This book is the unauthorized account of the creation of an integrated Special Operations Command in the wake of the Iranian hostage rescue disaster (Operation Eagle Claw) through the killings of Bin Laden and Awlaki. The fact that so many in the upper echelons of the military were outraged that so many operators talked to Naylor should be reason enough to read this book. It reads like a page-turner, detailing just about every major action that has involved Delta, the Seals, and the Rangers. Even if you know the difference between Special Operations and Special Forces, this book will give you insight into the minutia of the likes of The Army of Northern Virginia (Task Force Orange) and DevGru never before collected. The book also does a great job of detailing both the personalities of people who shaped JSOC from Marcinko to McRaven, as well as the institutional structures and relationships between units, branches, and across agencies that hindered or fostered mission success. The involvement of politics and politicians (including career flag officers) is at the same time the most illuminating and disheartening aspect of the story. Although sourced mainly anonymously, the rigorous footnotes and multiplicity of accounts lets one judge for himself the veracity of each detail. The book is indispensable reading for those who want to learn the nuts and bolts of what has happened in the name of the Global War on Terror and lessons to be learned for the future in a “war” that might never end and on a “battlefield” that includes every inch of the globe.
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