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Element of Surprise
 
 
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Element of Surprise [Mass Market Paperback]

Darryl Young
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Ivy Books,U.S.; New Ed edition (31 Oct 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0804105812
  • ISBN-13: 978-0804105811
  • Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 2.2 x 17.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 219,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Darryl Young
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Product Description

Product Description

It used to be said that the night belonged to Charlie. But that wasn't true where SEALs patrolled. For six months in 1970, fourteen men in Juliett Platoon of the Navy's SEAL Team One--incuding the author--carried out over a hundred missions in the Mekong Delta without a single platoon fatality. Their primary mission: kidnap enemy soldiers--alive--for interrogation.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELENT book about SEALS in Vietnam., 25 Oct 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Element of Surprise (Mass Market Paperback)
I just LOVE this book. It gives all the gritty details, everything a SEAL did before a mission during and after. A personal insight into how the man operated. Its just a bloody stunning great book. Go and get it now!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive account of impressive unit, 13 Jan 2006
By 
Nigel Collier (Newcastle upon Tyne) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Element of Surprise (Mass Market Paperback)
I have to admit that I read this book a very long time ago (more than 15 years) and so this review will be short on specific detail. However - it did leave enough of an impression on me that I remember it being a very good read. A large, initial part of the the book covers the author's selection course for the US Navy SEALs, and then goes on to recount his experiences during two tours of Vietnam.

The SEAL selection course was as arduous and exacting as any other course for other of the world's notable special forces - including the SAS and even the Selous Scouts. It is absolutely brutal and utterly uncompromising. Volunteers, I think at the time, were drawn from regular US Navy personnel and underwent the usual physical and mental trials and challenges with a particular emphasis on an endless marathon of swimming and small boat handling tasks. The culmination of the selection course (which weeds out a massive proportion of the initial hopefuls) is 'Hell Week': this includes, after 48 hours of no sleep and freezing swims and boat marathons, the surviving volunteers are forced to lie down on a football pitch...if they fall asleep, they're OUT!

Needless to say our author made it through, and goes on to tell us about the SEALs operations in Vietnam - and these are every bit as hairy and amazing as you'd expect. I can't remember the style of the author - his writing style, how intimate or thoughtful his accounts were, rather I remember more the details of his operations. To be honest - impressive and courageous though the operations were - they weren't all a great credit to the SEALs, and some were in fact disastrous and even farcical in their planning and execution. Nevertheless the VC learned to fear and respect the SEALs who they referred to, as far as I remember, 'green ghosts' or similar. So great the SEALs became at junglecraft - they could literally hear the 'silence' of their enemies: they could detect from a long way off the zone of silence in the natural noises of the jungle wildlife which surrounded the presence of the enemy.

There are some good insights into the details of (6-month) SEAL tours in Vietnam: they wore blue jeans, taped up the bottom of their trouser legs with PVC tape to keep out the leeches, kept their Stoners clean with the much sought after WD40, developed some great tactics and kit etc.

This is a very entertaining and impressive read for those interested in special forces in Vietnam, or special forces selection.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Dont plan anything until your done. You wont want to stop!, 30 Nov 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Element of Surprise (Mass Market Paperback)
Author Darryl Young takes you from day one. His time in Nam is documented and tranformed into a story that is easy to understand and relate to. This book blew me away. Anyone with an interest in Nam would absolutley love it. It is a book I will keep forever!!
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