The Real Team: Rogue Warrior

Richard Marcinko first exploded out of the clandestine world of special forces/unconventional warfare with his #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography Rogue Warrior . Now, after coauthoring five consecutive New York Times bestselling Rogue Warrior novels based on the exploits of his SEAL Teams, he calls upon the warriors who served by his side to tell their own stories. The Real Team tells it like it is: how highly motivated individuals come to the Teams, how they train, and how they fight in the four corners of the globe.

From the sea, from the air, or from the land -- SEAL Teams attack the enemy from any direction, any time, with weapons ranging from a K-bar knife to an AK-47. Here, for the first time the real life models for such characters as Indian Jew, "Doc" Tremblay, Duckfoot Dewey, the Golddust Twins and Prince Valiant narrate their journeys from the civilian world to BUD/S training, their first experiences under fire, and how they turned from newbies to seasoned veterans, from loyal U.S. servicemen to rogue warriors whose only rule was that the warrior does not give up. Ever.

Thomas Capel, the real life counterpart of Nasty Nicky Grundle, remembers the day he turned down an appointment to the Naval Academy in order to finish his BUD/S training, and his first combat experiences in Nicaragua: "I'm standing in waist-deep water. There's no cover or concealment. I dropped the gun down, reloaded the weapon and came up shooting. The Sandinistas are caught between fire in front of them and off to the right side. Within the first couple of seconds, I'm laying down 200 rounds of ammunition. I was cutting down trees."

Steve Hartman, the fictionalized Stevie Wonder, talks about how it felt to become a member of Red Cell: "Being part of the Teams was like going home. After all those years in the Navy, it was fantastic. The Teams are warriors. There's community, loyalty, dedication. And anything goes."

The Real Team also reveals the Rogue Warrior's secrets for Team selection and Team Maintenance. From setting up an ambush to making a HAHO -- high altitude, high opening -- parachute jump, from the Philippines to Desert Storm, the stories in the book are about real men and real missions, and about the SEAL mentality of teamwork, training, loyalty, and never-say-die aggression. For it is the spirit of the real Teams that shaped these extraordinary individuals and positioned them for success -- in every battlefield and every endeavor they would face in life.

The guys he works with all have unique personalities and backgrounds but plenty of motivation. I bought this book to learn a bit more about who joins the team...and (more importantly) to hear them describe their best/worst missions. Each guy must have a mission that they look back upon?? Beyond just their upbringing, I was hoping to read more of their 'lives on the edge'. I got only a little of that.

If you have friend or family looking at the military, this is certainly the book for them.


Only for fans   June 20, 2002
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who's not already a fan of the Rogue Warrior books. It's basically a collection of essays by friends of Marcinko (most of whom have been used as characters in his novels) about their background, including combat experiences, etcetera.

This is also the first Marcinko book I've read that seemed to be clearly aimed, at least in part, at the audience for his two management and leadership books. That is business people who want to be hardcore. To this end, all the essays touch on the individual's view on teamwork and what makes a good leader, etc.

All in all, interesting for fans of Marcinko's books; useful for people who want to understand how a team should or can work.