Book excerpt: Master Sergeant (Ret.) George E. "Chik" Hand IV, better known as geo to the public. geo served for 10 years with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, colloquially known as Delta Force. As the U.S. Army's premier counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and direct action Special Missions Unit (SMU), Delta Force has been at the tip of the spear of the American military ever since the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. To serve there, a man has to climb physical and mental mountains; to remain there, a man has to show remarkable consistency and professionalism. Before his assignment to Delta, geo served in the 7th and 1st Special Forces Groups as a Green Beret.A rare wordsmith, geo is a master of the English language. But, it takes more than that to create a compelling memoir, especially one so heavily focused on others. Indeed, it takes empathy and emotional intellect. By empathizing with his subjects, geo puts you right next to them. You can see them breaching a door; you can smell their sweat after an operation; you can hear the radio chatter and the Little Bird helicopters whooping above; you can sense the joke that's about to crack and send everyone rolling; you can feel the pain of loss and the emptiness that death carves. That's why readers of all ages and walks of life rally around his stories.