Education

Popular fiction and entertainment media has taken quite some wild shots at trying to portray what the Delta Force might be. The problem is the Pentagon takes up all possible efforts to protect the secrecy and classifications of the Delta Force. Only a small and sufficient amount of information is available on the Delta Force training and what is available is through some writings and books. Please do not try to use any other questionable means to gain information, because if you do so, you might as well be saying your last prayers. Kidding, but seriously do not poke your nose into the classified information, it’s an offense (sometimes criminal offense) to do so. Moving on to the Delta Force training…

There are several books about the Delta Force such as, Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney or Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by Mark Robert Bowden and Charles Alvin Beckwith’s Delta Force which give us some measured information about this force.

Note: Being an elite division, there are very less photographs of the deltas. A very popular Iraq invasion photograph titled ‘Uday and Qusay’s last stand’ (Saddam Hussie’s sons), shows the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne men standing with their backs to the camera, watching as a large house in Mosul, Iraq burns down. The two men in the foremost row wearing much different MICH helmets are reportedly Delta members. Note that this fact may be incorrect.

About the Delta Force

The Delta Force is officially known as the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne) and several people connote it to just as the ‘special forces’. The Department of Defense tags it to be Combat Applications Group. This force is headed by the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Joint Special Operations Command. This force is a de facto member of the U.S. Army Special Operations. The total size of the force is about 800 to 1,000 members, though the exact number is kept confidential. The force is divided into 11 divisions, 3 among these are the Direct Operation Groups which can be deployed very quickly. The remaining are the re-con, intelligence and logistics battalions. The headquarters, command and garrison of the delta force is at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The career opportunities in the Delta Force are classified but are enormous. This group is the best special combat group. In the due course you will understand why.

Delta Force Training: Requirements

Being an elite group, the Delta Force places some very specified and tough requirements for recruitment. Within the United States Armed Forces (USAF), soldiers and officers who have been trained in any of the elite special forces are given a recruitment notice. In some cases the recruitment notice for 1st SFOD-D is given to a group of people or specifically to some officers of the elite special forces. The common requirements which are stated by the Delta Force include:

• The Basic (Army Basic Training), Advance (Infantry Advanced Individual Training) and Airborne training (Special Operations Preparation Course and Special Forces Assessment and Selection program) which is a standard among all special forces members.
• Secondly, the recruit should have served as a Captain or Major.
• The recruit also should have 2 years of active service in any branch and a 12 month successful command.
• The recruit also needs to pass some specified Army Physical Fitness Tests (APFT) and identity screening procedures

Commonly, the notifications of 1st SFOD-D are given to officers and some soldiers of United States Army Special Forces (the Green Berets), Navy SEALs, United States Army Rangers, 75th Rangers (the ‘Rangers’) ,the legendary United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group "DEVGRU" and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the ‘Night Stalkers’). Thus, if you want to get into the Delta Force, you will have to become a member of any of the aforementioned forces, which in itself is very tough task.

Army Delta Force Training

The first task that is put forth in front of the recruits is to pass the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC),. This course is a three tier course, which include, individual skills, MOS qualification, and collective training.

• Individual training involves physical fitness and arms training. This might act as a revision and further education for most of the recruits and runs for 40 days.
• The MOS is a 65 day program and involves the training for mission planning cycle.
• The collective training is provided for 38 days and includes Special Operations (SO) classes, Direct Action (DA) Isolation, Isolation training, Unconventional Warfare and Air Operations.

Next, the recruits undergo Language Training, and Survival Evasion Resistance Escape training. This phase is a formal training phase.

After the first phase is over, the recruited officers are put through the Operator Training Course for 6 months. The coursework involves the following:

• Marksmanship and Sniper Training: This training is provided to sharpen the reflexes of the trigger finger. The Delta Force also uses different firearms than the regular army. Hence this is a place for the recruits to get in touch with highly sophisticated weapons such as Heckler & Koch HK416, Barrett M82A1, AK 47 (series) and FN SCAR.
• Demolition Training: This part involves the training for demolition and use of produced or improvised explosives. Unconventional and infiltration warfare techniques are also provided in this phase.
• Trade Craft: CIA and FBI provide the ‘James Bond’ training in this phase as the Delta Force often acts as the executioner arm of such agencies. Joint exercises and combat training for better performance are often conducted during this phase.
• Executive Protection: Executive protection training is provided for the force as it is often deployed for the diplomat, officer and VIP protection.

Note that recruits are often asked to leave as a result of incompetency. When you plan to join the Delta force or undergo the Delta force training, you join the world’s deadliest strike force. You have signed up for the riskiest military job. You need to be the best special force member just to get selected. I hope that the elaboration on delta force training is resourceful.