''Rogue Warrior'' is an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

by career US naval officer Richard "Dick" Marcinko, who spent his career struggling to win acceptance for special warfare

SEAL Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

units within the Navy establishment. It covers the early history of the SEAL units, his participation in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, the Iran hostage rescue attempt in 1980 and the U.S. invasion of Grenada and the founding and early history of two

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

counter-terrorist units,

SEAL Team SIX The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and unofficially known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often r ...

and

Red Cell Red Cell, formally designated as OP-06D, was a classified United States Navy (USN) military unit designed to test the security of USN facilities. Created and led by former SEAL Team Six commander Richard Marcinko in early 1984, Red Cell conducted ...

. While commanding Red Cell, he was directed to use them to test the Navy's anti-terrorist capabilities and to expose the security weaknesses of U.S. properties around the world. During the tests, Red Cell was often able to infiltrate supposedly impenetrable, highly secured bases, nuclear submarines, ships and other "secure areas", including the Presidential plane

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

. In doing so, he claims to have embarrassed several superior officers, whom he accuses of involvement in his subsequent conviction for misappropriation of funds and resources under his command. Marcinko also delights in recalling the gross behavior of the SEALs, such as eating the brains of a live monkey to impress some of his Cambodian allies. Based on the success of the book, Marcinko went on to author a series of novels placing himself as the protagonist and entitling the series ''Rogue Warrior''. The book also spawned a 2009 video game which features Marcinko as the protagonist.

References

Books about counterterrorism American autobiographies 1992 non-fiction books Works about SEAL Team Six Atria Publishing Group books {{mil-bio-book-stub