Rating: 
Summary: a very good read
Review: i like the book. interesting reading, especially between him and marcink
Rating: 
Summary: This is a great book.
Review: It takes a special person to make it through the rigors of BUD/S Training alone. Robert Gormly did just that and then went on to have a highly decorated career spanning 29 years in the Navy SEALS. Combat Swimmer is an excellent read for anyone interested in Naval Spec Ops. Gormly offers a captivating story to the reader at all times. His accounts of sitting neck-deep in the canals of the Rung Sat Secret Zone truly make you feel as if you are one of the operators along for the ride with him. His narrative blend of both action and bureaucratic issues give a wide picture of what the SEALS were all about. This is a tough book to put down at night, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book.
Review: It takes a special person to make it through the rigors of BUD/S Training alone. Robert Gormly did just that and then went on to have a highly decorated career spanning 29 years in the Navy SEALS. Combat Swimmer is an excellent read for anyone interested in Naval Spec Ops. Gormly offers a captivating story to the reader at all times. His accounts of sitting neck-deep in the canals of the Rung Sat Secret Zone truly make you feel as if you are one of the operators along for the ride with him. His narrative blend of both action and bureaucratic issues give a wide picture of what the SEALS were all about. This is a tough book to put down at night, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: combat review
Review: Robert Groomly gave his true action accounts about the greatest military team in the world, the S.E.A.L.S. He told about practice ops and real accounts with enthusiasm that is unmatched. He was proud to have faught in our countries forgotten war. a shot to the hand almost ended every thing for him, but being strong he got itrehailitated and went backa second time in nom. I recomend this great book because it is a fine true storyfrom one of americas finest.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic, honest, and to the point. A true warrior.
Review: Served with Capt. GORMLEY in SEAL Team TWO. A fine officer, fair, a leader, and listened to his men. Enjoyed his book, and authencity. Glad I bought this book. J.H. "Hoot" Andrews, USN, Ret.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Story Hindered by Mediocre Writing
Review: The author has some genuinely great experiences and stories to share with readers and in some chapters (mainly Vietnam experiences)he pretty well hits the mark. Overall though I found the writing and editing to be pretty ordinary. Even though I was very interested in the subject matter I was glad to finish it. I probably wouldn't have even started it had I known it would flow as poorly as it did in places. I don't think the publisher gave the author enough writing and editing help to deliver a book worthy of the experiences. It would be a lot to ask of a career SEAL to also be a terrific writer, so it's hard for me to criticize Gormly for not being one. But, too much jargon and not enough quality writing keeps this from being the great book it might have been if a gifted ghostwriter or coauthor had been involved. Four stars is really based more on my admiration for Gormly than my admiration for the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Story Hindered by Mediocre Writing
Review: The author has some genuinely great experiences and stories to share with readers and in some chapters (mainly Vietnam experiences)he pretty well hits the mark. Overall though I found the writing and editing to be pretty ordinary. Even though I was very interested in the subject matter I was glad to finish it. I probably wouldn't have even started it had I known it would flow as poorly as it did in places. I don't think the publisher gave the author enough writing and editing help to deliver a book worthy of the experiences. It would be a lot to ask of a career SEAL to also be a terrific writer, so it's hard for me to criticize Gormly for not being one. But, too much jargon and not enough quality writing keeps this from being the great book it might have been if a gifted ghostwriter or coauthor had been involved. Four stars is really based more on my admiration for Gormly than my admiration for the book.
Rating:
Summary: "a rollicking, good, and quick read"
Review: There's a definite mystique unique to Navy SEALs. The Marine's Force Recon and the Air Force's PJs don't have it. US Army Rangers have a part of it, but only within the military community. It is a universally recognized fact that SEALs are King Badasses. The Britons know this, as do the Israelis, Russians, Congolese and everyone else.
(Ret.) Captain Robert Gormly's "Combat Swimmer: Memoirs of a Navy SEAL" breaks down this mystique step-by-step without lessening the esteem of SEALs. Combat Swimmer increases it. Gormly himself is in a unique position to deliver this enlightenment. Having joined the SEALs shortly after their creation (or, more accurately, their evolution from UDTs - the Underwater Demolition Teams of top-notch WWII frogmen). Like most books on SEALs, Gormly begins his book with the rigorously infamous training of SEALs wannabes, taking the reader through Hell week. One page reads:
Waddell stormed out of the instructor's hut and yelled "Class, ten hut." We snapped to attention. "Hit the deck." Sixty bodies slammed onto the wet asphalt, IBLs [bulky, heavy inflatable boats] crashing down on top of us. "Lean and rest." Sixty bodies pushed themselves (and the IBLs) up to the beginning position for push-ups: arms extended and locked under your chest, feet straight out behind you. I thought we we going to do push-ups until Instructor Waddell got tired-which might be a long time, since he'd been off all day resting. "Bernie," Blas said, "what are you doing? I'm in charge of this evolution. You can't just come out here and start giving my men orders." "Tom, you're being to easy on these pukes." "Bernie, these guys are tired-they've been working aaaaalll day." As the two instructors went on and on, my arms started quivering. The boat got heavier. And heavier. They did the good-guy-bad-guy routine for what seemed like an hour and was probably no more than three minutes. Finally: "Okay, Tom, I guess you're right. They do look tired. Class, on your feet," roared Instructor Waddell. I pulled my feet up under me, urging my men not to drop the boat. The instructors had already warned us to "take care of your equipment-it will take care of you." We struggled to attention. "Hit the deck, lean and rest," Blais yelled. "I'm in charge of you people, *I* give the orders." And so it went until they got tired. It was great to see the two instructors working in unison. We all appreciated the lesson in teamwork. When they finished playing with us, we hauled ass.
The rest of the book keeps the same fresh tone, making for a very enjoyable read. Gormly talks about his two tours in Vietnam, where the SEALs specialized in "taking the fight to Viet Cong, harassing them beyond the front lines, where they thought they were safe." Interestingly, Gormly notes that the mystique of SEALs worked as much against them as it did in their favor. The North Vietnamese had offered a $10,000 bounty for any SEAL, dead or alive, but Gormly's own superior officers had very little understanding of how make best use of SEAL capabilities. In most cases, they were simply told to kill as many enemies as possible and were given carte blanch to do it. Keeping in standard military memoir format, Gormly does talk a little about what went wrong with the war he fought in, liking Vietnamese situation to fighting with a giant lizard - the tail (soldiers) we kept cutting off (killing) kept growing back (new recruits). What we shouldn've done was lop off the head (concentrate on killing the top generals and political liaisons to China). Gormly finishes with his time in the Pentagon, working to combat drug lords between missions like Urgent Fury (the effort to free US hostages in Grenada) and Gulf War I.
In summation, the book is a rollicking, good, and quick read. Because of it's relative obscurity, it can be found for astounding value (I purchased mine used from Amazon for $1.84). I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the passage above.
Rating:
Summary: Gormly's Viewpoint
Review: They are sometimes called "The Silent Option." They are the "elite of the elite." They are the U.S. Navy Seals, and Robert Gormly, the Author of Combat Swimmer, may be the best of this group of men already known as "the best of the best." Combat Swimmer is not only the memoir of one man's combat experience in Vietnam, but also a fascinating look inside the head of one of America's greatest heroes. At the beginning of the book, Gormly sets the stage in his epic adventure, telling it like it was according to the history books. Before reading this memoir, we thought it would be just another typical story about the Vietnam War. As we got into the book, however, we realized the differences between what Gormly experienced and what is the common opinion today. Many people would enjoy this book for the simplest reason, its what they want to hear! Gormly excites readers with his extensive use of graphic word choice and elaborate sentence structure. Gormly's striking metaphors grab the reader's attention, relating his intense experiences that differed from what we have previously learned in History class. In retrospect, Combat Swimmer would fascinate all age groups. It reminds elders of the nostalgic tragedies of their time, taking them back to a place where terrifying memories overwhelmed them. On the other hand, young readers, such as us, felt a sense of sorrow for the losses in which the elders commemorate and loved the action which was given us. In the preface, the author explained the reason for writing this book was to give the Navy Seals a voice among all the negative books and movies about the Vietnam War. Gormly's succeeded in his intention to write a patriotic thriller. Not understanding at the beginning as to why he felt like he owed it to his country to tell his horrific story, we now grasp Gormly's intent, and salute him for his horrific deed.
Rating:
Summary: Gormly's Viewpoint
Review: They are sometimes called "The Silent Option." They are the "elite of the elite." They are the U.S. Navy Seals, and Robert Gormly, the Author of Combat Swimmer, may be the best of this group of men already known as "the best of the best." Combat Swimmer is not only the memoir of one man's combat experience in Vietnam, but also a fascinating look inside the head of one of America's greatest heroes. At the beginning of the book, Gormly sets the stage in his epic adventure, telling it like it was according to the history books. Before reading this memoir, we thought it would be just another typical story about the Vietnam War. As we got into the book, however, we realized the differences between what Gormly experienced and what is the common opinion today. Many people would enjoy this book for the simplest reason, its what they want to hear! Gormly excites readers with his extensive use of graphic word choice and elaborate sentence structure. Gormly's striking metaphors grab the reader's attention, relating his intense experiences that differed from what we have previously learned in History class. In retrospect, Combat Swimmer would fascinate all age groups. It reminds elders of the nostalgic tragedies of their time, taking them back to a place where terrifying memories overwhelmed them. On the other hand, young readers, such as us, felt a sense of sorrow for the losses in which the elders commemorate and loved the action which was given us. In the preface, the author explained the reason for writing this book was to give the Navy Seals a voice among all the negative books and movies about the Vietnam War. Gormly's succeeded in his intention to write a patriotic thriller. Not understanding at the beginning as to why he felt like he owed it to his country to tell his horrific story, we now grasp Gormly's intent, and salute him for his horrific deed.
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