Facing a fanatical enemy in Europe and in the Pacific, U.S. planners turned to a new kind of warrior--daring swimmers who could knock out mine, map out enemy beaches, and pave the way for Allied naval assaults. With a few extraordinary men, the U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Teams went to war. Now, the commander of this unit takes readers into their world in this first book in the Special Warfare series. Photo insert.

From the tragic Marine Corps landing at Tarawa in 1943 that spawned the UDT "frogmen", to the beaches of Normandy, Kwajalein, Okinawa, and Korea, to the formation in the 1960s of the U.S. Navy SEALs, Fane takes the reader along as the men swim alone through mines and anti-invasion obstacles, treacherous reefs, and enemy machine-gun fire, scouting beaches and clearing invasion approaches before an assault. Also included are Fane's heart-stopping Arctic diving experiments in the 1950s and his pioneering development of submersible vehicles, mixed-gas scuba gear, and lock-in/lock-out operations with Navy submarines.

Teaches techniques for achieving a strong and toned physique through bodyweight training, explaining how to master the one-arm pushup and the one-leg squat and apply them to a variety of traditional exercises.