#294 Pete Blaber - Part 1: Delta Force Commander on Roberts Ridge: The Battle of Takur Ghar
Former Delta Force Colonel Pete Blaber discusses his military career including operations in Colombia, Somalia, Bosnia, and Afghanistan. He provides detailed analysis of the Ukraine war, calling it a propaganda campaign orchestrated by the U.S., and criticizes military leadership failures during the Battle of Takur Ghar.
Summary
This interview features retired Colonel Pete Blaber, a former Delta Force commander who served at every level of the unit and authored 'The Mission, The Men and Me.' The conversation covers his childhood development of common sense principles through pre-digital era independence, his military career from Rangers to Delta Force, and major operations across multiple conflicts.
Blaber begins by describing how growing up in the pre-digital era taught critical skills: unstructured problem solving, adaptive risk calculation, and trusting one's senses. These foundational abilities shaped his military approach. He discusses joining the military after being inspired by the failed Iran hostage rescue mission at Desert One, eventually making it through Delta Force selection despite a memorable encounter with wild pigs during the long walk.
A significant portion focuses on his analysis of the Ukraine war, which he calls 'the propaganda war.' Blaber claims the conflict was orchestrated by the Obama administration through State Department officials like Victoria Nuland and Jake Sullivan, who engineered fake Maidan protests to overthrow Ukraine's democratically elected government. He argues this led to ethnic cleansing of Russian populations in Eastern Ukraine, resulting in 14,000 civilian deaths between 2014-2021, and that Russia's 2022 intervention was actually a rescue mission rather than an unprovoked invasion. He estimates Ukrainian military casualties at 1.25 million.
Blaber details his operational experiences, including Colombia where he helped capture Pablo Escobar's associates and the Cali cartel through innovative intelligence gathering. He describes Bosnia operations capturing war criminals using creative techniques like the 'Kevlar Tennis Net' for vehicle interdiction.
The interview extensively covers the Battle of Takur Ghar (Roberts Ridge) during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. As AFO (Advanced Force Operations) commander, Blaber led the intelligence gathering that located Al-Qaeda forces in the Shahi Kot Valley. However, he criticizes the micromanagement by disconnected headquarters that led to tragic decisions, including forcing SEAL teams into premature insertion without proper preparation time. The battle resulted in multiple casualties including Neil Roberts, John Chapman, and Jason Cunningham due to what Blaber characterizes as catastrophic command and control failures by generals operating from remote TOCs rather than listening to ground commanders.
Throughout, Blaber emphasizes that modern military failures stem from disconnected hierarchical decision-making that ignores the principle of 'always listen to the guy on the ground.' He argues this same flawed command structure has been exported to Ukraine with similarly disastrous results.
About this episode
Pete Blaber is a retired Delta Force commander renowned for leading elite counter-terrorism and special operations teams across the globe, now applying his battle-tested leadership principles to corporate environments, authorship, and innovative security solutions. Born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, as one of nine children in an Irish-Catholic household. Pete attended Southern Illinois University. His military career saw him rise through the ranks of Delta Force to high-level command roles, directing critical operations in Panama, Colombia, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Retiring in 2006, he transitioned from commanding elite combat teams worldwide to leading executive teams. A prominent voice on leadership, team dynamics, crisis decision-making, national security, and organizational effectiveness, he has been featured in profiles, interviews, and podcasts sharing practical insights drawn from his extraordinary career. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Post jobs for free at https://ziprecruiter.com/srs Get 20% off sitewide at https://helixsleep.com/SRS and enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you! Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get 20% off with promo code SRS at https://shopmando.com ! #mandopod Go to https://meetfabric.com/SHAWN and apply today, risk-free Go to https://shopbeam.com/SRS and use code SRS to get up to 50% off Beam Dream Powder, the sleep formula designed to help you fall asleep fast and wake up clear. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Get started with Claude today at https://claude.ai/srs and check out Claude Pro, which includes access to all of the features mentioned in today’s episode. One thing to pack, five ways to power! Get 10% Off @Ridge with code SRS at https://www.Ridge.com/srs #Ridgepod Pete Blaber Links: Substack - https://substack.com/@peteblaber Website - https://www.peteblaber.com Books - https://www.peteblaber.com/books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Key Insights
- Blaber argues the Ukraine war was orchestrated by Obama administration officials through fake protests to overthrow Ukraine's elected government
- He claims 14,000 ethnic Russian civilians were killed by Ukrainian forces between 2014-2021 before Russia's intervention
- Blaber estimates Ukrainian military casualties at 1.25 million, calling it senseless killing driven by disconnected decision-makers
- Growing up pre-digital developed critical skills: unstructured problem solving, adaptive risk calculation, and trusting one's senses
- Delta Force's foundational principle was using common sense rather than rigid standard operating procedures
- The unit operated on three guiding principles: understand what's going on around you, blend in anywhere, and the only failure is a failure to try
- Disconnected hierarchical command structures cannot make sensible battlefield decisions because their senses are disconnected from the environment
- The Battle of Takur Ghar resulted from micromanagement by generals in remote TOCs who ignored ground commanders' recommendations
- Military leadership failures stem from generals' inability to resist injecting themselves into tactical operations they cannot properly assess
- Modern military technology like VTCs and satellite communications enabled harmful micromanagement that didn't exist in previous conflicts
- Blaber advocates for command and control at the lowest possible level, with higher headquarters serving only support functions
- He argues that changing one's mind when receiving new information is a sign of good leadership, not weakness
- The principle 'always listen to the guy on the ground' is fundamental because only they have accurate sensory information about the situation
- Military awards are often used to cover up operational failures rather than learning from mistakes
- Blaber warns that the same flawed command structures will cause the U.S. to 'get our asses kicked' in future real conflicts
Topics
Transcript
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