Hostage Rescue Manual

Leroy Thompson

The HOSTAGE RESCUE MANUAL is a comprehensive guide to the strategies which have saved hundreds of lives in hostage incidents all around the world.

Hostage rescue has become an increasingly prominent part of the war against terrorism, with international units training intensively to respond to the tactics of ‘hostage-takers’. While media coverage tends to favour the drama of high-profile evacuations, it remains a little-known fact that the success of a rescue usually depends on the hours leading up to confrontation.

Once suspects and innocents have been contained by authorities, responsibility for ending the incident rests largely with the negotiator, whose job it is to unravel the motives of the hostage-taker and achieve a peaceful solution.

When negotiations fail, the entry team assault the site, to resolve the situation by a combination of force and skill. Weapons expert Leroy Thompson explains the rationale behind using different types of entry, including the pros and cons of ‘stealth’ and ‘dynamic’, the importance of diversionary devices, and how the approach changes when recovering ‘voluntary’ hostages in a barricade situation.

We learn about the complex calculations made by the sniper in his ‘hide’ and explore operations against widely differing locations, from nuclear power plants to airlines. Leroy Thompson also provides full details of the special-purpose ‘kit’, weapons and ammo vital to the success of the rescue team.

Incorporating vivid photographs and line drawings of rescue units in action, HOSTAGE RESCUE MANUAL is the complete reference work on counter-terrorist procedures all over the world.

Leroy Thompson Leroy Thompson has trained military and police hostage rescue and VIP protection teams, around the world and has published a number of books and articles on the subject, among them the first ever work on world-wide counter-terrorist units.