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The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life special forces unit commonly known as Delta Force. The series originally aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009.

Production

The program features both the domestic lives of the team members and their missions abroad, in addition to the effect their careers have on their home lives, wives and girlfriends. It premiered in the United States on March 7, 2006, on CBS as a mid-season replacement. The second season debuted on September 19, 2006. The third season started on September 25, 2007, with a hiatus occurring after the 11th episode due to 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. The show was picked up for a fourth season by CBS on May 12, 2008.Upfronts: CBS renews Britney Spears-enhanced 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'The Unit' : Show Tracker : Los Angeles Times The fourth season began on September 28, 2008, and concluded on May 10, 2009. On May 19, 2009, it was announced that, after four seasons and 69 episodes, the series had been canceled by CBS.www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54J0Z620090520 But on the same day, producers 20th Century Fox Television announced that the reruns of the show would be broadcast in syndication, in stations covering 56 percent of the country already committed to carrying the show, including the Fox Television Stations.

Premise

Based on show producer Eric Haney's book, Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit (ISBN 0-440-23733-5), The Unit was created for television and executive produced by David Mamet and Shawn Ryan. The show is produced by The Barn Productions Inc., David Mamet Entertainment, and Fire Ants Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

The show purports to describe the daily lives of Delta Force (called "The Unit" in the show) operators during training and operational missions as well as their families back home.

Internationally, The Unit premiered on October 3, 2006, in the United Kingdom on Bravo; on October 11, 2006, in Australia on the Seven Network and on FOX8 and Arena on Foxtel/Austar pay-TV network and now airs on 7Two on Tuesdays at 8:30pm; on January 11 in Spain on La Sexta; on January 25 in The Netherlands on RTL 5; on March 7 in Germany on Sat. 1; on September 23 in Bulgaria on bTV; on March 9, 2008, in Russia on DTV; and on June 13, 2009, in Vietnam on VTC7-Today TV.

The theme music for the first and second season was "Fired Up" by Robert Duncan, an adaptation of the United States Army running cadence song "Fired Up...Feels Good." He also created "Walk the Fire", a 22-second segment used as a theme since season three.

Summary

"The Unit" is the U.S. Army colloquial term for Delta Force. Its members come from the United States Army (primarily from the Ranger Regiment, U.S. Military Intelligence and Special Forces) and appear to be primarily tasked with counter-terrorism. In a TV interview, series creator Eric Haney—who is a former Delta Force operator—stated that the term Delta Force is never used in the spec ops (special operations) community. They are only referred to as "The Unit." The unit's official cover is the "303rd Logistical Studies Group." In the third season's premiere, an onscreen read-out specifically identifies the unit as "ALPHA Team 1st Special Actions Group". (One of the cover designations for Delta Force is the "Combat Applications Group" or CAG.)

The Unit is based at a fictional army post, "Fort Griffith". The location of Fort Griffith is never explicitly stated, but in Episode 103 a bank statement of the lead character clearly shows an address for Fort Griffith, MO 63021 which puts it a few miles west of St. Louis. Unit members also wear the shoulder sleeve insignia of the deactivated 24th Infantry Division (United States) on their Class A uniforms, as well as the shoulder crest of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, "Strike Hold", currently part of the 1st ABCT of the 82nd Airborne Division. Also, while the Unit members are Infantry they do not wear the blue infantry aiguillette around their right arm. In later episodes, The Unit members are shown as wearing the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) patch on their Class A uniforms.)

The unit's immediate chain of command goes to the commanding officer, Colonel Tom Ryan—and, presumably, straight to the President of the United States. It is unknown if this bypasses the Secretary of Defense.

The wives of the unit's ALPHA team personnel are given minimal mission or operational information. They are responsible to maintain the "303rd Logistical Studies Group" cover in all interactions with anyone who is not a Unit family member. Their husbands are, in fact, still performing highly dangerous missions, but they are not permitted to know specifics, such as where their husbands are deployed, what their training routines consist of, how long their assignments will last – or even if their husbands are safe.

If a member of the Unit is killed in action, the family is told that he or she has been killed on a training mission. The wives themselves are encouraged to form a close, cohesive military family based on the common knowledge and strife this inevitably leads to.

The Unit has an unconventional structure. With the size of a company – approximately 130 operators – it is commanded by a Colonel (companies are usually commanded by Captains; Colonels usually command elements like regiments). The CO, Colonel Ryan, normally wears a "sanitized" uniform (bearing absolutely no tapes, such as his name, or even U.S. Army, or rank insignia).

Whereas a Special Forces ODA (Operational Detachment—Alpha) is commanded by a Captain, the Unit sends five-man teams into the field under non-commissioned officers, such as the team lead by Sergeant Major Jonas Blane, the Unit's NCOIC of Alpha team. It is possible that their soldiers have the same Special Forces specialties as in Army Special Forces. An ODA, formerly known as an "A-Team", has weapons sergeants, engineering sergeants, medical sergeants, communications sergeants, etc.

The wives, if suspected of speaking about the Unit's existence, can cause their husbands to be expelled and returned to regular Army service. Colonel Ryan has stated, time and again, that this can ruin a soldier's career, as well as their marriage, and has also stated that he will not hesitate to destroy families in order to preserve the Unit's security. He has also threatened the wives with closing the Unit down, and restarting it somewhere else under another cover – forcing the uprooting of all families involved.

The Unit deploys throughout the world, and both the Army and United States government have the ability to deny the existence of the Unit and any of its members in order to prevent the onset of international incidents. Their uniforms are commonly not standard Army issue, which makes it easier to deny their connection with the US Army if they are killed or captured. They also carry weapons that are not always standard-issue, and the Unit's personnel are well-familiarized with weapons from around the world and can make themselves look like military personnel from other organizations.

The Unit's members will frequently use code names such as Mr. White, Mr. Black, Mr. Blue or Mr. Green. These are usually used when working directly with American civilians, other English speakers not trained for emergencies, or on counterterrorism missions. According to Jonas Blane, the order of precedence for his team after he is disabled, is, from top to bottom: Mack Gerhardt, Charles Grey, Hector Williams, and Bob Brown.

Cast

Actor	Role	Callsign	Season
Dennis Haysbert	Sergeant Major Jonas Blane	Snake Doctor	1–4
Regina Taylor	Molly Blane		1–4
Scott Foley	Sergeant First Class Bob Brown	Cool Breeze	1–4
Audrey Marie Anderson	Kim Brown		1–4
Max Martini	Master Sergeant Mack Gerhardt	Dirt Diver	1–4
Abby Brammell	Tiffy Gerhardt		1–4
Michael Irby	Sergeant First Class Charles Grey	Betty Blue	1–4
Bre Blair	Joss Grey		4
Robert Patrick	Brigadier General Thomas Ryan	Blue Iguana	1–4
Rebecca Pidgeon	Charlotte Ryan		1–4
Demore Barnes	Sergeant First Class Hector Williams	Hammerhead	1–3
Nicole Steinwedell	Warrant Officer One Bridget Sullivan	Red Cap	4
Wes Chatham	Staff Sergeant Sam McBride	Whiplash	4
Kavita Patil	Sergeant Kayla Medawar		1–4
Susan Matus	Sergeant Sarah Irvine		2–4
Angel Wainwright	Second Lieutenant Betsy Blane		1–4
Summer Glau	Crystal Burns		2
Daniel Wisler	Jeremy Erhart		2
Alyssa Shafer	Serena Brown		1–4

Notes