Jeff Hoy, American

One Perfect Op is an auto-biography by Dennis “Snake” Chalker.  Chalker is a retired member of the elite U.S. Navy SEAL Teams special operations/warfare unit, and the majority of One Perfect Op is focused on that part of his life.  The book opens with a partial retelling of one of the missions he was involved with as a SEAL, and it reads like something you’d see in a good action movie, the only difference being his mission was real.

Early in the book he covers his life before the Navy, which included time spent in the U.S. Army’s 82^nd Airborne and a short stint as a civilian working and playing college football.  All of that, to my disappointment, only lasts about 15 pages.  I would have liked to read a bit more about Dennis Chalker the man, in order to understand why he became Dennis Chalker the SEAL.  What is different about him that made him want to go through all it takes to become a SEAL? I’m sure there’s many different answers to that question, if it can be answered at all.  But maybe I could discern that answer for myself if I had a better view into his background before the military.

The next few chapters focus on his entry into the Navy and initial tryouts and training as a SEAL.  Again, just as with his pre-Navy history, this section of his life story is kind of glossed over.  He shares some tales and quickly explains some of the harder parts of initial SEAL training.  If you’re a SEAL wannabe, you aren’t going to learn much of anything about what you may be getting yourself into.  If information on BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training is what you’re looking for, then I highly recommend Discovery Channel’s Navy SEALs Training DVD Set, but that’s for another article (maybe).

After the interesting but lacking beginning, finally, the meat of the book.  Chalker goes on to tell of his additional training after receiving his Trident, his combat experiences, and gives some history and a behind the scenes look at SEAL Team Six and Red Cell.  SEAL Team Six is a team that specializes in anti-terrorist operations, and Dennis Chalker is a “plank-owner” of Six, which means he is one of the original members.  Red Cell was a team of SEALs that were used to test the security of Naval bases all over the world.  He goes into quite a bit more detail when describing his experiences in this part compared to the earlier chapters.  There are a lot of interesting and funny stories that he shares, along with some of his sadder experiences.  By far this part of the book is the best and most informative.

As the book nears it’s end, Chalker fully retells the story that opened the book, which happened to be his last mission.  And as I said in the intro to this article, it reads like something out of an action movie.  He paints a very vivid picture of the events and critical moments of that mission.  It is a very exciting part of the book.  After this it’s a slow wind-down to the end as he talks of being the Command Master Chief at BUD/S (including a hilarious story involving former President Bill Clinton and some trainees in the course) and his subsequent retirement from the Navy and entry into the civilian business world.

Overall I found this book to be very interesting, enjoyable, and somewhat enlightening.  It’s not a full-on biography, but it is a good glimpse into life as a Navy SEAL operator.  If you are curious about Special Warfare and the things those men go through, then I highly recommend you read this book.  If it’s material to prepare yourself to become a SEAL that you’re looking for, then I think you should look elsewhere.  This book is more about what happens after becoming a SEAL, not so much about what it takes or how to accomplish it.  There are a few lessons about team work, leadership and relationships that can be taken away from it.  It’s also got quite a few laughs in it and many excellent stories.  I would also recommend in addition to this book that you read Richard Marcinko’s auto-biography Rogue Warrior.  Marcinko also contributed the introduction to this book and Dennis Chalker has featured prominently (if only fictionally) in many of the books in the Rogue Warrior series of fiction novels.

Info

Author

Dennis Chalker with Kevin Dockery

Book Website

HarperCollins