Suchergebnisse

"With a heritage dating back to the mid-seventeenth century, the Royal Marines have accrued a rich history of rituals, artefacts and material culture that is consciously deployed in order to define and shape the institution both historically and going forward into an uncertain future. Drawing upon this heritage, Mark Burchell offers a unique method of understanding how the Royal Marines draw upon this material culture in order to help transform ordinary labour power to political agency comprising acts of controlled and sustained violence. He demonstrates how a barrage of objects and items - including uniforms, weapons, landscapes, architecture, personal kit, drills, rituals, and iconography - are deployed in order successfully to integrate the recruits into the Royal Marines' culture. It is argued that this material culture is a vital tool with which to imprint the military's own image on new recruits as they embark on a process of de-individualisation"--

Introduction -- Culture shock and initial adaptations to the regime of discipline -- Equalization -- The phase of identification -- Exchanging exhausted bodies for excellence : the testing stage -- Ceremonial acceptance -- Conclusions : civilian to commando from an anthropological perspective.

Machine generated contents note: Chapter 1 The tractor job: 2 Squadron, March 1968 -- Chapter 2 Towards special forces: Australia, 1940-1957 -- Chapter 3 The 1st SAS Company: Swanbourne, 1957-1962 -- Chapter 4 To Borneo: Formation of the regiment, -- 1963-1964 -- Chapter 5 Hearts and minds: 1 Squadron, February-May -- 1965 -- Chapter 6 Across the border: 1 Squadron, May-June 1965 -- Chapter 7 The rogue: 1 Squadron, May-June 1965 -- Chapter 8 Contact: 1 Squadron, June-July 1965 -- Chapter 9 Preparing for action: 2 Squadron, September -- 1964-February 1966 -- Chapter 10 The Sarawak operations: 2 Squadron, -- February-July 1966 -- Chapter 11 Eyes and ears of the Task Force: 3 Squadron, -- June-July 1966 -- Chapter 12 Long Tan and after: 3 Squadron, August -- 1966-March 1967 -- Chapter 13 Fighting for information: 1 Squadron, March -- 1967-February 1968 -- Chapter 14 Phantoms of the jungle: Vietnam patrolling, -- 1966-1968 -- Chapter 15 Dominating the rear areas: 2 Squadron, -- February-October 1968 -- Chapter 16 A matter of training: 2 Squadron, October -- 1968-February 1969 -- Chapter 17 The regimental base: Swanbourne, 1968-1972 -- Chapter 18 The lure of the May Taos: 3 Squadron, February -- 1969-August 1969 -- Chapter 19 Into the May Taos: 3 Squadron, September -- 1969-February 1970 -- Chapter 20 Flexibility and frustration: 1 Squadron, February -- 1970-February 1971 -- Chapter 21 Withdrawal from Vietnam: 2 Squadron, -- February-October 1971 -- Chapter 22 The defence of Australia: 1972-1981 -- Chapter 23 Counter-terrorism: 1978-1988 -- Chapter 24 Phantoms of the operations: 1987-1999 -- Chapter 25 The force of choice: 1999-2000

"In October and November of 2001, small numbers of soldiers from the Army Special Forces entered Afghanistan, linked up with elements of the Northern Alliance (an assortment of Afghanis opposed to the Taliban), and, in a remarkably short period of time, destroyed the Taliban regime. Trained to work with indigenous forces and personnel like the Northern Alliance, these soldiers, sometimes riding on horseback, combined modern military technology with ancient techniques of central Asian warfare in what was later described as "the first cavalry charge of the twenty-first century." Special Forces--the Navy's SEALs and the Army's Rangers and Green Berets--are highly trained soldiers with four principal missions: Direct action (typically such military operations as raids and rescue attempts), unconventional warfare, psychological operations and civil affairs. In their unconventional warfare role, they are often used as "force multipliers," that is, they can be brought into a combat area of operations to train and lead indigenous troops. They have played an exceptionally prominent role in America's war on terrorism and are likely to continue doing so in the coming years. This book takes as its premise that SF are much publicized and little understood. His book offers readers the first truly penetrating examination of SF roles and missions by a serious scholar.Despite longstanding and growing public fascination with special operators, these individuals and the organizations that employ them are little understood. With this book, Tucker and Lamb dispel common misconceptions and offer a penetrating analysis of how these unique and valuable forces can be employed to even better effect in the future."--