On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive. This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation...

In this book the author turns his focus from his own experiences as a combat-trained Navy SEAL to the nature of service on America's battlefields and the soldiers who give their lives to defend their nation and each other. Here he crisscrosses generations and service branches to clarify why people make the choice to serve their country.

Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations, to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Red Circle provides a rare and personal look at the inner workings of the US military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist. Yet it is Webb's distinguished second career designing new post-9/11 sniper training courses that...