Osprey Publications have given us another excellent book in the Warrior Series. Osprey's "US Army Green Beret in Afghanistan 2001-02" book delves into the making of a Green Beret from recruitment to the daily lives during the Afghanistan conflict. This publication is divided into 11 sections:

• Introduction: History and Tradition
  In this section the reader is given a brief history of the 5th Special Forces Airborne Group and Colonel Aaron Bank's view of how a special team of elite men could operate in hostile countries. Additional brief historical information is given during the conflicts from the group's inception to modern day warfare.

• Recruitment and Selection: Becoming A Modern Green Beret; The Q Course and Robin Sage
  This section gives the reader a thorough understanding of the selection process the candidates go through, what is required of them, and a summary of the different courses one must go through to become a US Green Beret. Also in this section the writer explains the different Special Forces missions that are performed while a Green Beret.

• Appearance: Beards and Baseball Caps
  While a US Green Beret the soldier must blend in to the different cultures. The author here describes the reasons for growing beards and the use of baseball caps.

• Equipment and Weapons
  Leigh Neville writes in this section the many different sophisticated weaponry issued to the ODA's (Operational Detachment Alpha) from the M4A1 carbine, to the 9mm Beretta M9 to the 7.62mm M240B machine gun. The reader is also given information about the most important radios the Green Beret's carried with them.

• Belief and Belonging
  The author here gives us an understanding of the responsibilities the Green Beret's felt that were deployed to Afghanistan and the respect and trust they had for each other. Part in due to the men being the first teams deployed because of the terrorists attacks in 2011.

• On Campaign: Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan
  On Campaign: Operation Enduring Freedom is most certainly the largest chapter encompassing 27 pages of intense, enlightening information dealing with the Afghanistan campaign. Each paragraph places the reader on pins and needles wondering if the ODA's would accomplish their objective. The author randomly places full page color paintings in this section depicting the team and the locals.

• Experience of Battle
  This chapter discusses the experience the Green Beret's developed during the campaign from succeeding in their mission to obtaining support and trust of the Afghanistan people in defeating the Taliban.

• Aftermath of Battle: A Missed Opportunity and The Birth of a Modern Legend
  This chapter deals with the missed opportunities in Afghanistan and the insurgent of the Taliban due in part to the small number of forces left in Afghanistan while the Iraqi war was going on.

• Bibliography
  Numerous references are listed here if the reader wants to explore other reference books dealing with the topic.

• Glossary
  The glossary was unusually helpful due to the many abbreviations used throughout the book. Abbreviations such as ODA, FMLN and SOCOM are defined covering two pages.

• Index

In Conclusion

This book provides a wealth of information to the inner workings of the Green Beret's day to day experiences that affected the outcome of the conflict in Afghanistan. Not only does this book give a synopsis of the Green Beret's selection to and including training but, a great tool for using the many color images the modeler can reference in building a modern day diorama. What I liked most about this book were the many images and color paintings depicting the Green Beret. This is one of those books were you actually don't want to put it down until you have finished reading. I highly recommended this book for inclusion into one's library.

Thanks to Osprey Publishing and to IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this product.