America’s most elite commando unit, the US Navy SEAL Team Six pulled off one of the most remarkable covert operations in military history when they infiltrated the secret hideout of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in the dead of night and killed the hated terrorist mastermind. Dennis Chalker was an original “plankowner” (founding member) of SEAL Team Six, and in One Perfect Op , he takes readers deep inside the remarkable world of America’s Special Forces operatives. With an introduction by Richard Marcinko of Rogue Warrior fame, One Perfect Op describes, step by breathtaking step, one extraordinary SEALs mission, shedding fascinating new light on the training, the planning, the courage and the skill of these exceptional warriors. Dennis Chalker says "the greatest challenge offered by the U.S. military [is] to become a Navy SEAL." A former SEAL himself, Chalker tells of his life and times in one of the military's most elite units. Much of One Perfect Op describes the extensive training each SEAL goes through, not only to become a SEAL but to remain one: "Our training had been hard and dangerous for a reason: you train as you fight." And the training certainly was hazardous--Chalker describes how one of his teammates was killed during an exercise. About half the book goes by before Chalker sees his first real combat, during the invasion of Grenada in 1983. His unit was tasked with protecting the island's governor. He also saw action in Panama and on a number of other operations, though he often leaves out the names of places and dates because these remain classified. His career was certainly varied. He was once part of "Red Cell," a special SEAL team whose job was to play the part of terrorists and test the security of naval facilities. At another point, he stormed a hostile beach to help a family escape. His equipment included all the standard SEAL hardware--guns, night-vision goggles, etc.--as well as a baby carrier and pacifier. Richard Marcinko writes the introduction (Chalker served under him), and his fans will easily become Chalker's fans as well. --John Miller A retired command master chief and member of SEAL Team Six, Chalker is more than qualified to give the reader an insider's account of the U.S. Navy SEALs, which are among our nation's elite special forces. He certainly makes readers feel that they are part of "one perfect op" an operation that comes off without discovery or intervention. He describes one such operation in 1992, though exact names and locations are of course classified. Chalker is more open when describing the invasion of Grenada, his short army "career" before becoming a SEAL, and counterterrorist activities at home and abroad. Together with coauthor Dockery, who has written a number of works on the SEALs and Special Forces, he offers a quick but accurate glimpse into the training and life of a navy SEAL. A brief glossary of military terms appears at the end of the text. One minor flaw is the lack of illustrations or an index. Recommended for casual readers as well as serious students of military history for its accessibility and realism. David M. Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Jamaica, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. The war news on commando forces will broaden the appeal of this SEAL's memoir, written with the help of coauthor Dockery, about the elite warrior, his training, his skills, his motivation, and, ultimately, his exposure to deadly danger. The narrative, replete with the calisthenics, runs, and swims with which the military continuously hones its special operations personnel, relates Chalker's operations over his two decades in the military, which ended in the early 1990s. Assigned to an antiterrorist team, Chalker describes role-playing hostage scenarios, plus his team's assignment to breach security at naval bases, using, on occasion, amusing stratagems. The practical joker vanishes, however, when Chalker relates his major combat experience, the invasion of Grenada in 1983, in which close friends died. Chalker provides ample details on the risks inherent in military life, which makes this a timely, adventuresome, and interesting account. Gilbert Taylor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “A timely, adventuresome, and interesting account.” - Booklist No elite military commando unit since the darkest days of Korea and Vietnam has a more storied history than the U.S. Navy SEALs, a stealth fighting force legendary for its abilities to wage covert war on sea, air, and land. Now former SEAL Command Master Chief Dennis "Snake" Chalker takes us deep inside the celebrated SEAL Team Six for an astonishing, firsthand look at the formation, preparation, and deployment of a crack detachment meticulously trained for an ongoing mission that has become essential to the survival of our nation: counterterrorism. When Dennis Chalker joined Army Airborne in the early 1970s he was, by his own admission, a fairly typical young m