The Red Circle: My Life in the Navy SEAL Sniper Corps and How I Trained America's Deadliest Marksmen

Brandon Webb · John David Mann

Apr 2012 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

Explosive, revealing, and intelligent, The Red Circle provides a uniquely personal glimpse into one of the most challenging and secretive military training courses in the world.

Now including an excerpt from The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program

BEFORE HE COULD FORGE A BAND OF ELITE WARRIORS... HE HAD TO BECOME ONE HIMSELF.

Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Red Circle provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist.

Yet it is Webb's distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy "sniper cell" and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America's finest and deadliest warriors-including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle-that makes his story so compelling. Luttrell credits Webb's training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military's top marksman, with more than 150 confirmed kills.

From a candid chronicle of his student days, going through the sniper course himself, to his hair-raising close calls with Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the northern Afghanistan wilderness, to his vivid account of designing new sniper standards and training some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century, Webb provides a rare look at the making of the Special Operations warriors who are at the forefront of today's military.

Ratings and reviews

Former seal Brandon Webb takes you on his action packed journey on becoming and operating as an elite Navy seal. He then goes on to train America's most lethal snipers in history and designs the distinguished course from scratch based on his combat experience in the Middle East.

This book was ok. Nothing really too exciting... It kinda tells the usual stories that you've read in other SEAL books. The writing is subpar as well.

Wow! this is actually the first military/war book I have ever read, I was glued to it from start to finnish! I did not expect it to be so intense! Really great examples of what reality is, and what it requires of us. How important great leadership is, and that each of us need to fight the lazy in ourselves, because laziness is the demise of all good things... thank you Brandon!

About the author

Brandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL; his last assignment with the SEALs was Course Manager for the elite SEAL Sniper Course, where he was instrumental in developing new curricula that trained some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century. Webb has received numerous distinguished service awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Commendation Medal with a "V" for "Valor," for his platoon's deployment to Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks. He is editor for Military.com's blog Kit Up, SOFREP's Editor in Chief, and a frequent national media commentator on snipers and related Special Operations Forces military issues.


John David Mann, who collaborated with Webb in writing The Red Circle, is an award-winning author whose titles include the New York Times bestseller Flash Foresight and the international bestseller The Go-Giver.