Former Army officer and CIA operations officer Delbert Roll joins us to discuss his path from Third Special Forces Group to the Agency, including joining CIA just before 9/11 and working counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan. He breaks down CIA training, running sources, building targeting packages against al-Qaeda, working with JSOC and indigenous forces, and the realities of protecting assets in the field.
The episode also covers covert action, counterintelligence, counter-WMD work, teaching at the Farm, CIA bureaucracy, writing after retirement, and the bizarre CIA gold bar scandal.
Today's Sponsors:
GhostBed ⬇️
https://www.ghostbed.com/house
FOR 10% off!
Blue Chew ⬇️
https://bluechew.com/
Get 1 month free when you buy 2 of BlueChew Gold with code "HOUSECALL"
For ad free video and audio and access to live streams and Eyes On Geopolitics...JOIN OUR PATREON!
https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTeamHouse
To help support the show and for all bonus content including:
-live shows and asking guest questions
-ad free audio and video
-early access to shows
-Access to ALL bonus segments with our guests
Subscribe to our Patreon! ⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse
Support the show here:⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse
___________________________________________________
PRE ORDER JACK'S NEW BOOK "THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN"
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803651/the-most-dangerous-man-by-jack-murphy/paperback/
Subscribe to the new EYES ON podcast here:⬇️
https://www.youtube.com/@EyesOnGeopoliticsPod/featured
__________________________________
Jack Murphy's new book "We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History" ⬇️
https://www.amazon.com/We-Defy-Chapters-Special-History-ebook/dp/B0DCGC1N1N/
——————————————————————
Or make a one time donation at: ⬇️
https://ko-fi.com/theteamhouse
Social Media: ⬇️
The Team House Instagram:
https://instagram.com/the.team.house?utm_medium=copy_link
The Team House Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TheTeamHousePod
Jack’s Instagram:
https://instagram.com/jackmcmurph?utm_medium=copy_link
Jack’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jackmurphyrgr?s=21
Team House Discord: ⬇️
https://discord.gg/wHFHYM6
"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"
00:00 — Start / Delbert Roll joins The Team House
01:10 — Growing up in Pennsylvania and joining the Army
07:06 — Third Special Forces Group, Africa missions, and comms work in the 1990s
15:09 — Leaving the Army and trying to join the FBI before the CIA
16:04 — Joining CIA three weeks before 9/11
21:09 — The day after 9/11 and CIA’s shift toward counterterrorism
23:46 — Moving from analyst to operations officer
25:20 — CIA training and “Ranger School for your brain”
30:42 — First Afghanistan tour and arriving at a forward operating base
33:22 — Running a source operation against a senior al-Qaeda target
39:13 — Building a targeting package without GPS coordinates
44:40 — Airstrike decision, protecting assets, and the target slipping away
48:54 — Working with JSOC and indigenous forces to shut down rat lines
52:47 — CIA support to conventional Army units in Afghanistan
56:17 — Language training, European posting, and traditional case officer work
01:04:25 — Covert action, liaison partners, and gathering intelligence through proxies
01:05:05 — Counterintelligence, recruiting foreign officers, and disrupting Russian operations
01:09:07 — Counter-WMD work and handling sources without being the technical expert
01:12:50 — Teaching at the Farm and training future CIA officers
01:22:29 — CIA bureaucracy, NSA comparisons, and publication review problems
01:27:58 — Recruiting, technology, and learning how to talk around classified subjects
