American Mercenary - by Daniel Corbett (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An elite Navy SEAL Team 6 operator trained to kill the United States' most dangerous enemies takes readers inside the unadulterated, morally complicated and riveting post-military adventures of a lethal American mercenary. Daniel Corbett is an elite Navy SEAL operator. Or he used to be one: SEAL Teams 5, 6, and 17. It's the only thing he has done his entire adult life. Corbett has, in Liam Neeson's voice, "a very particular set of skills" that the Navy spent millions of dollars developing and imparting. He knows how to sneak, subvert, recruit, disappear, survive, evade, resist, and exert. And of course, he knows how to kill. The Navy saw to that. What the Navy categorically did not see to was Corbett's post-Navy life beyond the usual veteran's benefits. So Daniel took the one option he'd only barely considered: contracting. There were still plenty of bad guys in the world, and the only sin worse than wasting talent in dead-end pursuits is not using it in the first place. The work was reassuringly familiar and fed his malnourished adrenal glands. It also paid well. But then things suddenly changed for Corbett in 2017 after an assignment in Serbia to track a terrorist financier. His work was strictly surveillance, but a simple misunderstanding led to his arrest by local police. When the authorities learned he was a former Navy SEAL, they imagined the worst: that he was there to kill the president of Serbia. They threw Corbett in jail, where he spent the next 18 months making international headlines and awaiting his fate in court. This book echoes the struggle so many veterans now deal with: how to reconcile their service with where they are now. The life of a mercenary wasn't just the best option for Corbett, it felt like the only option. And he learned to embrace it, even after it got him in trouble overseas. The first tell-all of its kind, American Mercenary is an adrenaline-pumping but cautionary memoir that captures all the drama, action, and pathos of wartime, but in the unseen dark corners of these non-wartime conflicts"--

Book Synopsis

An elite Navy SEAL Team 6 operator trained to kill the United States' most dangerous enemies takes readers inside the unadulterated, morally complicated and riveting post-military adventures of a lethal American mercenary.

In American Mercenary, Daniel Corbett takes readers on a wild ride through the unadulterated, morally ambiguous, and riveting world of being a hired gun. From Abu Dhabi to Washington, DC, Cairo to San Diego, Belgrade to places that must remain secret, this is a world where money rules, and where adventure, danger, and absurdity often follow.

A star high school athlete, Corbett passed on a Division I football career and opted for the US Navy. He began his career at SEAL Team 5 and eventually checked into SEAL Team 6. The navy spent millions teaching him and his fellow Team members how to sneak, subvert, recruit, disappear, survive, resist, and exert. And of course, how to shoot, a discipline at which Corbett excelled.

What the navy did not do was prepare these men for post-military lives beyond the usual suite of veterans' benefits and unimaginative job-training programs. So what does Corbett do? He goes private. There are still plenty of bad men in the world, and the only sin worse than wasting talent in dead-end pursuits is not using it at all. He starts small, but quickly moves up. The work is simultaneously familiar and foreign. The command structure is shady. The clients are dubious. The equipment is subpar. But what the fuck: the pay is good.

Then things change in 2017 when Corbett is arrested on a job in Belgrade, Serbia. When the authorities discover he's a Navy SEAL, they imagine the worst: he's in Belgrade to assassinate the Serbian president. They throw Corbett in jail, where he spends the next 18 months making international headlines and fighting for his freedom in a kangaroo court.

Ultimately, American Mercenary highlights the struggle of many veterans: how to reconcile military service with civilian life. For Corbett, becoming a mercenary isn't just the best option, it feels like the only option. It's a lot better than drowning in a bottle or holding a pistol under your chin and pulling the trigger, but is it enough?

Review Quotes

"I could not put this book down. It's an absolute page turner from start to finish. For the past seven years, I've played Sonny Quinn on the hit TV show Seal Team and I thought heard all of the stories. Daniel's dives into a world that most don't even know exist. He breaks the mold associated with military-esque memoirs and shows us humor, humility, and vulnerability. One of the most powerful stories I have read, this truly will become an instant classic."--AJ Buckley

"I worked with Dan Corbett from the time he checked in to SEAL Team Six until the time we both checked out. He got the name 'Dirty' because of some non-combat related ops, but it was a term of endearment used by all of the shooters who worked with him. Fearless in training, he was always to one to test new gear on skydives or minimum safe distances for explosive breaching. Relentless in combat, under fire, if Dirty was there, I never needed to worry about my back. Then he became a mercenary and that is when life finally got interesting. From dealing with pirates in Africa to al Qaeda in the Middle East... perfecting chess and learning Serbian in an Eastern Block prison. This is a real story that you won't put down."--Rob O'Neill

"This one had me from the jump! The true story of a former Navy SEAL's descent into the underbelly of the 'gun-for-hire' mercenary world. I simply couldn't get enough. Danger, suspense, humor and all around badass-ery. Read immediately."--Jensen Ackles

About the Author

Daniel Corbett III served as an elite Navy SEAL operator, part of SEAL Teams 5, 6, and 17. He's now an ex-military operator for hire. He joined the navy shortly after graduating high school in 2002 and was deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2005 with SEAL Team 5. He joined SEAL Team 6 in 2007, deploying to various locations around the world. In 2010, Daniel returned to the West Coast and began instructing at the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command (NSWBTC). Daniel ended his active-duty career after two years with NSWBTC and quickly fell into the world of private military contracting. Daniel joined the active reserves in 2014 and maintained his active reserve status until 2019. In 2017, Daniel made international news when he was thrown in jail in Belgrade, Serbia, for eighteen months after traveling there as a private contractor to track a terrorist financier. Daniel still monitors international news and continues to entertain phone calls and meetings with those who need unique solutions to unique problems.