Mission Iran: Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw, Jtf 1-79

On November 4, 1979, "student" supporters of the Ayatollah seized the U.S. Embassy with over sixty hostages. Although the Cold War was in full swing, the Iran hostage crisis was a watershed for the United States. Detachment A had been established in Berlin early in the Cold War to harass and delay any Soviet military advance west. This Special unit trained relentlessly for every aspect of unconventional warfare, and was later assigned a second mission of counterterrorism. The plan for Operation Eagle Claw, as it became known, was extremely complex. The first stage was intelligence gathering--no mean feat as most of the CIA's capabilities in the country had been eliminated. With operatives trained in intelligence work, fluent in many languages, and adept at blending in, Det A took on the advanced recon of the targets. Then, when Delta Force admitted that it could only manage the assault of the Embassy, Det A volunteered to rescue the three Americans at the Foreign Ministry. Veteran and historian James Stejskal details Det A's unique and integral role in Operation Eagle Claw, based upon firsthand accounts of the operatives involved.

About the Author :
James Stejskal hails from the Great Plains of Nebraska. After a short stint at the University of Nebraska he enlisted in the US Army. He served with U. S. Army Special Forces in many "interesting place" worldwide, including Germany, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa before retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO4) after twenty-three years. He then worked as a security consultant for a U. S.-based, non-governmental organization in central Africa during the Rwandan insurgency and second Congo War. In the last century, he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency and served as a senior intelligence operations officer (Case Officer) in Africa, Europe, and the Far East before retiring again. A military historian and conflict archaeologist, he is the author of a number of articles on military history and a well-received book, The Horns of the Beast: The Swakop River Campaign and World War I in South-West Africa, 1914-15. He currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Wanda. Jim Seybert has been telling stories for more than sixty years. As a young boy he would dictate stories, telling his parents to "write this down." Fast-forward to the present, and Jim lends his clear, confident voice to some of the most interesting stories of the day: military histories, political commentary, true crime, heroic memoirs, and great fiction. When he is not recording in his studio on California's pristine Central Coast, he walks quietly along trails in the Sierra Nevada, cooks gourmet meals for friends, and watches films with his wife Rhonda and their Chihuahua, Lucy. Jim Seybert has been telling stories for more than sixty years. As a young boy he would dictate stories, telling his parents to "write this down." Fast-forward to the present, and Jim lends his clear, confident voice to some of the most interesting stories of the day: military histories, political commentary, true crime, heroic memoirs, and great fiction. When he is not recording in his studio on California's pristine Central Coast, he walks quietly along trails in the Sierra Nevada, cooks gourmet meals for friends, and watches films with his wife Rhonda and their Chihuahua, Lucy.