What a piece of junk that altimeter turned out to be, and what a dolt I was for buying it in the first place. When a Selection course starts, locals are usually briefed so they aren't surprised to see random men in fatigues with huge rucksacks roaming through their fields. I won a chuckle and a dismissal as the crazy gringo. Hand, the Marlboro Man wants to see you in the lounge, ASAP. Priceless. According to one former CAG operator, for those that get the rare opportunity to attend OTC the attrition rate is high. I went after Tito and recanted. Reiterating thismay serve in some capacity to stress the irony in the fact that he would not support my train-up for selection during duty hours. The paper outlines the historical precedents for becoming a part of CAG, many of which are still observed today in a four-phase selection and assessment process. Once again, Eric Haney and his book Inside Delta Force details the vast majority of what we know about Delta Force training. Thats the last time I ever saw the lil guy. He was not amused. As bad luck would have it, there was snow the morning of the first walk. I was pretty sure I would have to travel at least one time during the night hours. To each his own, I always say. As I strained for the next three hours through the rain, rocks, and timber, my path stayed well illuminated the entire time. As God is my witness, I even saw a pair of jungle boots theresteel shank and all. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , Delta Forces James Nelson Sudderth Conan the Barbarian, PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. In the barracks, there was the nightly ritual of the preparing of mind, body, and kit. There was one piece of gear that I agonized over long enough that I couldnt abandon the notion of being without it. Nope, there wasnt a clue in there anywhere on what to do next. His reply was that he had just been there the previous month and washed out (failed), and he had seen there was an empty bunk with my name on it. There was the good ol boy Hans H. He was a medic from 10th Special Forces Group. As the months went on, I discovered that I had gained a measure of celebrity from the local population, both military and civilian. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! I observed that in Hans gear layout on his bunk, he had three Maglights. Therefore, Delta Force weapons are highly customized with personal adjustments that account for everything from the stock and grips, to sights and other moving parts. It is just as well, as selection was entirely an individual effort. We stopped once halfway through transit to eat at a Bobs Big Boy. I stripped off my headlight, rolled it up, and stuffed it in my trouser cargo pocket. They both noted the eureka expression on my face, and mission complete: I slapped my forehead and busted out laughing. Karma is a motherfucker, aint it? Surviving Delta Force Selection and Assessment (Pt. In my mind, he was back-asswards on both accounts. Selection's final event is the "Long Walk," in which candidates have to finish a timed 40-mile ruck-march. My God, was it really that far away? To be on that bus of jackasses was to be on the verge of vomiting for hours on end. I packed up my gear and configured my head light contraption in the dark, just like I had practiced at home so many times. At the end of the day, it all came off, went into the trash, and the same procedure was followed the next day. The demanding six month training teaches a variety of counter-terrorism and counterintelligence techniques. I plotted my current position and then the position of my first rendezvous point. During OTC, recruits are expected to maintain little to no contact with friends and family. Surely the correct answer is to not dare speak to anyone. Too-Tall Tito completely lost his composure and came out of character momentarily. They sent me a letter., You moron, a Ranger leveled, We all got fuckin letters.. After stress phase, and at the end of the long, 40-mile walk, I sat by the bonfire with my boots off and a canteen cup of hot Long Walker in my hand. as well as other partner offers and accept our. My gaze dropped to his shiny jump boots, and I was positive it couldnt be going well. are used. Instead, they remain on the field, and every morning they get a set of coordinates for a location that they have to find with just a compass, map, and their wits. I reported in, plotted thenext route of my journey on my map,and showed it to the cadre member. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Today, the majority of Delta Force operatives are selected from a pool of U.S. Army Special Operations Commands elite Special Forces Group (aka Green Berets) as well as the 75th Ranger Regiment. Instead, we just expressed an affirmation of how much we both despised our lives at that moment, and our desire to extricate ourselves from our demise. Read Part 1 of Surviving Delta Force Selection here. backpack (rucksack) twice a day, at lunch and after the duty day. I recall one session ended with me blurting out, Sir, youre a dick! He glared at me in disbelief and responded, Well youre a dick, too, Sergeant Hand! A pregnant pause, then I held out my hand. In retrospect, every one of those Albrecht Einsteins had one thing in common. Me, I found it frankly riveting to finally take in the version of the saga from liar number two. Surviving Delta Force Selection and Assessment (Pt. After a series of well publicized incidents occurred in the 70s, such as the Malayan Emergency and Grand Mosque seizure, the U.S. government decided to take action. Related Article Army MOS List: A List Of All 159 Army Jobs. It was dawn now, and bright enough to see without the flashlight. Having completed the first leg of the 40-mile forced march in twice the amount of time allowed to pass the selection phase, I was sure I was. I stepped out into the darkness and rain, reached up, and gave my Maglite a twist on. Surprised, I affirmed and asked how he knew. In fact, he would turn out to be someone very significant to me shortly. Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. I envisioned them mentally flipping the pages of the selection and assessment rule book, trying to determineif my device did or didnt qualify as accepted equipment for use in the selection course. I applied a womans nylon shorty stocking directly to the tinctured foot. While Delta Force is technically a branch of the US Army, they are a part of the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC. I gawked at the stars in the ink-black West Virginia sky, and I thought of the valiant Hans, his superman cape flapping in the breeze behind him, his Batman belt of worthless trinkets around his waist, his brown scarf in sync with his flapping cape, his Robin Hood-shaped cap complete with feather, and his three Maglights shoved up his ass where he lay upside down in the bottom of some laurel-choked canyon. Go for it anyway and make the best of nearly a month spent away from Key West and the old man (my company commander)? Ever. The day I was to leave, I picked up my duffle bags and I limped to my car to drive to the airport. Following Selection, there is the Operator Training Course (OTC), a six-month course that teaches prospective operators the dark arts of close-quarters battle and close target reconnaissance, as well as other skills like military free-fall parachuting and offensive driving. What does a Green Beret do when he doesnt have something he needs? He was diagnosed with a not-so-rare affliction that Delta cannot, and will not tolerate: He was a certified, laminated card-carrying asshole. I stared athim momentarily and blankly, then in my own fashion of dealing with shock, I jokingly asked him if it had been a top bunk or bottom bunk. Colonel Charlie Beckwith was a key member in helping create CAG. Ultimately, the Mountain Man, as I named him, would be promptly turned 180 degrees by the commanders board and vigorously dropped on his head. Notable operations include the rescue of Kurt Muse in. Every hour I knew thered be a placeto fill my canteensa hose or a spigot. Related Article US Army Grooming Standards. Doing so would provide better grip and ultimately, some comfort. He agreed with my data and released me. Wait, did he say Camp Dawson? What is really wild about Delta Force is they actually have their own distinct team of gunsmiths that develop weapons specially for the specialized ops unit first. Haney reports that the final course of physical testing ends with a 40 mile trek carrying a 45 pound rucksack over the rough terrain. My pace was invariable and my wife was punctual, so I seldom had to wait more than just a few minutes post march for my ride back. Between long walks, I routinely took to rucking the 10miles along the freeway to the Boca Chica Annex. We displayed thumbs up and chin-tipped each other from across the graduation formation. Minutes later, after post-holing aimlessly through a seemingly misplaced Louisiana bayou, we stumbled onto a military M-880 pickup truck. Army active duty, Reserve or National Guard. I contemplated the progression of the speeds, distances, and payload weights to be carried. 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. Therefore, it is impossible to become a part of The Unit immediately after enlisting. Beckwiths now famous claim that the U.S. Military needed not only teachers, but doers led to the founding of Delta Force. ASVAB Scores For Air Force Jobs: All 130+ For 2022, How To Choose The Right Military Branch For You, Army MOS List: A List Of All 159 Army Jobs, Top 20 Reasons to Join the Military (and 7 reasons not to), Green Berets Vs. Rangers: 5 Major Differences, 6 Ways To Check If Someone Was In The Military / Verify Military Service, CIA Special Activities Division (SAD): 12 Things You Never Knew, Navy SEAL Weapons and Gear: 24 Rifles, Handguns, Shotguns, and More, https://www.military.com/special-operations/delta-force.html, https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-armys-delta-force-how-secret-group-deadly-soldiers-came-be-55057, https://www.goarmy.com/special-forces/qualifications-and-benefits.html, https://thenewsrep.com/43573/surviving-delta-force-selection-assessment-pt-1/, Army Grooming Standards: Haircuts, Mustaches, Beards, And More, List Of 9 Army Patches And Their Meanings, Army Sharpshooter Badge: 6 Things To Know, Army Service Ribbon (ASR): 5 Things To Know, Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM): 8 Things To Know. DEVGRU recruits undergo SERE training. It was a towering 12 stories high, and I commenced climbing up and down the outside fire escape 10times with a 50 lb. The routes and distances were a no-brainer for me: If the ruck march that week were 18 mileswell, Key West is mile zero, and I simply rucked up Interstate US 1 until I reached mile marker 18. In the candidate barracks, we were over 100 strong, and from every walk of the military. I typically started the day off with an early mountain bike ride in the dark to the neighboring annex of the Naval Air Station (NAS) Boca Chica. For instance, there was the guy from the Army band; I guess all the marching and flute playing got him in shape for the 30 days of humping through West Virginia. Therefore, they are also highly trained and knowledgeable operating a number of different vehicles and weapons. According to Haney, the selection for Delta Force begins with a physical endurance test. Haney, who managed to cover the discreet force in unprecedented detail. In the beginning, I had my good bud Joe T-Bone T. to train with. My foot preparation went like this: I painted my feet evenly with tincture of benzoin, all the way up to where the top of my boot would end. They will also receive advanced firearm and other weapon training. Selection consists of a series of grueling exercises that test the candidate's physical fitness, stamina and mental determination. Moscow Should Prepare For Probable US Nuclear Aggression: Reports Russian Military Journal, Destroying American Monster Abrams: Pro-Russian Group Release A How-To Video, Dr. Mary E. Walker: The First AND Only Female Medal Of Honor Recipient, Bakhmut on the Brink of Falling to Russian Troops, Decorated Navy SEAL Died in HALO Training Accident, Adam Brown: A SEALs Life of Courage and Redemption, Complete List: Ticonderoga-class Missile Cruisers To Retire By 2027, Nuclear Close Calls That Nearly Caused World War III, Russian Sausage Millionaire and Putin Critic Falls to His Death in India, Deadly Russian Rifle Brigade Wiped Out During War in Ukraine.