U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to America's Special Operations Units-The World's Most Elite Fighting Force

by Samuel A. Southworth, Stephen Tanner

President George W. Bush has told all Americans that the war against terrorism would 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–1980s 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—including combat terrorism, search and rescue, reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping duty, and conventional and unconventional warfare.Despite special forces’ international reputation for excellence, Americans know little about this remarkable fighting force. U.S. Special Forces provides a handy and comprehensive compendium, including descriptions of the units and their operational specialties, training, and organization, as well as the equipment and technological gadgetry, weapons, armor, planes, helicopters, and support vehicles used by each unit.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to Americas’ Special Operations Units – The World’s Most Elite Fighting Force by Samuel A. Southworth and Stephen Tanner (Da Capo Press 2002) (356.167). The Special Operations Forces were officially placed under unified command in the American military in the mid 1980's under the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This book considers each of the specialized units that are vital parts of SOCOM, their areas of specialization, their histories, their training, and their general culture. My rating: 7/10, finished 2004.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference book on SpecOps.

[Rex Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Would have liked it to be more detailed in terms of stationing and where some of the units were employed.

[Jon Maxdale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad but I expected it to be better.