Robert Young Pelton first became aware of the phenomenon of hired guns in the War on Terror when he met a covert team of contractors on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in the fall of 2003. Pelton soon embarked on a globe-spanning odyssey to penetrate and understand this shadowy world, ultimately delivering stunning insights into the way private soldiers are used.
Enter a blood-soaked world of South African mercenaries and tribal fighters backed by ruthless financiers. Drop into Baghdad’s Green Zone, strap on body armor, and take a daily high-speed ride with a doomed crew of security contractors who dodge car bombs and snipers just to get their charges to the airport. Share a drink in a chic hotel bar with wealthy owners of private armies who debate the best way to stay alive in war zones.
Licensed to Kill spans four continents and three years, taking us inside the CIA’s dirty wars; the brutal contractor murders in Fallujah and the Alamo-like sieges in Najaf and Al Kut; the Deep South contractor training camps where ex–Special Operations soldiers and even small town cops learn the ropes; the contractor conventions where macho attendees swap bullet-punctuated tales and discuss upcoming gigs; and the grim Central African prison where contractors turned failed mercenaries pay a steep price.
The United States has encouraged the use of the private sector in all facets of the War on Terror, placing contractors outside the bounds of functional legal constraints. With the shocking clarity that can come only from firsthand observation, Licensed to Kill painstakingly deconstructs the most controversial events and introduces the pivotal players. Most disturbingly, it shows that there are indeed thousands of contractors—with hundreds more being produced every month—who’ve been given a license to kill, their services available to the highest bidder.
Selasa, 06 September 2011
SPECIAL FORCE
I commend the author for putting together such a well-needed book. I am unaware of any book similar to this one and really, if you followed all the work-up training programs outlined, you would be well prepared for any special operations group regardless of the branch of service (I am a former Marine myself). The only slight exception to this being that if you intend to pursue Marine Force Recon/MARSOC or the Navy's SEALs, you will need to add a significant amount of swimming to your prep program plans in order to be properly prepared for these units' training. Swim training is not really covered in this book as it is not a primary focus for Army SF until much later, after completing training and joining your unit, when you may be assigned to either a SCUBA focused platoon or an Airborne focused platoon where you then receive further advanced training in one of those specialized areas.
Has some great tips and tricks also, the kind only the salty "old" guys know like how to toughen your feet, etc. before going to the Indoc Course to begin your training. Many of the things discussed in the book, including the mental training and resources to further this and other key elements your success, can be advantageous to the regular infantry trooper or even support MOS's if deploying to the wars in the Middle East. For this reason I think some of you already serving with no or undecided interest in becoming a special operations operator may find the book useful and motivating to buy anyway, because even if you don't want to become one of the highly elite of your branch of service the concepts in this book may put you well ahead of the rest in your unit if you put the advice, positive thinking (essential), and self-training guidelines to use. This could equate to more rapid promotion and more important leadership roles & tasks if you are intending to stay in service a while (not so much for the person just planning to do 3-4 years service for college money, etc. or reservists).
Well structured, easy to navigate, and often has important points or advice in bold or in a box to catch your attention if you are looking for a few things you want to know immediately without sitting down to read entire chapters right then and there. The book is backed by many former and present SF soldiers applauding its usefulness and accuracy for improving your chances of making it through the screening and actual training. This says a lot and gives a good feeling of faith and trust in EVERYTHING the good Major has to tell you. By the way the author is the officer who was tasked with creating the prep course for SF candidates, so you are getting advice from the one man you should be taking advice from.
Also of interest to some of you, a good friend & barracks roommate that I served with in the Marines switched over to the Army after our contracts had been completed and immediately volunteered for Army Special Forces, he used this book to prepare. He completed the Special Forces training pipeline (approximately 2 years of training) on his first attempt, even with a broken foot, and earned his Green Beret. He highly recommended this book, and noted that if you follow the work ups programs (ie. rucking with a pack, running, etc.) laid out in the book and are mentally tough, you should be able to complete Special Forces Training. That is about all I think anyone needs to hear and they should be "sold" on the merit, if not absolute vitality of owning this book if you KNOW you want to be an SF soldier.
Has some great tips and tricks also, the kind only the salty "old" guys know like how to toughen your feet, etc. before going to the Indoc Course to begin your training. Many of the things discussed in the book, including the mental training and resources to further this and other key elements your success, can be advantageous to the regular infantry trooper or even support MOS's if deploying to the wars in the Middle East. For this reason I think some of you already serving with no or undecided interest in becoming a special operations operator may find the book useful and motivating to buy anyway, because even if you don't want to become one of the highly elite of your branch of service the concepts in this book may put you well ahead of the rest in your unit if you put the advice, positive thinking (essential), and self-training guidelines to use. This could equate to more rapid promotion and more important leadership roles & tasks if you are intending to stay in service a while (not so much for the person just planning to do 3-4 years service for college money, etc. or reservists).
Well structured, easy to navigate, and often has important points or advice in bold or in a box to catch your attention if you are looking for a few things you want to know immediately without sitting down to read entire chapters right then and there. The book is backed by many former and present SF soldiers applauding its usefulness and accuracy for improving your chances of making it through the screening and actual training. This says a lot and gives a good feeling of faith and trust in EVERYTHING the good Major has to tell you. By the way the author is the officer who was tasked with creating the prep course for SF candidates, so you are getting advice from the one man you should be taking advice from.
Also of interest to some of you, a good friend & barracks roommate that I served with in the Marines switched over to the Army after our contracts had been completed and immediately volunteered for Army Special Forces, he used this book to prepare. He completed the Special Forces training pipeline (approximately 2 years of training) on his first attempt, even with a broken foot, and earned his Green Beret. He highly recommended this book, and noted that if you follow the work ups programs (ie. rucking with a pack, running, etc.) laid out in the book and are mentally tough, you should be able to complete Special Forces Training. That is about all I think anyone needs to hear and they should be "sold" on the merit, if not absolute vitality of owning this book if you KNOW you want to be an SF soldier.
CHOSEN SOLDIER
Among America's Special Forces, the Green Berets stand out because they can "do it all," according to this enthusiastic account of their training. Ex-SEAL Couch (Down Range) explains that Green Berets not only fight, they teach: living in the world's hot spots, they speak the language, win the trust of the locals, and train and fight alongside them to defeat a common enemy. They are the "Peace Corps with guns" and the key to winning the war on terror, he asserts. Only the most fit, smart, stable and multilingual need apply, but training is so rigorous that recruits first undergo 25 days of pretraining, from which only one-third proceed to Green Beret school, where attrition continues. Military buffs will enjoy the descriptions of exhausting marches, realistic combat simulations, high-tech weapons and dramatic instructor/student interactions. Though Thomas Ricks showed in Making the Corps that one can write an admiring account of an elite military unit without neglecting its warts and missteps, Couch loves the Green Berets too much to look beneath the surface; still.
Couch could have applied the opening chapter's title, "Special Forces 101," to the whole book, for it is a portrait of the men who arrive at the JFK Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, and the minority who make it though the training and join A Teams. Few of them are Rambos, for they need to be able both to function alone and to be closer than brothers to their teammates and the frequently foreign soldiers they train in combat and nation building. Whatever the future role of special forces in particular may be, the book adds substantially to the serious layman's knowledge of the men now playing vital roles in the war on terror, and who may number in their ranks more of the army's future leaders than the general media anticipates.
Couch could have applied the opening chapter's title, "Special Forces 101," to the whole book, for it is a portrait of the men who arrive at the JFK Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, and the minority who make it though the training and join A Teams. Few of them are Rambos, for they need to be able both to function alone and to be closer than brothers to their teammates and the frequently foreign soldiers they train in combat and nation building. Whatever the future role of special forces in particular may be, the book adds substantially to the serious layman's knowledge of the men now playing vital roles in the war on terror, and who may number in their ranks more of the army's future leaders than the general media anticipates.
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