Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves : The Inside Story of How a Team of Renegades Broke Rules, Shattered Barriers, and Launched a Drone Warfare Revolution

The Inside Story of How a CIA Officer and an Air Force Officer Joined Forces to Develop America's Most Powerful Tool in the War on Terror. Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves is the character-driven story behind the origins of the Predator drone program and the dawn of unmanned warfare. A firsthand account told by an Air Force team leader and a CIA team leader, Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves takes the reader into the back offices and secret government hangars where the robotic revolution went from a mad scientist idea to a pivotal part of global air power. The story will reveal the often conflicting perspectives between the defense and intelligence communities and put you inside places like the CIA's counterterrorism center on the morning of 9/11. Through the eyes of the men and women who lived it, you will experience the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and the evolution of a program from passive surveillance to the complex hunter-killers that hang above the battlespace like ghosts. Poised at the junction between The Right Stuff and The Bourne Identity , Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves will document the way a group of cowboys, rogues, and bandits broke rules and defied convention to change the shape of modern warfare. "An extraordinary, riveting, page-turning account—finally cleared for publication by the CIA—of the once highly classified effort by the CIA and special military units to develop a truly game-changing, transformational capability: armed drones."—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and US and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA​ The Inside Story of How a CIA Officer and an Air Force Officer Joined Forces to Develop America's Most Powerful Tool in the War on Terror. N ever Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves is the story behind the origins of the Predator drone program and the dawn of unmanned warfare. A firsthand account told by an Air Force team leader and a CIA team leader, Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves takes readers into the back offices and secret government hangars where the robotic revolution went from a mad scientist idea to a pivotal part of global airpower. Featuring a foreword by Charlie Allen, an introduction by Lieutenant General John Campbell, USAF (Ret.), and an afterword by Lieutenant Colonel Gabe Brown, the story reveals the often conflicting perspectives between the defense and intelligence communities and puts the reader inside places like the CIA's counterterrorism center on the morning of 9/11. Through the eyes of the men and women who lived it, you will experience the hunt for Usama bin Laden and the evolution of a program from passive surveillance to the complex hunter-killers that hang above the battlespace like ghosts. Poised at the junction between The Right Stuff and The Bourne Identity , Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves documents the way a group of cowboys, rogues, and bandits broke rules and defied convention to change the shape of modern warfare The Inside Story of How a CIA Agent and an Air Force Officer Joined Forces to Develop Americas Most Powerful Tool in the War on Terror. Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves is the character-driven story behind the origins of the Predator drone program and the dawn of unmanned warfare. A firsthand account told by an Air Force team leader and a CIA team leader, Predator Rising takes the reader into the back offices and secret government hangars where the robotic revolution went from a mad scientist idea to a pivotal part of global air power. The story will reveal the often conflicting perspectives between the defense and intelligence communities and put you inside places like the CIAs counterterrorism center on the morning of 9/11. Through the eyes of the men and women who lived it, you will experience the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and the evolution of a program from passive surveillance to the complex hunter-killers that hang above the battlespace like ghosts. Poised at the junction between The Right Stuff and The Bourne Identity , Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves will document the way a group of cowboys, rogues, and bandits broke rules and defied convention to change the shape of modern warfare. The Inside Story of How a CIA Officer and an Air Force Officer Joined Forces to Develop America's Most Powerful Tool in the War on Terror. Predator Rising is the character-driven story behind the origins of the Predator drone program and the dawn of unmanned warfare. A firsthand account told by an Air Force team leader and a CIA team leader, Predator Rising takes the reader into the back offices and secret government hangars where the robotic revolution went from a mad scientist idea to a pivotal part of global air power. The story will reveal the often conflicting perspectives between the defense and intelligence communities and put you inside places like the CIA's counterterrorism center on the morning of 9/11. Through the eyes of the men and women who lived it, you will experience the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and the evolution of a program from passive surveillance to the complex hunter-killers that hang above the battlespace like ghosts. Poised at the junction between The Right Stuff and The Bourne Identity, Predator Rising will document the way a group of cowboys, rogues, and bandits broke rules and defied convention to change the shape of modern warfare Front Cover Half-Title Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents PREFACE FOREWORD INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: FIRST BLOOD Chapter 2: HOW IT ALL BEGAN Chapter 3: JUST DUCT TAPE AND BALING WIRE Chapter 4: ALL PRICES ARE NEGOTIABLE Chapter 5: SHOWTIME Chapter 6: IT’S ALWAYS WHAT YOU LEAST EXPECT Chapter 7: EVERYTHING COMES WITH A PRICE Chapter 8: A DEADLY IDEA Chapter 9: THE BREAKING POINT Chapter 10: BUILDING A KILLER Chapter 11: CONNECTING THE DOTS Chapter 12: UNTHINKABLE Chapter 13: PAYBACK’S A BITCH Chapter 14: THEY GROW UP SO FAST Chapter 15: WITH EVERYTHING ON THE LINE Chapter 16: OBJECTS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR AFTERWORD POSTSCRIPT: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD MARK’S PERSONAL COMMENTS ALEC’S PERSONAL COMMENTS MICHAEL’S PERSONAL COMMENTS INDEX PHOTO CREDIT "Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves is the character-driven story behind the origins of the Predator drone program and the dawn of unmanned warfare. A firsthand account told by an Air Force team leader and a CIA team leader, Never Mind, We'll Do It Ourselves takes the reader into the back offices and secret government hangars where the robotic revolution went from a mad scientist idea to a pivotal part of global air power"--Book jacket flap