These are some TOUGH guys. I admit that at time this book kind of felt like a hard slog to get through, like it was a chore to get through. Very informative and gave a view into what protecting and serving a country entails.

"Tough, Rugged Bastards" by John A. Dailey provides an intense and personal look into the formation and deployment of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One (Det-1) after 9/11. This book details the rigorous selection and training processes, the camaraderie among the Marines, and their groundbreaking operations in Iraq, which ultimately led to the establishment of MARSOC. Dailey's narrative is filled with reflections on mental toughness, the legacy of the Marine Raiders, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, making it a must-read for those interested in military history and the spirit of the Marine Corps.

Tough, Rugged Bastards by John A. Dailey offers an authentic and compelling memoir that delves into the life of a Marine in the formation of the Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Dailey chronicles his experiences in Detachment One, an elite unit formed in response to the 9/11 attacks. In a war where so many joined in response to 9/11, Dailey was already well into his Marine Corps career which offers a perspective that is both unique and not often heard from. He delivers a gripping and intense tale that delves into the psychological toll of war. Dailey's writing is visceral and immersive, plunging the reader into the heart of combat. Through vivid storytelling, he brings to life the rigorous training, intense camaraderie, and the high-stakes missions in Iraq. The book not only showcases the bravery and resilience of these Marines but also provides an insightful look into the evolution of modern special operations. Dailey's firsthand account is both gritty and inspiring, highlighting the mental and physical challenges faced by those in the unit. It stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of the Marines and their crucial role in contemporary warfare. A must-read for those interested in military history and special operations.

With Tough Rugged Bastards, John Dailey has proven that he is just as adept with the pen as he was with the sword, and he has firmly established himself as a warrior-scholar with this literary effort. Dailey has the rare advantage of having lived through such an integral chapter in the history of Marine Special Operations, and now he has effectively chronicled the majority of it for posterity.

The book focuses on how the terrorist attacks of 9/11 set in motion a chain of events that led to the activation of Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One—Det 1—as a proof-of-concept unit whose remarkable performance in combat determined beyond the shadow of a doubt that the U.S. Marine Corps was indeed ready to contribute a permanent component to USSOCOM. Naturally, Det 1’s success led directly to the February 2006 formation of MARSOC.

I cut my teeth in the infantry, I’ve served in reconnaissance units, and I put in twelve years in MARSOC as a Critical Skills Operator. Drawing upon my own experiences in this profession for perspective, I see that John has composed a coherent narrative that is both factually accurate and entertaining. Tough Rugged Bastards reads almost like fiction, given its ability to grab a reader’s interest early on and compel one to keep turning pages.

Tough Rugged Bastards is a must-read for history buffs, military professionals, or really anyone who appreciates a well-told story.

Benjamin B. Wilson, MARSOC Command Historian

Just finished Tough Rugged Bastards by John A. Dailey and I have mixed emotions. There were some parts of this book that were written incredibly, but taken as a whole... overall, it wasn't. While the title states that this is the memoir of a life in USMC SpecOps.

The overwhelming fact is that you don't really realize WHAT the book is about until you're almost done, and you're left asking... that's it? It's not a memoir of a life, though there are elements of that. It's really just the story of how Det 1 came to be and their single deployment to Iraq. Which is fine! I love that as a topic! Except... it does such an uneven job covering that, that you literally learn almost as much, if not more, by a quick glance at the Wikipedia article about it.

The author is a GOOD writer, very deft with prose and storytelling, which comes across page after page. The problem is that he has a tendency to constantly digress away from the point of the story and wander all over time and thought without any sense of cohesion. He has the tendency to play loose and fast with time, ex: you're talking about his first days in the marines, and the next you're getting a lecture on ultramarathon running after his retirement, and it's such a jarring left turn that you're scratching your head wondering WHY, why is that here and not at the end? It starts off with a tale of Afghanistan and you're like GREAT! Let's hear more about that, but don't expect to because he'll only reference Afghanistan here and there, but not really discuss it. Same with his Embassy duties.

But the worst part is that he has a tendency to be hyper specific about things that could be talked about less, and tends to wax poetic and barely glance at things that should have been the crux of the book! You'll learn a lot about Stoicism and how to be a good instructor but when he talks about the battle of Najaf where "proceeded to demoralize the militiaman by "wiping out" dozens of enemy combatants, confusing them as to the point of origin of the unrelenting lethal fire... kept their marksman on their SR-25s around the clock" (per wiki) you really only get detail about the first shot fired, and then... nothing else really. You get some good detail about looking for 3 bombers, but it's really just a small part of the book when compared to how deep he goes into selecting gear and training and whatever else is on his mind at that moment. Especially about what it means to be a warrior. He goes deep into that multiple times, and what it takes to be a good Operator and a good this and that and that's fine, but when that is such a huge part of the book, and being in Iraq, Afghanistan, a scout sniper, a member of force recon, and the rest isn't, well there's a jarring imbalance. It's not his memoir, it's a good overview of how Det One/Raiders started, the schools, and his thoughts... with a couple of stories about the rest.

Also, the copy I read (kindle version) had multiple errors in formatting with spaces missing, or words that were in sentences that didn't belong there.

I have to admit to a certain bias as the author, but man, It really is pretty good. It also took me a long time to write, so please check it out. Thanks!

Tough Rugged Bastards is a great behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the marine's special operations. John weaves history and context into his memoir as he gives vivid depictions of what life is like as a marine, the training to become one, and a front row seat to how the military shapes the special forces units that it deploys. Great first-hand accounts of how spec ops personnel approach their training and missions.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Simon and Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my review. Book is released 8/13/2024.

This is an intriguing and multi-layered memoir. Framed as a man's eye-view of the creation of a US Marine Corps special operations unit, Tough Rugged Bastards has plenty in it to appeal to military history buffs. Good firsthand accounts like this offer a greater degree of granularity than top-down views of a historical moment, and that alone tends to make them both valuable and highly engaging. But for people like me who have only a passing interest in military history, there's plenty more here besides.

Chapter by chapter, moment by moment, we follow a narrative eye in motion: examining materiel here, a training manoevre there, and now a dangerous mission in occupied Iraq. A less thoughtful narrator might be satisfied with simply recording the great dramas and intimate minutiae of deployment, fascinating as they are, adding only a splash of patriotic doctrine for colour. But Dailey ranges more broadly, and digs deeper. A discussion of a challenging training exercise will give way to a considered analysis of what gives hardship value. The tense, compelling description of a deadly manhunt will end in a sombre meditation on the human compulsion for violence. All is undercut with a humour that is wry and knowing, if never subversive. It's a testament to the range of this memoir that I, currently retraining as counsellor--that's about as far from being a soldier as you're likely to get in the professional sphere--found a curious degree of symmetry between some of the ideas on display here and my own studies on personal growth and intrinsic value.

And if nothing else, if you read this book, you'll probably end up a converted and card-carrying rucker, like me. If Tough Rugged Bastards taught me anything, it's that there are far worse ways to spend the day than strapping a big weight to your back and walking 'til it aches.

John Dailey’s Tough Rugged Bastards is partly an autobiography, partly a unit history, and partly a description of the psychological tax of combat. It succeeds on all fronts.
The core of the book centers on the formation, deployment, and eventual disbandment of the U.S. Marine Corps’ first contribution to SOCOM, MCSOCOM Detachment 1. Dailey’s account of this lesser known but important unit in special operations history will satisfy both the lay reader and the connoisseur of military history.
In a genre that often alternates between macho chest thumping and trite tales of the emotionally wounded’s difficult homecomings, Dailey manages to avoid cliche. His descriptions of the real psychological costs of killing and surviving in combat never become sodden and his chest remains unthumped. He is honest and good at his craft. That makes for a great book.

This book is a must read for all Special Operations Forces, and for anyone who truly wants to know what war can be like. It also gives an historic view of the inception of what what we know as Raider Battalion today. This book is a must read!
Understanding the servicemen and women of the GWOT era is something that a lot of folks struggle with. This book will helps clear up some of the confusion. I would recommend the book to anyone. The Author is a down to earth man, with an extraordinary view from his perch!

As a former Reconnaissance Marine, I began reading Tough Rugged Bastards with a certain amount of trepidation. Special Operators’ memoirs these days tend to be an unnecessarily overly dramatized version of a difficult, if fairly standard selection process followed by unbelievably difficult missions, sprinkled with poor attempts at amusing anecdotes. It’s often painfully apparent that the subject of the memoir did little of his or her own writing and merely told a few stories to a ghost writer then sat back and took credit for an uninteresting, mediocre, quickly forgettable work. The first chapter convinced me that the author had trod the ground he described and then convincingly, informatively and entertainingly passed along his experiences to the reader. John Dailey writes with insight, humor and above all, authenticity. Mr. Dailey’s authenticity comes across on every page and I was hooked by the first chapter. Tough Rugged Bastards is that rare special operators’ memoir: an honest telling of experiences common to the uncommon men and women of the special operations community. I highly recommend Tough Rugged Bastards to anyone seeking an unvarnished history of the men of Detachment One and the fledgling MARSOC, authoritatively and authentically written by a skilled author.

I didn't know they made people as tough as these guys are. Regardless, this was a wonderful book that was a lot of fun to read, and very informative.

John Dailey is as good a writer as he was Marine, something I feel comfortable, saying, as someone who has made a living under both titles myself. Writers and Marines are not as dissimilar as one might imagine. Both are called to pursuits demanding discipline; courage, be it moral or physical; and the willingness to expose oneself, to become vulnerable. John Dailey is both a writer and a Marine in the fullness of both.

With Tough Rugged Bastards he gives us the truth of a life lived between domestic normalcy and the ragged edge of experience. It’s a book that sometimes feels like a chat with a favorite uncle and at other times like a Hollywood thriller, all of it leavened by an artist’s soul. In that span we find truths about what it is to be a human pursuing a personal zenith in the worst of conditions.

Read Tough Rugged Bastards to learn what it is to commit oneself to living beyond accepted limitations as part of a story offered in the voice of a man who has committed himself to telling it in a voice far more thoughtful than that of most military memoir.

LtCol Russell Worth Parker
Marine Raider and Bestselling Writer

Tough, Rugged Bastards is just as much about Dailey's exploits in the Marine Corps as it is discovering what it means to live a life well. It's rare to find an author with such a wealth of experience--both lived firsthand and learned from philosophers and writers.

You don't need to serviceman to find valuable lessons from this book. Tough, Rugged Bastards is about belonging, working hard, and committing yourself to being as much as you can be for the sake of those you care about--and for the sake of yourself.

"Doing hard things makes hard things easier," Dailey writes. But a life lived hard doesn't make for a life that's cold, unpleasant, or brutal. Dailey shows us how those hard things we do make life's pleasures that much more richer, satisfying, and meaningful.