.
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by Wade Ishimoto.
Hardback (6.5×9.5 inches). 222 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Delta Force’s Intelligence Officer Doing Good In Secret
This autobiography begins in childhood and covers Ishimoto’s entire career working in intelligence, primarily with the military and then as a consultant for a variety of Beltway companies.
He started in the Military Police, but soon bagged an intel assignment. With considerable effort and commendable results, he worked his way up the enlisted ranks and then into an officer’s slot. He did tours in Vietnam, and in some cases he had to wheel and deal to be assigned front-line positions. Prejudice met him along the way as he transitioned into Special Forces, and then was in Delta Force at its start.
Of note, Delta Force’s first compound in Feb-Apr 1978 was at Fort Bragg’s jail on Butner Road — it was cheaper for the Army to transfer the eight inmates to NC prisons than build a new compound (p133).
When the Iranian hostage crisis occurred, he was on the ground in the Iranian desert. The prep work and the actual rescue operation suffered from a variety of ills, from command and control issues to mechanical breakdowns you won’t believe — let’s just say it’s all recounted in these pages. Of note, Ishimoto was one of the last soldiers to leave the Iranian desert and would have been left behind had not someone counted noses before the last lift out and insisted on getting him.
Post military, he bounced around a number of companies, from security to Beltway intel. Of note, Earl Lockwood of BETAC Corp (p212) offered business advice and later on hired him as a consultant. He even helped the ATF review the storming of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX. Ishimoto certainly got around.
One error: “In 1978, the personal computer had yet to be developed” (p147). Actually, sales of the Apple I (July 1976), Apple II (June 10, 1977), Radio Shack TRS-80 (Aug 3, 1977), and Commodore Personal Electronic Transactor (Oct 1977), started the year before. For fans of early PC history, the Atari 400/800 (November 1979), IBM PC (Aug 12, 1981), and Commodore 64 (Jan 1982) were indeed later. The first PC to be sold was the Altair 8800 (December 19, 1974). Yep, nerd stuff, but I was an Asst. Editor on Creative Computing magazine and steeped in such lore – although I looked up the exact release dates.
The book contains 21 black and white photos and 65 color photos, mostly of group shots.
Anyway, Intoku roughly translates as “good done in secret” although in the context of the book, it’s a little less about secrecy and a little more about making sure your buddy or your unit doesn’t suffer from various human foibles. I don’t know what the Japanese word for “doing wrong in public” is, but like all large organizations, the US military is filled with both.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
