a quote from muki betser

Special operations soldiers are often identified with classified information and covert operations: quiet, secretive missions that go without much notice or reward. But there is an ironic element to this description. Many special operations soldiers do in fact publish detailed accounts of their actions that tend to valorize their friends and validate their own actions. 

But Wikipedia provides a list of many Delta Force members, some of whom published memoirs of their experiences. This seems to violate the aura of secrecy. A similar pattern can be found throughout the world. One of the most famous soldiers in Israeli history is Muki Betser, a special operations soldier who published an account of his life in a book ironically entitled Secret Soldier: A True Life Story of Israel's Greatest Commando.

"In special operations...you know how you're going in and how you're coming out. It is your initiative, based on your plan. That moment of paranoia crossing the border--and the alert serenity that follows--is almost a luxury compared to the feeling on the eve of war. In [conventional] war, all you know is how to go in. You never know how you will come out."

Soldiers face tremendous uncertainty in conventional warfare, where the strategic mission is often influenced by far off political events and rapidly changing local conditions. One of the compelling reasons for joining  special operations is to mitigate that uncertainty by taking part in narrowly defined missions that consist of carefully planned operations. Not all special operations missions are well planned, or well defined. But as Betser suggests, special operations soldiers are able to control at least some aspects of their mission. This can provide a source of comfort, and a sense of confidence. There is not necessarily a correlation between thoroughly planned operations and useful strategic accomplishments, but special ops can nevertheless provide a sense of stability and purpose. Narrowly defined objectives may be easier to achieve, and provide a stable platform for small successes. Stability and trust and good planning are not the only reasons that soldiers seek to join (or form) special operations units. But Muki Betser's quote demonstrates that this is an important part of the puzzle. 

Curiously, special operations soldiers, often noted for their courage, desire to control war, and make fear palatable and manageable. War is not chess, but sometimes one can choose to develop a game within war for the sake of sanity and survival.