Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 For years, the Vietnam War was the alpha and omega of Special Operations Forces, until the strategy failed and Special Forces units were relegated to obscurity for nearly two decades. #2 The Vietnam War was fought between America and Vietnam, and the American sacrificed an average of 5,800 lives every year for a decade. The Afghans were fierce fighters, but they were still unsophisticated warriors. #3 The French were defeated by the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The French were then divided into two political entities at a Geneva peace conference. Though a dividing line was drawn on the 17th parallel, it meant little in practice for months, during which time thousands of refugees and agents of various sorts moved north or south and back again. #4 In 1955, a team of Saigon Military Mission officers supported by CIA and Air Force personnel worked to build an anti-communist resistance movement in North Vietnam. They smuggled into North Vietnam 8. 5 tons of materiel, including fourteen agent radios, 300 carbines, 90,000 rounds of carbine ammunition, and fifty pistols.