Eric L. Haney - Book Criticism

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.