The Commandos: The Inside Story of America's Secret Soldiers

An experienced Pentagon correspondent for Newsweek reveals the excruciating training and dangerous missions of America's elite fighting forces, including the Navy SEALs and Delta Force, following them into battle in Desert Storm.

From Hell Week to hell on earth, they go where no one else dares, kill with precision, and pull off daring attack, rescue, and reconnaissance missions. What kind of man becomes a secret warrior—a Navy SEAL, Delta Force ranger, Army Green Beret, or Air Force special op pilot?

For the first time, veteran Newsweek reporter Douglas Waller takes you inside this secret, elite world, from the SEALs’ legendary Hell Week, where trainees get four hours of sleep in five days of body-and-mind-breaking drills—to an electronics-jammed Pave Low, the most sophisticated helicopter in the world. Then he follows the Commandos into the action—in never-before-revealed Desert Storm battle scenes, where U.S. Special Forces waged Scud-busting night missions, behind-the-lines firefights, and some of the most unconventional and dangerous missions in the history of war.

Praise for The Commandos

“Compelling . . . hair-raising . . . wonderfully detailed.”—Los Angeles Times

“Superior . . . vivid portraits of truly original figures.”—Booklist

“Throughly researched and exquisitely woven into a fast-paced story . . . in vitage thriller fashion.”—The Friday Review of Defense Literature