introduction

Special Ops is a series from Concord Publications which puts together articles by various well known authors on the Elite Forces of the world as well as SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Units.
Volume 34 has five articles by noted authors which cover the following:
Gordon Arthur has written a 21 page entry on the Battle of Fallujah. With 72 photos from the Department of Defense and 4 maps, Gordon explains the battle in a concise manner but his photo captions seemed based on the already excellent captions provided from his source, the Department of Defense (DoD).

In one photo on page 14, he describes the use of a decoy to attract fire. This is not the case; the soldier has lifted a mirror and is suing it to look over the wall. Had it been merely a decoy, there would be no reason for the soldier to intently look at the decoy since the impact of rounds would be more than enough to let him know of its success.

Do not take my word for it, look closely and you will see the holders for the glass portions of the mirror!

However, the photos themselves are quite interesting with many dramatic scenes and action shots. Most impressive is of a fully stowed M1A1 blasting a target with the photo taken slightly from above and behind.

The second article, by Alberto Scarpitta, covers the “Antica Babilonia” – The Italian contingent in Iraq. This fourteen page article deals with the Italian unit and its duties. The 48 photos cover a variety of vehicles, uniforms, and weapons. Not only are the Italian units covered but some photos also show the Romanians which share the base.

The text is easy to read and informative.

Yves DeBay is a recognized author and he wrote the next article on the protectors of the Finnish coasts, the Coastal Jaegers. This five page article is supported with nineteen photos taken by Yves. They illustrate two of the new boats used by the Finns to protect their archipelago. The text is an interesting read about this untested unit.

The last two articles are written by another well known author, Samuel M. Katz.

The first of the two covers the Dutch Army’s Korps Commandotroepen (KCT). The twelve page article gives an in depth history of the unit and is supplemented by 41 photos provided by the Dutch military and KCT.

The last article is about Antwerp’s tactical team. This ten page article has 32 photos provided by Antwerp Tactical. The unit’s composition and history are covered in the text. It is easy to read and nice to pay homage to those units which protect the civilians as well as the units that fight abroad.

in conclusion

The book is recommended especially for figure modelers.