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It would have been nice if he focused more on these such as missions where they dressed in enemy gear instead of the time spent describing operations that were virtually identical to each other. The missions are different too. A fair amount of time is also spent relating the off time, parties, and relaxation Young participated in. Without going into too much detail, he is open about at least some of his sexual exploits with Vietnamese prostitutes, and how marijuana helped him get through his six months.
Sometimes he spends too much time justifying this particular habit instead of moving on. The weapons and equipment of both SEALs and their enemy, including firearms, boats, rocket launchers, clothing, etc. Young is literate and can describe things clearly, though there were a couple of editing errors in the Kindle edition I read. Problems reside in the larger layout. The book reads like the author recorded most of it, recalling memories and sensations from memory, and thus there is a lot of stuff that is repeated over and over and over again in sentences that are almost identical to ones that the reader has already read.
In short, the organization of the book is jumbled.
Dec 05, Michael Burnam-Fink rated it liked it Shelves: For 'silent warriors', the SEALs sure do write a lot. Young's memoir is an earlier example of the genre, an action-packed adventure let down by some repetitive writing. The 14 men of this unit owned the night, making silent aquatic patrols, prisoner grabs, and infiltration raids. The SEALs were self-consciously elite, immune to traditional military discipline and grooming standards, and using a host of tricked out weapons and vehicles to get the job done on their missions.
Young emphasizes the quiet tension of the raids, lurking in pitch black jungle in absolute silent, wading through neck high canals to avoid booby-traps, and then the desperate and overwhelming fire of an ambush and evacuation. He has a good sense for both the quiet and the action.
There's also a lot of fooling around at base camp, water-skiing, smoking weed to relax, playing football in the tidal mud with the Seabees, and stealing supplies from REMFs. No multi-day missions, no NVA heavy artillery, and none of the tensions and incompetence that more mundane units experienced.
This book is written in a " mindset", as the afterward explains, and there's a lot of racism. More than calling the Vietnamese "gooks" or worse, there's an attitude of casual mayhem towards the country. The SEALs use a cemetery as a firing range, demolishing it with grenades.
They spend a truck ride stealing the hats off of men riding mopeds. In a strategic sense, it's hard to see what the SEALs accomplished. The griping about not knowing why they were fighting seems more obligatory than real--Young was there to prove he was the deadliest animal in the jungle, and he did. I believe that all the men on the SEAL team were consummate professionals, but Young can't seem to find the words to write about his brothers in arms.
Feb 09, Devin Tom added it. Darryl Young really did a great job when he wrote the book Element of Surprise. This book is about the very intense training of a Navy Seal. Darryl Young wrote this book to inform people on the excruciating training of a Navy Seal. Darryl does a great job describing all of the training with a lot of detail.
He goes in depth when he describes his day to day training. This book combines h Darryl Young really did a great job when he wrote the book Element of Surprise. This book combines his own life experiences of his training, and his terrifying experiences in Vietnam. When reading this book you are able to decipher a theme pretty easily. Darryl Young tells his readers that mental and physical toughness can help you achieve great things.
Each day the number of men in his class slowly began to decline. It declined because those men gave up and quit. That is why he stresses on how important physical and mental toughness really is.
He narrates what he went through everyday in his training and what he went through on his tours in Vietnam. The detail that he goes into when he describes his morning calisthenics shows that he wanted to tell the readers how much work the Navy Seals put in. I believe that his style is effective. They took their training very seriously because soon they would need it, and end up in a life or death situation. I really enjoyed the book The Element of Surprise.
I really like how it is so descriptive, just like most military books. I thought that it was a very good book, and I think he should make a sequel. Mar 05, Pages.
Delivery and Returns see our delivery rates and policies thinking of returning an item? Then the story begins. Books by Darryl Young. I was nineteen years old, well-trained, and was ready to do my duties for my country with thirteen of the best men I have ever met in my life. Setnik, US Navy veteran of the Vietnam period. Now, I was not there.
Those are just a few of the assignments of the men who, since World War II, have endured the toughest and most sophisticated training of any military unit in the world. Also by Darryl Young. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Tahl Raz and Beth Comstock. Rising Out of Hatred.
Notes for the Everlost. Kate Inglis and Kate Inglis. Dearborn and Mary Dearborn. Queens of the Conquest. I Should Have Honor.
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Setnik, US Navy veteran of the Vietnam period. Young does a good job of describing his experience in the area of South Vietnam where he worked. What bothered me most was, as the writer points out, there were a lot of F. Ups on the part of upper level "Planners"! After my late brother returned home after three 13 month tours, and since I've read so much as well as talked to many Nam veterans, I now have a pretty good understanding of why my brother was so very bitter about his experience in Vietnam.