The Sheriff of Ramadi is the first book written about the courage and success of the Navy SEALs in Ramadi. The Battle of Ramadi was the most sustained and vicious engagement fought by Navy SEALs since their inception in 1962. Never before had a conventional commander fought a battle using Special Operations Forces as an intricate part of his battle plan. The operational and intelligence-gathering capabilities of the SEAL Task Unit in Ramadi produced startling and unprecedented success on this urban battlefield. The book is an account of the Navy SEAL Task Unit in Ramadi from October 2005 through October 2007. The text follows the Battle of Ramadi (often called the Second Battle of Ramadi) and the deployment of the SEAL Task Unit in that battle. The book is based on extensive interviews with Army, Navy, and Marine command and operational personnel who fought this battle.
I spent time in Ramadi in 2006 and 2007 for a first hand assessment of the situation. I believe to this day that the Battle of Ramadi was the most significant military engagement in the Global War Against Terrorism since 9/11. The Battle of Ranadi, and the Battle for al-Anbar Province, was the first engagement where Navy SEALs and conventional forces fought side by side to achieve victory. The Battle, and the lessons learned in that urban fight, are a template for future joint combined Special Operations Force and Conventional Force cooperation. The lethal component SEALs can bring to an active, insurgent battlespace is formidable. The Battle of Ramadi was fought with 5,500 soldiers and marines, 2,300 soldiers from the new Iraqi army, and 32 operational SEALS. Of the 1,100+ insurgents killed in the Battle, Navy SEALs accounted for a third of them.
The Sheriff of Ramadi is available in Trade Paperback and e-Book
