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By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALS

By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALS

  • Downloads：4422
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-14 08:52:12
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Benjamin H. Milligan
  • ISBN：0553392190
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A gripping history chronicling the fits and starts of American special operations and the ultimate rise of the Navy SEALs from unarmed frogmen to elite， go-anywhere commandos--as told by one of their own。

Just how and why did the U。S。 Navy--the branch of the U。S。 military tasked with patrolling the oceans--ever manage to produce raiders trained to operate on land？ More， how did a unit that had no business existing come to lead the ranks of the world's most elite commandos， routinely striking thousands of miles from the water into the deserts and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan？

Behind those questions lies an incredible underdog tale of American military history--and in By Water Beneath the Walls， former Navy SEAL Benjamin H。 Milligan tells it as never before。

In chapters built around key raids and told through the eyes of remarkable leaders both famous and forgotten， Milligan brings to life the SEALs' predecessors in World War II， the Korean War， and elsewhere; lands us on the beaches of the Bay of Pigs Invasion where the Navy alone emerges with a dedication to commando raiding; and launches us into the rivers and highlands of Vietnam， the proving ground where the SEALs discover the mission of capture-kill and cement their future for decades to come。

Yet as the SEALs made their transition to elite commandos， again and again it seemed predestined that some other unit--the Recon Marine， the Green Beret， the Army Ranger--would race to that finish line first。 Ranging from the battlefield to the boardroom， Milligan reveals here the fateful victories and defeats that shaped those units in other directions--and how， in each key moment， the Navy contrived to sail into the gaps left behind。

Written with uncommon verve and the insight that can only come from a combat veteran and a former member of the book's tribe， By Water Beneath the Walls is not only an exhaustively researched and essential new history of the SEAL Teams but a crackling account of desperate last-stands and unforgettable characters accomplishing the impossible。 Most of all， it is a riveting epic of the dawn of American special operations that belongs on the shelf of every reader of military history。

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Reviews

Brandon ，

I received a ARC copy from NetGalley， and while I was looking forward to reading it life kept happening and it was several months before I was able to pick it up and get started。The Navy SEALS are the equivalent of rockstars， when it comes to acclaim and status in the public eye when it comes to the Special Operations community but there probably aren't many that could tell you where they actually originated。 The Navy has had a long standing tradition of keeping to the water， so how did they end I received a ARC copy from NetGalley， and while I was looking forward to reading it life kept happening and it was several months before I was able to pick it up and get started。The Navy SEALS are the equivalent of rockstars， when it comes to acclaim and status in the public eye when it comes to the Special Operations community but there probably aren't many that could tell you where they actually originated。 The Navy has had a long standing tradition of keeping to the water， so how did they end up with one of the premier "go anywhere， do anything" organizations？ A question I didn't realize I needed answering。Milligan had a myriad of options when it comes to what path he could have chosen to wave。 There isn't a single， straight line path that can be pointed to and said， "this is where they came from"。 The tale that he weaved together， from the various organizations that sprang up in the US Military to then fade back into non-existence/relative obscurity with each contributing another piece to the puzzle was engaging and enjoyable。 It certainly isn't a pulpy feel good read that you might pick up in the airport and finish while sitting at the gate。 It's a massive book， complete with a section of foot notes long enough to put most children's books to shame。 With that being said， one wouldn't have to be a dedicated student of military history to find it enjoyable。 。。。more

Bob ，

Why this book: The author asked that I review this book before it was published。 I declined， he politely persisted， I politely agreed to just take a look at it。 After I started reading it， I couldn’t put it down。 I read a galley proof。 It will be published and available to the public in July 2021。 Summary in 4 Sentences: Ben Milligan’s intent was to explore how one of the nations and the world’s premier land commando units resides in the Navy， vice the Army， the Marine Corps or perhaps another g Why this book: The author asked that I review this book before it was published。 I declined， he politely persisted， I politely agreed to just take a look at it。 After I started reading it， I couldn’t put it down。 I read a galley proof。 It will be published and available to the public in July 2021。 Summary in 4 Sentences: Ben Milligan’s intent was to explore how one of the nations and the world’s premier land commando units resides in the Navy， vice the Army， the Marine Corps or perhaps another government agency。 He explores how the US military approached commando and commando-like （small unit raid operations） during WW2， Korea and ultimately Viet Nam， when the SEALs finally came into their own。 It is a story of individual champions in all the services arguing for a special capability， and repeatedly being shut down by leaders steeped in conventional thinking who could not imagine that the value of such a force could be worth the costs。 It is also a story of battles between staffs， as well as battles fought by intrepid early special operators， often under-trained， under-resourced， and poorly supported against our nations enemies in war。 My Impressions: I wasn’t planning on reading this whole book -was planning to just read a chapter or two， skim the rest and give Ben Milligan an overall impression。 But as I got started， I couldn’t put it down。 It is a great read – Ben Milligan has an engaging writing style that pivots back and forth between intense and serious， to humorous and even occasionally “snarky。” Ben is a former SEAL with a BA in History and an MA in International relations and he successfully brings those worlds together in this book。 He is an outstanding researcher and a great story teller。 And though I had spent my career in the Navy SEALs and have read more military history than even most military officers， this book was full of new information and insights that give me a greater understanding of not only the history of the Navy SEALs but also of Special Operations。 His narrative extends from stories about leaders at the highest levels of power and authority in the military， those whose decisions shaped the direction of Special Operations， down to the operators on the ground – their characters， experiences， decisions， frustrations and tragedies。Most of the story takes place well before there were any SEALs。 Indeed， the SEAL Teams didn’t simply spring onto the scene。 There is a fascinating back story， and By Water Beneath the Walls tells it。 In this book we learn about the rise and demise of William Darby’s Rangers in WW2， of the formation of the Naval Combat Demolition Units， Scouts and Raiders， and Underwater Demolition Teams， as well as Marine Raider units， and how they fared in North Africa， Normandy， and the Western Pacific。 We learn of the Navy-run insurgency operation and network behind the lines in Japanese-occupied China。 We learn of early attempts at using UDT’s as raiders in Korea， then of the ill-fated but bold efforts to create out of whole-cloth， a joint team of insurgents to run operations behind China’s lines in Korea。 And we learn how repeatedly， after such units were created to meet an immediate need in war， at the conclusion of that war， the services either disbanded them altogether， or scaled them way back， and reverted to what they knew best how to do – train and resource traditional general military forces。 The final two sections of the book appropriately focus on Viet Nam， where the SEALs initially earned their credibility。 I came into the SEALs just after the Vietnam War， and all of the experienced SEALs I worked with and for had fought in that conflict。 Though I thought I had a pretty good idea of what that war was about， By Water Beneath the Walls gave me context to help me better understand and appreciate the stories of my mentors。 I knew many of the people he portrays in the operations he describes， which made this section that much more meaningful to me。 The book concludes with CNO Adm Jimmy Holloway at the end of the Viet Nam war confiding to SEAL Medal of Honor recipient Mike Thornton， that the Navy’s long term intention was to “dissolve the Teams。” Was it deja vu all over again？ It seemed that the SEALs， “like the Raiders and Rangers before them， would be disbanded at the apex of their achievements。” p502 The irony is that this was the same Adm Holloway who led the Holloway Commission investigating the failure of Operation Eagle Claw （Desert One） in 1980。 The resulting Holloway report led directly to justifying the establishment of US Special Operations Command which all but ensured that the services would not be able to disband the SEALs， the Army SF， the Rangers or other Special Operations Forces。 By Water Beneath the Walls is not a quick read for someone wanting a SEAL book for a junk-food-read on an airplane ride。 It is a multi-course banquet – 500 pages long， covers a lot of fascinating history， and Milligan builds his case with engaging and often edge-of-your-seat examples of brave men learning hard lessons that will make a current operators wince。 It is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of not just the SEALs， but of Special Operations， and it is an engaging read for anyone who enjoys great story telling by a wonderful writer。 I really enjoyed learning so much from this book。This is an abbreviated version of the review I wrote on my blog site。 To read the entire review， go to: https://bobsbeenreading。wordpress。com。。。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALS

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALS&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,By Water Beneath the Walls: The Rise of the Navy SEALS&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0