The Sheriff of Ramadi: Navy SEALS and the Winning of al-Anbar

by Dick Couch

The Sheriff of Ramadi is the first book written about the courage and success of the Navy SEALs in Ramadi. The Battle of Ramadi was the most sustained and vicious engagement fought by Navy SEALs since their inception in 1962. Never has a conventional commander fought a battle using Special Operations Forces as an intricate part of his battle plan. The operational and intelligence-gathering capabilities of a SEAL Task Unit produced startling and unprecedented success on the battlefield and in this urban battlespace. The book is an account of the Navy SEAL Task Unit in Ramadi from October 2005 through October 2007. The text follows the Battle of Ramadi (often called the Second Battle of Ramadi) and the deployment of the SEAL Task Unit in that battle. The book is based on extensive interviews with Army, Navy, and Marine command and operational personnel who fought in this battle, and the author personally spent time in Ramadi in 2007 for a first hand assessment of the situation. Couch considers the Battle of Ramadi to be the most significant military engagement in the Global War Against Terrorism since 9/11. The Battle of Ramadi and the Battle for al-Anbar Province was the first battle where SOF/Navy SEALs and conventional forces fought side by side to achieve victory. The Battle of Ramadi and the lessons learned provides a template for future joint combined Special Operations Forces and Conventional Forces cooperation in the new battles pace in the war against al-Qaeda and their allies. The lethal component SEALs can bring to an active, insurgent battle space. The Battle of Ramadi was fought with 5,500 soldiers and marines, 2,300 soldiers from the new Iraqi army, and 32 operational SEALS. Of the 1,100+ insurgents killed in the Battle, Navy SEALs accounted for a third of them.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Military History, History, War

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Mr. Couch graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967. He graduated from BUD/S training in Class 45 in 1969. He was a case officer for the CIA.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pretty decent book. The author is a former Navy SEAL and Vietnam Vet, and as such I have great respect for his talents and service to our country. However, he can be insufferably boring at times (first 2 chapters especially) as he relives his past glory of being a Navy SEAL vicariously through the modern Navy SEALs assigned to the province. He is frequently too gratuitous in his incessant praise for the SEALs and quite redundant (The SEALs are wonderful, highly skilled and professional elite warriors of extremely high moral character and we're all very proud to know that they are out there protecting us...OK, now get on with the story already.) Also included is the history of the Navy SEALs, which I can only imagine is better and more accurately outlined in some other book. Chapters 3-5 are really quite good. Lots of stuff about being a sniper (which enhanced what I had previously read about Delta snipers in Eric Haney's book "Inside Delta Force.") Several very tragic and heroic deaths (SEALs Marc Lee, and Mike Monsour as well as Army Captain Travis Patriquin, and others.) were well documented and honorably memorialized.
My friend from my high school youth group, Jim Lechner, is quoted in chapter 6 as he tours the now peaceful city one year after they liberated it from the enemy. Having heard Jim's interview with Neil Cavuto (which in 7 minutes says almost everything it took Dick 237 pages to explain), and having read several other news articles about this, I feel Jim's presence in a lot of places where he isn't specifically mentioned. I wish I could give him a copy of the book, and have him write himself into chapters 4 and 5 where he belongs. ...And, elaborate a little more on what the Army was doing, as Dick is clearly more concerned with the SEALs. I wish Travis Patriquin's story could have been told as thoroughly as the fallen SEAL's stories. His stick figure presentation really makes this book. Maybe someone will write, or has written this story from the Army perspective. (Watch the interview, it's on Utube.)

[Mark Sequeira]

Okay, I really wanted to like this book. Even love it.

I read it straight through putting aside a number of other books to get through it in less than a week.

The story is a good one...All I can say is that the writing isn't very good or compelling. This is not Black Hawk Down. About half of the book is background information..."But before we get into that I should first explain..." So we discuss the origins of the Seals, the origins of Iraq and the Middle East, etc. it all takes a ton of time. And even the parts about the Teams in Anbar alone weren't really that interesting. The role players brief bios are presented and then what they did, then another brief intro then what he did.

There are plenty of good books on the Seal teams and their roles in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not one of them.

Good for anyone like me that has to read everything on a topic, or interested in counter-insurgency work (in fact that might be it's most valuable contribution honestly) in Iraq, but for pure adventure story look elsewhere.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book has a very ambitious scope in places - summarizing the relevant pieces of the history of Iraq from the dawn of civilization to the present in a few pages, or quickly familiarizing the reader with the history and culture of the Navy Seals - and Couch only gets to skim the surfaces of some of the broad topics he addresses. But once the book moves to specific operations in Anbar province, it is remarkably detailed and gives the reader a very clear picture of conditions on the ground and the role of the Seals in what is arguable one of the biggest triumphs of the war in Iraq.

[John F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed Masterpiece!

I think Americans should read more books about our Military and especially out Special Operations Forces. The media companies in America do not report the truth. They slant the facts so they can blame their opposition in Washington DC. Mr. Couch reveals s myriad of scenarios that would improve America's conventional forces along with the Special Operations Forces. I wish I could give this book 10 Stars! It is that good. Thank you again Captain (SEAL) Couch! Well done Sir!

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book on the battle for Ramadi during the Surge in Iraq. It paints a vivid picture of the action at a tactical level. That author was embedded with the units involved and covers about 2.5 tours by SEALs in Ramadi. It presupposes knowledge of the background, which can be gleaned from the first chapter of The Marines Take Anbar.

[Mathias Seiwert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could be a SEAL. Seriously…

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I wanted it to be, but even judging it on its own merits, it is a 2 star book. The book does not really give a good sense of the battle of Ramadi / the pacification of Anbar, but I think the author thought it did. It is a great look --excellent look-- at how SEALs integrated with conventional Army to conduct operations together, but that's it. If you really wanted to learn about Anbar, the battles there, etc., this isn't your book. One note -- the epilogue is excellent and insightful.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid book describing events in Iraq between 2005-07. How the US had an incredible turning point with fighting al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, these events were not really reported correctly by the Media and allowed the US to understand fully what happened. The US Media tends to report on just daily events and do not do series or continuous reporting on subjects. This book should be required by every House and Senate members to read. It showed and validate the importance of the US SEALs. Unfortunately, some to most are more worried about self promotion and making money.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. It didn’t focus on battles and operations but rather on the inner workings and strategies developed to retake the city and win over the local tribes. It also explored how SEALs were embedded with conventional forces—something rarely seen before with SOF units. Informative and interesting!

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went in expecting a tense, vivid read and I came out feeling something was lacking in this book. Especially given that Dick Couch is a former SEAL. The narrative was a bit dry and never seemed to really settle on one view point. You also never really get to "meet" the men involved, or care about them. In a book like this, that's bad. The narrative also never pulls you in, it's rather dry and overly long.

All in all, skip this one and go read The Red Circle by Brandon Webb or The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens instead.

[Nick Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I did get a lot out of this book. Since I do plan on joining the Military and being a part of a Special Operation Unit, it was good insight on what to expect and see how they operate. My only disappointment in this is that it’s about SEALs (minor complaint). Before it gets into the mission of the SEALs, it does go through a history of the SEALs and also the organization of the SEALs. I did find this part of the book really slow and hard to get through, but beyond that it was a good read. Four stars for a good read about SEALs in Iraq with the exception of the first two chapters.

[Dio Handoyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

What makes this book different is its focus on SOF-conventional units cooperation (especially the SEAL - Army dynamics covered), which places the scope of this book somewhere in the middle of those platoon-level stories and those Iraq-wide analysis. However, while the story is quite easy to follow, it's not as powerful and compelling as Mr. Couch's other books on SEAL training.

[Tressa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a struggle to read this book as it felt rather pedantic. There was a lot of information conveyed, but it felt superficial. Also, the lack of dates was confusing as I didn't know when an event was taking place. This book, unfortunately, wasn't as engaging as Warrior Elite.

[Kevin Cordell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was kind of slow, but it was a good story about how the US Military started to work with the Iraqi people instead of against them and to help the local populations get control of their territories from the insurgents and AQI.

[Dave Beeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heavy on SEAL team/TU glorification; light on the actual battle for Ramadi. Even the title is misleading. The author states that the "Sheriff" is the USA brigade commander.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

A welcome perspective. Thanks DC.