Review
A vivid briefing on an elite American assault force whose esprit and diverse capabilities remain invaluable in a high-tech era of push-button warfare. As he did in earlier nonfiction works (Fighter Wing, 1995, etc.), bestselling novelist Clancy offers a comprehensive rundown on a top-notch US military outfit, in this case, a Marine Expeditionary Unit of the sort that rescued Scott O'Grady, the Air Force captain who was shot down over Bosnia in mid-1995. Before assessing MEUs in detail, however, he provides a concise history of the US Marine Corps and the special role it has played in so many of America's wars or police actions. The author goes on to inventory not only the arsenal of weapons that are workaday tools of the leatherneck's lethal trade but also the heavy equipment that supports the USMC in combat (armored vehicles, helicopters, landing craft, jet fighters, et al.). Getting down to business, Clancy profiles the 26th MEU, a composite group whose air, land, and seagoing elements can be rapidly deployed to the ends of the earth on a variety of special operations (amphibious raids, hostage recapture, humanitarian relief, reconnaissance). Having reviewed the post-Vietnam development of the Marine Expeditionary Unit and its doctrine, he follows the 26th on a brutally realistic training exercise with the US Navy in the waters off Camp Lejeune, N.C. In an entertaining and instructive finale, the author calls on his considerable storytelling skills to deliver credible accounts of how the 26th MEU might be employed after the turn of the century to eliminate the threat posed by a nuclear-weapons facility in Iran or to repulse an attempt by the Malaysian Federation to annex oil-rich Brunei. A lively, full-dress-blue report on a unique band of warriors and their varied missions. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
The fourth volume in The Tom Clancy Military Library: an insider’s look at the US Marine Corps – with bestselling novelist Tom Clancy as your guide.
The US Marine Corps has achieved an almost mythical status as the very best the American armed forces have to offer. Now, Tom Clancy, one of the world’s most popular novelists and a renowned authority on American military matters, takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the Corps – the training, the technology and the people.
With the same compelling style and eye for detail that marked his bestselling earlier volumes in The Tom Clancy Military Library, Submarine, Armoured Warfare and Fighter Wing, Tom Clancy paints a fascinating picture of the Corps and tells the real story of the men and women who serve in this most respected branch of the US armed forces.
Marine includes:
The tools of the Marine Expeditionary Unit, including the AAV-7 amphibious personnel carrier, the Wasp-class assault carrier and Harrier II attack jet
• The role of the Marines in the present and future
• Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams throughout