The Finishing School: Earning the Navy SEAL Trident

I have read the book cover to cover twice now since i bought it ... i have worked with these guys and always stood in awe of them but after reading this now i can really understand the level of professionalism and commitment to the teams, team mates and the mission. These men are outstanding warriors ... HOOYAH Mr Couch .... A BRILLIANT BOOK AND A MUST READ FOR ANY WANNA BE SEAL OR A MAN LOOKING TO JOIN THIS BAND OF THOROBREAD WARRIORS.

If you've read The Warrior Elite, you know what you'll get in this book. Captain Couch does a great job describing what happens from the day the BUD/s graduates are secure from Coronado to the time they go on forward deployment with their SEAL Platoons. I especially liked that he offered details on both the Officer and Enlisted sides of things. As a person hoping to secure an Officer billet to BUD/s while maintaining a family, it was refreshing to see that others do it. It also does justice to the modern SEAL and inadvertently dispels negative notions that the likes of Marchinko and Carracci have impressed on us. The modern SEAL is above all a Professional, like most of his processors, not a blood thirsty Rambo like the previously mentioned would have you believe. If you want to truly understand this world, read this book, if not go back to Rouge Warrior. It's pretty detailed and has a few pictures just like the last book. On the negative side, I was left wanting more for the $25.00 hardcover price. The 263 pages read more like 170. It's worth the 5 stars I gave it, but I also felt it was not as complete a product as The Warrior Elite.

"The Finishing School" is a terrific book, and every bit as fascinating as "The Warrior Elite." Dick Couch shows exceptional tenacity in following every twist and turn of training that these incredible warriors go through, and he handles the narrator's job superbly--giving us a personal reaction every now and then from his perspective as a SEAL in the Vietnam era. Couch provides insight into what makes SEALS succeed (or fail) and enriches our understanding of how crucial training is to their complicated missions. I felt like I was there in the classroom and on the range with them at all times. Yes, the training evolutions do seem to go on without end, but that's one of the book's points: these guys are the best trained, toughest warriors the world has ever seen, and they will come after you from the sea, the air, or on land. I particularly enjoyed the sections dealing with the SEAL weaponry; the choices they have are fascinating and scary. If you're a Navy buff, or in the least bit interested in what force America can project almost anywhere on earth, then this book is for you.

Dick Couch portrays the SEALs in advanced training excellently. Though there isn't the connection between the reader and the characters in the story as in The Warrior Elite, Couch shows just how demanding advanced SEAL training really is. It is a tribute to all the SEALs who defend our country day in and day out. A must read for anyone who is interested in the real story about Navy SEALs.

I read Dick Couch's The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 and was ecstatic to hear that he was working on a second book about the training post BUD/S graduates do before they go to their platoons. The Finishing School: Earning the Navy Seal Trident, follows SQT (SEAL Qualification Training) students through some of the most challenging and exciting moments of their Navy careers. Anyone with an interest in the military, an aspiring SEAL, family member or friend of one of these amazing warriors should definitly read this book. I must add that it is not necessary for one to read The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 to understand The Finishing School: Earning the Navy Seal Trident. There are several pages devoted to explaining the BUD/S process which was the topic of The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228, although I highly recommend both. Hope this review was helpful to you.