Delta Force Original – Wade Ishimoto

Delta Force operator Wade Ishimoto was one of the founding members of the elite unit when it was first formed. The story of his progression from an American of Japanese ancestry born in Hawaii just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Delta Force is told in his book “The Intoku Code”. Intoku is a Japanese word that means “doing good in secret.” Wade began his Army career as a military policeman and then moved on to counter intelligence and human intelligence. Fourteen of his twenty years in the Army were spent in Special Forces. He originally wanted to join the Marines, but the recruiter was at lunch. On his way to see the Air Force recruiter, he says the Army recruiter tapped him on the shoulder and “fed him a bunch of lies”. Wade was laser focused on getting into the Special Forces but the path was not an easy one. Eventually he joined the 5th Special Forces group because of a personal recommendation from a Warrant Officer. Terrorism was becoming more common in the 1970’s and the US Government realized it did not have the capacity to conduct surgical hostage rescue missions. At the time, Charlie Beckwith had been developing a plan for a unit based upon the British SAS that became the basis for Delta Force. Wade had worked for Beckwith before and wrote him a letter describing how Special Forces could be improved. It obviously made an impression because Beckwith asked him to come on board with Delta Force. The Intoku Code describes numerous challenges involved with standing up Delta Force, including keeping itself secret from other military and government units and some of their training methods. Wade says another challenge was recruiting the “best of the best” from other branches because the commanders didn’t want to give up their best personnel. Wade’s book provides fascinating insights into the planning of the ill-fated “Operation Eagle Claw”, the mission to rescue hostages being held in Iran. He was nearly left behind when that mission was aborted. TAKEWAY: Wade’s hope is that he will inspire others to do good things in secret. “Be steadfast, be resolute and continue to care for others.”