Following the success of The Sheriff of Ramadi, which detailed the heroic actions of the Navy SEALs in Iraq's al-Anbar Province, Couch now examines the importance of battlefield ethics in effectively combating terrorists without losing the battle for the hearts of the local population. In his preface to this important new work on the ethical rules of engagement for the insurgent battle space, highly regarded combat veteran, Dick Couch, warns that:`the same mistakes we are making in Iraq and Afghanistan are the same mistakes we made forty years ago in Vietnam. This I know from firsthand experience. I was there and I made some of those mistakes. But Vietnam was a side show in the Cold War; we lost that battle but we won the war. If Iraq and Afghanistan slip away, these battles will put us on the brink of losing a war we dare not to lose.' A Tactical Ethic is a critical look at the battlefield conduct of our ground-combat units fighting insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. From his unique and qualified perspective, Couch focuses on the issues that can lead to wrong conduct on the battlefield, how it comes about, and what can be done to correct it. He examines the roles of command intent and rules of engagement, but his primary focus is on ethical conduct at the squad and platoon level. While the book is a harsh critique of morally wrong combat tactics, Couch offers realistic measures to correct these potentially devastating errors. About the Author Dick Couch, while a platoon leader with SEAL Team One in 1970, led one of the only successful POW rescue operations of the Vietnam War. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1997 with the rank of captain.

Author Biography

Dick Couch was born in Mississippi and raised in Southern Indiana. He is a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served with the Navy Underwater Demolition and SEAL Teams. While a platoon leader with SEAL Team One in 1970, he led one of the only successful POW rescue operations of the Vietnam War. On release from active duty in 1972, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency where he served as a Maritime Operations Officer. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1997 with the rank of captain. Dick has been a guest on "The O'Reilly Factor with Bill O'Reilly," on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews, and on the MS/NBC nightly news with Brian Williams. He is frequently heard on National Public Radio and numerous other radio talk shows, including the Jim Bohannon Show and the G. Gordon Liddy Show. He served as an analyst for Fox TV, MS/NBC TV, and ABC radio during combat operations in Iraq. Dick lectures at the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Special Warfare Center, the JFK Special Forces Center and School, the FBI Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, The Joint Special Operations University and The Academy Leadership Forum on issues of character development, the Warrior Ethic, and counterinsurgency. He is a sought-after corporate and motivational speaker.