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Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare - Theory and Practice Paperback – 1 June 1996

by Admiral William H. McRaven (Author)

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Vice Adm. William H. McRaven helped to devise the strategy for how to bring down Osama bin Laden, and commanded the courageous U.S. military unit that carried it out on May 1, 2011, ending one of the greatest manhunts in history. In Spec Ops, a well-organized and deeply researched study, McRaven analyzes eight classic special operations. Six are from WWII: the German commando raid on the Belgian fort Eben Emael (1940); the Italian torpedo attack on the Alexandria harbor (1941); the British commando raid on Nazaire, France (1942); the German glider rescue of Benito Mussolini (1943); the British midget-submarine attack on the Tirpitz (1943); and the U.S. Ranger rescue mission at the Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines (1945). The two post-WWII examples are the U.S. Army raid on the Son Tay POW camp in North Vietnam (1970) and the Israeli rescue of the skyjacked hostages in Entebbe, Uganda (1976). McRaven--who commands a U.S. Navy SEAL team--pinpoints six essential principles of "spec ops" success: simplicity, security, repetition, surprise, speed and purpose. For each of the case studies, he provides political and military context, a meticulous reconstruction of the mission itself and an analysis of the operation in relation to his six principles. McRaven deems the Son Tay raid "the best modern example of a successful spec op [which] should be considered textbook material for future missions." His own book is an instructive textbook that will be closely studied by students of the military arts. Maps, photos.

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Product details

Language : English
Paperback : 432 pages
ISBN-10 : 0891416005
ISBN-13 : 978-0891416005

Best Sellers Rank: 75,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 483 in Military History
- 624 in History of the Americas
- 1,359 in Engineering & Technology

Customer reviews:
210 ratings

Product description

About the Author

Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) served with great distinction in the Navy. In his thirty-seven years as a Navy SEAL, he commanded at every level. As a Four-Star Admiral, his final assignment was as Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. He is now Chancellor of the University of Texas System.

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Amazon.com: 126 reviews

Kindle Customer

For Those Who Don't Consider It Mandatory Reading:

8 September 2016 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

This study is what it is, and one can hardly find fault with its place in history. If you're one of the people who knows you ought to read it, you don't need this review. For everyone else, just so you understand:
- Ignore the publishing date. This is McRaven's 1993 NPS thesis (as an O-5 Commander), so it's quite dated even in his own career. In fact as the description notes, its cases are from 1940-45, 1970, and 1976. (Yes, he does not do Operation Eagle Claw.)
- I'll highlight that again: this is a Naval Postgraduate School thesis. It's written like one, so I hope you like that.
- McRaven is a SEAL, and "Spec Ops" to him means direct action. This book includes nothing about unconventional warfare or counterinsurgency, etc, and in fact his definition excludes these.
- If you're not sure if the book is for you, know that since this started as an NPS thesis, it's published for free by DTIC. I was happy to get the book for the referenceable format, but it may not be worth it to you.

34 people found this helpful

Jim

A BIG PLEASANT SURPRISE

23 February 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

I don't normally read military history. But after reading is book Make Your Bed, I wanted to learn more about a man that could command SEALs and run a university. The fact that his theory of special operation was derived inductively from 8 case studies most of which I had never heard of made the propects for interesting reading more likely. I found the style was concise and readable. I found myself caught up in the planning and layout of the operations, opening Google Maps constantly so I could imagine the terrain and envision myself alongside the forces engaged in these amazing operations. The experience was very satisfying. And the analysis McRaven provides for each case is helpful, seems right, and reinforcing each time it was repeated for each case. I came away awed by the intelligence and bravery of the men who executed these operations. I learned a lot about the history of the conflicts and about the cultures involved. Even if you don't think you'd like reading about war, I'd encourage you to try it. It is a long book and I thought I'd bog down....NOT AT ALL! War is not pretty, but these operations and the thought invested make it obvious that it is indeed not just a science but an art.

9 people found this helpful

Fernando

An important book

8 September 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

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I liked the detailed description of the operations. Perhaps a little bit repetitive, but you have to accept that Admiral MacRaven is presenting not only a history of notable special operations, but also trying to develop a military theory of those operations.
I was impressed by the bravery, sacrifice and resourcefulness of men from several countries (Germans, british, italians, americans) who carried those operations. In some cases, the brilliant improvisation. And the superb planning of the successful ones.
Fascinating. Very good.

6 people found this helpful

Dr. Nancy L. Nicholson

Important reading for tracking the evolution of war making.

24 January 2013 - Published on Amazon.com

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I give this five stars for its clarity, mutually consistent concepts and relevance, but would give it many more.

Admiral McRaven, by published accounts, was a major player in planning the raid that Seal Team Six made on the Usama Bin Laden compound. Other reviewers have gone into more detail than I will, but four items from its conceptual toolkit are useful to my discussion, focused on the mutable character of war making. I will use two accounts about the Bin Laden raid to illustrate some points related to the Admiral's book.

In my lifetime, war making has changed from the "conventional" army operations of WW2 to the Cold War of regional military efforts, to this era of "terrorist" war making. I refuse to name this use of collateral damage by "special human/technical weapons" as a "war on terror." It is dependent on media coverage of carnage wrought on budgets generally smaller than for conventional wars. War is made on a specific adversary, not on a method. SPEC OPS preceded its practical importance by more than a decade, a tribute to a brilliant analyst.
1) McRaven's theory of special operations proposes "...a successful special operations defies conventional wisdom by using a small force to defeat a much larger or well-entrenched opponent."
2) The smaller force relies on precision, stealth and speed to achieve "strategic advantage of relative superiority."
3) McRaven defines special operations as "A special operation is conducted by forces specially trained, equipped, and supported for a specific target whose destruction, elimination, or rescue (in the case of hostages) is a political or military imperative."
4) The ruling idea is from General Carl von Clauswitz' "frictions of war" (chance, uncertainty and will of the enemy). This "friction" is an emergent property of the interactions of nonlinear outcomes from a number of sources in the combat arena. It would be helpful here to get and to read (if not already at hand) Clauswitz' "On War" to be familiar with his trinitarian analysis.

There are many books available on the Bin Laden raid. Each has a somewhat different account, according to published reviews. I have two of them: Mark Owen's "No Easy Day" and "SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden." Of the two, "SEAL Target" is the more credible account for me, as its described sequence of the raid near Abbottabad does not damage the "strategic advantage/relative superiority" of McRaven's planning by losing its stealth at the beginning with a helicopter crash. I commend you to McRaven's Figure 1-1 Sample Relative Superiority Graph. Its time line goes from "point of vulnerability" to six hours, with a radical change of risk at about 2.5 hours. As the remainder of the book explains, this is a complex type of multilevel systems undertaking based on competency with an amazing array of weapons, accurate intelligence (human and technical), courage and character (not necessarily in that order). Those who are members of elite military teams are aware of Murphy's Law. Or, as Clauswitz points out, "The greater the magnitude of any event, the wider the range of forces and circumstances that affect it." It is imperative to have creative backups to Plan A.

Bin Laden raid books are easily available for comparison of accounts of an event where some critical details will necessarily remain hidden. As Macchiavelli pointed out, "When little is known, much is suspected." Readers should examine various versions of the raid on Bin Laden in the light of learning about the budgeting and planning expenses of this species of "black operations" war. I am reminded of variations in some important official accounts in my lifetime, starting with the Eisenhower administration's handling of the Francis Gary Powers U2 incident, the Warren Commission Report on the assassination of President Kennedy, the Reagan Administration raid on Grenada* and now the current administration's accounts of the Bin Laden raid. The movie "Zero Dark Thirty" is not a subject of this review.

Stories groups craft to explain their actions may tell more about them than if they were transparent about their assertions. Mc Raven's book is a useful place to start to understand the "learning curve" that underlies a history of wars. This review would get even longer if I suggested more history of war or art/science of war books. But "SEAL Target Geronimo" recommends "The Book of Five Rings" or the Way of the Warrior by Miyamoto Musashi (translated by Jo Han-sun). "Leaders must exercise it, soldiers must know it. No one living really knows all there is to know about strategy."

*This raid was a textbook case of "Cold War geopolitical chess." Get out a map of the Caribbean and technical specs of MiG 23 aircraft in terms of flight radius with bases on eastern Cuba, El Salvador and finally, Grenada. With the third southern piece of the puzzle under Soviet control, economic and strategic shipping in the Caribbean and Panama Canal Zone could have been interdicted at will.

5 people found this helpful

D. Hamilton

My father was at Cabanatuan but before the raid and I was Duke Field (aka Raid on Son Tay.

21 June 2019 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

This book was a excellent history of the S O with a very thorough analysis with verbal and graphic study materials. One review I read skipped something I thought needed to be said, the author visited the locations and interviewed participants... as a note my father was at Cabanatuan but was removed before the raid and I was Duke Field (aka Field 3) during the development and practice for the Raid on Son Tay. If you want to understand the basics of Spec Ops this is the book!

One person found this helpful

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