This book will serve as a tactical “bible” tailored to the military Special Operations, intelligence and paramilitary/law-enforcement communities and other interested parties - - with the intention of breaking the invent-and-forget/reinventing-the-wheel cycle with an aim to (1) increase the effectiveness and lethality of SpecOps personnel and units, while (2) saving the lives of SpecOps personnel engaged in high-risk operations.

Wolcoff describes numerous historical examples of special reconnaissance (SR) operations, with some emphasis on lessons-learned/Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures gained from the legendary Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Special Operations Group (MACV-SOG) SR operations conducted during the Vietnam-era, including operational accounts and analyses of specific missions. Few of these TTPs and lessons-learned have been archived or collated into a usable form for SpecOps personnel or units; this book is intended to preserve and embed this valuable and volatile compilation of tradecraft, that has been obtained at such cost in lives. Wolcoff covers the gamut of specialized SR topics ranging from operational planning and preparation, through execution, logistics and command and control - - all in substantial trade-craft detail.