The Night Stalkers: Top Secret Missions of the U.S. Army's Special Operations Aviation Regiment

by Michael J. Durant, Steven Hartov, Robert L. Johnson

From the New York Times bestselling authors of In the Company of Heroes.

In the world of covert warfare, Special Operations pilots are notoriously close- lipped about what they do. They don't talk about their missions to anyone outside their small community. But now, Michael J. Durant and Steven Hartov shed fascinating light on the mysterious elite commandos known as SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and take readers into a shadowy world of combat they have only imagined.

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction, Military History, Aviation, War, Audiobook

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jerome Otte · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book reads more like a biography of the men and women in the 160th SOAR rather than an operational history of the unit. The book cover flap says "never-before-heard stories" and "Top-Secret Missions of the US Army's SOAR" but so far, the book hasn't lived up to the claims.

A big annoyance is how the authors include a one to ten page biographical background of every person introduced. These biographical "flashbacks" throw off the pace of the book. The book starts in Grenada, jumps back to Iran in 1980, rewinds again to JFK, then Grenada in 1979, then back to Grenada in the 1980s. There is no continuity of thought.

Another minor annoyance is some of the conversations reported. They sound like something from a B movie or a bad "blood and guts" novel. "The United States coming in is gonna scare the (expletive) out of those militia amateurs" or "cool as ice water at a helo's controls, and loose as a goose at the officers' bar".

Admittedly, covering the people who fly Special Ops troops into battle might be a challenge, but so far, the authors have come up short. Instead of hearing about more Vietnam stories, I was expecting -- or hoping -- for more stories about how the SOAR was formed, the equipment used, the tactics, and so on.

There are little nuggets of gold in the book, though. Learning about the OH and AH-6 choppers -- and seeing them in action (pictures included) -- was interesting. Seeing operators perched on the side of those choppers, which little or nothing to restrain them, was eye-opening.

[Molly Hein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to

[Sara Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

Intriguing. Held my interest. No over the top language i didn't understand about the helicopters. Just fantastic writing about fantastic men doing amazing things.

[Tanner Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellently organized and engaging history of the Night Stalkers outfit. As a chronological anthology, many of the stories offer heroic glimpses into famous missions, such as those in Mogadishu and at Robert’s Ridge. Other, less well known missions are described in vivid detail so that the reader/listener can properly understand the gravity of the military actions.

The authors word choice is perfect. His adjectives are punchy. I listened to this book on Audible and often lost track of where I was and what I was doing due to the exquisite descriptions and brilliant narration.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in special operations.

[Julie Pint · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story telling of the elite flying force known as the Night Stalkers. It’s the story of the group told in layman’s terms - so it is relatable. We learn about the depths of their training, their dedication to detail and perfection, as well as glimpses of some of their major battles. It’s a great look at a rather unknown group of American heroes that are part of the group of quiet professionals that walk steadily into the face of danger for our freedom.

[Stephen Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

From time to time, I didn't like the tone of this book, because it felt the author was glorifying the characters in the book a little too much. That said howdver, it is a good read on how this unit was formed, and some of the highlights of their intensive and traumatic missions that they had to complete.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and humbling to realize how much these folks give in service to our nation!

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly fine book about the 160th (best known for flying special ops troops around). It covers their most well known flights in roughly chronological order (as well as their foundational organization) to give you a rough history of the unit. This approach, while not really groundbreaking outside the perspective shift to the air, works well enough at it's stated purpose. Works like this are always going to be held back to a degree by trying to thread the line of interesting and what is allowed to be discussed and, inevitably, it dampens the value any reader would get. The most interesting part is easily the profiles of the main contributors for each chapter as it gives insights into the types of soldiers and resumes that are looked at for an elite aviator unit like this. It doesn't live up to it's own subtitles and descriptor to talk about never before heard missions but is otherwise it's fairly well written but light and cookie cutter military history/memoir style work. If you are experienced in the genre, you have read a version of this before and your enjoyment will be mostly dictated on your enjoyment of spec ops or helicopters.

[Eric Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, when you're Special Forces, you, I guess, are allowed to chest thump a little bit. I mean, you are the elite of the world. But I didn't let that detract too much from what I thought of the book. For quiet professionals, the authors seemed to chest thump, but then again, I do it to myself sometimes, and when I talk about my Afghanistan deployment. Anyway, the book goes over the history of the 160th and how it generally came to be. I think it was a good book and should be read sometime if you're a Special Forces fanboy like me. Overall, the history was good, and I learned a few things about the unit and how it handles its business. Various deployments and conflicts were discussed, and that's fine, the unit is a special operations unit, and the history doesn't have to be too in-depth because they need to have some secrecy involved with what they've done.

[Rorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Durant's "In the Company of Heroes" last year, and thought it was very well written. I didn't realize that he wrote this book until I received it in the mail. (I tend to just read the description of a book, and don't always notice who the author is.) This book is another keeper. I enjoyed reading about the different stories and experiences that each person went through. Some of the stories I was somewhat familiar with already, but this book offered a different perspective from what I had already read, so it was nice to learn more about these events.

[Chris Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing bring to life the interesting history of the 160th SOAR told through high profile missions they have been on and notable pilots and crewmembers that have been a part of the Taskforce. The only downside is that you don't get any special insight into their secret work, it's all the missions that you'be probably already heard about, but when the nature of their work is considered that makes sense. I had a hard time putting this book down.

[Mr. Karkazis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Read! I watch the movie Black Hawk down Was a kid, Heard the name night stalker there thought it was kind of cool but didn’t realize what they actually do. These are some serious bad ass is putting them selves in harms way to deliver their “customers” to some of the hottest combat zones on the planet. I believe this is a must read.

[Lucas Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did a great job doing an overview of the Night Stalker Regiment, which I enjoyed. It had very compelling story telling that can make you feel like you are actually there with them.

My only compliant was that there are quite a few acronyms and though some are explained but some are not. However this wasn't enough to warrant 4 starts, so I deemed it 5.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book. I enjoyed this book for many reasons. It’s not too technical and it allows the reader to understand the complexities and challenges of helicopter flight in straightforward terms. It also speaks to the courage and heroism of helicopter pilots in saving lives.

[Jonah Faneuf · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s really not a bad book at all, I think it’s just hard for me to appreciate it in its true light. I felt like the focus on the names distracted from the telling of the story, but then again it was necessary to bring the actions of those individuals into light. It truly was a decent book

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this look into TF 160's history, operations, and pilots. Book took the format of a series of vignettes told by pilots illustrating operations the unit has been involved in over its history.

[Michael Tuttle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have any interest in Army Aviation then this is the book for you! Army pilots, development of aircraft and tactics, it’s a great book!

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d give it four stars but the man who read the audiobook left a lot to be desired.

[Richard A Lambing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book!

[Anthony Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 160th SOAR...ballsiest bastards in aviation. Nerves of steel and an operator's best, last and only hope when the poop has hit the fan. Good book, Mike.

[Jamie Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book about the air Taxi’s of the special operations world, I would highly recommend this book.

[Scottbarrs]

Very good book. Recommend to everyone I meet.

[Medusa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars to these warriors and their brave deeds. 2.6 stars for workmanlike prose that at times turns purple.

[KilaViking · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the format of how this book was done. Giving chapters to different chapters of the history of the Night Stalkers and their missions.

[Rob Bloss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[Matheus Classen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book summarizing the history and development of the night stalkers mixed with action packed first hand descriptions of some of their most important missions.

[Ivo Grobler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting background on the unit.

It is not a bad book but the focus is on the people and their backgrounds rather than the missions.

[Annalyse Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Nathan Shutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I have just read the novel “Night Stalkers” by Michael J. Durant and Steven Hartov. It was a great novel, but it wasn’t much of a novel as much more it was a collection of biographies. These biographies were all of a elite group of super militiamen and women. They are part of a group known as the Night Stalkers or more officially known as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). This high ranking group of men and women are known for flying fairly close to the ground and in very severe conditions. They are trained to fly at night with no moon and even trained to fly in extreme winds. This was a good book, the first thing that influenced me to read this book was the book cover and jacket. After reading the book jacket I wanted to know more about this group and what they do in more detail.The title was eye catching and I thought that it was something that might hold my interest. But when I started to read the story I thought totally different of the cover. It wasn’t exactly how I thought it would be. It was a lot more descriptive about the intense moments that took place on the battlegrounds then what I thought it would be.I thought that it would explain what training they had to go through and what type of experience was needed to get into this elite crew. The overall theme and purpose of this book was to influence the reader about this amazing group that does so much to jump in the action any important time they are needed. The author does an wonderful job of putting in pictures at the middle of the story. The pictures are all of either the type of helicopters the group rides or a character from the story. It enhances the reader's vision on what they are reading (From my perspective anyway). It tremendously helps to see what the author is trying to tell us, as a reader. It also helps that the author was actually a former decorated Night Stalker himself. He tells the story as if he were actually there as everything was going on. He portrayed the action and battle scenes very well. Probably from former experience in the position. He makes it feel hyper realistic. As if again both the reader and the author were sitting by one of the though aviator wearing men and women in combat. But one small flaw to this very enjoyable and whole novel. The military terms used could sometimes be a struggle to the reader. There was a glossary or all the terms in the back of the book but I found myself having to turn back to the glossary every chapter or so to find out what a term meant. It wasn’t to much of a struggle, but it was still an easy fixable obstacle that I found myself facing. If I could change one thing a this book I would change jumping around from each character. It would have been great to have maybe a little less characters in the story. To understand the book more it would have been simpler to read it more at one time then to read it every so often. Because if you would have forgotten a character you might have to turn back the page and read from where you left off. Finally I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys military stories and anyone who has an interest in joining the military. I say this, because it showed me kinda the dark side of the military Never before has a heard a story of how someone lost their left thumb or how the felt the metal of their helicopter being ripped as they were flying it. To conclude this novel was a great one and I would read anything similar to it. Just to maybe get a different way of reading the story then how it was setup in this one.

[Sal Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting,, if you want to know about combat missions,, great reading