Admiral william mcraven, whose 36year career as a navy seal has been shrouded in secrecy, made a rare appearance in public to deliver the commencement address at the university of texas and revealed his 10 life lessons he learned from his basic seal training. Case studies in special operations warfare theory and. Vice admiral william mcraven, in his book specops describes six key elements that make such missions successful. In spec ops, a wellorganized and deeply researched study. Spec ops was published in 1995, when mcraven was commanding a seal team. William mcraven decries senates meddling with navy seals. Dec 16, 2017 university of texas system chancellor william mcraven, the former head of u.
His own book is an instructive textbook that will be closely studied by students of the. If youre not sure if the book is for you, know that since this started as an nps thesis, its published for free by dtic. The title is academic sounding but the content, despite being deep, is still accessible to the nonwest point or buds graduate. Bill mcraven said tuesday that special operations forces in afghanistan are preparing for a.
University of texas system chancellor william mcraven, the former head of u. Mcraven said that when he was writing the graduation speech that inspired his book, he actually had writers block. Ussocom ensures the readiness of joint special operations forces and, as directed, conducts operations worldwide. This book serves to illuminate the mechanics and theory of special operations spec ops. Mcraven helped to devise the strategy for how to bring. Mississippi had the highest population of mcraven families in 1840. Special operations command ussocom has released his reading list for next year. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read spec ops. Mcraven debates the success of the mission, even doubting if it was worth the risk, but the main objective was successful. For each of the case studies, he provides political and military context, a meticulous reconstruction of the mission itself and an analysis of the operation in relation to his six.
Mcraven also literally wrote the book on special ops, a 1995 history of surgical strike teams from the nazi rescue of mussolini in 1943 to the 1976 israeli raid on entebbe. So, he consulted his wife, who told him to write about something he knows. It appears book was scanned into pdf and then no one checked spelling or. In spec ops, a wellorganized and deeply researched study, mcraven. Spec ops, case studies in special operations warfare theory and. His own book is an instructive textbook that will be closely studied by students of the military arts.
Spulak expands mcravens theory beyond direct action and small raid concepts and builds a theory of sof looking at. Ut chief, bin laden raid architect recounts seal training. Mcraven deems the son tay raid the best modern example of a successful spec op which should be considered textbook material for future missions. View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for michael mcraven. In this wellorganized and deeply researched study, mcraven pinpoints six essential principles of spec ops success. Hagel pointed out in his thursday speech that mcraven also has literally written the book on special operations. Mcravens lessons, like his commencement speech, extend far beyond his bedmaking. Jun 09, 2017 mcraven said that when he was writing the graduation speech that inspired his book, he actually had writers block. Whether you play operation flashpoint or a similar special operations simulation, spec ops. In this wellorganized and deeply researched study, mcraven analyzes eight special operations. For each of the case studies, he provides political and military context, a meticulous reconstruction of the mission itself and an analysis of the operation in relation to. Its intent, he says, is to motivate members of the sof special operations forces community to grow professionally and personally. In 1840 there were 6 mcraven families living in mississippi. Navy seal team pinpoints six essential principles of spec ops success.
Apr 02, 2017 the 125page book, which goes on sale tuesday, spawns from a commencement speech mcraven gave at utaustin three years ago that struck a chord with students and went viral on social media. May 26, 2014 admiral william mcraven, whose 36year career as a navy seal has been shrouded in secrecy, made a rare appearance in public to deliver the commencement address at the university of texas and revealed his 10 life lessons he learned from his basic seal training. In 1995, william mcraven published spec ops, a collection of commando case studies he used to formulate what he called a theory of special operations. Michael mcraven phone, address, background info whitepages. The universitys slogan is, what starts here changes the world. The theory of special operations by william mcraven 1993 is a book length thesis describing 8 casestudies of special ops missions and the degree to which they adhere to a few principles for specops success that mcraven extracts from their successesfailures. What it takes is a podcast of conversations with wellknown people in almost every field. In his book titled spec ops, mcraven noted six key requirements for any successful mission. Cia director leon panetta delegated the raid to mcraven, who had worked almost exclusively on counterterrorism operations and strategy since 2001. Mcraven commander, united states special operations command united states navy adm.
The theory of special operations by william mcraven 1993 is a booklength thesis describing 8 casestudies of special ops missions and the degree to which they adhere to a few principles for specops success that mcraven extracts from their successesfailures. Mcraven became chancellor in 2015, after a 37year career as a decorated military leader, including his previous role as a fourstar navy admiral and ninth commander of the united states special operations command. Navy seals, a strike with b2 bombers that would obliterate the compound, or a joint raid with pakistani intelligence operatives. This book includes nothing about unconventional warfare or counterinsurgency, etc, and in fact his definition excludes these. Mcraven, 9780891416005, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
The 125page book, which goes on sale tuesday, spawns from a commencement speech mcraven gave at utaustin three years ago that struck a chord with. This was 100% of all the recorded mcraven s in the usa. Mcraven is the ninth commander of united states special operations command ussocom, headquartered at macdill air force base, fla. Case studies in special operations warfare, theory and practice, a sort of textbookhistory of hostage rescues, pow. His own book is an instructive textbook that will be closely studied by students of. Accomplishing the seemingly impossible is the daytoday business of mcraven and his seals and other special operators such as green berets, britains special air service and russias spetznaz. Theory and practice is not only an enjoyable read but also a valuable training tool. Special operations command, plans to leave the school in may, citing nonserious health concerns. May 05, 2011 that would be his 1995 book, spec ops. Admiral mcraven charts a new path for special operations. Case studies in special operations warfare, theory and practice, a sort of textbookhistory of hostage rescues, pow camp raids, battleship assaults and.
Mcraven is credited for organizing and overseeing the execution of operation neptune spear, the special ops raid that led to the death of osama bin laden on may 2, 2011. William mcravens book spec ops stands alone in the realm of military books as the only basic textbook for special forces operations. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. Navy seal since 1978 and currently the commanding officer of seal team three. The mcraven family name was found in the usa, the uk, and scotland between 1840 and 1920. Mcraven right announced friday that he will step down as chancellor of the university of texas system at the end of the academic year. Admiral mcraven, a veteran of the covert world who had written a book on american special operations, spent weeks working with the cia on the operation, and came up with three options. William harry mcraven born november 6, 1955 is a retired united states navy fourstar admiral who last served as the ninth commander of the united states special operations command from august 8, 2011, to august 28, 2014. Case studies in special operations warfare theory and practice. Mcraven, who led the mission to kill osama bin laden, aims to recast the special operations forces to face a widening array of new threats as americas combat role in. This was 100% of all the recorded mcravens in the usa. Case studies in special operations warfare and practice. Most of those within the special operations community would recognize his name from the seminal book, spec ops.
Mcraven below is an abbreviated transcript of his speech. Mcraven helped to devise the strategy for how to brin. Bill mcraven, commander of a team of seals, the navys elite special operations force, is an expert on the subject of special operations. The casestudies are in chronological order and primarily wwiioriented. He writes an indepth study of actual assaults carried out over the last sixty years in several different countries. Nov 21, 20 americas top operator, admiral william h. The most mcraven families were found in the usa in 1920. In spec ops, a wellorganized and deeply researched study, mcraven analyzes eight classic special operations. The interviews have been recorded over the past 25 years by the american academy of achievement. Mcraven helped to devise the strategy for how to bring down osama bin laden, and commanded the courageous u. Special operations forces work behind enemy lines on extraordinary missions that require great courage and skill. This book develops a theory of special operations that explains why this.
Mcraven is a seal, and spec ops to him means direct action. Its intent, he says, is to motivate members of the sof special operations forces. The book is a collection of case studies of special operations conducted by various internation militaries from the german attack on ebem emael in 1940 to the israeli raid on entebbe in 1976. Ut chief, bin laden raid architect recounts seal training in book.
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