Task Force Mandarin Task Force Mandarin, better known as Task Force Orange or the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), was a support organization formed to provide signal intercept and intelligence-gathering capabilities to Tier One organizations. It was a body of men and women first sent to Japan to study Ninjitzu, then on to China’s Shao Lin Temple to study Kung Fu, then … [Read more...] about Task Force Orange: Supporting Delta Force in Bosnia
George E. Hand IV Articles
Geo Hand: How Special Forces Combat Divers Escape From Sinking Kayaks
Green Berets Dive, Too The Green Beret Combat Dive Academy expanded its curriculum vastly to accommodate a perceived deficit in waterborne operations training in its community. To fill the void, the six-week Waterborne Infiltration Course (WIC) was developed. One of the infiltration platforms taught at the course was the two-man Klepper Kayak. It was a stable, light, silent, … [Read more...] about Geo Hand: How Special Forces Combat Divers Escape From Sinking Kayaks
Delta Force Tale: How the Grinch Burned Down Christmas
No Slack for Delta A large part of the nation tends to kick back and cut slack during the holidays. Some professions cannot do that by sheer nature of the importance of their contribution to national security. Others will not simply because… they don’t want to. Such was the attitude of my Special Mission Unit (SMU). It was a year that we felt we needed to train more, but we … [Read more...] about Delta Force Tale: How the Grinch Burned Down Christmas
Geo Hand: A Delta Force Encounter With a Hezbollah Operative
However You Pronounce It Hizbollah: pronounced /ˌhɛzbəˈlɑː/;[36] Arabic: حزب الله Ḥizbu 'llāh, literally "Party of Allah" or "Party of God" I have always appreciated Hezbollah as a staunch terrorist threat. This statement paraphrases favorably that I have feared them as an enemy organization to my country—though 'fear' was never my choice of word to instill confidence … [Read more...] about Geo Hand: A Delta Force Encounter With a Hezbollah Operative
SCUD Hunting With Delta Force
In the Words of Stormin' Norman... In 1991, the pipe-hitters made a B line for presumptuously postering Iraq. The mission was... well, there was no pin-point mission specified beyond 'kicking the unholy dogshit out of a colicky nation, and as General Norman Schwarzkopf explained (words to the effect), "We're here to tell these people exactly what we expect them to … [Read more...] about SCUD Hunting With Delta Force
Geo Hand: What’s the Relationship Between Delta Force and Law Enforcement?
Delta has a necessary and welcome relationship with police departments across the U.S., including SWAT brothers. However, the relationship is not specific to the special operations branches of law enforcement; rather, it is largely focused on the mainstream metro police force. The Unit travels across the country in search of urban training environments in major cities. There … [Read more...] about Geo Hand: What’s the Relationship Between Delta Force and Law Enforcement?
Geo Hand: A Delta Operator’s Adventures Against Human Trafficking
Meet Spicy Mike Spicy Mike was not his birth name; that is, his mom never stepped out onto the front porch to call him in for dinner: “SPIIIIICYYYYY…. SPICY MIIIIIIIIKE… TIME FOR DINNER, SPICEY MICHAEL!!” Spicy Mike was his street pimp name. The special agents for human trafficking in the Attorney General’s (AG) office of Albuquerque, New Mexico wanted him in a big way. … [Read more...] about Geo Hand: A Delta Operator’s Adventures Against Human Trafficking
Delta Force Operators Renting an Apartment Behind Enemy Lines
Toads and Goats Our efforts to observe the apartment of a Bosnian war criminal -- the Toad -- wanted by the Hague were one-deep and depended solely on the sightings from our tactical reconnaissance teams hiding in woodlands while evading and avoiding goat herds. Sure, we were “gathering intelligence” on the guy, but it was just so... one-dimensional and shallow. We finally … [Read more...] about Delta Force Operators Renting an Apartment Behind Enemy Lines
Geo Hand Presents: Women in Delta Force Gone Wrong
Kay-Kay Was A Bit Cray-Cray We all have bad days now and then. Kay-Kay was having hers, which actually amounted to a run of about three contiguous bad days, with the middle day being the worst. My worst days amounted to me snapping: “Oh, CRAP!” a lot. Kay-Kay’s days were a-blaze in ways that turned one’s gaze toward her craze… It was as if someone dropped a hydrogen bomb on … [Read more...] about Geo Hand Presents: Women in Delta Force Gone Wrong
Geo Hand: Enlisted vs Officers in Delta Force – A Double Standard?
Rank Has Its Privileges The privilege of commissioned rank in the military is undoubtedly undisputed. Privilege to the extent of a double standard can be undeniably recognized, the unit's status notwithstanding. I'm one to recognize and take note of an instance of that very occurrence and recount it to an interested audience because I'm a recounter of events… or at the very … [Read more...] about Geo Hand: Enlisted vs Officers in Delta Force – A Double Standard?
Meet Cos: A Living Delta Force Legend
Rhymes With "Most" "Cos" was the nickname I gave to my brother, Mark Stephens. It was the second syllable of the Spanish version of his first name, Mar-COS. He must have liked it because I heard him explaining the second-syllable-to-the-Spanish-version-of-his-name equation on more than one occasion. That told me that to him; it was worth the work of having to explain the … [Read more...] about Meet Cos: A Living Delta Force Legend
Fieldcraft Tips From a Delta Force Operator: How To Run A Proper Dead Drop
What is Street Craft? Street Craft, clandestine communications, low-tech comms -- the employment of which in today’s level of technology can almost be described as an act of desperation, a scenario in which all other sensible means of communication have failed and all that remains is a Cold War-era communication system. Actually, the use of such methods is much older than the … [Read more...] about Fieldcraft Tips From a Delta Force Operator: How To Run A Proper Dead Drop