weather Training"
You should know that it won't be easy to find these now..But they are a valueable asset in understanding some matters.
There is also an other book available:
Theory of Special Operations(Case Study)
This one is a must read...Not only for enlisted personnel but also for civilians. And it's easy to get this...
At last i would like to attend you on the fact of philosophy and warfare.. And why a soldair should be a thinker first..If you agree with me then you should read: Gates of Fire or Tides of War
Know that you won't find "Gates of Fire" nor "Tides of War" easy to read...
very useful and enjoyable for anyone........2003-02-26
SInce this books talks about different topics, like psychologic, radio transmitters and antennas, survival, and about how to make soap from nature, anyone will find it very interesting, its easy to read, and very enjoyable for those people who want to know a little about everything.
Guerrilla warfare & Spec Forces........2000-11-17
With a pocket size, this book has all you have to know about guerrilla warfare, counterguerrilla tactics, Unconventional Warfare, demolitions, raids & ambushes, water ops, etc, etc, etc.
It even has a whole section dedicated to Psychological ops!
All the info in the book is great, well exept the infiltration part that doesnt have pics or more detailed info.
Im telling you, this is da book!
Average customer rating:
- Its a good guide book
- Obsolete
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U.S. Army Special Forces Medical Handbook/st 31-91B
U. S. Army Institute
Manufacturer: Citadel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Weapons & Warfare
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ASIN: 0806510455 |
Customer Reviews:
Its a good guide book.......2003-03-28
Its good if you are getting it for what it is intended for some people get it just to read it but its not really a reading book
Obsolete.......2001-01-12
This is a civilian reprint of the 1983 ST31-91B. The issue version with it's waterproof pages is a collectors item and not worth much else. Both versions are now very outdated in much of their treatment and management of illness/injury. Frankly when I first got the book in 1983, I didn't find it's sparse outline presentation of information very useful. You can find more current information, better presented in some of the newer books on Wilderness Medicine
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