Best Selling Books by Dick Couch

“[The] definitive history of the U.S. Navy SEALs and their forefathers” (Master Chief Bill Bruhmuller (USN, Ret.), founding member of SEAL Team two). Written with the unprecedented cooperation of the Naval Special Warfare community, this vivid and definitive history of the U.S. Navy SEALs reveals the inside story behind the greatest combat operations of America’s most celebrated warriors. New York Times–bestselling authors Dick Couch—a former SEAL—and William Doyle chart the SEALs’ story, from their origins in the daring Naval Combat Demolition Teams, Underwater Demolition Teams, Scouts and Raiders commando units, and OSS Operational Swimmers of World War II to their coming of age in Vietnam and rise to glory in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11. Illustrated with forty pages of photographs and based on exclusive interviews with more than 100 U.S. frogmen (including multiple Medal of Honor recipients), here is “the first comprehensive history of the special operations force” (Military.com).

This now-classic tale of SEAL combat action in Vietnam marked Dick Couch''s debut as a novelist in 1990 and sold more than 100,000 copies. Hailed for its authenticity, it was the first novel about Navy SEALs to be written by one of their own. Couch, a SEAL platoon leader in the Mekong Delta from 1970 to 1971, includes gripping descriptions of dangerous operations that continue to attract a broad audience, with many bestselling authors calling his book a sensational story they can''t put down. This new paperback edition features a foreword by the former head of the Naval Special Warfare Command.

An unprecedented view of Green Beret training, drawn from the year Dick Couch spent at Special Forces training facilities with the Army’s most elite soldiers. In combating terror, America can no longer depend on its conventional military superiority and the use of sophisticated technology. More than ever, we need men like those of the Army Special Forces–the legendary Green Berets. Following the experiences of one class of soldiers as they endure this physically and mentally exhausting ordeal, Couch spells out in fascinating detail the demanding selection process and grueling field exercises, the high-level technical training and intensive language courses, and the simulated battle problems that test everything from how well SF candidates gather operational intelligence to their skills at negotiating with volatile, often hostile, local leaders. Chosen Soldier paints a vivid portrait of an elite group, and a process that forges America’s smartest, most versatile, and most valuable fighting force.

In The Finishing School, former Navy SEAL Dick Couch, author of the acclaimed Warrior Elite, follows SEALs on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tactical Training. In America’s new war, the first guns in the fight are special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs, specially trained warriors who operate with precision, swiftness, and lethal force. In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units—small in number, flexible, stealthy, and efficient—are more vital than ever to America’s security as they take the battle to an elusive enemy around the globe. But how are Navy SEALs made? In Warrior Elite, Couch narrated one SEAL class''s journey through BUD/S training, the brutal initial course that separates out candidates with the character and stamina necessary to begin training as Navy SEALs. In The Finishing School, Couch follows SEALs into the next levels of training—SEAL Tactical Training—where they master combat skills such as precision shooting, demolitions, secure communications, parachuting, diving, and first aid. From there, the men enter operational platoons, where they subordinate their individual abilities to the mission of the group and train for special operations in specific geographic environments. Never before has a civilian writer been granted such close access to the training of America’s most elite military forces. The Finishing School is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what goes into the making of America’s best warriors.

By Honor Bound is the powerful and moving story of two Medal of Honor recipients, written by New York Times bestselling author Dick Couch. “Delivers cracking-good minute-by-minute descriptions of two SEAL missions rich in suspense, with technically accurate fireworks and undeniable heroism.” —HistoryNet In April of 1972, near the end of the Vietnam War, SEAL Lieutenant Tom Norris performed an unprecedented ground rescue of two American airmen who were shot down behind enemy lines in North Vietnam, a feat for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor. Just six months later, Norris was sent on a dangerous special reconnaissance mission that would take his team deep into enemy territory. In the running gun battle that ensued, Lieutenant Norris was severely wounded; a bullet entered his left eye and exited the left side of his head. SEAL Petty Officer Mike Thornton, under heavy fire, fought his way back onto a North Vietnamese beach to rescue his officer—an act of heroism that earned him the Medal of Honor as well. This is the true story of two living American legends who entered military service and the Navy SEAL teams for vastly different reasons—and were thrown together for a single combat mission that would define their lives.

Delivering "a gripping insider''s view of the secret world of nuclear security" (W.E.B. Griffin), Dick Couch''s explosive novel poses the chilling and timely question: How safe are America''s waterways from terrorist threat? Riding quietly at her moorings on Puget Sound, the U.S. Navy''s deadly weapon -- the Trident submarine -- waits for her return to the sea. But an Arab terrorist known as the Shadow has targeted the USS Michigan, with nearly three hundred nuclear warheads nestled in its missile silos. He intends to take the deadliest weapon of the Cold War and turn it into the deadliest dirty bomb conceivable -- by hijacking the Spokane, flagship of the nation''s largest ferry fleet. The nation, caught by surprise, sends a select team of Navy SEALs to stop the Shadow. They are aided by a savvy FBI agent and the ferry''s captain, Ross Peck. Unless the U.S. wields its political might to support his terrorist brothers in the Middle East, the Shadow will unleash a radiological holocaust, and a nightmare beyond imagining. . . .

Describes the ranger training and direct-action missions undertaken by the young warriors deployed in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban as part of the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Following the success of his recent book on Navy SEALs in Iraq, The Sheriff of Ramadi, bestselling author and combat veteran Dick Couch now examines the importance of battlefield ethics in effectively combating terrorists without losing the battle for the hearts of the local population. A former SEAL who led one of the only successful POW rescue operations in Vietnam, Couch warns that the mistakes made in Vietnam forty years ago are being repeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that the stakes are even higher now. His book takes a critical look at the battlefield conduct of U.S. ground-combat units fighting insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the prize of the fight on the modern battlefield is the people, he warns every death has a consequence. Every killing has both strategic and moral significance for U.S. warriors. From his unique and qualified perspective, Couch examines the sources and issues that can lead to wrong conduct on the battlefield, and explains how it comes about and what can be done to correct it. He considers the roles of command intent and the official rules of engagement, but his primary focus is on ethical conduct at the squad and platoon level. Tactical ethics, according to the author s definition, is the moral and ethical armor that should accompany every American warrior into battle, and these standards apply to the engaged unit as well as to the individual. A harsh critic of immoral combat tactics, Couch offers realistic measures to correct these potentially devastating errors. He argues that as a nation, we must do all we can to protect our soldiers humanity, for their sake, so they can return from service with honor, and for our sake as a people and for our standing in the world.

After losing his son in the September 11 attacks, wealthy industrialist Joseph Simpson forms the Intervention Force (IFOR) -- a surgical strike team led by former Navy SEAL Garrett Walker. Officially, the group is a rogue operation with no government affiliation. But when the impossible becomes absolutely necessary, IFOR is... THE MERCENARY OPTION Shortly after the terror attacks on America, the American president announces the construction of an oil pipeline across Afghanistan. To stop this, and deter further Western encroachment in Central Asia, a vindictive Saudi prince retains ex-KGB terror broker Pavel Zelinkow -- a prime mover behind al Qaeda''s 9/11 attack. Zelinkow plans to steal two nuclear weapons, detonating one of them among the pipeline construction crews and their military guardians, while the target of the second bomb is a mystery. U.S. special operations forces cannot be used against the terrorists hiding in Iran, so IFOR is called into action for the first time on a mission that will test them to their limits: take out the terrorists, recover the nukes, and get Zelinkow -- dead or alive.

In this ground-breaking book, best-selling author and former U.S. Navy SEAL Dick Couch reports on the actions of the SEAL Task Unit during the Battle of Ramadi in Iraq s al-Anbar Province between 2005 and 2007. When he began his research, the author thought he would be writing about the SEALs courage in the face of a losing cause. Instead, he discovered a startling success story whose importance has gone unrecognized in the war against al-Qaeda. Couch argues that the lessons of Ramadi, with SEALs fighting alongside regular forces in an urban war zone, call for using this strategy more widely. One of the most significant military engagements in the global war against terrorism since 9/11 and the most sustained and vicious engagement ever fought by SEALs, the Battle of Ramadi demonstrates both their code of brotherhood and ability to adapt in an urban battle space, which Couch identifies as the keys to the SEALs success on the battlefield. The story of PO2 Michael Monsoor, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery during the battle, is a compelling example of their extraordinary brotherhood. First published in hardcover in 2008, the book is now available in paperback for the first time.

In this comprehensive guide, military experts teach you how to survive an attack on American soil, from North Korean missiles to weaponized smallpox North Korean nukes. Emerging epidemic and pandemic disease. Dirty bombs in train stations. Chemical warfare. Americans have more reasons than ever to be afraid. If a nuclear missile strikes, will you know what to do? If a nerve agent is released in your office building, will you know the best way to avoid harm? The U.S. Armed Forces Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Survival Manual gives you the information you need to survive a terrorist attack. It contains the best practices of all the United States'' military services, adapted for the first time for civilian use. Experts agree that the threats posed by terrorists and enemy nations have never been graver. This handbook is the single most effective tool you can own to protect yourself and your family against the danger looming over our homeland. This manual will show you how to: - Protect yourself during a chemical or biological attack - Recognize the indicators of nuclear, chemical and biological attack - Develop a simple and effective family action plan - Guard against the radiological effects of a dirty bomb - Assist victims of nuclear, chemical, or biological agents - Assemble and store the everyday materials that could save your life

First there was The Mercenary Option. Now IFOR, the surgical strike team led by former Navy SEAL Garrett Walker, returns in an explosive adventure charged with authenticity and suspense. COVERT ACTION Formed by a wealthy industrialist after the terror attacks on American soil, the Intervention Force is a professional strike team called in on missions others can''t -- or won''t -- undertake. IFOR has already defused a seemingly impenetrable scheme for nuclear annihilation; now they are called into one of the world''s hottest zones. In the Zimbabwean province of Tonga, an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever has U.S. officials on the alert for bioterrorism. Walker leads his Black Ops team into the heart of danger in the African nation to unhinge the workings of two terrorist kingpins -- the brilliant Russian Pavel Zelinkow and Al Qaeda mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- before a cataclysm is unleashed on an unsuspecting world. For "hard-as-nails adventure that will keep you riveted to your chair" (Stephen Coonts), delve into the IFOR novels from Dick Couch.

Established in 1986, the U.S. Special Operations Command was set up to bring the special operational disciplines of all branches of the military under a single, unified command to act on missions involving unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, and direct action... The Marine Special Operations Command ("MARSOC") is the newest component of the military''s shift toward a fully integrated Special Operations Command structure. At first, the Marines were strongly against any Marines serving under anyone other than another Marine. Then 9/11 happened. In the years following, Marine forces found themselves growing more agreeable to inter-branch operational command, finally forming the Marine Special Operations Command in 2006. Always Faithful, Always Forward follows the journey of a class of Marine candidates from their recruitment, through assessment and selection, to their qualification as Marines Special Operators. Retired Navy Captain Dick Couch has been given unprecedented access to this new command and to the individual Marines of this exceptional special-operations unit, allowing him to chronicle the history and development of the Marine Special Operations Command and how they find, recruit, and train their special operators.

With a postscript describing SEAL efforts in Afghanistan, The Warrior Elite takes you into the toughest, longest, and most relentless military training in the world. What does it take to become a Navy SEAL? What makes talented, intelligent young men volunteer for physical punishment, cold water, and days without sleep? In The Warrior Elite, former Navy SEAL Dick Couch documents the process that transforms young men into warriors. SEAL training is the distillation of the human spirit, a tradition-bound ordeal that seeks to find men with character, courage, and the burning desire to win at all costs, men who would rather die than quit.

To Be a US Navy Seal chronicles the 25-week training a Seal experiences.

In America’s battle against global terrorism, the goal of the Navy SEALs is to be the best guns in the fight—stealthy, effective, professional, and lethal. Here for the first time is a SEAL insider’s battle history of these Special Operations warriors in the war on terrorism. “Down range” is what SEALs in Afghanistan and Iraq call their area of operations. In this new mode of warfare, “down range” can refer to anything from tracking roving bands of al-Qaeda on a remote mountain trail in Afghanistan to taking down an armed compound in Tikrit and rousting holdouts from Saddam Hussein’s regime. It could mean interdicting insurgents smuggling car-bomb explosives over the Iraqi-Syrian border or silently boarding a freighter on the high seas at night to enforce an embargo. In other words, “down range” could be anywhere, anytime, under any conditions. In Down Range, author Dick Couch, himself a former Navy SEAL and CIA case officer, uses his unprecedented access to bring the reader firsthand accounts from the warriors in combat during key missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Couch creates a pulse-pounding, detailed narrative of the definitive engagements of this war, while painting an unusually intimate portrait of these warriors in the field. The performance of the SEALs in difficult, changing environments—in the heat of the Afghan desert, in the snow-packed Hindu Kush, on the high seas, and in the urban chaos of Baghdad—has been nothing short of extraordinary. The SEALs, coordinating with other American forces, the CIA, and foreign special operations units like the Polish GROM, have once more shown their genius for improvisation and capacity for courageous action in leading the fight against this new and vicious enemy. The first battle history of its kind, Down Range is a riveting close-up of some of America’s finest warriors in action against a deadly foe.

A New York Times bestseller! Tom Clancy''s Op-Center is back with this new thriller written by the New York Times bestselling authors of Tom Clancy''s ACT OF VALOR and featuring a chilling, ripped-from-the-headlines scenario. Before 9/11 America was protected by a covert force known as the National Crisis Management Center. Commonly known as Op-Center, this silent, secret mantel guarded the American people and protected the country from enemies. The charter was top secret and Director Paul Hood reported directly to the president. Op-Center used undercover operatives with SWAT capabilities to diffuse crises around the world, and they were tops in their field. But after the World Trade Center disaster, in the interest of streamlining, OP-Center was disbanded-leaving the country in terrible danger. But when terrorists detonate bombs in sports stadiums around the country leaving men, women and children dead or mutilated, the President executes an emergency order to bring back Op-Center-an Op-Center capable of dealing with the high tech crises of the 21st Century, and there is a lethal one brewing in the Middle East. A renegade Saudi Prince with ambitions of controlling the world''s oil supply has an ingenious plot to manipulate America into attacking Syria and launching a war against Iran. Next, they would ignite a sleeper cell to attack the America homeland, resulting in a bloodbath unlike any other. Only the men and women of Op-Center, using sophisticated technology, realize what is about to be unleashed. Only they have the courage to issue a warning no one wants to hear. But will anyone believe them?

Tensions flare in Northwest Asia and Op-Center races to prevent World War III in this chilling, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller from the authors of the USA Today bestseller Out of the Ashes. When a team of assassins murder a high-ranking North Korean general and his family in their sleep, making it look like a robbery, events are set in motion that could shake the balance of world powers. Meanwhile, a U.S. naval combat ship, the USS Milwaukee, is attacked by North Korean forces in the middle of a training exercise off the shore of South Korea, and Commander Kate Bigelow is forced to ground the ship to avoid being captured. The crew takes refuge on a tiny island, trapped dangerously between the grounded ship and a fleet of hostile North Korean soldiers. Op-Center intelligence discovers a secret alliance behind the attack—a pact between China and North Korea that guarantees China total control of a vast oil reserve found beneath the Yellow Sea. As both sides marshal their forces for a major confrontation at sea, Chase Williams and his Op-Center organization devise a plan to secretly spirit the American crew from the island and out from under North Korean control. But the North Koreans are not finished. In a desperate gamble, they unleash a terrorist cell on the American homeland. Only Op-Center can uncover their plan and stop it in time to prevent a major catastrophe that could lead to all-out war.

When terrorists occupy a Pacific Rim chemical plant, taking 1,000 Americans hostage, Washington dispatches the Navy''s Seals to free them. The author is a former Seal.

The Navy SEALs have been fighting terrorists around the world for over a decade. And for all that time, the Bandito Platoon SEALS from SEAL Team Seven have been on continuous combat rotation. Now they have drawn a shipboard assignment off Central America—an easy day. But for a Navy SEAL, the only easy day was yesterday. In a powerful story of global anti-terrorism inspired by real life missions, Act of Valor combines stunning combat scenes, up-to-the minute battlefield technology, and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Act of Valor takes you deep into the secretive world of today’s most elite, highly trained group of warriors. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the United States, a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitments to country, team, and their families back home. But each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border—where they engage in an epic firefight with potentially unimaginable consequences for America…

An explosive novel of international intrigue from the author of Pressure Point. A U.S. spy disappears after obtaining proof of an illegal nuclear weapons trade made by the Russian Republic. Now a Navy SEAL team is being sent to penetrate the frozen Kola peninsula to find him.

Waarom zou je dagenlang marcheren zonder slaap, je laten mishandelen en je bijna laten verdrinken in ijskoud water? Met andere woorden: waarom zou je een Navy SEAL willen worden? Dick Couch, zelf een SEAL-veteraan, neemt de lezer mee tijdens de genadeloze training van klas 228. Hij laat de jongens zelf aan het woord, mannen met moed, een sterk karakter en de allesoverheersende wil om te winnen. Mannen die liever sterven dan opgeven.

Nooit eerder kreeg een schrijver toestemming om de training van de geheimste militaire elite ter wereld van zo nabij te volgen. Slagen of falen bij de Seals is verplichte kost voor iedereen die wil weten hoe het staal van de beste krijgers ter wereld wordt gesmeed.In de oorlog tegen terrorisme wordt onder andere gebruik gemaakt van elitetroepen, zoals de Navy Seals: de speciaal op snelheid en precisie getrainde, dodelijke Seal Teams. Deze teams zijn klein, beweeglijk en zeer efficiënt en hun rol is onmisbaar in de oorlog tegen extreme groeperingen en personen.Maar wat houdt die training in? Wat maakt van een gewone soldaat een in fysiek en psychisch opzicht bijna onverwoestbare elitekrijger? In Slagen of falen bij de Seals gaat voormalig Seal-soldaat Dick Couch verder waar hij in De Seals elite ophield. De laatste fase van de zwaarste training ter wereld scherpt de vaardigheden aan waarvan de basis eerder in de opleiding is gelegd. Uithoudingsvermogen, kracht en teamwerk maken van de soldaten de vechtelite die altijd wint.

"In the worst intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor, Al Qaeda operatives hijack four commercial airliners and use them in a deadly, coordinated attack against the United States completely revamps its national security structure, creating brand new organizations to better protect the American homeland from aftershock attacks ... Now, Dick Couch - retired Navy seal and ex-CIA operative - posits an interesting theory. In a fast-paced, action-packed, fictionalized account of the hunt for bin Laden, Couch teases out an intriguing and completely plausible alternate history"--

What happens when a Navy SEAL comes home from war-with a mission.Garrett Walker is a warrior. For the last decade and a half he''s been continuously at war -combat rotation after combat rotation. He''s a veteran of the close fight. And he''s taken a great many lives. Yet, all that combat and all those deaths were in the service of his country. Now, that''s about to change.Since their college days, Garrett and his identical twin have been estranged. They were both in love with the same woman, and she chose Garrett''s brother. So Garrett chose the Navy SEALs. Then, following the death of their younger brother, also a Navy SEAL, yet another tragedy strikes the Walker family. The twin is caught in the web of a Russian Mafia organ-theft ring. He was just another business man in Las Vegas on just another business trip. Then drugged and alone, strange men enter his hotel room and crudely remove his kidneys. It''s a rare crime, but one that happens more than is reported. For those in the black-market organ trade, easy pickings right? But they didn''t count on the resiliency of the one twin, nor the rage of the warrior twin. Together, they embark on a mission. Together, they put all the rules aside bring to about the ultimate Act of Revenge.