First Into Action
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'A must for military buffs.' MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
Product Description
The SBS was first into battle a month before the SAS in the Falklands War and again in the Gulf War, yet hitherto it is the SAS that has had by far the higher profile. The SBS draws its manpower solely from the Marine Commando Units, and the Royal Marines are the oldest and most battle-honoured regiment in the world. FIRST INTO ACTION is the first Special Boat Services memoir written from the inside. It tells how Duncan Falconer trained with the Royal Marines in Deal before being recruited into the SBS at Poole in Dorset. The regimen of ruthless training is graphically described and the book also includes revelatory accounts of SBS operations in Ulster, Bosnia and the Gulf War, and of the intense rivalry between the SAS's individualist mentality and the more team-based, marine ethos of the SBS. Duncan Falconer's grippingly detailed memoir is sure to command the attention of anyone interested in the Special Forces and how they operate.
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First Sentence
I was in my first ambush waiting to kill two men I had never seen before. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I was in my first ambush waiting to kill two men I had never seen before. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Stuff,
By
This review is from: First Into Action: Dramatic Personal Account of Life Inside the SBS (Kindle Edition)
Life in the SBS is not as well documeted as life in the SAS which makes an account such as this so much more ineresting, they truly are an exceptional body of men who are aside from the finest training in the world are just as flawed as the rest of us.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best SBS Book by Far,
By A Customer
This review is from: First into Action: Dramatic Personal Account of Life Inside the SBS (Paperback)
Great book, much better than I expected. Some reviewers say they are annoyed with the author's coldness, brevity and lack of detail of certain events but I think that's due in part to the need for confidentiality of those events. I was not bothered by it and did not feel like it detracted from the book. I thought it had a plethora of information and events were explained very thoroughly. If it was too DETAILED or too GENERAL then I would question it's authenticity. I like the anonymity of the SBS, as the author says, it makes their job easier. This is the book to read if you want to read about the SBS or even the SAS. I'm burned-out on all the SAS/SEAL hoopla and wanted something a little different. The SBS are not as well known in Britain as the SAS and even less so here in the US, I only found this book when I was unknowingly transferred to Amazon.uk. Great book.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A TRUE Account of SB Life,
This review is from: First into Action: Dramatic Personal Account of Life Inside the SBS (Paperback)
I received this book on Friday lunch time and finished early Saturday. A reason for buying was seeing Duncan's picture and remembering him from my time in the Marines, I served 77 to 84.
This is one of the best factual accounts of SF work I have ever read and due to my own life and knowledge of those who contributed to the book, know it is at no point a work of fiction. The accounts are accurate and not just told by Duncan as many other former members of the SBS helped, as he states in the book. This has to be one of the best books written by a SF operative. The reviews are mainly positive with a couple who question the author, to that end they are wrong as the events are true and factual and in many cases are told in a way that must have been close to the mark as far as the MOD were concerned. One critique questioned some of the diving detail to which I would say you are a fool to compare sports diving to anything to do with the diving SB undertake and in the 70's and 80's the trials were still very experimental and watching Seal teams when they came to Poole was nothing more than farcical when confronted by the dark water dives and equipment. Some of the accounts have brought a tear as some of the people described were people I knew and respected very highly. Do pictures make a book? NO not in this case as they would just be the same as any you find on the Internet due to the OSA and in many cases would not tie in with the book. Should he have used dates? again NO as anyone worth his salt can work out from the events rough dates after all the Falkland took place over a few months in 1982 so come on people use your brains. SBS were quite often moved back to Commando units especially NCO's who could prove invaluable in operations within units by introducing their knowledge and professionalism as well as inspiration to others. Yes Duncan was part of the test to take recruits straight through to SBS and he must be glad of that opportunity and to have gone all the way. The training in SBS is demanding physically but more mentally as they must be able to work even when their body has almost given up and having seen the training first hand can only appreciate anyone who succeeds. The rivalry between SBS and SAS is understandable, but in the 70's and 80's the SAS had more former Royal Marines than Army and by former I mean the only way to join SAS was to leave the Royal Marines due to the Navy tie. Rivalry is always going to be part of Forces life. If you want a good read that is true to fact, just with the compromise of exactly how to taken away, then this book has to be one you don't miss and if you served as an RM then this will make sense and open your eyes to the work of the sneeky beeky branch. A really good read that pulls no punches and shows that people can sometimes do the unthinkable and the remarkable.
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