Charlie A. Beckwith - Delta Force

Colonel Beckwith dedicates this book
to his wife Katherine
and their three daughters.

CONTENTS

I COULDNT SEE any reason for hanging around the Pentagon. I wasnt accomplishing anything.

It was April of 1980. After several months I was nearly certain Delta would now deploy to Egypt. Thats where wed stage. General Jones, before leaving the Stockade with General Vaught the day before, had asked me to a briefing of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) this day. It would be another meeting, I was sure, like all the others Id attended in the past five months. I was wrong. The meetings on Wednesday, April 16, 1980, were to be different.

Id been in the JCS tank before, when I worked for Admiral McCain of the Pacific Command. On those occasions the room was packed. This day, however, there wasnt anyone there except the Chiefs of each service and some of us Rice Bowl people. Admiral Thomas Hayward, Chief of Naval Operations, was there; so was the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Robert H. Barrow. So, too, was the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General Robert Mathis. Of course, the Armys Chief of Staff, General E. C. Meyer, was in attendance, as were Generals Vaught and Gast. I chose a seat behind Moses. He turned and slapped my knee. He was grinning.

General Jones began the brief. As you all know, we have been working hard to develop a means to rescue the hostages from Teheran. We have been working the problem since November. Now I believe we have a sound plan. I want you to hear the plan and then to ask questions. Its not a simple plan; however, we have tried to make it as straightforward as possible. Jim, he turned to General Vaught, how about starting off?

The Task Force Commander discussed the missions background. He was nervous at this meeting and didnt articulate the various aspects of the overall plan as well as wed come to expect from him.

Next, I covered the ground tactical plan, the actual operationhow we were going go get from Desert One to Teheran, free the hostages, and escape. After Id finished, General Barrow asked tactical questions: What weapons will you carry? Can you interdict Roosevelt Avenue with covering fire, and from what location? How long will you be in the compound?

Then it was General Meyers turn. Charlie, from the time you leave Egypt to the time you go over the wall you will be under stressfor thirty-six hours. I want you to tell me how youre going to handle that. Im concerned with what kind of condition you and the operators will be in when you go over the wall.

I explained I was going to discipline myself and catch sleep where I couldprobably some in Egypt, and on the following day in the hideout. I talked about how Delta Force was going to rotate during that period50 percent on alert, 50 percent standing down.

General Meyer had another worry. Im apprehensive. How will the operation be controlled here in the Pentagon? Im concerned that it be carefully controlled by only those who need to be involvedand by no one else. He went on to talk about when the JCS regulated the chopping of the tree in the Korean DMZ, which was being used for observation purposes by the North Koreans, and the controls that had been placed on General Dick Stilwell. He spoke against the large number of both military and civilian people who had access to the JCS Control Center during that earlier crisis. He hoped it would be different this time. His admonition hit home. It was apparent General Jones, too, was anxious about this management problem. The briefing adjourned around 3:30 P.M .

Because things seemed to be heating up some, I wanted to get back to Bragg to look into some last-minute details. General Vaught thought I should hang around a while, but wouldnt tell me why. Something was up. General Gast, while we walked down to the Special Ops Division of the JCS, enlightened me.

We want you to stay in Washington, because were going to go over tonight to the White House and brief the President and the National Security Council. I nearly fell over! The meeting I just left had been, certainly, a rehearsal for showtime that evening with President Carter and his foreign policy advisors.

During the next three hours, I drank a lot of coffee with some of the guys in the ops office. I worried whether what I was wearinga sport coat and tiewas right. Maybe I should be wearing a three-piece suit.

In one of the offices I ran into Buckshot, who was in the Pentagon on another matter. I confided in him where I was going in a few hours. He became as excited as I. He was wearing his SAS regimental tie and he gave it to me to wear that evening. I wanted it for good luck.

At 6:30, General Vaught, General Gast, and I, all in civilian clothes, were driven to General Joness residence in Fort Myer, Virginia. The General wore a smart-looking Harris tweed sport jacket, gray slacks, and tie. I figured my dress was appropriate. We climbed back into the car and were taken to the White House. During the drive, all jammed together, there was little talk but there was a tangible sense of purpose. We would never be more prepared.

The Secret Service uniformed officer was shown some identification and waved us through the gate. Id never been on the grounds of the White House before. We were led through the corridors and up and down the staircases that led to the Situation Room. I tried to memorize everything in sight. I was a long way from my pea patch.

The Room is small, maybe 15 X 20 feet, and windowless. Comfortable office chairs were placed around a central conference table. Another row of chairs was situated in front of the paneled wood walls. There were some people waiting for us. Among them, Jody Powell impressed me by the way he talked and asked questions. As for the chief of staff of the White House, I expected hed have a little age on him. But Hamilton Jordan looked awfully young. He wore Levis.

I was introduced to the Agencys man and to Warren Christopher, the Deputy Secretary of State. Cyrus Vance was talking to someone in the corner. Dr. Brown came in right behind us and had with him his Deputy Secretary of Defense, Mr. Claytor. Dr. Brzezinski appeared suddenly. Finally, Vice-President Mondale arrived, wearing a sweat suit and fancy sneakerswhich did not impress me. I found a seat behind and between Dr. Brzezinski and the Vice-President. The President, in a blue blazer and gray slacks, walked into the room. Everyone jumped to attention. Good evening, Mr. President. He looked good.

General Jones took the lead. After quickly introducing his party to the Presidents group, he stated that we were there to explain the rescue mission plan and to answer questions. With that, he nodded to General Vaught. In his detailed introduction of the General, he referred to him as the Task Force Commander, which he was; as an experienced and brave airborne officer, which he was; and as an old-time Green Beret, which he wasnt. I knew General Jones believed the information he gave the President, but I knew General Vaught had never served a day in his life in Special Forces. General Vaught did not correct the mistake once he stood up. Rather, he began to outline the proposed effort.

He took everyone through the rehearsal period of the Delta Force, how the Marine pilots had come into the picture, how the Air Force would perform, and his own beloved Rangers. He did really well. Obviously, he had done some hard work between his briefing to the Joint Chiefs that afternoon and this one in the White House.