Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies
A former U.S. Army intelligence and special ops soldier gives a look inside some of the nation’s most secretive military operations.

For nearly a decade, Brett Velicovich was at the center of America’s new generation of warfare: an arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—taking down the world’s deadliest terrorists across the globe. Now this decorated veteran, with journalist Christopher S. Stewart, tells his story in a remarkable book packed with more classified drone operations cleared for public release than any other account ever published, according to the U.S. government. Drone Warrior offers an unprecedented view into the remarkably complex nature of drone missions in the hottest conflict zones today and the rigorous and wrenching on-the-ground decisions behind them.

Drone Warrior also chronicles the U.S. military’s evolution in the past decade and the technology driving it. Velicovich considers the future it foretells, and speaks candidly on the physical and psychological toll it exacts, including the impact his missions had on his own life. He reminds us that while these machines can kill, they can also be used to preserve life, including protecting endangered species and supporting humanitarian operations—work he is engaged in today.
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Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies
A former U.S. Army intelligence and special ops soldier gives a look inside some of the nation’s most secretive military operations.

For nearly a decade, Brett Velicovich was at the center of America’s new generation of warfare: an arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—taking down the world’s deadliest terrorists across the globe. Now this decorated veteran, with journalist Christopher S. Stewart, tells his story in a remarkable book packed with more classified drone operations cleared for public release than any other account ever published, according to the U.S. government. Drone Warrior offers an unprecedented view into the remarkably complex nature of drone missions in the hottest conflict zones today and the rigorous and wrenching on-the-ground decisions behind them.

Drone Warrior also chronicles the U.S. military’s evolution in the past decade and the technology driving it. Velicovich considers the future it foretells, and speaks candidly on the physical and psychological toll it exacts, including the impact his missions had on his own life. He reminds us that while these machines can kill, they can also be used to preserve life, including protecting endangered species and supporting humanitarian operations—work he is engaged in today.
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Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies

Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies

Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies

Drone Warrior: An Elite Soldier's Inside Account of the Hunt for America's Most Dangerous Enemies

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Overview

A former U.S. Army intelligence and special ops soldier gives a look inside some of the nation’s most secretive military operations.

For nearly a decade, Brett Velicovich was at the center of America’s new generation of warfare: an arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles—drones—taking down the world’s deadliest terrorists across the globe. Now this decorated veteran, with journalist Christopher S. Stewart, tells his story in a remarkable book packed with more classified drone operations cleared for public release than any other account ever published, according to the U.S. government. Drone Warrior offers an unprecedented view into the remarkably complex nature of drone missions in the hottest conflict zones today and the rigorous and wrenching on-the-ground decisions behind them.

Drone Warrior also chronicles the U.S. military’s evolution in the past decade and the technology driving it. Velicovich considers the future it foretells, and speaks candidly on the physical and psychological toll it exacts, including the impact his missions had on his own life. He reminds us that while these machines can kill, they can also be used to preserve life, including protecting endangered species and supporting humanitarian operations—work he is engaged in today.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062693921
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 11/21/2023
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 341
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Brett Velicovich has over ten years of experience conducting counterterrorism and intelligence operations globally. As an intelligence analyst within the U.S. military’s elite, his work was directly responsible for countless missions leading to the successful capture and kill of terrorist leaders. Serving five combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, he also worked in Somalia and received numerous combat medals for his service, including the Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge. Regarded as a world-renowned drone expert, he left the service and earned an MBA from Duke University and helped start an initiative that looks to employ unmanned aerial vehicles in support of wildlife conservation in East Africa. He lives in Virginia.


Christopher S. Stewart is an investigative reporter at the Wall Street Journal, where he shared a 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. His work has appeared in GQ, Harper’s, New York Times Magazine, New York, The Paris Review, Wired, and other publications, and he also served as deputy editor at the New York Observer and is a former contributing editor at Condé Nast Portfolio. Stewart is the author of Hunting the Tiger and Jungleland. He lives with his family in New York.

Table of Contents

Author's Note xi

Part 1 1

1 Should We Kill Him? 3

2 Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning? 13

3 New Guy 23

4 Camp Pizza Hut 31

5 Spy Game 39

6 The Shitbox/Garbage City 45

7 The Door at the End of the Hall 59

8 Day Zero 65

Part 2 81

9 The Drone War Begins 83

10 The Hunters 101

11 My First Kill 111

12 Finding a Groove 125

13 Wild Goose Chases 139

14 Home? 149

15 The Boys are Back in Town 159

16 The Saudi 169

17 The Kidnapping 183

18 The Bombing 189

19 Dark Horse 201

20 Manhattan and Brooklyn 217

21 Dogs of War 237

22 The One Who Got Away 243

Part 3 255

23 Gone 257

24 Life Outside the Box 261

25 A New Beginning 291

Epilogue 299

Acknowledgments 309

Appendix 313

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