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Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command Paperback – Illustrated, October 11, 2016
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The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History.
Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed Bin Laden and Zarqawi, rescued Captain Phillips and captured Saddam Hussein. Its commander can direct cruise missile strikes from nuclear submarines and conduct special operations raids anywhere in the world.
Relentless Strike tells the inside story of Joint Special Operations Command, the secret military organization that during the past decade has revolutionized counterterrorism, seamlessly fusing intelligence and operational skills to conduct missions that hit the headlines, and those that have remained in the shadows-until now. Because JSOC includes the military's most storied special operations units-Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the 75th Ranger Regiment-as well as America's most secret aviation and intelligence units, this is their story, too.
Relentless Strike reveals tension-drenched meetings in war rooms from the Pentagon to Iraq and special operations battles from the cabin of an MH-60 Black Hawk to the driver's seat of Delta Force's Pinzgauer vehicles as they approach their targets. Through exclusive interviews, reporter Sean Naylor uses his unique access to reveal how an organization designed in the 1980s for a very limited mission set transformed itself after 9/11 to become the military's premier weapon in the war against terrorism and how it continues to evolve today.
- Print length560 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSt. Martin's Griffin
- Publication dateOctober 11, 2016
- Dimensions5.45 x 1.45 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-101250105471
- ISBN-13978-1250105479
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Editorial Reviews
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“Naylor informs and provokes . . . . His interviews with inside sources endow the narrative with a wealth of information, and the book benefits from Mr. Naylor’s familiarity with the subject . . . . Naylor succeeds splendidly in showing how and why the Joint Special Operations Command evolved―and why it will remain a valuable weapon.” ―Wall Street Journal
"[An] explosive new history of American special operations." - The Washington Post
"A must-read book . . . A splendid ― and real ― adventure read." ―The Washington Times
“All the intrigue one would expect from the stories of America's most highly classified and secretive military units. . . . Relentless Strike is likely the best definitive history of how America's special operations community rose like a Phoenix from the ashes of the Desert One fiasco to become the most capable elite fighting force in the world.” ―Washington Monthly
“Naylor provides a step-by-step, mission-by-mission, behind-the-scenes account as special operations units under JSOC's umbrella, such as Delta Force and SEAL Team 6, along with its use of drone aircraft to monitor and attack terrorist targets, became better known than JSOC itself. Along the way, he offers numerous revelations.” ―Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“A comprehensive new book about U.S. special operations . . . . well-sourced and researched.” ―Washington Examiner
“Fascinating…[Relentless Strike] might’ve sunk from the weight of its alphabet-agency acronyms in lesser hands. But Naylor, who spent 23 years covering military affairs at Army Times, often accompanying units into battle, sprinkles his 518 pages of heavily footnoted text with plenty of headline-worthy anecdotes. Naylor clearly admires the skill, tenacity and creativity of such troops. You’d think that the U.S. Special Operations Command…would quietly, if not publicly, appreciate the publication of this authoritative, largely admiring, history.” ―Newsweek
"Relentless Strike [is] the real thing. . . . You will be fascinated. . . . Naylor has an unusual problem for a writer: He knows too damn much." - Foreign Policy
“Naylor (Not a Good Day to Die), a journalist who specializes in covering special operations, has produced the most complete history to date of the most secret organization within the U.S. military: the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Given the organization's super-secret status, much of Naylor's engrossing material was gleaned from hundreds of interviews with former members. . . . Naylor's powerful and informative history is essential to understanding America's evolving military capability and the on-going war against global terrorism.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A highly readable book that is part military history and part Tom Clancy novel, drawing the reader into tales of bravery and sacrifice on a sometimes unimaginable scale. . . . The history of America's most elite fighting force is told with panache and critical analysis, making this one of the must-read military history books of the year.” ―NY Journal of Books
“The deeply reported, richly sourced, heavily footnoted tome tells the story of the creation of the world’s most effective and lethal manhunting organization. . . . What makes Relentless Strike an indispensable history and a hell of a read is how Naylor uses his tremendous access to the community, a treasure of existing literature and documents on the subject, and superb insight to craft a book that informs and entertains.” ―Tampa Bay Tribune
“A superb piece of writing . . . . An exceptionally well written, lucid and comprehensive account as to the rise and supremacy of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) on today’s battlefields. . . . The book is extraordinary and is probably better and more detailed than that which would be produced by the several Command historians.” ―Foreign Policy
“Over the past quarter-century, Sean Naylor has become one of the country's foremost experts on special operations forces.” ―Military Times
“A smoothly penned and thoroughly researched account of an important military asset in the ongoing U.S. war against terrorism.” ―Library Journal
“A history of the Joint Special Operations Command, one of the most elite and little-understood pieces of the American military. While most people know about Delta Force and SEAL Team 6, few have heard of their umbrella group, JSOC. . . . Naylor delivers an unquestionably comprehensive history.” ―Kirkus Reviews
"Increasingly viewed as a 'must read' in the defense community" - Mark Safranski, Zenpundit.com
About the Author
Believed to be the only journalist to have flown with JSOC's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in both training and combat, author Sean Naylor's sources in the special operations community are unparalleled in their breadth and depth. Naylor's 2005 book "Not a Good Day to Die," with its groundbreaking coverage of JSOC's Advance Force Operations in Afghanistan was so detailed that U.S. Special Operations Command, JSOC's higher headquarters, ordered an investigation into how the information was leaked. It was also selected for the official reading lists of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Air Force Chief of Staff.
That was far from the only time that Naylor's coverage of JSOC has provoked the powers that be into action. In late 2001 his mention of the role that Task Force Orange and JSOC's secret helicopter unit, Flight Concepts Division, might be playing along the Afghan border prompted a request from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Army Times to not publish those paragraphs from the newspaper edition of Naylor's story on the Web. And in late 2006 his article about JSOC's hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - the first to detail the extensive JSOC role in Iraq - led to an FBI investigation into the alleged leak of classified information.
Product details
- Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (October 11, 2016)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 560 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250105471
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250105479
- Item Weight : 1.08 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.45 x 1.45 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #41,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #43 in Iraq War History (Books)
- #44 in Intelligence & Espionage History
- #70 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Sean Naylor is the author of the forthcoming "Relentless Strike - The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command," to be published by St. Martin's Press on Sept. 1, 2015. He is also the intelligence and counterterrorism reporter for Foreign Policy magazine. From 1990 to 2013 he was a reporter for the Army Times. He has covered the Afghan mujahideen's war against the Soviets, and American military operations in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Named one of the 22 "unsung" influential print reporters in Washington by American Journalism Review in May 2002, he earned the White House Correspondents' Association's prestigious Edgar A. Poe Award for his coverage of Operation Anaconda.
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A few observations and things I learned from reading the book are as follows:
1. Breadth of Capabilities of Delta: Delta's popularly known as top tier direct action commandos, where everything comes down to pulling triggers and stomping skulls. What's revealed in the book, is that skillset is just one component of the Command. The Unit's Operational Support Troop ("OST") and their E Squadron are for all intents purposes self sufficient intelligence gathering and covert / low-vis aviation units that rivals the CIA. Between the line squadrons (i.e. assaulters and snipers), OST and E Squadron, non is more important than any other. My favorite story from the book was an operation in Iraq where Delta operators disguised themselves as field hands on a suspected high value al queda targets farm where able to capture him and multiple other insurgents without firing a single shot.
2. Why SEAL Team 6 Was Chosen for bin Laden Raid: There was quite a bit of debate for a while on why the SEALs where selected for the 2011 bin Laden raid over what many consider was a quintessential Delta operation. The rationale was ultimately very straight forward, since 2002, while Delta was wholly focused on Iraq, any raid into Pakistan tribal areas to kill or capture bin Land had been permanently tasked to the SEALs. The SEALs trained constantly to conduct a HAHO insertion into Pakistan, and had a troop on alert in Afghanistan at all times in the event.
3. Pretty Much Every Head of JSOC Sucked Except General McChrystal: According to the complaints levied by JSOC subordinates in the book, JSOC has had leadership challenges that hampered the Command and in some cases potentially gotten non-combatants killed. Specifically, in 2011 four Americans where taken hostage on their yacht off the Northern coast of Somalia. ST6 was scrambled to handle the situation, however, despite the SEAL snipers being in position and having a bead on the captors, Admiral McRaven explicitly forbade any of his shooters / assaulters to take deadly action, vi-si-vis fire on the terrorist under any circumstance. Tragically, all four hostages were killed as the SEALs watched helplessly. Also, JSOC's commander from 2001 - 2003, General Dell Dailey, seemed to be a constant loggerheads with various JSOC units field officers, especially with Delta. There were numerous accounts in the book where Dailey's fundamental disconnect from the ground units, extreme risk aversion and insatiable desire to appease his superiors clashed fiercely with various Delta officers who always were trying to make the most efficient and effective tactical decisions.
4. 75th Rangers Role: Over the course of the books timeline, the Rangers evolve from standard light infantry to essentially JSOC's 3rd dedicated special missions unit. The Regiment clearly took advantage of the opportunities the war on terror afforded to them by leveraging their dependability and flexibility supporting Delta / ST6 / JSOC. The culminating moment of their accession as force, came when Admiral McRaven placed a 75th Colonel in charge of all JSOC task forces in Afghanistan in 2009, and probably for the first time ever, over a theater Delta squadron much to the operators chagrin. This wasn't without issues however. The Regiments culture varies greatly from Delta and the SEALs. The Rangers are by in large much younger and less experienced than the other two SMU's at the enlisted level and their respective leadership approach to warfare are also disconnected. The Rangers favor a "kill everything twice" approach where is Delta's SOP is tactical patience and exerting the minimum amount force to efficiently achieve the desired outcome of an operation. The Rangers aggressive nature frequently infuriated their Delta colleagues. This was made evident in 2010 when a Ranger element launched a night raid on a compound based on half-backed intelligence, where the Rangers killed four civilians two of which were pregnant women.
5. Mysterious Phone Call to UBL's Sons on Night of the Raid: This was the most jaw dropping, albeit brief, part of the book. The bin Laden raid was approved by Obama on April 29th, and launched two days later on May 1st. According to the authors source, someone tried calling one or both of bin Laden's two sons living at the compound with him as the SEALs where en route. This notable because the call came in the middle of the night and more-so that the CIA had determined that no cell phones were used in any proximity to the hideout much less inside it for any reason as trade craft to avoid detection. You could possibly infer that warning of the raid had somehow been leaked.
Mostly, there is a ton of info of why JSOC came into being after the 1990 Iran rescue failure, its hunt for Balkan war criminals and the ups and downs up to 2001 and gradual expansion ever since.
There is a lot about the organization chart of how was leading the JSOC, tons of names. Sometimes you get confused as new officers are mentioned for the first time. Or, and that is frequent, a unit's codename changes. Lots about the equipment they would use and the gradual evolution of their doctrine, especially to go after Zarqawi in Iraq in '06 (they're the ones who called in the airstrike). No, you don't see much sympathy for Zarqawi and the other butchers, but there is grudging recognition that they were pretty good at being evil terrorists, else they'd soon be dead.
For the weapon/gear geeks among us, there is plenty of red meat to chew on. From how they weaponized super small helicopters to spy trade craft to embed recon elements as civilians, to landing and insertion tactics.
And there are plenty of tactical combat descriptions, if that's what you're after. From the mission to kill Bin Laden to the tragic misfortune where SEAL 6's borrowed Chinook gets shot down a few weeks later.
Although the author clearly admires the very smart and dedicated people in JSOC, he does not, on occasion, spare them from criticism. Up to Abu Ghraib, some of the JSOC interrogations might have been, let's say, a bit unpleasant. And he makes it clear that it probably did happen and that it probably wasn't just "a few guys, off the books". Ditto when he mentions in passing how little influence the Special Forces - whose mission runs more into nation-building and bringing the locals on board, have on JSOC. The top brass's doctrine is all sticks, no carrots.
(speaking of what carrots can achieve: Hammerhead Six: How Green Berets Waged an Unconventional War Against the Taliban to Win in Afghanistan's Deadly Pech Valley )
His conclusion, which takes place around the time ISIS gets started, is that there are limits to the JSOC model. They can kill, but they are not meant to hold ground. Which is specifically something he mentions in regards to ISIS's quick 2014 capture of all the Iraqi cities JSOC fought so hard to clear insurgents from. He also states, without going into much detail, how the Taliban were for some reason way more resilient in taking JSOC's punches than Al-Quaeda in Iraq. They were getting ground down, but they weren't going away and the troops were frustrated at the lack of lasting effect.
He ends with a bit of frustration that successive administrations are using those troops to solve all problems - whether or not they're a good fit. To paraphrase:
"JSOC is an awesome hammer. So Presidents now see every problem as a nail".
Top reviews from other countries
Das Buch ist grundsätzlich chronologisch konzipiert (Anfangsphase bis 9/11, Afghanistan-Invasion, Irak-Krieg und folgende Aufstandsbekämpfung und die Expansion zu einer globalen Agenda), beinhaltet aber je nach den einzelnen Kapiteln und Themenschwerpunkten doch immer wieder kleinere Zeitsprünge, die sich aber bei der Komplexität des Themas nicht vermeiden lassen. Die Darstellung ist jederzeit klar verständlich, schlüssig konzipiert und gut nachvollziehbar geschrieben.
Die geschilderten Einsätze reichen unter Anderem von Grenada, Panama und Somalia bis in den Irak, Libyen, Afghanistan, Pakistan und dem Jemen. Thematisiert werden Missionen zur Geiselbefreiung, Terrorismusbekämpfung, Aufstandsbekämpfung oder beispielsweise aber auch zur Verhinderung der Weiterverbreitung von Massenvernichtungswaffen.
Das Buch gibt aber neben den zahlreichen Missionen ebenso auch einen fundierten Einblick in die evolutionäre Entwicklung von JSCO (Stichwort: the machine und Stan McCrystal), dessen Organisationsstruktur, Befehlsstruktur und Befehlshaber, unterstellte Einheiten, Fähigkeiten, Technologien, Taktiken, Rivalitäten oder Kurskontroversen. Es werden aber auch Verfehlungen wie Gefangenenmisshandlung vor allem in den ersten Jahren nach 9/11 oder der Tod unschuldiger Zivilisten bei manchen Einsätzen offen angesprochen.
Das Buch stützt sich auf zahlreiche Interviews mit noch aktiven und ehemaligen Soldaten, die unter JSOC dienen/dienten, Büchern von ehemaligen Kommando-Soldaten und auch auf offiziellen Verlautbarungen von US-Stellen. Besonders interessant sind natürlich die Berichte und Einschätzungen der beteiligten Soldaten als unmittelbare Zeitzeugen.
Es liegt bei diesem Thema in der Natur der Sache, das Vieles der Geheimhaltung unterliegt und deshalb nicht oder nur teilweise oder unvollständig bekannt ist und auch das es zu verschiedenen Missionen widersprüchliche Schilderungen und Berichte gibt. Dies ist aber nicht dem Autor anzukreiden, sondern ist der Aktualität und der Brisanz des Themas geschuldet. Die umfangreiche Rechercheleistung des Autors ist gerade deshalb als sehr überzeugend zu werten, zumal sich viele Informationen auch beispielsweise mit anerkannten Fachblogs wie dem Long War Journal decken. Es gelingt ihm ein sehr umfassendes, belastbares und detailliertes Bild zur Thematik zu zeichnen.
Jeder, der sich für Themen wie Spezialeinheiten, Geheimdienste, 'Krieg gegen den Terror' und vor allem auch über das Geschehen hinter den Kulissen bei sehr vielen wichtigen weltpolitischen Kriegen und Konflikten interessiert, sollte unbedingt dieses Buch lesen. Es ist eine mehr als interessante, spannende und informative Lektüre.