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Eric L. Haney | |
|---|---|
 Haney in 2003 | |
| Born | (1952-08-22)August 22, 1952 (age 72) Lindale, Georgia, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1970–1990 |
| Rank |  Command Sergeant Major |
| Unit | .svg) 75th Ranger Regiment
 193rd Infantry Brigade |
| Battles / wars | |
| Other work | Security consultant, news commentator, author, screenwriter, actor |
Eric L. Haney (born August 22, 1952) is a retired member of theUnited States Armycounterterroristunit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), more commonly known asDelta Force. In recent years he has been writing onterrorism,guerrilla warfare, andspecial operations. Haney is the author ofInside Delta Force, a memoir of his time in the elite unit, in which he also writes about his participation in the aborted 1980Operation Eagle Claw mission to Iran to freeAmerican hostages.
He was a co-executive producer of theCBStelevision seriesThe Unit, created byDavid Mamet and inspired by Haney's special operations experiences. Previously, Haney was a technical consultant on Mamet's 2004 filmSpartan, starringVal Kilmer.
Haney was born on August 22, 1952, and raised in ruralLindale, Georgia, just outside the town ofRome. He graduated from Pepperell High School in 1970.
Haney joined the Army just out ofhigh school in 1970 and became aplatoon sergeant by the time he was 22. He served for several years in the75th Ranger Regiment as an infantryman and was slated to become aninstructor. In 1978 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; following further training and operational acceptance nearly six months after that, he became a full member of the unit.[1] The unit had been formed and organized by ColonelCharles Beckwith approximately 19 months before Haney became an asset and operator with the unit.[2] Haney served in the unit until 1986, participating in a number of special operations inLatin America and theMiddle East.
After his promotion toCommand Sergeant Major, therank he held until his retirement in 1990, Haney left Delta and joined the193rd Infantry Brigade inPanama.
In 1980, the United States launchedOperation Eagle Claw, an attempt to end theIran hostage crisis with a commando raid. Haney was one of the Delta operators who took part. He was inside a parkedC-130 tanker/transport aircraft that caught fire and exploded when aNavyRH-53D helicopter piloted by aMarine aircrew collided with it after the mission had been aborted and the unit was preparing to extricate. After the debacle, he and other Delta operators were told to "take a vacation" in order to avoid media scrutiny.
In 1981, Haney and two Delta Force operators were deployed toHonduras to train Honduran Special Forces. They were sent on a mission to intercept and destroy a force of Hondurancommunist guerrillas that had infiltrated from Nicaragua. The 100 or so rebels allegedly were being led by an advisor from the NicaraguanSandinista Army.
Haney wrote that his team, composed of Delta operators and Honduran special forces soldiers, tracked the guerrillas to a mountain sanctuary in the jungle. During an assault on the hilltop, Haney noticed a guerrilla using a radio. Taking him for the leader, he shot and killed him. Haney later discovered the man was David Arturo Báez, a Nicaraguan-born U.S. citizen and formerArmy Special Forces soldier Haney had met during his Delta selection tests.
In his memoir, Haney questioned whether Báez had joined the Sandinistas or was working for the United States as aCIA operative up until his death. (Báez is referred to in Haney's book as "Enrique 'Keekee' Sáenz.")
Several former Delta members who were there, including his Squadron Commander, have disputed the incident and stated it is a fabrication.[1] However, in an interview published in theMiami Herald, Baez's family said they heard accounts of his death which resemble those described in the book.
Haney also stated in his book that his unit had twice been ordered in 1981 to get ready for missions to rescue Vietnam war POWs still being held in southeast Asia only for the missions to be cancelled at the last minute. He said that he came to believe that they were scrubbed on orders from government officials, who were afraid of embarrassment and damage to their reputations and careers if word had gotten out that they'd left prisoners behind. He also said that years later a former senior north Vietnamese diplomat asked him why the US never tried to get their POWs back after the war ended.
During the 1982Marines operation inLebanon, Haney was deployed with other Delta Force members to train local Lebanese as part of theU.S. Embassy security detail. Later, he and his teammates were tasked with locating and eliminatingsnipers who were targeting U.S. Marines deployed as part of aUnited Nationspeacekeeping mission.[citation needed]
In 1983, during the U.S. invasion of Grenada inOperation Urgent Fury, Haney and other Delta operators were assigned to raidRichmond Hill Prison thought to hold political prisoners. Their helicopters came under heavy enemy fire, and they discovered the prison was empty. The raid was called off.
In 1989, the U.S. invaded the Republic of Panama inOperation 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 newly elected Panamanian Vice President Ford. Panamanian forces suffered heavy losses, while no U.S. soldiers were killed. This took place at the DNTT (Direccion Nacional de Transporte Terrestre), which served as the Headquarters of the National Police.
Since the publication ofInside Delta Force in 2002 and Haney's subsequent success withThe 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. Criticism includes Haney's claim that he was a "founding member" of Delta Force as other former members consider there was only one "founder", ColonelCharlie Beckwith, who helped establish the unit and was its first commanding officer.[1]
One such colleague, Logan Fitch, who first wrote publicly of theDesert One mission forPenthouse Magazine in 1984, called Haney a "crass opportunist" for capitalizing on his past for personal gain.[1] Haney maintains the accuracy of his book.
Another member criticized Haney for revealing too much about Delta Force's training, tactics and early missions.[1] 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 inBlack Hawk Down,Mark Bowden's book about theBattle of Mogadishu, and most notably inDelta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit, Beckwith's own account about the formation and training of the unit.[3]
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After retiring from the Army in 1990, Haney was employed as afreelancesecurity consultant and trainer. He worked within the United States and abroad as abodyguard, trainer for military andpolice forces, and privatekidnap rescuer.
Some of Haney's assignments in the private sector include conducting theransomnegotiation and ransom hand-over for a kidnapped oil executive inColombia, and helping governments in twoMiddle Eastern countries develop their special forces capabilities. He also worked for several years aspersonal security detail leader for several high-profile clients, such asSaudi PrinceKhalid al Faisal and Haitian PresidentJean-Bertrand Aristide upon his return from exile in 1994.[4]
During the 1990s, Haney undertook security consulting work inAlgeria on agaspipeline project, and started a contract aviation company inLiberia.[4] Some time later, Haney was approached about organizing and leading acoup attempt in anotherAfrican nation.[4] He claims to have subsequently thwarted the coup.
Following theSeptember 11 attacks, Haney became a television commentator on military affairs and terrorism, appearing onCNN,Fox News,CBS News,The O'Reilly Factor andMSNBC. He has expressed opinions strongly critical of the planning and implementation ofOperation Iraqi Freedom.
Haney was the host of a television series entitled "Spymaster USA," which aired onThe Learning Channel in 2004.[5]
Haney was involved as a writer, producer, and technical advisor for theCBS television seriesThe Unit, loosely based on his book. Haney also made a cameo appearance on the show as an Army recruiting officer.[6]
Haney made a cameo appearance in the 2010 filmIron Man 2 portraying USAF commanding officer,General Meade.[citation needed]
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