President George W. Bush has told all Americans that the war against terrorism would be like no other war. But what does this mean? Who will fight? How will they fight? What weapons will be used? Most informed commentators agree that the war against terrorism will be fought largely by "special forces"—that is, by a relatively new community within the American military known as Special Operations Forces, or SOF's. This new "branch" of the armed forces was created in the mid–1980s and is organized under its own unified command, called U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Consisting of special units from the other branches of the armed forces, such as Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, and Delta Force, this new fighting command is recognized internationally as the most well-trained and well-equipped special operations force in the world. Their missions are varied—including combat terrorism, search and rescue, reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping duty, and conventional and unconventional warfare.Despite special forces' international reputation for excellence, Americans know little about this remarkable fighting force. U.S. Special Forces provides a handy and comprehensive compendium, including descriptions of the units and their operational specialties, training, and organization, as well as the equipment and technological gadgetry, weapons, armor, planes, helicopters, and support vehicles used by each unit.
For many centuries, the job of everyday soldiers, the "grunts," was the same-"see the hill, take the hill." But the combat role of today's U.S. soldier has undergone a radical change. The recent revolution in the art of soldiering in America emphasizes a smaller, but more highly specialized and technologically equipped, armed force. Now, even everyday soldiers in America's armed forces specialize in elite combat skills that use the very latest high-tech equipment.After basic training, many of today's recruits continue advanced training in one of the new emerging combat specialties, such as urban, mountain and arctic warfare; amphibious, underwater and small boat operations; modern cavalry combat; sniping; military intelligence and psychological warfare; search and rescue procedures, and combat engineering.In lively and entertaining prose, military historian Sam Southworth describes these emerging combat specialties-as well as the training and equipment for each-that characterize America's fighting force today.
Today's arsenal of war contains some of the most sophisticated weapons ever seen on the battlefield. The technological revolution has drastically altered how war is fought and brought about the invention of some highly unusual (and effective) weapons. In the recent war with Iraq, we caught a glimpse of the new high-tech weapons in America's arsenal and the wide-ranging array of modern equipment and transportation used by our armed forces. America's modern military hardware is the envy -and fear-of the world.In U.S. Armed Forces Arsenal, noted military historian Samuel A. Southworth takes the reader on an informal and informative guided tour of this new arsenal of weaponry. He explains in clear and concise prose the new generation of military hardware, from rifles to mortars, jeeps to tanks, robotic drones to night vision sensors, and all manner of bombs, missiles and rockets-the arms and armaments that have reshaped the way the U.S. goes to war, on land and sea and in the air.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Today's arsenal of war contains some of the most sophisticated weapons ever seen on the battlefield. The technological revolution has drastically altered how war is fought and brought about the invention of some highly unusual (and effective) weapons. In the recent war with Iraq, we caught a glimpse of the new high-tech weapons in America's arsenal and the wide-ranging array of modern equipment and transportation used by our armed forces. America's modern military hardware is the envy -and fear-of the world.In U.S. Armed Forces Arsenal, noted military historian Samuel A. Southworth takes the reader on an informal and informative guided tour of this new arsenal of weaponry. He explains in clear and concise prose the new generation of military hardware, from rifles to mortars, jeeps to tanks, robotic drones to night vision sensors, and all manner of bombs, missiles and rockets-the arms and armaments that have reshaped the way the U.S. goes to war, on land and sea and in the air.
For many centuries, the job of everyday soldiers, the "grunts," was the same-"see the hill, take the hill." But the combat role of today's U.S. soldier has undergone a radical change. The recent revolution in the art of soldiering in America emphasizes a smaller, but more highly specialized and technologically equipped, armed force. Now, even everyday soldiers in America's armed forces specialize in elite combat skills that use the very latest high-tech equipment.After basic training, many of today's recruits continue advanced training in one of the new emerging combat specialties, such as urban, mountain and arctic warfare; amphibious, underwater and small boat operations; modern cavalry combat; sniping; military intelligence and psychological warfare; search and rescue procedures, and combat engineering.In lively and entertaining prose, military historian Sam Southworth describes these emerging combat specialties-as well as the training and equipment for each-that characterize America's fighting force today.
President George W. Bush has told all Americans that the war against terrorism would be like no other war. But what does this mean? Who will fight? How will they fight? What weapons will be used? Most informed commentators agree that the war against terrorism will be fought largely by "special forces"—that is, by a relatively new community within the American military known as Special Operations Forces, or SOF's. This new "branch" of the armed forces was created in the mid–1980s and is organized under its own unified command, called U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Consisting of special units from the other branches of the armed forces, such as Green Berets, Rangers, SEALs, and Delta Force, this new fighting command is recognized internationally as the most well-trained and well-equipped special operations force in the world. Their missions are varied—including combat terrorism, search and rescue, reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping duty, and conventional and unconventional warfare.Despite special forces' international reputation for excellence, Americans know little about this remarkable fighting force. U.S. Special Forces provides a handy and comprehensive compendium, including descriptions of the units and their operational specialties, training, and organization, as well as the equipment and technological gadgetry, weapons, armor, planes, helicopters, and support vehicles used by each unit.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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