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The Guerrilla Factory: The Making of Special Forces Officers, the Green Berets
With “a fresh, authentic voice” (Publishers Weekly), former Special Forces commander and current instructor Tony Schwalm takes readers deep inside the grueling training on the notorious Q course, required for all Special Forces soldiers before they can join the elite Green Berets that defends our country in nontraditional operations.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 25, 2016
A well-written and engaging memoir of the Schwalm’s Special Forces service with a focus on that unit’s training regimen. The author provides an insightful account of the process and the ideas behind it (or at least on how it was when Schwalm went through it some twenty years ago)
The book is partly a memoir and partly an insight into the community, and the approach works well. The author’s account of Robin Sage is particularly interesting, and he does a great job describing the emotional, mental and physical challenges of the training. He writes well, being at times informal, candid, humorous and sarcastic.
A clearly written and insightful work.
The book is partly a memoir and partly an insight into the community, and the approach works well. The author’s account of Robin Sage is particularly interesting, and he does a great job describing the emotional, mental and physical challenges of the training. He writes well, being at times informal, candid, humorous and sarcastic.
A clearly written and insightful work.
January 12, 2014
Solid read. I got learnt up.
January 7, 2026
This book reads like a memoir of Tony Schwalm’s experience through his training and leadership experiences in the green berets. His reflections are humble and strikingly honest, sharing many of his own mistakes and failures. He focuses on unconventional warfare - how the army trains for It, why it’s important, and when It has been effective.
February 26, 2018
A nice little book focused on its niche. Tony Schwalm, a former Special Forces officer, with experience leading tanks in Desert Storm, explains the selection process, training and deployment of the OTHER part of the special forces matrix: the A-Teams that develop our allied indigenous forces or execute "Nation-Building" at the grass roots level. As such, it's fascinating and revealing.
I churned through this book. It's fun and readable. Schwalm does a good job of taking you into the room in every exercise. He's honest about his own shortcomings, but often searingly self critical. The Reader will be entertained and educated.
A good book for a junior reader to think about a military career, or just to go behind the scenes in the military without encountering too much violence. For the military enthusiast/gamer/Modeller, this is more on background than of immediate use, but will enhance scenarios and dioramas. Understanding how this part of the Special Forces functions both internally and while doing their job can only improve their portrayal in models and games.
I churned through this book. It's fun and readable. Schwalm does a good job of taking you into the room in every exercise. He's honest about his own shortcomings, but often searingly self critical. The Reader will be entertained and educated.
A good book for a junior reader to think about a military career, or just to go behind the scenes in the military without encountering too much violence. For the military enthusiast/gamer/Modeller, this is more on background than of immediate use, but will enhance scenarios and dioramas. Understanding how this part of the Special Forces functions both internally and while doing their job can only improve their portrayal in models and games.
January 20, 2021
Super interesting for those who want to learn about special forces. He goes in depth no only about the training but about the selection process and the blood sweat and tears that go into making the finest unconventional warfare operators on the planet.
May 27, 2014
Pros: The Guerrilla Factory is a great book for explaining the difficulties in becoming a Green Beret and revealing information-some of which can be difficult to find-while telling it in an humorous and entertaining manner. Hearing these struggles from the viewpoint of someone who has endured them gives a good glimpse into a world that is completely foreign to most of us. From swimming through freezing lakes in fatigues to being captured and sent to a mock-prison camp, this book has increased my respect of these warriors even more. The stories in this book also changed my opinion on the difference of what just one man can do, especially one who has overcome this kind of training. The author describes his own experience in countries like Haiti, where the Green Berets not only fight bad guys, but change the lives of people around them. Their presence as diplomats, warriors, and peacemakers do something that other organizations usually do not. They establish popularity and general good feelings from others towards the U.S. which i believe makes them the most effective soldiers.
Cons: This book left little left to be said overall and I found it very enjoyable. However I feel that from an information standpoint there could have been a little bit of a clearer explanation on some of the functions of the Green Berets. Possibly an outline of the training, uses, and techniques would have been helpful. I also understand that many of this information may not be able to be presented in this manner do its sensitive nature, but if it was approached differently that may help avoid confusion. Another idea would be to make the book a bit longer and maybe add some more information, but this is not necessary.
Recommendation: This book was really insightful and convinced me of the extreme effectiveness of these diplomat warriors. I also learned a lot about training and deployment of the Green Berets. The author also did a really good job of explaining how these soldiers feel and think during training. It gives an understanding and profound respect for the quiet professionals. I would highly recommend this book to those who are interested in the military, are thinking of joining this group, like history, or just want to learn something new.
Cons: This book left little left to be said overall and I found it very enjoyable. However I feel that from an information standpoint there could have been a little bit of a clearer explanation on some of the functions of the Green Berets. Possibly an outline of the training, uses, and techniques would have been helpful. I also understand that many of this information may not be able to be presented in this manner do its sensitive nature, but if it was approached differently that may help avoid confusion. Another idea would be to make the book a bit longer and maybe add some more information, but this is not necessary.
Recommendation: This book was really insightful and convinced me of the extreme effectiveness of these diplomat warriors. I also learned a lot about training and deployment of the Green Berets. The author also did a really good job of explaining how these soldiers feel and think during training. It gives an understanding and profound respect for the quiet professionals. I would highly recommend this book to those who are interested in the military, are thinking of joining this group, like history, or just want to learn something new.
April 15, 2017
Guerrilla Factory is eye-opening, especially to those who only have the dribbled news clips that are filtered through our news media centers. I grew up as a young person through Desert Storm and was in college when the World Trade Towers fell. Seeing these events, and those times, through a different lens left me with a strange sense of awe and understanding. It reminded me that there is much more to life, political, military, or otherwise, then what we civilians see on the surface.
I grew up as the grandchild, cousin, and friend of folks who have served this country. Their stories always surrounded and awed me. This book has that same quality, of sitting listening to their tales, of knowing the very human element to it, and learning that my very comfortable world is almost alien compared to some of the situations in other countries. It brought new light to events I only *thought* I understood.
I enjoyed the style of the writing, and the narrator for the Audible version was an excellent match. I'm sure to listen to it again. When my son is a little older, I will share it with him as well.
I have a new respect for the SOF and what they put themselves through in order to make their Unconventional Warfare work.
I grew up as the grandchild, cousin, and friend of folks who have served this country. Their stories always surrounded and awed me. This book has that same quality, of sitting listening to their tales, of knowing the very human element to it, and learning that my very comfortable world is almost alien compared to some of the situations in other countries. It brought new light to events I only *thought* I understood.
I enjoyed the style of the writing, and the narrator for the Audible version was an excellent match. I'm sure to listen to it again. When my son is a little older, I will share it with him as well.
I have a new respect for the SOF and what they put themselves through in order to make their Unconventional Warfare work.
August 18, 2018
This book was of particular interest to me, because the author and I are roughly the same age; had things gone a bit differently during the late 1980s, we might have ended up serving together at some point. There are many biographies/autobiographies/memoirs written by or about U.S. military personnel who served during the Cold War era, and there are now several focused primarily on the years since September 11th, 2001; there are comparatively few, however, which cover the twenty-six years between the fall of Saigon and the attack on the World Trade Center. This book will no doubt be eventually recognised as one of the better ones. In addition to being well-written, it provides an excellent and detailed account of Special Forces training during the 1990s, and simply for those two reasons I would recommend it highly. According to the short biographical note on the back flap, as of last year Lieutenant Colonel Schwalm, now retired from the army, was working as a Department of the Army civilian employee assigned to the CJSOTF-Afghanistan. Hopefully, he will write another book on his experiences there...
January 1, 2015
This book focuses on the Special Forces Qualification Course from the perspective of the author, an Army office who successfully completed it to become a Green Beret. I found this book to be very informative, offering an insight into the mission of Special Forces in unconventional warfare. While I certainly respect the author for having become a Green Beret and serving this country I did not find his story particularly interesting (or perhaps "compelling" would be a better word). In fact, from my perspective, the sections dealing with his mission to Haiti proved more interesting than the process of becoming qualified to participate in that mission. My grading down was also a product of the author's writing style, which was dry.
September 29, 2014
Mixed feelings about this book. The plus point: this book is solely about the military aspect, no melancholy family crap. The minus point: the second half of the book kinda gets boring. And it does not have that high profile real mission like No Easy Day.
Having said that, it is important read for military enthusiasts that there is different kind of warriors from the famed SEALs. Here is the "warrior diplomats", whose diplomatic and rapport building skills must match their death dealing arts. They can kill, but more importantly, they can make others kill better. When SEALs work in hours timeframe, the Green Berets work in months, even years.
Still recommended if you have no knowledge of Army Special Forces.
Having said that, it is important read for military enthusiasts that there is different kind of warriors from the famed SEALs. Here is the "warrior diplomats", whose diplomatic and rapport building skills must match their death dealing arts. They can kill, but more importantly, they can make others kill better. When SEALs work in hours timeframe, the Green Berets work in months, even years.
Still recommended if you have no knowledge of Army Special Forces.
October 27, 2014
I became engrossed in this book for it is written in clear and easy prose. Tony Schwalm shows us his vulnerabilities, with unbounded humor. The highs and lows. I appreciate this aspect of the book. I love his writing style. So easy to follow and he uses analogies and visuals to explain techy military terms.
This is a far different book than Lone Survivor or No Easy Day. The mission of the Green Berets isn't to perform short-term strike and done operations, but instead they focus on the long-term, mixing diplomacy with force as needed.
I felt like Tony had a Go Pro camera attached to his helmet and took us along for every nuance of the ride from the start of his SERE training to finally becoming a Green Beret. A fascinating journey to say the least, and fun too!
This is a far different book than Lone Survivor or No Easy Day. The mission of the Green Berets isn't to perform short-term strike and done operations, but instead they focus on the long-term, mixing diplomacy with force as needed.
I felt like Tony had a Go Pro camera attached to his helmet and took us along for every nuance of the ride from the start of his SERE training to finally becoming a Green Beret. A fascinating journey to say the least, and fun too!
February 21, 2013
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Not quite a 5-star book, but if I could give it a numeric score it would be 4.8. The author has a good, readable style. I learned a lot about how the Green Beret officers train for unconventional warfare. Although there was some of it, I wish there was more of a connection between the lessons the officers learn in training and how they apply (or misapply) them in the field. I had also hoped it was less of an autobiography and more of a evaluation of the officers training program.
November 9, 2014
More than just a description of the training of the US Army's Special Forces, this book highlights the differences between the "commandos", mostly dealing in counter-terrorism, and the "guerrillas" who have trained in unconventional warfare, where progress is measured in months and years rather than hours or days. SEALs and the like receive most of the attention these days but the capabilities of the SF are as valuable as ever- hopefully they will continue to receive the support and funding to continue their work.
April 21, 2013
I had mostly read about Navy Seals before, so it was interesting to read Schwalm's account of his training and life as a Green Beret. Think I liked reading most about the Green Beret's help in Haiti in the 1990s. Too bad the US didn't support Haiti as much after their earth quakes as they did when trying to destabilise a government, and prop up their own administration. (My judgement, could be wrong!)
December 26, 2013
An amazing A-Z look at Special Forces training and specifically what the officers go through. I especially appreciated the clear and humble writing style of Schwalm, something that is severely lacking in most books in the SF/SEAL genre. I was also impressed with the successful and varied career of the author, he has accomplished a lot and while reading the book you can see why. Highly recommended for insight into SF training.
January 13, 2016
The Guerilla Factory: The Making of Special Forces Officers, The Green Berets by Tony Schwalm (Free Press 2012) (356.167) is a novel approach to the reporting that surrounds the various US "Special Forces" groups in that it specifically concerns how commissioned officers are vetted by the US Army. My rating: 6/10, finished 2/25/13.
September 28, 2015
It was a decent book, it gave a good insight into some of the Special Forces mindset. It was interesting to see the author's viewpoint on the distinction between other special forces like the Navy SEALs and the Army Special Forces.
March 25, 2013
More of a personal account from the authors perspective, but a good offset to Dick Couch's Chosen Soldier that details the enlisted side of the Special Forces pipeline.
January 25, 2013
This is an interesting book about an officers journey through the green berets.
February 17, 2013
Fantastic story of what it takes to wear the green beret and how the training for officers has evolved over time.
August 30, 2014
The author writes of his journey to become a officer in the Green Berets. He documents his military career discussing some of the challenges involved.
July 25, 2016
if you want to know how the green beret trained their grunt, this is the goodread!
March 17, 2017
Awesome book
Really great read. Smart and to the point. You get a good firsthand account of what Special Forces actually are and their importance.
Really great read. Smart and to the point. You get a good firsthand account of what Special Forces actually are and their importance.
December 12, 2017
Good book, a key to understanding the role of Special Forces, otherwise known as Green Berets, in the Special Operations Forces community. Special Forces are unique in the military, as they are the only military group that emphasizes embedding themselves within the native population, training them, fighting alongside them if that is the case, assisting in medical responsibilities, building infrastructure, and other tasks where rapport is required (The CIA also performs some of these tasks, but technically they are not part of the DOD). The author used several terms to describe Special Forces in comparison to other groups such as Navy Seals or Marine Force Recon. He described them as "Daniel Boone" where as the other two groups mentioned are more like "superman" in his words. The Daniel Boone type must be familiar with and able to do just about every task imaginable, live in under-developed areas with little or no support from the military supply chain, be able to speak a foreign language and teach the native population critical skills. This can take weeks, months, and in some cases bordering on years. A Green Beret is in for the long haul. In comparison, the Superman type typically swoops in, has a very specific skill set (usually very violent), takes care of the task at hand, and has minimal if any interaction with the native population, and is back at a base within a matter of days or weeks. Very different jobs, for very different tasks, and very different training. The author describes his training, how it is unique, and then goes on to talk about his career and how the philosophy of Special Forces applies. Informative read, as my brother in law is a member of SF. This will give me something to talk about.
March 25, 2018
An aura of mystique is inherent in today's public understanding of everything related to special operations - including the U.S. Army's Special Forces. Much of the coverage has been either around the training process (always sported to be one of the toughest in the world) or successful missions (mostly also claimed as one of the toughest ones).
What is most fascinating about Lt. Col. Schwalm's account of his experience as a Green Beret is the view of life in an operational Group - the fact that it is not the logo or the name that makes the unit special, it is the deeds of the men inside that unit. It is evident in the book that actually no one has a complete idea of what it actually means to conduct an UW campaign in real life, and that the SF groups themselves are by no means perfect (even to things you'd never expect special operators to worry about, like equipment maintenance or training quality) but for the efforts of the men inside to continuously find ways to accomplish the job no matter what.
The simple, tongue-in-cheek style of writing also makes the narration more relatable, with some of the more interesting accounts (Lt. Col. Schwalm's very vivid recollection of the Trek comes to mind as an example) reinforcing that these men are human - remarkable ones - but not superheroes. Very enjoyable read.
What is most fascinating about Lt. Col. Schwalm's account of his experience as a Green Beret is the view of life in an operational Group - the fact that it is not the logo or the name that makes the unit special, it is the deeds of the men inside that unit. It is evident in the book that actually no one has a complete idea of what it actually means to conduct an UW campaign in real life, and that the SF groups themselves are by no means perfect (even to things you'd never expect special operators to worry about, like equipment maintenance or training quality) but for the efforts of the men inside to continuously find ways to accomplish the job no matter what.
The simple, tongue-in-cheek style of writing also makes the narration more relatable, with some of the more interesting accounts (Lt. Col. Schwalm's very vivid recollection of the Trek comes to mind as an example) reinforcing that these men are human - remarkable ones - but not superheroes. Very enjoyable read.
June 23, 2020
The author portrayed the ‘Q Course’ in an eloquent and efficient manner. The parallels of Schwalm’s experience during Sage and a close colleague of mine are quite uncanny. The author’s descriptive analysis of the green beret training (from an officer’s POV) elaborates as to why these ‘masters of chaos’ were able to be the first troops to enter such austere scenarios as Afghanistan in congruence with alphabet agencies shortly after the towers fell. Schwalm details the warrior-diplomat flexibility, pivotal to the success of deployed green berets, through his examples of saving the lives of complete strangers one minute, to leading joint SF/‘indig’ raids with the intent of complete enemy annihilation the next.
May 28, 2024
Intimate behind-the-scenes memoir worthy of your time
I read this partly due to the fact that a very close relative and associated friends have personal experience with JFKSWCS, Afghan operations, etc. Some got out, being disgusted by corrupt and twisted politics. Some are still serving. I suspect ALL would agree that the sacrifices made by special warfare operators and conventional personnel were wasted by political incompetence. The author's closing remarks, made in the 2012 timeframe and viewed through the lens of 2024, give rise to the contempt of politicians, both in and out of uniform. Those who served honorably deserve better.
I read this partly due to the fact that a very close relative and associated friends have personal experience with JFKSWCS, Afghan operations, etc. Some got out, being disgusted by corrupt and twisted politics. Some are still serving. I suspect ALL would agree that the sacrifices made by special warfare operators and conventional personnel were wasted by political incompetence. The author's closing remarks, made in the 2012 timeframe and viewed through the lens of 2024, give rise to the contempt of politicians, both in and out of uniform. Those who served honorably deserve better.
October 25, 2017
As a former Green Beret myself who worked with Tony Schwalm at SOCOM, and an author of a book that tells the tales of my own Green Beret adventures in unconventional warfare in Iraq, Kosovo, and Bosnia, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the Green Berets.
Green Berets are very different than other Special Operations forces, and Tony makes learning about this distinction very engaging.
BTW, Tony is a fantastic human being in general, and he gave me tips about writing my own book.
Green Berets are very different than other Special Operations forces, and Tony makes learning about this distinction very engaging.
BTW, Tony is a fantastic human being in general, and he gave me tips about writing my own book.
March 11, 2020
A wonderful book that gave me a great appreciation for what Green Berets do and how they are so VERY different from the Navy SEALs. Not better, not worse - just extremely different in how they operate.
The author shows how the Green Berets: "bridge cross-cultural divides, to liberate a people while causing harm to an amorphous enemy and with a microscopic cost for a tremendous, history-changing return on the investment."
He shows the power of listening, caring and helping to solve problems.
God bless these men and the families that support them with this difficult task.
The author shows how the Green Berets: "bridge cross-cultural divides, to liberate a people while causing harm to an amorphous enemy and with a microscopic cost for a tremendous, history-changing return on the investment."
He shows the power of listening, caring and helping to solve problems.
God bless these men and the families that support them with this difficult task.
December 10, 2024
Great book with amazing insight into the process of making Green Beret officers. As a fellow 18A, I wish I read this before my time attending SFAS and SFQC. For anyone pursuing the job of a Detachment Commander, LatC (R) Schwalm’s account of the process and the life as a Green Beret is insightful and well worth your time, especially in today’s environment where there is less unilateral DA missions and more support to resistance and going back to executing the Regiment’s core mission set!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews