ADAM GAMAL AND THE UNIT: My Life Fighting Terrorists as One of America' Most Secret Military Operations
The first and only book to be written by a member of America's most secret military unit!
THE UNIT: My Life Fighting Terrorists as One of America's Most Secret Military Operatives, written with Kelly Kennedy (St. Martin's Press, on sale date February 20, 2024, $32.00).
Within the U.S. military there is a team so secretive that not only is the name of this unit classified, its members are like ghosts to the military personnel in the country. Veterans Affairs doesn't even have them listed. Phantoms or not, this highly-trained team has been responsible for preventing dozens of terrorist attacks against the U.S. and Western world. This is the world in which Adam Gamal lived. Before that, his life in Egypt was one of great dismay as the Muslim Brotherhood overran a once-free country. When he arrived in the U.S., he spoke no English, was 5'1", 112 pounds, and certainly was far from what one would expect a future soldier to be. He loved his new country, and soon enlisted in the U.S. Army, feeling a great compulsion to serve a nation that gave him the freedom he craved.
From his first deployment in Bosnia, to his search for Saddam Hussein in Iraq, to his work in Africa fighting against the very same Muslim Brotherhood that terrorized his community in Egypt when he was a child, he offers a gripping first-hand account of our nation's most secret military unit. His tales of a cat-and-mouse game tracking terrorist Aden Hashi Ayro - the head of the Hizb al-Shabab, or youth wing of the Islamic Courts Union, who it was believed led militias within Somalia - are filled with tension.
Gamal also goes into great detail about the diversification of our nation's defenses. As he says in THE UNIT, he was often mistaken for being Hispanic, and relates stories of other members of the military who were from a Middle Eastern background who passed for Latino. But because they could blend in within those communities overseas when hunting bad guys, they gave the U.S. an advantage in gathering intelligence necessary to capture terrorists. Fair-haired and fair-skinned American soldiers are going to stick out in many nations dealing with conflict, especially those representing threats to the U.S. Gamal strongly believes that immigrants would make extraordinary soldiers. He feels that women, people of color, and immigrants do things differently. They see things differently, and meld different views, strategies, and thought processes when engaging enemies. This is crucial and often overlooked.
Gamal talks about the importance of keeping up with intelligence and why future wars will resemble nothing like they have throughout the 20th century and the very early years of the 21st century. America needs to do a better job relating with the citizenry of our allies, and those defending them. Along the way, we abandoned the idea of winning hearts and minds, he argues, and America needs to return to that way of thinking.
* Gamal reveals what The Unit does, it's value to the U.S. and the world, its capabilities and some of their incredible missions
* He talks about the need for diversity in the military, arguing that women, people of color, and immigrants do things differently which is a benefit
* He discusses the importance of America keeping up with intelligence and why future wars need to be more about building up people and countries
* He explains what Special Forces soldiers do in countries like Ukraine, Bosnia, and throughout Africa, and why it's crucial The Unit is there
* Being an immigrant from Egypt he discusses the situation in the Middle East both from a personal perspective as well as that of a U.S. soldier
THE UNIT reads like a fascinating espionage and war thriller. Not only is this a gripping account of the fight against terrorism, it is also an urgent examination of the real need for diversity in our nation's military as a dangerous world we live in continually morphs. Considering the amazing work that The Unit does in protecting our nation, we should be grateful that this story is all too real to gain a better understanding of the bad guys.
Adam Gamal is a pseudonym created to keep the author's family and himself safe from harm. Gamal served in the most elite units in the U.S. Army, and after a dozen deployments he retired in 2016. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Legion of Merit. He is currently an international consultant for a security organization.
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