Operators of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, known as Delta Force.

How the world's most hated mercenaries risked their lives for a US Marine. Hundreds of enemy fighters had a US compound surrounded in Najaf, Iraq. RPGs and small arms fire poured in from every side. Holding the roof were 8 Blackwater contractors, a few foreign soldiers, and a US Marine who'd wandered in to fix a radio. The Marine hauled 150 pounds of ammo up four stories, took a round near his spine and shrapnel in one eye, but stayed in the fight. Enemy snipers hit two more of the defenders and soon they were down to single digits, and low on ammo. The military wasn't coming. So Blackwater scrambled its own helicopters, flying them into the gunfire to drop ammo and carry the wounded Marine out. "The Army wouldn't help," one of the pilots said, "so we got busy." Just days earlier, the world had met a different Blackwater. Four of its men had driven unarmored SUVs into Fallujah, where a mob ambushed them, dragged them from the wrecks, and set the bodies on fire. That night, Americans turned on their TVs and saw two of them strung up from a bridge, with an Iraqi crowd cheering below. Blackwater was a new kind of force. Hired guns, many former Special Forces, fighting a war they were no longer in uniform for. They answered to no army, and an occupation rule called "Order 17" made them almost untouchable in court. But that freedom had a dark side. A Blackwater convoy guarding US diplomats rolled into a busy Baghdad traffic circle and opened fire. When the shooting stopped, 14 unarmed Iraqis were dead, two of them boys aged nine and eleven. Four people were convicted, and years later President Trump pardoned them all. On the rooftop they kept a wounded Marine alive against a mob. In the traffic circle they were the reason a family never came home. To most people, Blackwater was one or the other, all bad or all good. Either way, they had a lasting impact on the role of private military contractors (PMCs) in war zones, and the lessons will be felt for years to come.

Delta Force Sergeant Major John McPhee, aka "The Sheriff of Baghdad" or "Shrek."

1st SFOD-D (Delta Force) A Squadron operator Sergeant Major Lee Vampola. Lee enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in March 2004. After completing his training, he completed Ranger School and served in 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. Followed by a tour with the United Nations Command in South Korea in 2007, he was assigned to the US Army Special Operations Command, and in 2012 he successfully screened and was selected to serve in Delta Force as an operator. Lee earned many awards for valor during his service, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other nations that remain unnamed. In February 15, 2024, just a few weeks shy of his 20th year of military service, Lee took his own life. He is remembered as a loving husband, father, son, and friend. Not forgotten.

CIA paramilitary officers in Afghanistan, September 2001, sitting on boxes holding millions of dollars in cash. The first Americans into the country after 9/11 weren’t soldiers, they were Agency officers carrying the money that would buy the Northern Alliance’s cooperation.

Afghanistan. Perfect for shorts and sandals.

US Navy SEALS having some fun during a deployment on Christmas in Afghanistan.

Xavier Lendof, former Delta Force operator, Green Beret, and Marine Scout Sniper. With deployments to more than 20 nations around the world over a 20 year career in both the Army and Marine Corps, it's safe to say Xavier has earned his retirement.

US Air Force PJs from the elite 24th STS conducting a free fall in Africa, 2015.

US Air Force 24th STS operators in Africa.