Description

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The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History.

Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed Bin Laden and Zarqawi, rescued Captain Phillips and captured Saddam Hussein. Its commander can direct cruise missile strikes from nuclear submarines and conduct special operations raids anywhere in the world.

Relentless Strike tells the inside story of Joint Special Operations Command, the secret military organization that during the past decade has revolutionized counterterrorism, seamlessly fusing intelligence and operational skills to conduct missions that hit the headlines, and those that have remained in the shadows-until now. Because JSOC includes the military's most storied special operations units-Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the 75th Ranger Regiment-as well as America's most secret aviation and intelligence units, this is their story, too.

Relentless Strike reveals tension-drenched meetings in war rooms from the Pentagon to Iraq and special operations battles from the cabin of an MH-60 Black Hawk to the driver's seat of Delta Force's Pinzgauer vehicles as they approach their targets. Through exclusive interviews, reporter Sean Naylor uses his unique access to reveal how an organization designed in the 1980s for a very limited mission set transformed itself after 9/11 to become the military's premier weapon in the war against terrorism and how it continues to evolve today.

About the Author

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Believed to be the only journalist to have flown with JSOC's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in both training and combat, author Sean Naylor's sources in the special operations community are unparalleled in their breadth and depth. Naylor's 2005 book "Not a Good Day to Die," with its groundbreaking coverage of JSOC's Advance Force Operations in Afghanistan was so detailed that U.S. Special Operations Command, JSOC's higher headquarters, ordered an investigation into how the information was leaked. It was also selected for the official reading lists of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Air Force Chief of Staff.

That was far from the only time that Naylor's coverage of JSOC has provoked the powers that be into action. In late 2001 his mention of the role that Task Force Orange and JSOC's secret helicopter unit, Flight Concepts Division, might be playing along the Afghan border prompted a request from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Army Times to not publish those paragraphs from the newspaper edition of Naylor's story on the Web. And in late 2006 his article about JSOC's hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - the first to detail the extensive JSOC role in Iraq - led to an FBI investigation into the alleged leak of classified information.

Sean Runnette, a multiple AudioFile Earphones Award winner, has produced several Audie Award–winning audiobooks and has also narrated works by John Steinbeck and Richard P. Feynman. Of his performance of The Courage to be Free, AudioFile Magazine wrote "Runnette’s tender approach to every sentence and paragraph helps the author’s wisdom glow. Along with the understated power of the author’s writing, Runnette’s performance makes this one of the most arresting and thought-provoking audiobooks available today". He is a member of the American Repertory Theater company and has toured internationally with Mabou Mines, an avant-garde theater company. Sean's television and film appearances include Two If by Sea, Copland, Sex and the City, Law & Order, Third Watch.