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....Col. David Hackworth

Is this the same David Hackworth who was screaming on a secure phone asking Carter for permission to withdraw after his Iran hostage mission went to hell in a handbasket?

Is this the same David Hackworth who was screaming on a secure phone asking Carter for permission to withdraw after his Iran hostage mission went to hell in a handbasket?

I think you're thinking of Beckwith, not Hackworth. A couple of the letters are the same, though.

"Is this the same David Hackworth who was screaming on a secure phone asking Carter for permission to withdraw after his Iran hostage mission went to hell in a handbasket?"

"Let there be no doubt: David Hackworth is a war hero. In 1944, when he was a 14-year-old orphan, Hackworth faked his way into the U.S. Merchant Marine. At 16, he was a U.S. Army private, fighting Yugoslav partisans on the Italian border. At 20, he won a battlefield commission in Korea, then commanded a savage and brilliant Army Raiders unit that wreaked havoc on the North Koreans and Chinese. When he left the Army in 1971, he was the youngest full colonel in Vietnam, winner of eight Purple Hearts, nine Silver Stars, eight Bronze Stars, four Army Commendation Medals, four Legions of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and a chestful of other medals. Today Hackworth calls himself--often--"America's most decorated living soldier."

You're thinking of "Chargin Charlie" Beckwith, one of the greatest commandos America ever produced.

He is the man that created Delta Force.

Is this the same David Hackworth who was screaming on a secure phone asking Carter for permission to withdraw after his Iran hostage mission went to hell in a handbasket?

I wouldn't be too hard on Charlie Beckwith. The guy was headed into a hornet's nest with a few dozen men, and no possibility of resupply or reinforcement. He was outnumbered and outgunned ten thousand to one. The only edge he had was surprise and speed. Even with surprise and speed, you still need a certain amount of basic redundancy. He needed whatever he needed and the outcome would have been a close run thing even if he had everything in place. With the problems encountered during the mission, he would have had difficulty emerging with all the hostages. It would have been irresponsible to send his men with less than he needed into what was effectively a borderline suicide mission anyway. Special Forces people aren't supermen. They can't carry unlimited amounts of ammo, and making faces at the enemy doesn't get them to keep their heads down. They're not bullet proof either, as the mess in Mogadishu showed.