The inspiring true story of a US Special Forces soldier who was medically retired after stepping on an IED, and his incredible return to active duty. Sergeant First Class (SFC) Ryan Hendrickson is a brave, determined, and courageous soldier -- a Green Beret clearing the way for his twelve-man team while conducting combat operations against the Taliban. As the "tip of the spear," his role is to ensure the route taken by U.S. and Afghan troops are free of IEDs -- improvised explosive devices. Many soldiers do not survive their last step; those who do often lose at least one limb. While rescuing an Afghan soldier outside a mud-hut compound in 2010 -- knowing that he was in "uncleared" territory -- Ryan stepped on an IED with his right foot. The device exploded, leaving his foot dangling at the end of his leg. American soldiers losing a limb is an all-too-common occurrence. But what makes Ryan's story different is that after undergoing two dozen surgeries and a tortuous rehabilitation, he was medically retired but fought to return to active duty. Multiple skin grafts to his leg and right foot successfully reattached his lower leg, and he was aided in his recovery by wearing a new prosthetic device known as an IDEO (Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis). Once he passed a series of crucial physical tests, Ryan was able to rejoin the Green Berets within a year and physically perform his duties, redeploying to Afghanistan in March 2012. In 2016, he volunteered to return to Afghanistan with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. During a firefight with the Taliban, he risked his life under heavy enemy fire to rescue three Afghan soldiers cut off from friendly forces and return the bodies of two dead Afghan soldiers under the ethos that "no one gets left behind." For his heroic efforts on the battlefield, SFC Ryan Hendrickson was awarded a Silver Star, the nation's third-highest award for valor. An engaging and harrowing account, Tip of the Spear tells the amazing story of one Green Beret's indomitable spirit.

From the Foreword: This volume focuses on that second and longer campaign. But rather than a narrative of the overall course of the conflict, it provides a soldier's-eye view of the war by focusing on detailed accounts of selected engagements. Each illustrates the everyday challenges that America's soldiers faced in a difficult struggle against an inventive and often elusive enemy. Weapons, doctrine, and procedures developed to fight a conventional campaign against a similar opposing force had to be adapted to fit a different type of conflict. The U.S. Army's combat and support forces brought both resourcefulness and resilience to this task while continuing to demonstrate the same courage shown by previous generations fighting the nation's battles. These stories not only symbolize the tip of the spear formed by units in contact, but they also represent the contributions of all American men and women who have served their country in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Taken together, these accounts will provide our deploying leaders and soldiers a better understanding of the environment that they will encounter and prepare them for the work that must be done.

Selected for the Marine Commandant's Reading List when first published in hardcover, this book offers a vivid, firsthand account of Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. A U.S. Marine sergeant in Alpha Company of the 1st Light Armored Vehicle Battalion (LAV), Michaels provides a revealing look at what it was like to endure and prevail in ground combat at the platoon and company level. Readers are given an opportunity to look inside the battalion as it battles a savage environment and a host of tactical snafus while pushing forward at the tip of the spear to help liberate Kuwait City from the Iraqis.

Sniper. The word conjures images in our imaginations. Soldier, lone combatant, silent killer - unmentioned by his commanding officers, an invaluable resource to field intelligence, an enigma to his comrades in arms and a curse to his enemies. The advanced intelligence and demoralizing effect provided by the scout-sniper is often the key to military victory. In his own words, Sgt Cannady explains the process of becoming a member of an elite fraternity; both what is gained in the achievement and what is lost. The demons, both real and unreal, that the few men of this unspoken profession face. It is a brief look into a raw and brutal side of war unseen by the average soldier from the view point of a combatant both revered and hated. From the training regiment, to special operations in Honduras, to the sands of Desert Storm, a sniper describes not only the skills and mind set required to perform and succeed as a warrior whose engagement with the enemy is as personal as it is deadly, but also the harsh reality of coping with life after stalking the world's most dangerous animal - man.

The years 1967 and 1968. It is the height of the Vietnam War. A boy of eighteen enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps.

This is the story of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion, established as the "tip of the spear" of Allied attacks in the Second World War.

During World War II, German armored reconnaissance laid the groundwork—often through small-unit actions—for the stunning tank and infantry operations that made the German military famous. Robert Edwards's follow-up to Scouts Out, the first extensive treatment of the subject in English, focuses on the battles and personalities found in ranks of the Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe, and other divisions. • Covers armored reconnaissance in Poland, France in 1940, the Balkans, North Africa, the Eastern Front, Italy, and the Western Front • Numerous firsthand accounts and after-action reports • Analysis of recon operations, from tactics and doctrine to vehicles and commanders