Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior
by Dick Couch
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In combating terror, America can no longer depend on its conventional military superiority and the use of sophisticated technology. More than ever, we need men like those of the Army Special Forces--the legendary Green Berets. In Chosen Soldier, Dick Couch draws on nearly a year spent at Special Forces training facilities and offers an unprecedented view of the education of these men. Following the experiences of one class of soldiers as they endure this physically and mentally exhausting show more ordeal, Couch spells out in fascinating detail the demanding selection process and grueling field exercises, the high-level technical training and intensive language courses, and the simulated battle problems that test everything from how well SF candidates gather operational intelligence to their skills at negotiating with volatile, often hostile, local leaders. Chosen Soldier paints a vivid portrait of an elite group, and a process that forges America's smartest, most versatile, and most valuable fighting force. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This book takes that sub-genre and makes it even more focused, and is all the better because of that. Dick Couch’s choice, with the exception of the first chapter, of focusing solely on the training of Green Berets rather than on the whole history of the outfit as a whole really lets him go into details that broader texts miss.
As a former SEAL Couch defiantly knows about Special Forces and is able to translate that into really detailed and clear explanation of what these men go through. He gives enough background detail of the people he is interacting with to be interesting without giving us page after page of soldiers that come and go through the training, a trap some history books fall into. This focus on the training with a brief show more overview of the men involved is more important when discussing Special Forces as so many men fall out of the training. Couch gives a good amount of anecdotal details about the candidates to make you feel connected to them without having to go into great detail about each man.
The pace of the book is also noteworthy. A poorly written history book can be a little tough to read. Having to record so much information and so many facts can leave a book a little dry if the author does not have the ability to keep an interesting narrative going throughout. Couch has mastered this narrative version of history writing and Chosen Soldier has a very easy to read flow.
There are a few problems with Couch’s writing however. Because he has broken the specialist training into its own sections there are times when he goes into detail about the same event nearly verbatim in multiple chapters. This doesn’t happen to often but when it does it can be distracting. He also seems to have lost some objectivity when writing this book. He is himself a character in his own books and recounts his side of interactions with soldiers as much as their interactions among each other. Doing this a few times might have its charms but he pushes this a little too far and his imposing himself in the story happens a little too much for my liking.
None of this detracts from the book. Chosen Soldier is a well-paced, informative read that anyone with interest in the military should pick up.
Read Expanded Review show less
As a former SEAL Couch defiantly knows about Special Forces and is able to translate that into really detailed and clear explanation of what these men go through. He gives enough background detail of the people he is interacting with to be interesting without giving us page after page of soldiers that come and go through the training, a trap some history books fall into. This focus on the training with a brief show more overview of the men involved is more important when discussing Special Forces as so many men fall out of the training. Couch gives a good amount of anecdotal details about the candidates to make you feel connected to them without having to go into great detail about each man.
The pace of the book is also noteworthy. A poorly written history book can be a little tough to read. Having to record so much information and so many facts can leave a book a little dry if the author does not have the ability to keep an interesting narrative going throughout. Couch has mastered this narrative version of history writing and Chosen Soldier has a very easy to read flow.
There are a few problems with Couch’s writing however. Because he has broken the specialist training into its own sections there are times when he goes into detail about the same event nearly verbatim in multiple chapters. This doesn’t happen to often but when it does it can be distracting. He also seems to have lost some objectivity when writing this book. He is himself a character in his own books and recounts his side of interactions with soldiers as much as their interactions among each other. Doing this a few times might have its charms but he pushes this a little too far and his imposing himself in the story happens a little too much for my liking.
None of this detracts from the book. Chosen Soldier is a well-paced, informative read that anyone with interest in the military should pick up.
Read Expanded Review show less
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Author Information
29+ Works 2,211 Members
He graduated at the top of BUD/S Class 45 in 1969 and was first in his class at the Navy Underwater Swimmers School and the Army Military Free-Fall School. As Whiskey Platoon Commander with SEAL Team One in Vietnam, he led one of the only successful POW rescue operations of that conflict. He lives in Idaho. (Publisher Provided) Dick Couch was born show more in Mississippi and raised in Southern Indiana. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1967. After attending DASH controller training, he reported aboard the naval destroyer USS Mansfield DD728. He graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) Class 45 in 1969, and was the class Honorman. He graduated first in his class at the Navy Underwater Swimmers School and the Army Free Fall (HALO) School. As Whiskey Platoon Commander with SEAL Team One in Vietnam, he led one of the few successful prisoner of war rescue operations of that conflict. Following his release from active duty in the U.S. Navy, he served as a maritime and paramilitary case officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1997, he retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Captain. He also became a writer of fiction and non-fiction. His fiction titles include Seal Team One, Pressure Point, Silent Descent, Rising Wood and Covert Acrion. His non-fiction titles include: The Sheriff of Ramadi: Navy SEALS and the Winning of al-Anbar, A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace and Sua Sponte: The Forging of a Modern American Ranger. In 2014 his fiction title, Out of the Ashes, made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Important places
- USA; North Carolina, USA; Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA
- First words
- As with most SOF components, the Army Special Forces have a proud history of service to the nation. Special Forces can trace their roots back to the mid-1700s and the tactics of Major Robert Rogers and his men during the Fre... (show all)nch and Indian War.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 356.16 — Society, Government, and Culture Public administration & military science Foot forces and warfare Organization Special infantry troops
- LCC
- UA34 .S64 .C68 — Military Science Armies: Organization, distribution, military situation Armies: Organization, distribution, military situation By region or country
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 254
- Popularity
- 127,122
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.85)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 4
