The Company They Keep: Life Inside the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Abstract

Memorialized on screen and idealized in the media, the Green Berets are the most famous and least understood unit in the American military. Who are these elite soldiers? How do they train and what are their operations really like? An anthropologist and the wife of a Special Forces member, Anna Simons was allowed access to a single company for over a year, following the group on routines, special missions, and even their off-duty time. She explores the hidden qualities that enable this elite force to function: their intense teamwork combined with the unusual individuality, and rigorous training combined with unconventional military tactics. She shows how these attributes which have made the group so effective now threaten to undermine its existence in the conformist climate of today's US military.

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