Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy Seal Mass Market Paperback – December 28, 2004

Warrior Soul tells us about those incredibly dedicated, skilled, and fit (both mentally and physically) men who are the spear points of our protection. Yet, there is a shadow--illumined by this and other similar memoirs: the misuse of these heroes and the horrific waste of their talents and lives by desk-bound "planners," both civilian and military. Thus Pfarrer writes:"Any faith I had in our war planners, any trust I would ever have again in the command structure, evaporated in that moment." (Kindle location 3602-3606)Of course, this was the end result of slow pulls on the trigger of doubt--the accretion of many betrayals of these brave men by their comparatively incompetent superiors. And, more to the point, Pfarrer's conclusion echoes all the special-forces memoirs I have read.The lesson from all of this (and also from William Manchester's superb biography of Douglas MacArthur, "American Caesar") is that we put too much blind faith in the mantra that tells us that we must have total, unthinking, "civilian control" over our military. In theory, of course, that is correct and that is why our constitution makes the president the "commander in chief," and gives to Congress the power to declare war.Our nation, however, is no longer the largely agrarian agglomeration of states that it was in the late 18th Century. It is the supreme world power, and when, as Gibbon tells us, we give plaudits to those who lead us in battle, the tendency is to have too many battles. Thus, Charles Edward Montague observed, "war hath no fury like a non-combatant."We should re-think the absolute inherent in the civilian-control mantra. It has not been the military that has led us into senseless (and now seemingly endless) wars, but the military's civilian masters abetted by a complicit Congress as well as by lackeys in the military command (as H.R. McMaster reveals in "Dereliction of Duty"). The list is legion--over our nation's entire history.It seems to me that neither our presidents nor our Congresses should be able to "fight" wars (with other's lives, of course) unless the military agrees that the proposed war is both necessary and winnable. And once that decision is made, the war should be won! That is what "Warrior Soul" and similar memoirs tell me, although neither Pfarrer nor the others suggest it.Edward R. Murrow once observed that a nation of sheep begets a government of wolves. We have been too easy for the politicians to herd into places they want us to be.

The author's odyssey from delinquent highschooler, to military school, through college, ocs, BUDS training/elimination and then advanced training is fascinating. The book profiles a sustained view inside the soul of a true band of warriors. Young MBA's could learn a lot from study of leadership and organizational structure in the teams.The operations were interesting although obviously limited in their selection and description due to restrictions. Others have complained of the lack of discussions of many operations, however, my feeling is that the author more than makes up for that in the depth of the detail and of the many sub operations as part of the long deployment in the middle east.The discussion of the transformation of Seal Team 6 from its original personality cult into something close to the other teams was enlightening.Where Pfarrer really distinguishes himself is the weaving of the story of his personal life into the book. His transformation from near dropout to military school and the associated change in his behavior was great. His descriptions of his loves and breakups are told with real time passion. He cuts himself no slack as to his personal failings although one wonders how much can be attributed to living a random, high adrenalin life, often alone, far from home and surrounded by women seeking adventure with the worlds few true warriors.The Seals must train like tomorrow might bring the Super Bowl, Olympic High Diving Finals, mother of all marathons or shootout at the OK corral in some randomly selected place from Holidays In Hell. However, with the addition of Roman tradition that the loosers are eaten by the lions. Team 6 required further separation from his "brothers" in the other teams. Further adding to the adrenalin shocks is the randomly jerked leash associated with the micro management of war by the flotsam and jetsam found high in the halls of power in DC.The book is well written although some editing errors still remain. It is written as a first person account, not a top down history of the events. It excels in achieving its goal, telling the life of a warrior soul in today's world.

Over the years I have read and reviewed numerous books written by U.S. Navy SEALS. This is one of the best ones I have read lately. The author, Chuck Pfarrer, a former Navy SEAL Officer gives us a first hand look at what it takes to be a U.S. Navy SEAL. He relates the many dangerous missions he has been on and his writing style makes you feel like you are there with him and his SEAL team mates. As a former U.S. Navy (regular Navy-1959-1963) sailor many years ago when the SEALS were still called UDT/SEALS, I have always had enormous respect for this Special Ops. unit. If it was not for some medical issues I was going to apply for BUDS training at that time.This book tells about the author's early life and how he decided to join the Navy. He knew what he wanted right away, which was to become a U.S. Navy SEAL. After Officer Candidate's school he entered BUDS training. It is truly amazing what these Navy Commandos have to endure before becoming fully trained SEALS. If you have any desire to become a Navy SEAL you would be wise to read this book first and even that will not prepare you for the real physical and psychological pressure you will receive in training. There is no tougher military training than to become a U.S. Navy SEAL.In conclusion, if you are seeking a real thrill ride of real life combat experience, told by someone "who has been there and done that" this book is for you.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Predator Hunter: A warrior's memoir)

I was very surprised by the author's objectivity as well as his writing skills. Soldiers are not know for their ability with the pen, especially special forces soldiers. The book is very well written, evenly paced and, even though it is told from a first person narrative, incredibly objective. There is no grandstanding or ego trips (compare this to a Dick Marcinko book for example), just the author's experience and his views, related as disspasionately as possible. Yet it manages to be a very interesting and thrilling read. So the objective tone does not detract from the experience at all, quite the contrary, it helps enhance it through its honesty. My only complain was the the book ended too soon for me (even thought it's 314 pages long).The author tells his stroy from his training in the BUD/S program to his deployment in different parts of the world such as Beirut, etc.I recommended this to anyone interested in the SEALs or special forces, or just military action in general.

This had the potential to be a great book with some fantastic insights into the training regime that a prospective seal goes through. However, I got the feeling that a great deal of what the author experienced he held back because of the classfied nature of some of the work he undoubtedly undertook. Therefore the book felt that it had been dumbed down somewhat. I also got the feeling that the author was being extremely modest in his achievements and never really gave the incites that I was craving into his operational deployments and the skills that he employed. Huge respect though for his undoubted intelligence and tenacity he displays in the most difficult of circumstances. Good luck Chuck.

In the early 80s, navy brat Chuck Pfarrer dropped out of uni and decided to join the Navy SEALs, an elite unit not known outside of military circles. On every other year, you needed to serve in other branches of the military before applying. That year, they took civilians as an experiment...Chuck Pfarrer recounts his years on and under the waves, in Beirut, South America and any number of nameless, dusty places in a way that's neither humble nor bragging. He gives credit where credit is due, recalls cowardice in others and failure in himself. Above all, he comes across as a real live human being rather than a two dimensional warrior cliche. Which is odd because he went on to write the movie Navy SEALs, a gung ho hunk of junk about two dimensional warrior cliches. I forgive you for the movie, Chuck. Your life story more than makes up for it. Should have made a film out of this instead.

There seem to be a lot of Seal and Delta force memoirs out there now. I think this one would rate with the best ones out there.The others being , Simon Murray's, Legionnaire , Peter Ratcliffes Eye of the storm, Eric Haney Inside delta Force. A very enjoyable read without any silly stuff.

One of the best military memoirs in US Special Forces I've ever read.Chuck really wrote a grim,down to earth,sometimes harrowing account of his tour of duty in the US Navy Seals.I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested,and would gladly read it again and again.