In America’s new war, the first guns in the fight are special operations forces, including the Navy SEALs, specially trained warriors who operate with precision, swiftness, and lethal force. In the constantly shifting war on terror, SEAL units—small in number, flexible, stealthy, and ef?cient—are more vital than ever to America’s security as they take the battle to an elusive enemy around the globe.

But how are Navy SEALs made? Dick Couch, author of the acclaimed Warrior Elite, follows SEALs on the ground and in the water as they undergo SEAL Tactical Training, where they master combat skills such as precision shooting, demolitions, secure communications, parachuting, diving, and first aid. From there, the men enter operational platoons, where they subordinate their individual abilities to the mission of the group and train for special operations in specific geographic environments.

Never before has a civilian writer been granted such close access to the training of America’s most elite military forces. The Finishing School is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what goes into the making of America’s best warriors.

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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.

29 of 29 found the following review helpful:

As expected, Dick Couch delivers another great bookMar 13, 2004
By Chuck
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.

21 of 22 found the following review helpful:

Excellent Followup!Aug 22, 2004
By Rich M.
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.

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Not as good as Warrior EliteApr 13, 2004

I gave Warrior Elite 5 stars. Finishing School was good but there were so many sections that I glossed over because all they had was Navy-Speak bureaucracy-type stuff that I didn't think was interesting at all. The parts that were great were when they focused on one of the SEALs and gave his background and story, etc, and on the details of the training. Maybe to a Navy insider it might be more interesting but it would have gotten 5 stars from me if he would have concentrated more on the actual trainees and not all the mil-speak departmental stuff.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Ok followup to The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228Apr 27, 2010
By V. dang "vdog"
Ok followup to The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228. Follows and details the training program from the time SEAL candidates finish Hell Week/BUDS to when they finally get their Trident and then the specialty training before getting to their TEAMS. Not as dramatic and exciting as The Warrior Elite, filled with all the SEAL designations and terms, no actual combat scenarios.

Good read if you want to know exactly what happens until officially a SEAL. Otherwise a dry technical read.

Would recommend book: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10 by Seal Marcus Luttrell or The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 or Suffer in Silence by David Reid

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