Special Forces History

In 2014, H was back in Afghanistan, providing security for the Japanese Embassy in Kabul. In 2021, when the chaotic evacuation of the Afghan capital began, it was a tough call for the Japanese government to leave behind their significant investment in Afghanistan’s future. When H finally got the go-ahead to extract the embassy’s diplomats and staff, he was leading the only security team remaining in a city rapidly filling with Taliban fighters.

Established after World War I by the Royal Australian Navy, the Coast Watchers were a loose organisation of several hundred European settlers, missionaries, patrol officers and planters living in British and Australian Pacific Island territories whose job it was to observe and report on the enemy. They were mostly all unpaid volunteers whose job it was simply to observe and report on foreign shipping and aeroplane movements. It was never envisaged that the Coast Watchers would do any fighting, nor operate inside enemy-occupied territory.

At the beginning of 1941, it was unclear whether the Allies would be able to remain in the war for much longer. The potential of a German invasion of Britain loomed. The Battle of Britain, fought throughout the summer and early autumn of 1940, was unquestionably epic in scope. The largest air campaign in history at the time, the vaunted Nazi Luftwaffe sought to smash the Royal Air Force, but thankfully, the RAF stood toe to toe with the Luftwaffe and ensured Hitler’s planned invasion was permanently put on hold.

Drawing on interviews with veterans, many of whom have never gone on the record before, Ian Gardner follows up his epic trilogy about the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II with the story of the unit's reactivation at the height of the Vietnam War. This is the dramatic history of a band of brothers who served together in Vietnam and who against the odds lived up to the reputation of their World War II forefathers.

A compelling look at US Navy SEALs through a true-to-life lens focused on the triumphs and challenges of the elite warriors of the Special Forces community. Master Chief (SEAL) Rick Kaiser (Ret.) captures over forty-five years of events in and around the SEAL Teams. It is not a blood-and-guts portrayal of battlefield victories and losses, but an authentic view of how things are done in the Teams. The SEALs truly are silent professionals and the most memorable stories often don't feature combat but are the moments that shape these exceptional warriors.

Wenn es für die Polizei zu brenzlig wird, tritt das Spezialeinsatzkommando auf den Plan. Die anonymen Elitekräfte mit den Sturmmasken sind da, wenn die Gefährdung am größten ist: bei der Terrorismusbekämpfung, Geiselbefreiungen, Razzien und gefährlichen Zugriffen. Der ehemalige Polizist mit dem Decknamen "Kuni" war lange im SEK tätig. In 25 Episoden blickt er auf seine Zeit beim Kommando zurück und bietet einen fesselnden Blick hinter die Kulissen.

Created during the Second World War, the SAS was a small band of men brought together in the North African desert. They were the toughest and brightest of their cohort, the most resilient, most capable in close combat and most careful in surveillance. Winning approval for this radical new form of warfare was no small feat, but eventually it was achieved. The SAS was born, their mission to take on small-scale but often devastating raids and risks behind enemy lines. Levine tours us through the wartime experience, taking us behind the scenes through exclusive access to SAS archives.

In One Hundred Victories, acclaimed military expert Linda Robinson shows how the special operations forces are - after a decade of intensive combat operations - evolving to become the go-to force for operations worldwide.

Throughout history there has always been a need, in military forces, for special units. In the past, these units have usually been ad hoc formations that were disbanded after their mission was complete. It has only been since the early 1950s that such units have remained active, but even in recent times special purpose, special mission units have been organized and used for a period of time or for a specific mission and then either deactivated or replaced by other units.

British and American commanders first used modern Special Forces in support of conventional military operations during World War II. Since then, although special ops have featured prominently in popular culture and media coverage of wars, the academic study of irregular warfare has remained as elusive as the practitioners of special operations themselves.

Feel helpless watching acts of terror on the television? History of Terrorism: From Holy Wars to Conspiracies, False Flags, and Cyber Warfare will unlock a new understanding of why terrorism exists and how we can stop it from happening in the future. Our news feed is bombarded with news about terrorists, though we rarely stop long enough to understand what creates a terrorist and what terrorism’s true purpose is. Go behind the headlines and take an intimate and personal look at the events, people and mindsets that have created today’s modern terrorism landscape.

For three decades one of the most secretive units in the British military has been a mystery force known as X Platoon. Officially there was no X Platoon. The forty men in its elite number were specially selected from across the Armed Forces, at which point they simply ceased to exist. X Platoon had no budget, no weaponry, no vehicles and no kit - apart from what its men could beg, borrow or steal from other military units. For the first time a highly decorated veteran of this specialised force - otherwise known as the Pathfinders - reveals its unique story.

James Robert "Bob" Kalsu was an esteemed member of the United States military. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he made the ultimate sacrifice of giving his life for his country. While most used their celebrity status and wealth to avoid going to war, Kalsu, an offensive lineman in the National Football League, chose to commit to active duty. A Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, he served from 1969-1970. Tragically, only eight months after joining the fight, Kalsu was killed in A-Shau Valley, Vietnam.

Thirty-eight years ago Robert Brown launched an upstart magazine from his basement called Soldier of Fortune, which pushed the bounds of journalism to its limits with his untamed brand of reporting - - a camera in one hand, a gun in the other, and soon thereafter he discovered that he’d established a worldwide community. His wildly popular, notorious magazine became an icon for action-seekers in the U.S. and around the world. In this long-awaited book, Brown tells his own story.

A captain in 29 Commando, Johnny Mercer served in the army for 12 years. On his third tour of Afghanistan, he was a joint fires controller, with the pressurized job of bringing down artillery and air strikes in close proximity to his own troops. Based in an area of Northern Helmand that was riddled with Taliban leaders, he walked into danger with every patrol, determined to protect them. Then, one morning, in brutal close-quarter combat, everything changed....

Milton Olive III is one of our American war heroes. He began his military career in the mid-1960s and after completing basic training, became part of an infantry battalion in Vietnam. In the midst of battle, Olive sacrificed his own life for those of his comrades. He covered a grenade with his body, thus minimizing injury and saving the lives of the four others in his squad. As a result, Olive lost his life in battle and was later bestowed the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military recognition one can receive in war.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, two of bin Laden’s key lieutenants: the masterminds behind the attacks of September 11. Based on the only interview these masterminds of terror ever gave to the media as well as extensive follow-up research, Capture or Kill may be the closest we will get to the full inside story of the plot.

We need someone with the British mentality to get it done. You Brits are great at what you do. The only problem is that I know when I unleash you I’m going to get a lot more than I ever bargained for’ said the US State Department official who hired Howard Leedham, a former British special forces officer living in America. The task was to energise and lead an American sponsored border security program on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border... And they did get much more than they bargained for.

Rob had a pretty rough childhood: He was given up for adoption as an infant, brought into a family of highly decorated military men, suffered the loss of his mother to cancer, rebelled, and landed himself in military school. When he finally returns home, he meets Cindy, who quickly becomes his best friend. After graduation the two go off to college at opposite ends of Texas, and their paths diverge.

"I never thought it would be a foregone conclusion that I would be seeing a fight when I entered the Teams. I thought that perhaps I would get the chance to answer that call, but I never knew for sure until today. I hope that I never get in a rough situation, but if I do, I hope I will have the courage to see it through." Less than four years later, on June 28, 2005, Matthew Gene Axelson answered his own question.