Special Operations in Iraq

Rating:
Summary: Good for Beginners
Review: I expected a little more and was mildly disappointed. This book provided the occasional snippet of new info on special ops in Iraq and little new info on special forces in total. There was some exciting new info on the UK's SBS in Iraq as well as US's Gray Fox unit. Also a lot of new detail on Delta Force's selection process. I was very disappointed when the author seems to confuse the US Navy's Special Boat Squadron with the UK's Special Boat Service; specifically, he illustrates the unit crest for the UK unit at the mention of either unit (p.113). Some of his prose was hard to figure out. I've read a lot of these special ops books and I still recommend E. Haney's Delta Force and C. Pfarrer's Warrior Soul as the most entertaining and informative.

Rating:
Summary: Wait five years, maybe ten.
Review: In the age of hyper-intense whiny media coverage, anyone who thinks Task Force 20/121 or similar operations will be written about in a current and informative manner is pretty much deluded.

While this is a nice start point for someone who never heard of the concept of special operations in a joint warfighting context, I would wait if you want hard specifics on what the guys in the commercial-purchase LBV's and the hockey helmets were up to.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: This book has disappointed me. It lacks structure and aim. Although Ryan describes some Special Forces operations in Iraq, he relies on other subjects to fill the book. The larger part of the book deals with descriptions of several Special Forces, chapters on the future of these forces and their training and selection and a lot of photos. These other subjects are described in an unbalanced way, sometimes very brief and sometimes very extensive. It is clear that Ryan in British. This must explain why he spends 16 pages on the exploits of the SAS in the Gulf war.
The book seems to be thrown together in a hurry. I advise people who are interested in a full account of Special Forces in Iraq to wait a little longer.


Rating:
Summary: Great for the Aussies
Review: Well I have been waiting for this book to come out for a long time. And well it was ok. Well i guess it was pretty good, but it isn't in that much detail. I understand Operational Securety but this doesn't say much. It has great information on what the Australian SASR was doing and some of the United States teams. The British SAS is sometimes discribed. Well it doesn't mention the U.S. teams alot and other countries are mentioned but only says there roles. And no detail is described in them. But it has great information on Delta Force and SAS selection. Well i think the SAS is harder. But i hope this review will give an author and insight to write a better book on the full detail of what the teams were REALLY doing.