Recce: Small Team Missions Behind Enemy Lines

Product Description “This book is highly recommended and should be of interest to anyone interested in Special Forces operations, both in the African context and in other parts of the world. From a training and operational perspective, there is much food for thought in this publication.” ― Insight on AfricaA gripping first-hand account of the combat operations and life of a member of the secretive and elite South African Special Forces, known as ‘Recces’.South African Special Forces, known as the ‘Recces’, are an elite group of soldiers that few can aspire to join. Shrouded in secrecy due to the covert nature of their work, the legendary Recces have long fascinated, but little is known about how they operate. Now one of this select band has written a tell-all book about the extraordinary missions he embarked on and the nail-biting action he experienced in the Border War. Shortly after passing the infamously grueling Special Forces selection course in the early 1980s, Koos Stadler joined the so-called Small Teams group at 5 Reconnaissance Regiment. This sub-unit was made up of two-man teams and was responsible for numerous secret and highly dangerous missions deep behind enemy lines.With only one other team member, Stadler was sent to blow up railway lines and enemy fighter jets in the south of Angola. As he crawled in and out of enemy-infested territory, he stared death in the face many times.Table of ContentsAuthor’s noteList of abbreviationsPART 1: COURAGE AND ACTION1. Target2. Boy Adventurer3. The Seed is SownPart 2: The Bushmen1. Into the Unknown2. Bush Baptism3. Brothers in Arms4. First Small Team Ventures5. The Realities of War: Fighting Patrols into Angola6. Operation Daisy, November 19817. End of an EraPart 3: Special Forces1. Special Forces Selection and Training2. Special Forces Training Cycle3. First Special Forces Operations4. 51 Reconnaissance CommandoPart 4: Small Teams1. Into the Fray2. Operation Cerberus, September 19853. Operation Killarney, December 1985 to January 19864. Operation Caudad, May 19865. Operation Colosseum, October-November 19866. Operation Abduct 1, January-February 19877. Operation Angel, August 19878. Facing Fear9. Three Crosses at Lubango: Operation Abduct 2, November-December 1987EpilogueEndnotes Review “This book is highly recommended and should be of interest to anyone interested in Special Forces operations, both in the African context and in other parts of the world. From a training and operational perspective, there is much food for thought in this publication.”Insight on Africa"...a gripping read from cover to cover as well as an invaluable resource..."Midwest Book Review About the Author Koos Stadler has been a career officer in the South African National Defence Force for more than 30 years. Twenty-four of these he served in the elite South African Special Forces, better known as the “Recces” - spending 10 years in active service during the long drawn-out guerilla war against the then South West Africa Peoples’ Organisation (SWAPO) on the border between Namibia and Angola. Stadler conducted many exceptionally sensitive missions, often facing extreme conditions of hunger, thirst, loneliness and danger. Fear was a constant companion and Stadler does not shy away from acknowledging this and sharing his innermost thoughts in the pages of Recce. He ended his career on a high note during a 4-year tenure as Defence Attaché to Saudi Arabia where he spent much of his time exploring the desert. During a 200 km solo hike through the Empty Quarter, one of the most barren stretches of sand on earth, he relived his small teams experiences and in his own words “buried the last of his fears in the sand”.