Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies
Jun 2017 · HarperCollins
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About this ebook
A former U.S. Army intelligence and special ops soldier gives a look inside some of the nation’s most secretive military operations.
For nearly a decade, Brett Velicovich was at the center of America’s new generation of warfare: an arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—taking down the world’s deadliest terrorists across the globe. Now this decorated veteran, with journalist Christopher S. Stewart, tells his story in a remarkable book packed with more classified drone operations cleared for public release than any other account ever published, according to the U.S. government. Drone Warrior offers an unprecedented view into the remarkably complex nature of drone missions in the hottest conflict zones today and the rigorous and wrenching on-the-ground decisions behind them.
Drone Warrior also chronicles the U.S. military’s evolution in the past decade and the technology driving it. Velicovich considers the future it foretells, and speaks candidly on the physical and psychological toll it exacts, including the impact his missions had on his own life. He reminds us that while these machines can kill, they can also be used to preserve life, including protecting endangered species and supporting humanitarian operations—work he is engaged in today.
For nearly a decade, Brett Velicovich was at the center of America’s new generation of warfare: an arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—taking down the world’s deadliest terrorists across the globe. Now this decorated veteran, with journalist Christopher S. Stewart, tells his story in a remarkable book packed with more classified drone operations cleared for public release than any other account ever published, according to the U.S. government. Drone Warrior offers an unprecedented view into the remarkably complex nature of drone missions in the hottest conflict zones today and the rigorous and wrenching on-the-ground decisions behind them.
Drone Warrior also chronicles the U.S. military’s evolution in the past decade and the technology driving it. Velicovich considers the future it foretells, and speaks candidly on the physical and psychological toll it exacts, including the impact his missions had on his own life. He reminds us that while these machines can kill, they can also be used to preserve life, including protecting endangered species and supporting humanitarian operations—work he is engaged in today.
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August 15, 2020
I was given this book to read after a completely random conversation about drone warfare. It was a surprisingly good effort that I consumed in the space of two days. In a strange way, it's almost a coming-of-age story as the author, while eternally committed to the cause (whatever the cause may be at the time) still grows and matures as a human being. This book gives a hugely interesting, in-depth insight into the war on terror, from a drone operations perspective. It is disturbing, surprising, depressing and, simultaneously, educational and informative. In summary, I began reluctantly but quickly became hooked. Well worth a look if modern warfare or military technology are of interest to you.
About the author
Brett Velicovich has over ten years of experience conducting counterterrorism and intelligence operations globally. As an intelligence analyst within the U.S. military’s elite, his work was directly responsible for countless missions leading to the successful capture and kill of terrorist leaders. Serving five combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, he also worked in Somalia and received numerous combat medals for his service, including the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge. Regarded as a world-renowned drone expert, he left the service and earned an MBA from Duke University and helped start an initiative that looks to employ unmanned aerial vehicles in support of wildlife conservation in East Africa. He lives in Virginia.
Christopher S. Stewart is an investigative reporter at the Wall Street Journal, where he shared a 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. His work has appeared in GQ, Harper’s, New York Times Magazine, New York, The Paris Review, Wired, and other publications, and he also served as deputy editor at the New York Observer and is a former contributing editor at Condé Nast Portfolio. Stewart is the author of Hunting the Tiger and Jungleland. He lives with his family in New York.
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