Chapter 2: JSOC Gets Its Feet Wet

1 A February … capabilities. Secret Warriors, p. 38.

2 At the direction … intelligence. Killer Elite, p. 29.

3 A day … to JSOC. Secret Warriors, pp. 39, 45–47; a senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer. Seaspray and Task Force 160 were established with the help of another new organization, the Special Operations Division of the Army’s Operations Directorate. The Army created the division in February 1981 to coordinate all Army counterterrorist, special operations, and other covert units and programs.

4 Meyer, the Army … Team 6 counterpart. A senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer; a Delta officer.

5 Marcinko had built … beyond. Rogue Warrior, pp. 212–46.… 175-man … Secret Warriors, p. 26.

6 Events came … into the future. A senior JSOC official.

7 By early … no windows. A senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer.… adjacent to Bragg … Although JSOC’s headquarters was technically on the grounds of Pope AFB, in conversation almost everyone in the special operations community referred to Bragg as the command’s home.

8 Within six … such missions. A senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer; two Delta sources.

9 For all … in combat. Rogue Warrior, p. 245.

10 An opportunity … overhead reconnaissance. Secret Warriors, p. 78; “The Americans Left Behind,” by Doug Waller, Time, June 24, 2001; a JSOC staff officer.

11 Nonetheless … their reporting. A senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer; Secret Warriors, pp. 78–79.

12 JSOC rehearsed … the helicopters. A senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer.

13 The Little Birds’ role … his amazement. A JSOC staff officer.

14 The discovery … bitterness. Inside Delta Force, pp. 314–21; Secret Warriors, pp. 79–80; a JSOC staff officer; a Delta officer.

15 … but also … he added. A senior JSOC official.

16 As preparations … itself. A Delta officer; Secret Armies: The Full Story of S.A.S., Delta Force and Spetsnaz, by James Adams (London: Hutchinson, 1988), pp. 172–77.

17 The Italian Red … accommodate them. Secret Warriors, pp. 58–70.… Defense Secretary Weinberger … A senior JSOC official.

18 Scholtes fought … of the 1980s. A senior JSOC official; a JSOC staff officer; a Pentagon special operations official; three Delta operators.… after the CIA … that year … Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981–1987, by Bob Woodward (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987), pp. 240–41.

19 The initial … terrorist incident. A senior JSOC official; No Room for Error, p. 116; a JSOC staffer.

20 On Friday … friendly fire. A senior JSOC official; No Room for Error, pp. 107–63.… the JSOC task force … The task force was called TF 123 (Operation Urgent Fury, by Ronald H. Cole [Washington, D.C.: Joint History Office, 1997], p. 30).… four Team 6 operators who drowned … The four Team 6 operators failed to “neutralize their gear,” meaning they did not pack it with buoyancy material like Styrofoam, according to a senior Team 6 officer, who added that “with neutralized gear they could have been floating out there for hours instead of drowning.” … three Rangers killed … Operation Urgent Fury, U.S. Army Center for Military History monograph, p. 26; a senior JSOC official.

21 JSOC was also … October 1980. A senior JSOC official; “Newspaper Reports Special Anti-Terrorism Command,” Associated Press, October 8, 1980.

22 Scholtes remained … his plan. A senior JSOC official.

23 Nor was he … the operation. No Room for Error, p. 154. Carney came out of retirement less than two years later.