Inside Delta Force

The Story of America’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit

By: Command Sergeant Major Eric L. Haney

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Delta Force—the US Army’s most elite top-secret strike force. They dominate the modern battlefield, but you won’t hear about their heroics on CNN. No headlines can reveal their top-secret missions, and no book has ever taken readers inside—until now. Here, a founding member of Delta Force takes us behind the veil of secrecy and into the action to reveal the never-before-told story of First Special Forces Operational Detachment-D (Delta Force).

He is a master of espionage, trained to take on hijackers, terrorists, and enemy armies. He can deploy by parachute or arrive by commercial aircraft, survive alone in hostile cities, speak foreign languages fluently, strike at enemy targets with stunning swiftness and extraordinary teamwork. He is the ultimate modern warrior: the Delta Force operator.

In this dramatic chronicle, Eric Haney, one of the founding members of Delta Force, takes us inside this legendary counterterrorist unit. Here, for the first time, are details of the grueling selection process—designed to break the strongest of men—that singles out the best of the best.

With heart-stopping immediacy, Haney tells what it’s really like to enter a hostage-held airplane. From his days in Beirut, he tells a remarkable tale of bodyguards and bombs, of a day-to-day life of madness and beauty, and of how he and a teammate are called on to kill two gunmen targeting US Marines at an airport. As part of the team sent to rescue American hostages in Tehran, Haney offers a first-person description of that failed mission that is a chilling, compelling account of a bold maneuver undone by chance—and a few fatal mistakes.

From fighting guerrilla warfare in Honduras to rescuing missionaries in Sudan and leading the way onto the island of Grenada, Haney captures the daring and discipline that distinguish the men of Delta Force. Inside Delta Force brings honor to these singular men while it puts us in the middle of around-the-world action that is sudden, frightening, and nonstop.

©2002 Eric L. Haney; Afterword 2005 by Eric L. Haney (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“The story of the US military’s elite counterterrorism warriors… Timely… fascinating… well-written.” ( Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Excellent read!!

I loved this book. It shares a lot of information on training and missions. Definitely a reread for me.

Excellent history lesson!

Really enjoyed the content of the book but the narrator needed a little coffee now and then. But a job well done all around!

Loved the book

Loved the book and the performance- great read very informative not only about Delta but military

Best Delta Book I’ve Read

Out of the few books I’ve read on this unit, I would put this down as my favorite. The story telling lured me into binge listening.

Realistically!

Everyone in America should listen and open their eyes!
Instead of participating in their own selfish indulgence.

Ends With a Superb Moral!

This Audiobook brought back some great memories. His telling of the history of Delta through his own personal experience made me laugh quite a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Absolutely Fascinating

Loved the whole thing. I have a deeper appreciation for folks in this line of work.

Finally I get the low down on Delta Force

Any additional comments?

I served 22 years in the United States Army 16 of them at Ft. Bragg NC. After becoming a Sgt I would get yearly invites to attend a Delta briefing which consisted of a film showing some of the high speed training of the super secret Delta Force, which everyone on Bragg knew was there and where they were but of course they didn't exist even after seeing small groups of guys wearing beards running out with rifles out in the range areas, but we must have been seeing things. I always wondered what the selection process was but having a family and understood I wouldn't see them for long periods of time and really know my limits one of which was I swam like a rock I just never had the balls to try out. I did have friends who did and even though they ended up stationed on Ft. Bragg they just seemed to disappear and if you did see them they acted like they didn't even know who you were and I always thought they were snobs because they felt special, but now I understand better what they had to go through. While listening to the book it took me back to my time at Bragg. I retired in 2002 and as I listened I could see in my mind the post again and of course it confirmed what we all knew about the where abouts and existance of Delta. I must admit I admire the men who had what it takes and took to join their ranks and salute them!

Fascinating review of his service in Delta Force

What did you love best about Inside Delta Force?

Haney talks about the personalities of the officers he served under and with, and the effect their strengths and foibles had on the unit during his tenure there. Although some online critics have questioned, or even challenged the truthfulness of his accounts, I must say that I believe his accounts of the incidents related are factual; they do not sound embellished to me, and I consider myself a skeptic. He questions the motivations behind the Top Brass in our military, and why certain missions were undertaken, e.g. Grenada, and I'm sure some of those above him in rank would have preferred his book not appear. I've looked on Amazon for a hard copy of the book to purchase, as it's worth going through again. Sadly however, it seems that the second half of the printed book lacks all the good stuff. I suppose he, or the publishers decided to skip the flack they might receive, I don't know; but in this audio book in the second part, where the actions closer to the present day occur, Haney leaves clues as to how he feels about the present day administration, and commendations for that of George W. Bush.
This one is worth spending the time on.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The honesty of the author, and his sensitivity to the fact that he was dealing with, soldiering with, and in some cases having to take the lives of other human beings, not just cardboard targets.

Which scene was your favorite?

Haney's welcome to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

If you could give Inside Delta Force a new subtitle, what would it be?

American counter-terrorist lives through decades of the changing role of the U.S. around the globe.

Any additional comments?

Although the reader did an ok job, and it wasn't hard for me to listen to, I would have enjoyed a little quicker pace. The story Eric Haney tells is more than worth putting up with a little lackluster narration.

A Violent Fate, Hidden Wars.

This is a wonderful text about the patriots who fight for America. If you had any doubts about the nature of the men who jump into the darkness of the world to root out evil, this will put those doubts to rest.

I am humbled and grateful that I know their names, and that even now, someone is rucking and training, someone is getting ready to hit the shoot house for the 20th time today, and some brave man is getting on a plane for the last time.

God bless them all and their families. Some sacrifices are too great to imagine, but still, they are offered without hesitation by men such as these.