The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228

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