Pete Blaber

lessons from a former Delta Force commander

The mission, the men, and me

Timeo Williams

This book by ret. Col Pete Blaber was among the many books recommended to me as a primer into military history and intelligence. 

Col. Blaber was among the few who earned entry into "The Unit", the highest level of operations within the U.S Army. They are the Special Forces. Organized into small teams to accomplish very difficult missions, these soldiers are among the fittest and have to be capable of making excellent decisions in very difficult environments. 

What struck out to me was a pattern all too common in excellent organizations: creativity flourishes when there is openness and information sharing throughout all branches of the organization. Different ideas attacking each other and meshing allows for the creative process to thrive and the large diversity allows for the best one to win. The AFO, that is established later in the book, essentially encompasses that. It is a combination of Special Forces units - themselves Rangers, Air Force, Green Berets, and the CIA working in unison to accomplish the mission. 

What's realized is that the traditional hierarchies, i.e. the chain of command, may not be the most effective method of decision making in very fast-moving, desolate environments, in where the man on the ground is the man to be trusted. 

Among the interesting stories in this book include the one of Ali Mohamed. I recommend readers to look into his story, when they get the chance. 

A few quotes/sayings, stuck out to me:

" I rarely went anywhere without Homer. It's hard to describe how valuable a top-notch sidekick is for a leader in a combat zone. Homer's advice and counsel were nested in just about everything I did. ' You're on the right track, you're smoking crack, let me and the guys handle that,' all those little things that in aggregate, allowed me to maintain a cruising altitude when I could filter out the white noise of pride, prejudice, and politics and home in on the key patterns that were essential; for understanding what was going on around us."(238)

" I stepped outside into the courtyard and realized that once again the tyranny of the plan was trumping updated information from the man on the ground and its by-product, common sense. There was no way to turn the planning machine off, and there was no way to alter its course. Even though we had updated information, the plan was the plan, and the staff had put so much work into putting it together that the mission itself no longer had anything to do with the reality on the ground; the mission was to execute the plan on time. "(260)

Ben Radford

Pete Blaber strikes the perfect balance between operational memoir and practical leadership advice accrued from a successful career as a Delta operator in The Mission, the Men, and Me. Superbly written with clarity and in a conversational tone at times, this book is a cut above the myriad other similar works by military officers in the genre. Blaber's intellectual and operational boldness in his resolute adherence to his guiding principles even when up against the rigid command and control military heirarchy is admirable and speaks to the high caliber officer he is and what unconventional thinking brings to the fight. I would recommend this enjoyable read to any aspiring military officer.

The mission, the men, and me lessons from a former Delta Force commander

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