From OSS to Green Berets

From OSS to Green Berets PDF Author: Aaron Bank
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
One of the fathers of the United States Special Forces Group, Aaron Bank, recounts his experiences leading to the Special Forces organization in 1952.

From OSS to Green Berets

From OSS to Green Berets PDF Author: Aaron Bank
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
One of the fathers of the United States Special Forces Group, Aaron Bank, recounts his experiences leading to the Special Forces organization in 1952.

From OSS to Green Berets

From OSS to Green Berets PDF Author: Aaron Bank
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780671639235
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
The father of the Green Berets tells his own story, from his early days with the Office of Strategic Services and his training with the French resistance, to his tour of duty in Indochina and the creation of the Army's Special Forces Group

Black Ops and Other Special Missions of the U.S. Army Green Berets

Black Ops and Other Special Missions of the U.S. Army Green Berets PDF Author: Therese M. Shea
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN: 1448883954
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description
Explore the lesser-known details about what makes a Green Beret tick, including the rigorous admissions requirements and top-secret missions.

The Guerrilla Factory

The Guerrilla Factory PDF Author: Tony Schwalm
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451623615
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
A retired lieutenant colonel presents a behind-the-scenes portrait of the legendary North Carolina camps where Special Forces soldiers are trained, outlining the infamous Q Course where leaders endure brutal tests of strength, stamina, and ingenuity.

Tip of the Spear

Tip of the Spear PDF Author: Ryan Hendrickson
Publisher: Center Street
ISBN: 1546084819
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The inspiring true story of a US Special Forces soldier who was medically retired after stepping on an IED, and his incredible return to active duty. Sergeant First Class (SFC) Ryan Hendrickson is a brave, determined, and courageous soldier -- a Green Beret clearing the way for his twelve-man team while conducting combat operations against the Taliban. As the "tip of the spear," his role is to ensure the route taken by U.S. and Afghan troops are free of IEDs -- improvised explosive devices. Many soldiers do not survive their last step; those who do often lose at least one limb. While rescuing an Afghan soldier outside a mud-hut compound in 2010 -- knowing that he was in "uncleared" territory -- Ryan stepped on an IED with his right foot. The device exploded, leaving his foot dangling at the end of his leg. American soldiers losing a limb is an all-too-common occurrence. But what makes Ryan's story different is that after undergoing two dozen surgeries and a tortuous rehabilitation, he was medically retired but fought to return to active duty. Multiple skin grafts to his leg and right foot successfully reattached his lower leg, and he was aided in his recovery by wearing a new prosthetic device known as an IDEO (Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis). Once he passed a series of crucial physical tests, Ryan was able to rejoin the Green Berets within a year and physically perform his duties, redeploying to Afghanistan in March 2012. In 2016, he volunteered to return to Afghanistan with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. During a firefight with the Taliban, he risked his life under heavy enemy fire to rescue three Afghan soldiers cut off from friendly forces and return the bodies of two dead Afghan soldiers under the ethos that "no one gets left behind." For his heroic efforts on the battlefield, SFC Ryan Hendrickson was awarded a Silver Star, the nation's third-highest award for valor. An engaging and harrowing account, Tip of the Spear tells the amazing story of one Green Beret's indomitable spirit.

Aaron Bank and the Early Days of US Army Special Forces

Aaron Bank and the Early Days of US Army Special Forces PDF Author: Darren Sapp
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780998983004
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
Aaron Bank was an OSS Jedburgh in World War II and the subject of William Donovon's quote, "Tell Bank to get Hitler." He'd later become the inaugural commander of the 10th Special Forces Group earning the moniker, Father of the Green Berets. The development and use of unconventional warfare in WWII created a desire to develop permanent units for future wars. Bank parachuted with three others behind enemy lines in France to work with the French Resistance in harassing the Germans retreat from Normandy. He followed that action by recruiting former Wehrmacht soldiers with anti-Nazi sympathies to kidnap Hitler and other high-ranking officers in the Alpine redoubt. Although that mission was called off, he gained more experience with a POW rescue mission in Indochina, even spending time with Ho Chi Minh. These World War II experiences, followed by service in Korea, shaped Bank's view of the need to make an OSS-type force permanent in the United States Army. Under the leadership of Brigadier General Robert McClure, Bank joined Russell Volckmann and Wendell Fertig-veterans of guerrilla warfare in the Philippines-to play an integral role in the creation of the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Green Berets in the Vanguard

Green Berets in the Vanguard PDF Author: Chalmers Archer Jr.
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1682473511
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
The author of an award-winning memoir about growing up black in Mississippi, Chalmers Archer turns his attention in this book to his experiences as one of the first members of the U.S. Army's Special Forces. His perspective is unique, not only as one of the first to wear the Green Beret but as a black man in the early days of armed forces integration. Archer participated in some of the earliest forays into Laos, long before Southeast Asia was in American headlines, and he was a member of the first U.S. unit to go into Vietnam. He trained the first Special Forces teams of the South Vietnamese army and participated in some of their earliest operations, many of them unknown until now because of their highly classified nature. He saved the lives of the first American and Vietnamese soldiers injured in war and also witnessed the first American combat death in Vietnam, holding the man in his arms as he died. His unit operated alongside the Central Intelligence Agency and helped influence American foreign policy. A self-described soldier-teacher, he developed and spread the early gospel of special warfare while serving in the Philippines, Hawaii, Korea, Taiwan, and Panama, as well as in Southeast Asia. All of these activities are fully chronicled in this book, but Archer's perspective as an African American in an elite unit of the U.S. armed forces in the 1950s gives his memoir additional depth and insight. It is an uplifting--though sometimes harrowing--story of struggle in unfamiliar environments and an eye-opening account of events little known today.

Swords of Lightning

Swords of Lightning PDF Author: Mark Nutsch
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1637581548
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
The first-person account of how a small band of Green Berets used horses and laser-guided missiles to overthrow the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan after 9/11. They landed in a dust storm so thick the chopper pilot used dead reckoning and a guess to find the ground. They were met by a band of heavily armed militiamen who didn’t understand a word they said. They climbed a mountain on horseback to meet the most ferocious warlord in Asia. They plotted a war of nineteenth-century maneuvers against a twenty-first-century foe. They saved babies and treated fevers, trekked through minefields, and waded through booby-trapped streams—sometimes past the mangled bodies of local tribesmen who’d shared food with them hours before. They found their enemy hiding in thick concrete bunkers, dodged bullets from machine-gun-laden pickup trucks, and survived ambushes launched with Russian tanks. They fought back with everything they had, from smart bombs to AK-47s. They overthrew a government, mediated blood feuds between rival commanders, and argued with generals and politicians thousands of miles away. The men they helped called them gods. One of their commanders called them devils. Hollywood called them the Horse Soldiers. They called themselves Green Berets—Special Forces ODA 595.

The Green Berets in the Land of a Million Elephants

The Green Berets in the Land of a Million Elephants PDF Author: Joseph D. Celeski
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612006663
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
The untold story of US Special Forces in Laos, one of the longest secret wars of the Cold War—by a military historian and Special Forces veteran. The Secret War in Laos was one of the first “long wars” fought by US Special Forces, spanning a period of about thirteen years. It was one of the largest CIA-paramilitary operations of the time, kept out of the view of the American public until now. Between 1959 and 1974, Green Berets were covertly deployed to Laos during the Laotian Civil War to prevent the Communist Pathet Lao from taking over the country. Operators disguised as civilians and answering only to “Mister,“ were delivered to the country by Air America, where they reported to the US Ambassador. With limited resources, they faced a country in chaos. Maps had large blank areas. and essential supplies often didn’t arrive at all. In challenging tropical conditions, they trained and undertook combat advisory duties with the Royal Lao Government. Shrouded in secrecy until the 1990s, this was one of the first major applications of special warfare doctrine. Now, the story is comprehensively told for the first time using official archival documents and interviews with veterans.

War Stories of the Green Berets

War Stories of the Green Berets PDF Author: Hans Halberstadt
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 1616737441
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
The US Army Special Forces, more familiarly known as the Green Berets, are the elite fighting force of the United States military. Their experiences in covert operations and unconventional warfare have been a part of American military action for decades Author Hans Halberstadt has collected first-hand recollections of dozens of Green Berets, past and present, who spent time on the battlefields of Viet Nam, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Their harrowing stories are told here, providing rare insight into the world of the Green Beret.- Elite forces created in the 1960s and now the models for warfare in the 21st century- Fully updated to include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan- First hand accounts- Updated: Now includes post-Vietnam War Stories as well as stories from the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan- Expanded: This new Zenith Press edition is almost 100 pages longer than the originalThe original hardcover, titled "War Stories of the Green Berets: The Viet Nam Experience" (ISBN 0-87938-955-9), was first published in 1994.About the AuthorHans Halberstadt studied documentary film in college and later took up writing. He has authored or co-authored more than fifty books, most on military subjects, especially U.S. special operations forces, armor, and artillery. Halberstadt served in the U.S. Army as a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam. He and his wife, April, live in San Jose, California.