I noticed that everyone talks about SEALs and the Marines being at the top, but no one mentions the Deltas?

Question

It seams not too many people know about them with them being hush hush and all. They are at the top also and more selective than both the SEALs and Marines. Whats your opinion on the Deltas? I was in an Army Special Ops unit doing civil affairs and we were always told they are the best of the best that the Army has to offer.

Answer 1

hey Hank...did you ever think that mayve your brother-in-law was full of crap... since SEALs are the most impersonated group in the military...maybe you should veriseal his name, and maybe you also should not call SEALs wuss'... the training is more intense than that of Delta, and their missions are just as successful, and for those of you who know nothing...SEAL team 6, aslo known as DevGru (short for Naval Special Warfare Development Group) is just as top-secret and classified as Delta, and we hear just as little about what they do, as Delta. In fact, the only operations we are aware of that they took part in were Granada and Panama...both of which also involved Delta on a much lesser scale

Answer 2

Hi, ancient wolf 13, my name is Hank. I am a Vietnam combat veteran. I got out of the Army in 1978. I served with the Cav. '70-'71.

Everybody talks about the Seals because that's the service Hollywood has most successively exploited.

We don't hear about the Deltas because they are so successful that most people don't even know they exist. Now, that's what I call being effective.

I had a brother-in-law who was a Seal, and I got to tell you, ancient wolf 13--I wouldn't have wanted him to be in my squad during a firefight. I'm not saying all Seals are wusses, but this one sure was a dud.

I don't know anyone in Delta Force. I imagine if I did I would be dead, huh?

It's been a pleasure communicating with a fellow vet. Best of everything.

Hank Feral

Answer 3

there is no doubt about it... Delta kicks ***, but I would nto say they are better than SEALs. As you said they are under wraps with the govt. and all, but while getting a chance to serve with Delta is a great honor and very rare, they choose people to try out, rather than having people who want to try out get the chance.
If someone wants to be a SEAL, all they have to do is sign the SEAL contract and they automatically get a shot at BUD/s assuming they pass the PST, eye exams, etc. One cannot, however, join the army and say I want to be Delta, which is the only reason they might be considered better. other than that, what makes them different? the fact that the govt. does not admit they exist? which is also true of SEAL team 6, DevGru. Not many people really know what they do, and the training is NOT harder than BUD/s soo really a comparison is imposssible between the two. I personally knew a guy in Airborne who got offered a chance for Delta just because he took part in the initial jumps into afghanistan...does that make him more bada$$ than tom norris?

Answer 4

Because about 2/3 of the people on Yahoo Questions and answers do not know the first thing about the Armed Forces of the United States of America!!!! The deltas are the best of the best bar none!!!

Answer 5

Their mission is so secret that nobody sings their praises. We need to double the size of Delta.

Answer 6

What makes me mad is when people say that SEALs are tougher than Rangers! It's always the people who have never met a Ranger either.

Answer 7

last i heard delta force does not officially exist.though we know better.

Answer 8

Combat Applications Group (CAG), Delta Force

The U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D) is one of two of the U.S. government’s principle unit tasked with counterterrorist operations outside the United States (the other being Naval Special Warfare Development Group). Delta Force was created by U.S. Army colonel Charles Beckwith in 1977 in direct response to numerous, well-publicized terrorist incidents that occurred in the 1970s. From its beginnings, Delta was heavily influenced by the British SAS, a philosophical result of Col. Beckwith’s year-long (1962-1963) exchange tour with that unit. Accordingly, it is today organized into three operating squadrons, all of which (A, B, and C) are subdivided into small groups known as troops. It is rumored that each troop, as the case with the SAS, specializes in HALO, SCUBA, or other skill groups. These troops can each be further divided into smaller units as needed to fit mission requirements. Delta also maintains support units which handle selection and training, logistics, finance, and the unit’s medical requirements. Within this grouping is a little known, but vital technical unit which is responsible for covert eavesdropping equipment for use in hostage rescues and similar situations.

The unit is headquartered in a remote section of the U.S. Army’s sprawling Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Reports of the compound indicate that no expense has been spared, including numerous shooting facilities (both for close quarters battle and longer range sniping), an Olympic-sized swimming pool, dive tank, and a three-story climbing wall. Yet, as lavish as these accouterments may seem, they all serve vital roles in training counterterrorists. As units such as Delta do not get to choose when and where they will be needed. As such, they must train for any eventuality. These skills are enhanced by the unit's participation in an ongoing exchange and training programs with foreign counterterrorist units, such as (as might be expected) Britain's 22 SAS, France's GIGN, Germany's GSG-9, Israel's Sayeret Matkal/Unit 269, and Australia's own Special Air Service Regiment. Such close cooperation with other groups provides innumerable benefits, including exchanges of new tactics and equipment as well as enhancing relations that might prove useful in later real-world operations.

Delta troopers are also equipped with the most advanced weaponry and equipment available in the U.S. special operations arsenal. A significant portion of their gear is highly customized and cannot be found anywhere but in Delta’s lockers. An early example of this was a specially-constructed HAHO parachute rig which were been adapted to permit jumpers to keep their hands at their sides during the descent rather than above their heads. This alteration prevents the loss of functioning which can occur as a result of prolonged flight time in such an unnatural position.

The vast majority of the unit operatives come from the United States’ elite Ranger battalions and Special Forces groups, however candidates are drawn from all branches of the Army, including the Army Reserve and National Guard. Those initially selected are usually chosen in one of three ways. The first of these is in response to advertisements posted at Army bases across the country. The second method is by word-of-mouth, or personal recommendation from sources whose opinions are important to Delta screeners. Finally, on occasion the unit will require the skills of individuals who might not fall into one of the first two categories. If, in the instance that Delta’s commanders feel that an individual would make a valuable addition to the team (for example someone who speaks an obscure language or possesses hard-to-come by technical skills), a representative from Delta will be dispatched specifically to interview that person.

Real world examples of some missions with which Delta is tasked are represented below:

1979 - Worked with the FBI at the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico as part of an anti-terrorist team set up to anticipate possible terrorist activity at the event.

1983 - Participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, including the air assault of Richmond Hill prison to free as well as assisting in the seizure of a key airfield.

1984 - Deployed to the Middle East in response to the hijacking of a Kuwaiti Airlines airliner, during which two Americans were killed.

1985 - Again deployed in response to a hijacking, this time to Cyprus in anticipation of an assault on a seized TWA airliner.

1987 - Sent to Greece to secure U.S. Army Col. James "Nick" Rowe in response to reports that Vietnamese communist agents were planning an action against him.

1989 - Successfully rescued an imprisoned U.S. citizen during the opening minutes of Operation Just Cause in Panama and participated in the widespread search for Gen. Manuel Noriega and his advisors.

1991 - Deployed to the Gulf in 1991, both to serve as bodyguards for senior U.S. officers and, later, as part of a massive effort to locate and destroy mobile SCUD launchers in Iraq’s northern deserts.