Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command

Sean Naylor

St. Martin's Press, Sep 1, 2015 - History - 544 pages

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.

What people are saying

Review: Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command

User Review  - Andrew Tollemache - Goodreads

Having really enjoyed Sean Naylor's "Not a Good Day to Die", I was stoked to hear he had written a history of the evolution of JSOC from its birth in the aftermath of the Desert One disaster through ...

Review: Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command

User Review  - Jesse Tischauser - Goodreads

This book was a very informative collection of the leadership, organization and purpose of the recent and current special operations community. I quit reading about 1/2 way through because it lacked ...

About the author

SEAN NAYLOR is the author of Relentless Strike. An award-winning defense journalist, he is the only reporter who focused on U.S. special ops forces as an exclusive beat for Army Times and he has consistently broken news on JSOC operations since 9/11. He has reported on military operations from Somalia to the Balkans to Afghanistan and Iraq. He writes for Foreign Policy and contributes to the New York Times. He has earned the White House Correspondents' Association's prestigious Edgar A. Poe Award for his coverage of Operation Anaconda, which led to his New York Times bestselling book about the operation, Not a Good Day to Die. He contributed to the explosive New York Times investigative piece "SEAL Team 6: A Secret History of Quiet Killings and Blurred Lines".

Bibliographic information

• Title: Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command
• Author: Sean Naylor
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2015
• ISBN: 1466876220, 9781466876224
• Length: 544 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / Special Forces