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Down Range: Navy Seals in the War on Terrorism
In America’s battle against al-Qaeda and their allies, 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.
Also available as an eBook
From the Hardcover edition.
“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.
Also available as an eBook
From the Hardcover edition.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
69 people are currently reading
822 people want to read
About the author
Dick Couch
32Ìýbooks157ÌýfollowersMr. Couch graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967. He graduated from BUD/S training in Class 45 in 1969. He was a case officer for the CIA.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 7, 2017
This was an okay book. I wouldn't recommend it simply because I think there are better ones for entertainment factor and better ones dealing explicitly with the Special Operations community. If you happen to be a fan of the SEALs maybe you'd want to pick this up.
The writer spent a lot of time reminiscing about his own military experience which I am not sure was really an appropriate thing to do. The title of the book is "Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism" and Vietnam doesn't really have anything to do with it despite how interesting the similarities may or may not be. If a teacher were reviewing this they would have marked down a paper for straying from topic and including interesting yet irrelevant filler so why shouldn't reviewers as well?
There are also other books dealing specifically with the various things that this book covered in a chapter or less. Incidents like the unfortunate events on Robert's Ridge in Afghanistan. This took more of an overview approach that didn't work for me.
The writer spent a lot of time reminiscing about his own military experience which I am not sure was really an appropriate thing to do. The title of the book is "Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism" and Vietnam doesn't really have anything to do with it despite how interesting the similarities may or may not be. If a teacher were reviewing this they would have marked down a paper for straying from topic and including interesting yet irrelevant filler so why shouldn't reviewers as well?
There are also other books dealing specifically with the various things that this book covered in a chapter or less. Incidents like the unfortunate events on Robert's Ridge in Afghanistan. This took more of an overview approach that didn't work for me.
August 7, 2009
A great collection of stories from the front lines combined with too many plugs for his other books. Having been to many of these places and worked in the community his description and details are spot on! The only thing he left out is just how critical the support ellaments really are. No opereration is just one man, it takes a collective work to facilitate a succuss. Despite some redundancy and the shameless plugs for his other works this was a great collection of stories.
March 30, 2023
I have been reading every Navy SEAL book I have been able to get my hands on & this book is by leaps & bounds the “BEST� I have ever read. This author takes you inside the missions of the U. S. Navy SEALs. Definitely worth the time to read this book. I promise you, you will not want to put it down.
August 29, 2019
Waste of time
For those looking an action account of the seal's activities, forget it! Much talk of the tactics and the history behind them but very, very little of the actual action behind the tactics. Very disappointed!
For those looking an action account of the seal's activities, forget it! Much talk of the tactics and the history behind them but very, very little of the actual action behind the tactics. Very disappointed!
July 13, 2023
This book is a bit difficult to review. I enjoyed parts of it, but other parts of it would become pretty dry and text-bookish. Not enough to make it so I didn't finish the book, but I did find my mind wandering in those parts.
January 15, 2013
Down range was a very eye opening book.The books main theme was disapointment.In the book the main character explains what it is like to be a navy seal and one of the main thing that makes him mad was how the media put resrictions on navy seals. Some of the rules he must follow are unbelieveable.He is not allowed to shoot someone without a gun so it becomes easy for a suaside bomber to kill many people because they dont carry guns. He desribes some of the hard things about being a navy seal and that there should not be rules on are millitary because there is no such thing as a fare war. The author did a good job of showing the reader what it is like to be a navy seal and all of the things many people really miss in fighting a war.The author also showed how disapionting it would be to become a navy seal then go to jail for breaking a rule in war. I like this book because I learned a lot of swear word and think people should read it.
November 8, 2013
For the "first battle history of its kind" the content seemed awfully familiar. At best a primer on SEAL activities, and thin on content. Obviously, it must be difficult to write a detailed book on the activities and methods of a group that engages in a lot of classified activity, but there isn't a lot of meat on the bones here. If you were to strip away the author's Vietnam reminiscences, professions of respect for his "brother SOF" and appeals for more funding/better pay, you would have a short book indeed. If you know much about SEAL history and activities I don't think you'll find a whole lot new here. That said, it is fairly well-written and does have some interesting anecdotes. It would be amazing to sit down with the author for a beer and some real war stories, but he is limited in what he can really say.
November 28, 2012
For the "first battle history of its kind" the content seemed awfully familiar. At best a primer on SEAL activities, and thin on content. Obviously, it must be difficult to write a detailed book on the activities and methods of a group that engages in a lot of classified activity, but there isn't a lot of meat on the bones here. If you were to strip away the author's Vietnam reminiscences, professions of respect for his "brother SOF" and appeals for more funding/better pay, you would have a short book indeed. If you know much about SEAL history and activities I don't think you'll find a whole lot new here. That said, it is fairly well-written and does have some interesting anecdotes. It would be amazing to sit down with the author for a beer and some real war stories, but he is limited in what he can really say.
March 29, 2013
Couch talks about the evolution of the modern SEAL capable of applying a wide range of skills from simple persuasion to brute force. No longer just about firepower and stealthy approach, modern warfare has forced the SEALs to work in the daylight, addressing the needs and concerns of the populations they are defending. More than ever, their most valuable weapon is proving to be their brains.
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April 30, 2013Very intense! To know so much about a secret mission the Navy seals did is very intriguing. Knowing so much about their journey to finding Saddam Hussein is very nerve racking. I was almost shaking throughout the whole story wondering if the Seals would survive. It has you wanting more and you're on the edge of your seat throughout the whole book.
September 8, 2011
I bought this to help me get some background on SEAL TEAM 666, a book I'm writing for St. Martin's Press. This provided a lot of great insight into the sorts of missions they perform and is giving me tremendous help in formulating my fictional SEAL team.
September 22, 2007
sound's like it's amazing.about Navy SEALs who are one of the most elite Special Forces in the world.
November 10, 2007
read 07.21.07
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June 27, 2008pretty cool
October 19, 2011
loved it! quick read!
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October 24, 2011Starting out this book is pretty slow, but im intrigued. I really like military stories and other things about military. Im hoping this book will get more exciting as I go on
June 18, 2012
left off on page 36...moved a little slowly
October 19, 2012
While doing research I've bought most of Dick Couches books. I've always enjoyed the knowledge about the Navy SEAL life. Excellent research material and very entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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