Somewhere in Iraq, October 5, 2003 - First Sergeant Smith (not his real name) doesn't look like a Delta Force soldier. His hair is long and nowhere near military regulations. He has a thick mustache too. Together with his Hispanic features and civilian garb, he looks nothing like a well-trained American soldier.
And that's just the way he wants it.
"Its like your job," he tells me. "I'm trying to gather information. Some of our men do it directly, but my job is to go undercover. To blend in with the locals and be one of them."
Smith speaks a few dialects of Arabic and claims he can pass as an Egyptian, a Saudi or a Syrian as well as an Iraqi. He has also studied their history, culture and religion so he can get deep into the local environment.
His job is not without risk, that much is obvious, but some risks are more than what many soldiers are used to. He laughs and tells about the time he was arrested by American soldiers.
"I had infiltrated a group of terrorists and we were meeting in this one guy's home. No sooner do we start talking and planning this attack on the infidel Americans then a bunch of Marines storm into the house and bust everyone. Next thing I know, I'm tied up with a bag on my head and then thrown in the back of the truck."
I ask him if he didn't try to tell them he was an American. He laughs and says, "First of all, they wouldn't believe me. I mean, do I even look American right now? And I looked worse at that time. Second, I didn't want to blow my cover. So, I got processed by the Marines and tossed in jail for a while. After a day or two, I get pulled in for interrogation. As soon as I'm brought in I see my commanding officer and a couple intelligence people standing there. I salute my CO and say, 'sorry, sir, there were just too many of them.' We had a good laugh and I told them about what I found. It actually did good for me to get arrested; when I was released, it was easier for me to get closer to some of the higher ranking people."
Sergeant Smith is not the only Delta trooper on this kind of duty. He mentioned that some of his fellow soldiers have been fired upon by American soldiers.
"They were with a group of militants and they were fired upon by other soldiers. The troops didn't know who they were. Luckily, none of our men were injured."
Its a risky and difficult job that Sergeant Smith and his comrades perform, but there are no better people in the world to do this task.