This book is an excellent history of “Det A” – a Special Forces unit with about 100 personnel stationed in Berlin which at that time was in the middle of East Germany! The unit and its personnel were considered legend over the years in the Special Forces community in the US and Europe.

Shortly after World War II and as the Cold War was getting more intense the US planners assumed that the Russian armor and shock troops stationed along the German border would quickly overrun the US and allied forces in western Europe. This is what the Russians trained for and this is what the Americans and allied forces trained for. Along with these operational plans were strategic plans to leave behind multiple Special Forces detachments trained for stay-behind operations.

These were desperate times and called for desperate measures. These Special Forces soldiers would be deep in enemy territory and had no plans to evacuate. They planned on staying behind and organizing and conducting guerilla operations to disrupt Russian communications and rear echelon operations. As a note, there were no blacks, Hispanics, or any ethnic looking men assigned. They were all white, European, German-speaking operators.

As the detachment’s legend grew over the 60s and 70s this was one of the rotation assignments for some of the elite special forces team members stationed stateside. Bear in mind they would not take anyone. You had to be one of the best of the best to get this assignment. Once you had this assignment and proved you could fit in you became part of the elite within the elite. Legend status.

As the US and European armies were forming anti-terrorist groups and other special forces units they would often work side by side with Det A. The Det A personnel quickly became known as the go-to Anti-Terrorist teams for the US. Their ability to work side by side with units like the SAS, CIA, Delta, GSG-9, 10th SF in Bad Tolz, without causing problems or rework in their plans, quickly earned them professional respect.

Growing up as a young soldier in the Special Forces community at Fort Bragg I was fortunate enough to know people that had already been assigned to Det A and returned to the US for another assignment. I would also run into some of these legends in the GB Club (Green Beret Sport Parachute Club) on Smoke Bomb Hill. We would offer them a beer or shake their hands. That’s about it. Mainly these were humble men and did not ever brag about their work, assignment, etc. That’s just the way it was.

This unit was deactivated in the 1990s after years as serving under many names and locations throughout Berlin and the surrounding areas. If you’re a fan of Special Forces you should read this book. You won’t regret it. It represents the US military at its finest.

This book is available at Amazon.com and Casemate Publishers.

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About the Book Author. James Stejskal is an author, military historian, and conflict archaeologist. His inspiration for his writings are from 35 years serving with the U.S. Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency in interesting places as Africa, Europe, the Balkans, the Near and the Far East.

This book review by Christopher (Moon) Mullins was originally published by www.argunners.com. Republished with permission of author.

LTG (Retired) Charles Cleveland has provided an interesting look at the past 40 years of the history of U.S. special operations. He combines his personal observations – tracing his career in U.S. Army Special Forces – with an analytical approach to the many conflicts U.S. SOF participated in. A result of this study are his recommendations for the restructuring of the U.S. special operations community and its approach to irregular warfare (IW).

The American Way of Irregular War: An Analytical Memoir describes how the United States has approached conflicts in which armed civilian or paramilitary forces are the primary combatants. This form of warfare emphasizes the importance of local partnerships and gaining legitimacy and influence among targeted populations – sometimes referred to as population-centric operations.

Cleveland’s career – most of it spent as a Special Forces officer – saw him participate in operations around the world at the tactical level. He experienced the Cold War in Europe, counterinsurgency and counternarcotics operations in Central and South America, as well a significant time in subsequent conflicts. In addition, he spent a considerable amount of his career in the upper echelons of command – retiring as the commander of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC).

Cleveland finds that the country’s irregular warfare efforts were largely successful at the tactical level. However, he argues that the U.S. has failed to achieve its strategic objectives in nearly every population-centric military campaign over the past four decades. The problem, according to Cleveland, is that the U.S. lacks the concepts and doctrine required to be effective in population-centric conflicts and that it lacks the organization to conduct irregular warfare effectively.

He provides three recommendations that require a transformation of the SOF community. He proposes action by the U.S. Congress, the President, and others. These proposals include the establishment of a bi-partisan commission to review the U.S. performance in irregular warfare, a reorganization of the executive branch and DoD, and the establishment of an institution (independent of the government) that would be a center of excellence for the study of irregular warfare.

Cleveland’s account of U.S. irregular warfare over the past four decades resonated with me. I served 40 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces during the same time frame – we share many of the same experiences. Reading his account of U.S. IW had me revisiting time spent in Europe on Flintlock exercises, on light infantry JCETs to Latin America, and my participation in Operations Provide Liberty, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Provide Comfort, Uphold Democracy, OEF, OIF, and others. It was a trip down memory lane for this old retired soldier.

Cleveland’s recommendations deserve serious consideration. Hopefully the publication will prompt action by Congress and the Department of Defense. This is an excellent publication and is available to read online or download from the RAND website. Many readers, including this one, will likely opt to buy the printed version to place on their ‘reference book shelf’.

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The American Way of Irregular War: An Analytical Memoir, by Charles T. Cleveland with Daniel Egel, RAND Corporation, 2020, 276 pages, PDF.
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/perspectives/PEA300/PEA301-1/RAND_PEA301-1.pdf

Photo: Special Forces candidates assigned to the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School patrol through a wooded area during the final phase of field training known as Robin Sage in central North Carolina, July 9, 2019. Robin Sage is the culmination exercise and has been the litmus test for Soldiers striving to earn the Green Beret for more than 40 years. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)

COL (R) Paul Hutton III is interviewed by West Point’s Center for Oral History. His career spanned attending West Point, the Cold War in Europe, tours in Vietnam, and time in the Pentagon. He was a battalion commander of 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at Bad Tolz, Germany.

His perspective on Special Forces in Vietnam is illuminating and informative. He spent a tour with Special Forces in Vietnam as well as with the Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDs) program. Topics include Khe Sanh, the Montenards, ‘Ruff Puffs’, counterinsurgency, and the transition to the ‘All Volunteer Army’. His 2 1/2 hour interview is a good evenings education and entertainment – especially if you are current or former Special Forces. Watch the interview (done in March 2016) at the link below:

www.westpointcoh.org/interviews/pride-in-america-defending-freedom-and-protecting-people