National Geographic: Inside Special Forces

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Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
Release Date: 2004-01-27
Go inside the world's most elite, top secret strike force. Their mission is unique, targeted, dangerous...and only National Geographic will go deep into the secret world of US Special Operations. Follow Special Forces into battle and on secret missions in Afghanistan and Iraq as they face situations where honed skill, finely tuned instincts and split-second decision making are the difference between success and failure...between life and death.

It was good....
I will certainly defer to those reviewers that were part of this exceptional group - they have affirmed that the conditions under which these operators live and work is accurately portrayed. I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration of these intelligent and physically outstanding heroes that trained beyond what seems humanly possible, operate in extreme situations and sacrifice daily for all of us. The National Geographic film was well shot, good footage, etc. I will disagree with an earlier reviewer that said the prison rescue was one of the most exciting parts.. in fact it was in that scene that I started to view the National Geographic slant on these heroes as defeatist. The film history does not show triumphs, but mostly the disasters and troubles from the episode in Iran to the friendly fire incidents - this was the focus of the prison rescue (and other missions), not the rescue itself. Clearly these heroes are self-sacrificing and in many cases they have given everything for our safety. I wish National Geographic would have focused on the bravery, intelligence and the success of these heroes, rather than (mostly) the (realistic) cost and human sacrifice of warfare.

Brought back memories
I ordered this DVD along with the "Inside the Green Berets" documentary and was equally pleased with both items. Having been in SF most of my Army career of 22 years, I'm glad to see the high standards still remain. Having served during the tough decades of the 60s, 70s and 80s, it's a pleasure to see SF finally getting the recognition it justly deserves. We were definitely the "Red-Headed Stepchildren" in those tough times. That didn't keep the dirty and difficult jobs from being given to us. But, we always did them and did them well above what was expected of us.
It's good to see the Hollywood images being put to rest. What SF has done in real life is far more impressive than anything Hollywood could ever put on the silver screen. SF still seems to thrive performing the difficult missions in areas that are so removed from the scope of the conventional Army. The conditions we lived under were primitive and from the looks of the documtary, nothing has changed. The history of Special Forces was very brief. However, if it had been any longer, it would have taken away from the training and most importantly what these men are doing in the War on Terror.
I believe this was one of the better efforts on what it takes to become a member of this elite organization. It also shows what it takes to remain a member of SF. It's often overlooked that it takes a special breed of soldier to remain within the ranks of SF. We often said that when a man joined an A Team, his training was just beginning. A common expression was it took five years on a detachment before a soldier knew what a team was all about. The biggest thing for me was that a team was also a family. This documentary also touchs on that.
As being a member of the Brotherhood of Special Forces, I recommend it to those who want to get a glimpse and understanding of what it takes and means to be one of "The Quiet Professionals."

DE OPPRESSO LIBER
MSG Roy "Rip" Prine (USA Ret)
D-3099

Pretty good....
To me, the best part of this movie is showing clips of modern SF in action and when it cuts to the team they are following around. Unfortunatly, 75% of this movie is about SF history, which I already know enough about. However, if you WANT to know about SF history, and how SF interacts with te current worl, then I recommend this to you. As far as production goes, its very well made, and not by any means "corny". Money well spent.

Not what I was expecting
The video itself wasn't bad, just wasn't what I expected. Very limited on the history, training, clandestine operations, ect. Mostly followed a Special Forces unit while they did very little. I saw a Discovery Channel show titled "Inside Navy SeALs", and I think I was expecting that quality. As stated before: Not bad, but not what I expected.

Great look at US Army special operators!
This is an up-to-date and extremely accurate look at today's US Special Forces (USSF). Rather than the typical Rambo-style portrayal of Green Berets, National Geographic has done their usual outstanding job of getting the truth in words and pictures. This is the real deal.
I am a retired US Army Special Forces officer.