DAMN FEW: MAKING THE MODERN SEAL WARRIOR

DAMN FEW                                             RORKE DENVER
Posted:  Jan. 16, 2014

  Rorke Denver trains the men who become Navy SEALs--the most creative problem solvers on the modern battlefield, ideal warriors for the kinds of wars America is fighting now. With his years of action-packed mission experience and a top training role, Lieutenant Commander Denver understands exactly how tomorrow's soldiers are recruited, sculpted, motivated, and deployed.

Now, Denver takes you inside his personal story and the fascinating, demanding SEAL training program he now oversees. He recounts his experience evolving from a young SEAL hopeful pushing his way through Hell Week, into a warrior engaging in dangerous stealth missions across the globe, and finally into a lieutenant commander directing the indoctrination, requalification programs, and the "Hero or Zero" missions his SEALs undertake.

From his own SEAL training and missions overseas, Denver details how the SEALs' creative operations became front and center in America's War on Terror-and how they are altering warfare everywhere. In fourteen years as a SEAL officer, Rorke Denver tangled with drug lords in Latin America, stood up to violent mobs in Liberia, and battled terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. Leading 200 commando missions, he earned the Bronze Star with V for valor. He has also served as flag aide to the admiral in charge and spent the past four years as executive officer of the Navy Special Warfare Center's Advanced Training Command in Coronado, California, directing all phases of the basic and advanced training that prepare men for war in SEAL teams. He recently starred in the film Act of Valor. He is married and has two daughters.

Ellis Henican is a columnist at Newsday and an on-air commentator at the Fox News Channel. He has written two recent New York Times bestsellers, Home Team with New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and In the Blink of an Eye with NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip.

With all the SEALs' recent successes, we have been getting a level of acclaim we're not used to. But something important has been missing in this warm burst of publicity... Correcting that is my mission here.
My own SEAL dream was launched by a book. My hope is that this one teaches lessons that go far beyond the battlefield, inspiring a fresh generation of warriors to carry on that dream.-Lieutenant Commander Rorke Denver.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
An excellent book about the making of a Navy Seal. The training and what it takes just to get accepted into the program in the first place. He also goes into the amount of time once they have made it through the first phase that there is so much more. Then once they are assign to a team there is more training for now you need to get to know how each one works together. This again means long periods of time away from family weather you are married or not. He does explain that this phase would be most difficult to be married. He joined and made it on to the Seals before 9/11, and he speaks to his frustration as being somewhere else when other teams were being deployed. They had their mission to do. His account of when they are deployed are a little different from some of the other Navy Seal books in that he is an officer. So he is looking at a mission from not only radios, back up batteries, plenty of water, ammo, call signs for air strikes if needed and so much more. Even the mental health of the team as a whole, for at times they could be out over 24 hours. Then even if they were back just for a few hours and some unit was in need they would go back out. They would clean weapons, debrief, refuel, and repack all gear before going to bed. This was part of their training as well. He also spoke of hearing about two Seals losing their lives from two different teams. One of them was Petty Officer, Master-St-Arm, Second Class Mike Monsoor, who on Sep 29, 2006 through himself onto a grenade where group of Seals and Marines were. I read a story about this from one of the men that was there and it moved then as when I read now as with his memorial service. His story is a good read for it is a look at what an officer of a team and the responsibilities he has. He talks about his marriage and how they make everything work. And he speaks of him being an instructor back at San Diego, training new Seals and how that is not so much of a problem as with politicians wanting to make it easier so they can have more seals but at what sacrifice. He also goes into how he decided to do that movie Acts Of Valor, it took him awhile to come to that decision. Overall I really like this book. I got this book from net galley.