These 4 books show the inner workings of Delta Force
SUMMARY
As the wars have raged on, America's interest in Tier One special operators like Delta Force and SEAL Team Six has increased. 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta has managed to stay largely in the shadows in spite of this, keeping their missions and accomplishments relatively secret. They hunted Osama bin Laden, were part of the capture of Saddam Hussein, and have operated in dozens of countries around the world, but little is known about the outfit. But there is a body of work out there about the Unit.
Here are four books by former operatives that give a glimpse behind the curtain of Delta Force:
1. "Delta Force: A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military's Most Secretive Special Operations Unit"
Col. Charlie A. Beckwith was the creator of Delta. He fought from 1962 to 1977 to get the unit after serving as an exchange officer with the British SAS. He was finally given permission to found the unit and describes the process in "Delta Force." He also goes into detail of the rigorous training and selection process that continues today. Beckwith led the unit through the failed Operation Eagle Claw, an attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran.
2. "Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit"
Written by a founding member of Delta, "Inside Delta Force" takes a reader through the training and earliest missions of the elite unit. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Eric L. Haney describes his personal experiences in Beirut, the Sudan, and Honduras.
3. "Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man"
"Kill Bin Laden" looks at the earliest attempts to capture or kill Bin Laden immediately after the September 11 attacks. The book shows the inner workings of Delta on the ground conducting operations. The operators work with local forces to hunt through the Tora Bora mountains and are able to listen in on bin Laden's communications before ultimately losing him.
The author uses the pseudonym Dalton Fury and has also written a series of novels about Delta Force.
4. "The Mission, the Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander"
Pete Blaber, a former Delta commander, takes readers through his own physical and mental training as he joined Delta Force before discussing his missions in Columbia, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
"The Mission, the Men, and Me" has a few distinguishing characteristics. First, this book discusses more operations in the Post-9/11 world than any other on this list. Also, Blaber distills the lessons he learned in Delta Force and helps readers apply them to their lives in modern America.
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