1 Recce. One of the sharpest, most versatile and deadliest specialist units in the South African Defence Force. These men - superfit and unbelievably tough - were dauntless. Time and again they put their lives on the line in covert operations that were mostly conducted under the cover of night, far behind enemy lines. Now, for the first time, the Recces' legendary commanders reveal details about their operations.

A gripping firsthand account of life and combat operations in the elite South African Special Forces, known as Recces, by a veteran Recce officer. The South African Special Forces are one of the most effective—and mysterious—military units in the world. Working in secret on covert operations, the legendary Recces have long fascinated, but little is known about how they operate. Now Koos Stadler, a career officer in the South African Special Forces, shares a revealing chronicle of his life and his experiences in the Border War. Shortly after passing the grueling Special Forces selection course in the early 1980s, Koos Stadler joined the so-called Small Teams group at 5 Reconnaissance Regiment. This sub-unit was made up of two-man teams and was responsible for many secret missions behind enemy lines. Sent to blow up railway lines and enemy fighter jets in south Angola, Stadler and his partner stared death in the face many times.

A former Special Forces soldier—and presidential bodyguard—shares heart-stopping stories of his time as a private military contractor in Iraq. “I remember the cracking sound of the AK-47 bullets as they tore through our windscreen . . . A piece of bullet struck my bulletproof vest in the chest area and another piece broke off and lodged in my left forearm.” Johan Raath and a security team were ambushed in May 2004 while on a mission to reconnoiter a power plant south of Baghdad for an American firm. He had been in the country for only two weeks. This was a taste of what was to come over the next few years as he worked as a private military contractor (PMC) in Iraq. His mission? Not to wage war, but to protect lives. Raath and his team provided security for engineers working on reconstruction projects in Iraq. Whether in the notorious Triangle of Death, in the deadly area around Ramadi, or in the faction-ridden Basra, Raath had numerous hair-raising experiences. Key to his survival was his training as a Special Forces operator, or Recce. This riveting account offers a rare glimpse into the world of private military contractors and the realities of everyday life in one of the world’s most violent conflict zones.

This concise history chronicles the role of military recon, from the ancient warfare of Greeks and Romans to the operations of modern scout snipers. Since the earliest recorded military history, scouting and reconnaissance have been key tools for military commanders in order to make tactical decisions. As military strategy, weapons, and equipment developed over the centuries, methods of scouting and reconnaissance evolved as well but were never discarded. This short history paints a revealing picture of the art of military scouting and reconnaissance. From the secret sciritae of the Spartans and the scouts employed by Julius Caesar to the Middle Ages, Napoleonic Wars, and modern era of scout snipers and special forces units, this volume covers the evolution of recon operations across centuries of conflict.

"The First World War demanded revolutionary technology to break the vicious stalemate in which the armies of Europe found themselves, as soon as static, or trench warfare became established. One such technology was aerial reconnaissance and photography, which together with the growing intelligence use of phone tapping and radio intercepts, changed the nature of war forever. Colonel Terry J. Finnegan's Shooting the Front reviews the entire evolution of Allied aerial photography and photographic interpretation during the Great War, in a text packed with data and based upon meticulous research in archives worldwide. The photographs included are both informative and spectacular, charting perforce the early years of aviation itself. Shooting the Front shows not only how important aerial reconnaissance was to the war effort, but also how it became the foundation for modern-day exploitation of imagery and geospatial intelligence used to guide today's decision makers on global issues, and shaped intelligence work for generations to come."--Publisher.