Special Ops
Four Accounts of the Military's Elite Forces
Published on 8. August 2017
2390 pages
978-1-5040-4745-6 (ISBN)
Description
Four military histories from a writer"whose fine work should be of great interest . . . both to casual readers and to uniformed students of special ops" (
Publishers Weekly).
An expert in military affairs, Orr Kelly reveals the cutting-edge technology and jaw-dropping courage of the US military's elite forces on land, sea, and air.
Brave Men, Dark Waters: Originating in World War II as Underwater Demolition Teams, the Navy SEALs are the best of the best in the armed forces-known for their toughness and fearlessness, and their remarkable ability to get the job- any job-done. Facing America's enemies across the globe, these modern warriors were the first to enter the fight in Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, and Iraq. Brave Men, Dark Waters is "the most complete in-depth study of this fabled elite unit" ( Library Journal).
Never Fight Fair!: Here, in their own words, are the true accounts of the US Navy SEALs-from their formation in World War II to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq. In this riveting oral history, these brave men speak openly about their training and their missions, offering the uncensored, inspiring, and sometimes shocking truth about their combat triumphs and their rare but devastating failures.
Hornet: Born in 1978, the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet has forever changed the way America's wars are fought. This is the fascinating true story of the controversial development and deployment of the state-of-the-art supersonic fighter and attack aircraft with a top speed of more than one thousand miles per hour. Kelly details how Hornet came to be, how it was nearly doomed by an unprecedented political battle, and how it has served ably in combat from its first mission in Libya to Operation Desert Storm and well beyond.
From a Dark Sky: Very little is known about US Air Force Special Operations-yet their exploits have been as daring and their achievements as remarkable as anything accomplished by their brother warriors. Since World War II, these ultrasecretive air commandos have routinely performed the nearly impossible, from providing air support for partisans in Nazi-occupied France to participating in clandestine CIA operations in Vietnam and Cambodia to secretly inserting covert operatives into North Korea. From a Dark Sky is "a well-conceived and well-executed, well-deserved tribute to an uncommonly fine body of American warriors" ( Booklist).
An expert in military affairs, Orr Kelly reveals the cutting-edge technology and jaw-dropping courage of the US military's elite forces on land, sea, and air.
Brave Men, Dark Waters: Originating in World War II as Underwater Demolition Teams, the Navy SEALs are the best of the best in the armed forces-known for their toughness and fearlessness, and their remarkable ability to get the job- any job-done. Facing America's enemies across the globe, these modern warriors were the first to enter the fight in Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, and Iraq. Brave Men, Dark Waters is "the most complete in-depth study of this fabled elite unit" ( Library Journal).
Never Fight Fair!: Here, in their own words, are the true accounts of the US Navy SEALs-from their formation in World War II to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq. In this riveting oral history, these brave men speak openly about their training and their missions, offering the uncensored, inspiring, and sometimes shocking truth about their combat triumphs and their rare but devastating failures.
Hornet: Born in 1978, the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet has forever changed the way America's wars are fought. This is the fascinating true story of the controversial development and deployment of the state-of-the-art supersonic fighter and attack aircraft with a top speed of more than one thousand miles per hour. Kelly details how Hornet came to be, how it was nearly doomed by an unprecedented political battle, and how it has served ably in combat from its first mission in Libya to Operation Desert Storm and well beyond.
From a Dark Sky: Very little is known about US Air Force Special Operations-yet their exploits have been as daring and their achievements as remarkable as anything accomplished by their brother warriors. Since World War II, these ultrasecretive air commandos have routinely performed the nearly impossible, from providing air support for partisans in Nazi-occupied France to participating in clandestine CIA operations in Vietnam and Cambodia to secretly inserting covert operatives into North Korea. From a Dark Sky is "a well-conceived and well-executed, well-deserved tribute to an uncommonly fine body of American warriors" ( Booklist).
More details
Person
Orr Kelly is a veteran journalist and author. He covered the Pentagon, the Justice Department, and the intelligence beat, and served as a war correspondent in Vietnam during his time with
U.S. News & World Reportand the
Washington Star. He has written four works of military history, two of which deal with the Navy SEALs. With his late wife, Mary Davies Kelly, he is the author of
Dream's End, a history of two of his ancestors and their Civil War odyssey.
Content
- Cover Page
- Brave Men, Dark Waters
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Who Are We?
- Chapter 2 Bloody Waters-Tarawa and Normandy
- Chapter 3 From Saipan to Tokyo Bay
- Chapter 4 A Different Breed-Commandos from the Sea
- Chapter 5 New Horizons-and War in Korea
- Chapter 6 Birth of the SEALs
- Chapter 7 A Pleasant Little War
- Chapter 8 The Men with Green Faces
- Chapter 9 The Super SEALs
- Chapter 10 The Lieutenant (jg) Says No
- Chapter 11 The March of the Jedi
- Chapter 12 A Tiny Little Island
- Chapter 13 Target: Manuel Noriega
- Chapter 14 To the Persian Gulf-and Beyond
- Image Gallery
- Bibliography
- Index
- Never Fight Fair!
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction SEALs: What Makes Them Tick?
- PART 1 THE EARLY DAYS
- Chapter 1 MacArthur's Frogmen
- Chapter 2 UDT Sixteen-A Bum Rap?
- Chapter 3 Fishnets in Korea
- Chapter 4 The Iceberg Caper
- Chapter 5 Big War in a Small Place
- PART 2 THE GLORY DAYS
- Chapter 6 Welcome Back for Gemini
- Chapter 7 Alone in the Mid-Atlantic
- Chapter 8 First Men from the Moon
- Chapter 9 Unlucky Thirteen
- PART 3 FROGMEN IN VIETNAM
- Chapter 10 Good Fun in North Vietnam
- Chapter 11 Operation Jackstay
- Chapter 12 "Heaviest Load I've Ever Carried"
- PART 4 THE SEALs' WAR
- Chapter 13 A Greek Tragedy
- Chapter 14 A Narrow Escape
- Chapter 15 First Blood for Squad 2-Bravo
- Chapter 16 The Bullfrog
- Chapter 17 More VC than You'll Ever Want
- Chapter 18 "My Worst Disaster"
- Chapter 19 The Sting
- Chapter 20 Like a Shooting Gallery
- Chapter 21 "Everything Is Written Down"
- Chapter 22 Blowing Bunkers
- Chapter 23 "Something's Happened to Mike"
- Chapter 24 "I Don't Want You Operating ..."
- Chapter 25 They Called It Bright Light
- Chapter 26 A Taste for Ears
- Chapter 27 "Vous les Américains Sont Pires que les Français"
- PART 5 SEALs UNDER THE SEAS
- Chapter 28 "Dead Before Sunrise"
- Chapter 29 One of Our Dolphins (SDVs) Is Missing
- Chapter 30 Blocking Haiphong Harbor
- Chapter 31 Operation Thunderhead
- Chapter 32 "An Electrical Shock ..."
- Chapter 33 Target: Libya
- Chapter 34 Shadowing the Achille Lauro
- Chapter 35 A World-Class Swim
- PART 6 SEALs FROM THE SKIES
- Chapter 36 A Shocking Takeoff
- Chapter 37 "I Started to Black Out"
- Chapter 38 "Your Adrenaline Pumps"
- Chapter 39 "I'm Going to Jump"
- Chapter 40 "I Hated Every One ..."
- Chapter 41 When Your Eyes Freeze Shut
- PART 7 SEALs IN ACTION
- Chapter 42 Jump into a Dark Sea
- Chapter 43 A Beautiful Day to Go to War
- PART 8 THE INNOVATORS
- Chapter 44 Birth of the STAB
- Chapter 45 Dogs on Patrol
- Chapter 46 What Do You Wear to War?
- Chapter 47 SEALs: A New Generation
- Chapter 48 Letting Go
- Image Gallery
- Glossary
- Index
- Hornet
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Chapter 1 The Battle of the Admirals
- Chapter 2 Wings Over the Ocean
- Chapter 3 "Holy Moly! We Are in Trouble!"
- Chapter 4 One Plane, One Man
- Chapter 5 "Excess Energy" To Fly and Fight
- Chapter 6 When Weird Things Happen
- Chapter 7 "A Tremendous Amount of Grief"
- Chapter 8 "A Deep-Seated Drive to Kill"
- Chapter 9 "It Starts Raining F/A-18s on You"
- Appendices
- I. F/A-18 Vital Statistics
- II.
