Eric L . Haney Eric L . Haney ( born August 22 , 1952 ) is a retired member of the United States Army counterterrorist unit , the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta ( 1SFOD - D ) , more commonly known as Delta Force . In recent years he has been writing on terrorism , guerrilla warfare , and special operations . Haney is the author of " Inside Delta Force " , a memoir of his time in the elite unit , in which he also writes about his participation in the aborted 1980 Operation Eagle Claw mission to Iran to free American hostages . He was a co - executive producer of the CBS television series " The Unit " , created by David Mamet and inspired by Haney ' s special operations experiences . Previously , Haney was a technical consultant on Mamet ' s 2004 film " Spartan " , starring Val Kilmer . Early life and education . Haney was born on August 22 , 1952 and raised in rural Lindale , Georgia , just outside of the town of Rome . He attended Pepperell High School there , graduating in 1970 . Military career . Haney joined the Army just out of high school in 1970 and became a platoon sergeant by the time he was 22 . He served for several years in the 75th Ranger Regiment as an infantryman and was slated to become an instructor . In 1977 he volunteered for and was selected to train with a new elite counter - terrorism unit that the Army was creating . Of the 163 soldiers that tried out , Haney was one of only 12 to succeed . This unit became operational in 1978 as the 1st SFOD - D , or Delta Force , with Haney joining the unit at least 13 months later and after training and operational acceptance nearly six months after that he became a full member of the unit . The unit had been formed and organized by Col Beckwith approximately 19 months before Haney became an asset and operator with the unit . Haney served in the unit until 1986 , participating in a number of special operations in Latin America and the Middle East . After his promotion to Command Sergeant Major , the rank he held until his retirement in 1990 , Haney left Delta and joined the 193rd Infantry Brigade ( Panama ) . Operation Eagle Claw . In 1980 , when the United States launched Operation Eagle Claw , an attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis with a commando raid , Haney was one of the Delta operators to take part . He was inside the parked C - 130 tanker / transport aircraft that caught fire and exploded when a Navy RH - 53D helicopter piloted by Marine aircrews collided into it after the mission had been aborted and the unit was preparing to exfiltrate . After the debacle he and other Delta operators were told to " take a vacation " in order to avoid any media scrutiny . Honduras . In 1981 , Haney and two Delta Force operators were deployed to Honduras to train Honduran Special Forces when they were sent on a mission to intercept and destroy a group of Honduran communist guerrillas that had infiltrated the country from Nicaragua . This group of around 100 rebels was allegedly being led by an advisor in the Nicaraguan Sandinista Army . Haney states that his team , composed of the Delta operators and Honduran special forces soldiers , tracked the guerrillas to a mountain sanctuary in the Honduran jungle . During an assault on the hilltop , Haney spotted a guerrilla using a radio set and taking him for the leader , shot and killed him . Haney soon discovered that this commander turned out to be David Arturo Báez , a Nicaraguan - born U . S . citizen and former Army Special Forces soldier whom Haney had met during his Delta selection . In his memoir , Haney questioned whether Báez had actually joined the Sandinistas or whether Báez was still working for the United States as a CIA operative up until his death . ( Báez is referred to in Haney ' s book as " Enrique ' Keekee ' Sáenz . " ) Several former Delta members who were also with Delta at the time of this alleged incident , including his Squadron Commander , have disputed this entire incident and have stated it is a complete fabrication . An interview published in the " Miami Herald " relates that Baez ' s family had heard accounts of his death which resemble the version that Haney describes in his book . Beirut . During the 1982 Marines operation in Lebanon , Haney was deployed with other Delta Force members to train local Lebanese as part of the U . S . Embassy security detail . Later , he and his teammates were tasked with locating and eliminating sniper s who were targeting Marines deployed there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission . Grenada . In 1983 , the U . S . invasion of Grenada in Operation Urgent Fury . Haney and other Delta operators were assigned to raid a prison thought to hold political prisoners . Their helicopters came under heavy enemy fire , and they determined that the prison was empty . The raid was called off . Panama . In 1989 , the U . S . invasion of the Republic of Panama in Operation Just Cause . Haney was Command Sergeant Major of the 193rd Infantry Brigade . He was involved in a fire fight along with C Co . 5 / 87th Inf . ( Light ) " Panthers " , 193rd Inf . Brigade , in which Panamanian forces attempted to assassinate the newly elected Vice President Ford of Panama . Panamanian forces suffered heavy loses , no U . S . troops were lost in this battle . The battle took place at the DNTT ( Direccion Nacional de Transporte Terrestre , which served as the Headquarters of the National Police ) . Book criticism . Since the publication of " Inside Delta Force " in 2002 and Haney ' s subsequent success with " The Unit " television show , three of his former Delta colleagues accused him of embellishing his accomplishments within the unit and fabricating several of the events depicted . Some of the criticism directed at Haney has focused on him stating he was a " founding member " of Delta Force ; it ' s acknowledged among former operators that there was only one " founder " , Colonel Charlie Beckwith , who helped establish the unit and was its first commanding officer . One such colleague , Logan Fitch , who first wrote publicly of the Desert One mission for " Penthouse Magazine " in 1984 in which he was also highly critical of Beckwith , called Haney a " crass opportunist " for capitalizing on his past for personal gain . Despite the falling - out between Haney and these former Delta members , Haney has stood behind the accuracy of his book . Another member criticized Haney for revealing too much about Delta Force ' s training , tactics and early missions . A U . S . Army historian has questioned whether this was an issue , given that the information contained in Haney ' s book was current during the late - 1970s and early - 1980s and that Delta Force would certainly have changed their procedures since then . Moreover , operational information offered by Delta veterans had been made public before , for instance in " Black Hawk Down " , Mark Bowden ' s book about the Battle of Mogadishu , and most notably in " Delta Force : The Army ' s Elite Counterterrorist Unit " , Beckwith ' s own account about the formation and training of the unit . Given that all such books that may contain classified information must be reviewed prior to being published , it is unlikely that any currently classified information is revealed in Haney ' s book . Post - military career . Upon retiring from the Army in 1990 , Haney was employed as a freelance security consultant and trainer . He worked within the United States and abroad as a bodyguard , trainer for military and police forces , and private kidnap rescuer . Some of Haney ' s assignments in the private sector include conducting the ransom negotiation and ransom hand - over for a kidnapped oil executive in Colombia , and helping governments in two Middle Eastern countries develop their special forces capabilities . He also worked for several years as personal security detail leader for several high - profile clients , such as Saudi Prince Khalid al Faisal , the CEO of the largest corporation in Mexico , and Haitian President Jean - Bertrand Aristide upon his return from exile in 1994 . During the 1990s , Haney performed security consulting work in Algeria on a gas pipeline project , and started a contract aviation company in Liberia . Some time after that , Haney was approached about organizing and leading a coup attempt in another African nation . He was able to completely thwart the parties who wanted that coup , several of the conspirators were arrested a short while later . Recently . After the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks , Haney became a regular television commentator on military affairs and terrorism , appearing on CNN , Fox News , CBS News and " The O ' Reilly Factor " . He has expressed opinions strongly critical of the planning and implementation of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Haney was the host of a television series entitled " Spymaster USA , " which aired on The Learning Channel in 2004 . Haney was involved as a writer , producer , and technical advisor for the CBS television series " The Unit " , loosely based on his book . Haney also made a cameo appearance on the show as an Army recruiting officer . Haney made a cameo appearance in Iron Man 2 as a USAF commanding officer . Also , in the recently released video game Call of Duty : Black Ops a portrait of Haney can be found on the wall during the campaign mission which takes place inside of the Pentagon , as well as the zombie - mode map " Five " ( which is also based on the Pentagon ) .