Special Ops: Navy SEALs in Action by Nel Yomtov

Nel Yomtov's Navy SEALs in Action (Special Ops) concentrates on the "3 T's"--training, teamwork, and tactics, in telling the story of the U.S. Navy SEALs special forces.

Begun as ad hoc teams working ahead of amphibious forces in Normandy and Pacific Island landings in World War II and in mined harbors in the Korean War, the SEALs became a special operations team under President John F. Kennedy, himself a Naval officer. The SEALs came into their own in the Viet Nam War, fighting in the rivers and coastal waterways of Southeast Asia where their scuba skills and swift raids made them famous. Author Nel Yomtov also documents the role of the SEALs in the Gulf War and in their special mission to locate hidden caches of the Taliban in the caves of Afghanistan and in the rescue of Jessica Lynch in Iraq.

Yomtov devotes the greater part of the book to the training of SEAL teams--from basic swimming, diving and close-quarter warfare to mastery of many types of water and land mobility craft. "The Worst Week" section documents the "fourth week," the extreme exercises in which trainees carry logs, race through mud pits, and swim in cold ocean currents, all on four hours of sleep per day. The 25 per cent who survive this week go on to specialize in parachuting, rescue, patrolling and special warfare tactics.

The final text section pictures some of the gadgets, gear, and gizmos used by these special forces, followed by back matter consisting of a complete glossary, bibliography, and index.

Other books in the abundantly illustrated Special Ops series include Army Rangers in Action (Special Ops), Green Berets in Action, (Special Ops) Delta Force in Action (Special Ops), Marine Force Recon in Action, (Special Ops) and Pararescuemen in Action (Special Ops).