62-649: The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta ( 1st SFOD-D ), also known as Delta Force , Combat Applications Group ( CAG ), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green , is a special operations force of the United States Army under the operational control of JSOC. The unit's missions primarily involve counterterrorism , hostage rescue , direct action , and special reconnaissance , often against high-value targets . Delta Force, along with
124-595: A 2010 article, Marc Ambinder reported that Army Compartmented Elements (ACE) was a new cover name for Delta Force. However, Ambinder subsequently wrote an e-book about JSOC in which he reported that the Army Compartmented Elements is a different unit from Delta. In January 2022 it was reported that the name of the unit may have recently been changed to the 3rd Operational Support Group. The Department of Defense tightly controls information about Delta Force and usually refuses to comment publicly on
186-592: A 30 September 2011 air attack that killed Anwar al-Awlaki , an al-Qaeda cleric and Yemeni-American U.S. citizen. After several days of surveillance of Awlaki by the Central Intelligence Agency, armed drones took off from a new, secret American base in the Arabian Peninsula, crossed into northern Yemen and unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles at al-Awlaki's vehicle. Samir Khan , a Pakistani-American al-Qaeda member and editor of
248-465: A Command Sergeant Major (E-9). Troops are led by Captains (O-3) or Majors (O-4) and are assisted by Sergeants Major (E-9). Each troop has four teams, each one led by a team leader, a Master Sergeant (E-8) or Sergeant First Class (E-7), and an assistant team leader who can also have the same rank. Each team usually has five or six members. Since the 1990s, the Army has posted recruitment notices for
310-579: A December 2013 drone strike that killed numerous civilians at a wedding ceremony. Despite a ban on military drone operations, the Yemen government allowed CIA drone operations to continue. On 25 March 2016, Special Operations Forces in Syria killed ISIL commander Abu Ala al-Afri . On 26 October 2019 U.S. Joint Special Operations Command's (JSOC) Delta Force conducted a raid into the Idlib province of Syria on
372-599: A November 2009 report in The Nation , JSOC, in tandem with Blackwater/Xe , had a drone program, along with snatch/grab/assassination operations, based in Karachi and conducted in and outside of Pakistan. In October 2009, leaked diplomatic cables from the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson , states the Pakistani Army approved the embedding of U.S. Special Operations Forces, including elements from
434-422: A bullhorn, al-Qurashi proceeded to detonate a bomb that killed himself and 12 others, many of which were members of his family. After the explosion, the U.S. soldiers entered the compound and had a shootout with the survivors, including a deputy of al-Qurashi, who was then shot and killed by the U.S. forces. The raid lasted nearly two hours and no U.S. forces were killed. Land navigation Land navigation
496-417: A large hole into the side of the compound. After entering, the compound was cleared, with people either surrendering or being shot and killed. The two-hour raid culminated with Baghdadi fleeing from U.S. forces into a dead-end tunnel and detonating a suicide vest, killing himself along with three of his children. The complex operation was conducted during the withdrawal of U.S. forces northeast Syria, adding to
558-631: A major speech to "seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq." Sometime in 2007, JSOC started conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq with the CIA. These operations included seizing members of Al-Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard , and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, as well as the pursuit, capture or killing of high-value targets in
620-529: A security clearance level of " secret " and have not been convicted by court-martial or have disciplinary action noted in their official military personnel file under the provisions of Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice . On 29 June 2006 during a session of the Committee on Armed Services , General Wayne Downing testified before the U.S. House of Representatives that "[t]he Delta Force
682-480: Is a core military discipline, which uses courses or routes that are an essential part of military training. Often, these courses are several miles long in rough terrain and are performed under adverse conditions, such as at night or in the rain. In the late 19th century, land navigation developed into the sport of orienteering . The earliest use of the term 'orienteering' appears to be in 1886. Nordic military garrisons began orienteering competitions in 1895. In
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#1732779847312744-559: Is headquartered at Fort Liberty , North Carolina . Delta Force's structure is similar to the British 22 SAS Regiment, which inspired Delta's formation. In Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda , Army Times staff writer Sean Naylor describes Delta as having, at the time (in 2001), nearly 1,000 soldiers, of whom about 250 to 300 are trained to conduct direct action and hostage rescue operations. The rest are combat support and service support personnel who are among
806-680: Is logically part of the Operational Preparation of the Battlespace (OPB), which follows the Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace , a concept well-known in the U.S. and NATO doctrine, OPB is seldom used outside of SOF channels. OPB is defined by the U.S. Special Operations Command as "Non-intelligence activities conducted prior to D-Day , H-Hour , in likely or potential areas of deployment, to train and prepare for follow-on military operations". In
868-497: Is maintained by the 3rd Operational Support Group (3 OSG), which is based at Ft. Liberty. According to Rolling Stone contributing editor Seth Harp, 3 OSG is the same unit commonly referred to as "Delta Force"; however this is contradicted by a 2016 evaluation of foreign officer involvement at USSOCOM by the DOD Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence and Special Program Assessments which lists 3 OSG and
930-418: Is probably 70 percent Rangers who have come out of either a Ranger [to] Special Forces track or directly from [the] Ranger Regiment to Delta". Selection is held twice a year (late March to late April, and late September to late October) at Camp Dawson , West Virginia, and lasts four weeks. Eric Haney 's book Inside Delta Force described the selection course and its inception in detail. Haney wrote that
992-621: Is the discipline of following a route through unfamiliar terrain on foot or by vehicle, using maps with reference to terrain, a compass , and other navigational tools. It is distinguished from travel by traditional groups, such as the Tuareg across the Sahara and the Inuit across the Arctic , who use subtle cues to travel across familiar, yet minimally differentiated terrain. Land navigation
1054-717: The 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a raid on the compound of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi , leading to his death. Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command ( JSOC ) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, to plan and conduct special operations exercises and training, to develop joint special operations tactics, and to execute special operations missions worldwide. It
1116-544: The Army Special Operations Command 's 75th Ranger Regiment and U.S. Army Special Forces , though selection is open to other special operations and conventional units across the Army and other military branches. Delta Force was created in 1977 after numerous well-publicized terrorist incidents led the U.S. government to develop a full-time counter-terrorism unit. Key military and government figures had already been briefed on this type of unit in
1178-744: The Combat Applications Group ("CAG", a known identifier for Delta Force) as two separate entities under JSOC. Advanced Force Operations are defined by JP 3-05 as "Operations conducted to refine the location of specific, identified targets and further develop the operational environment for near-term missions." According to Gen. Michael Repass, who conducted it in the Iraq War and was very familiar with its use in Afghanistan, "AFO consists of U.S. Secretary of Defense -approved military operations such as clandestine operations . It
1240-696: The Intelligence Support Activity , and its Navy and Air Force counterparts, DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6) and the 24th Special Tactics Squadron , are the U.S. military's tier one special mission units that are tasked with performing the most complex, covert, and dangerous missions directed by the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense . Most Delta Force operators and combat support members are selected from
1302-512: The Iran hostage crisis . On 4 November 1979, 52 American diplomats and citizens were taken captive and held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran , Iran. Delta Force was tasked to plan and execute Operation Eagle Claw , the effort to recover the hostages from the embassy by force on the nights of 24 and 25 April in 1980. The operation was aborted due to helicopter failures. The review commission that examined
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#17327798473121364-530: The Iraq War , Gen. Repass, who first commanded the 10th Special Forces Group , took control of a Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force, which used the 5th and 10th Groups to conduct AFO. AFO units were heavily involved in Operation Anaconda and Operation Viking Hammer . JSOC has provided domestic law enforcement agencies support during high-profile or high-risk events such as the Olympics ,
1426-561: The Joint Communications Unit is tasked to ensure compatibility of communications systems and standard operating procedures of the different special operations units. The Joint Special Operations Command also oversees the Special Mission Units of U.S. Special Operations Command . These are ultra-elite special operations forces units that conduct highly classified and complex operations. So far,
1488-928: The Modelo Prison hostage rescue mission and the capture of Manuel Noriega in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause in Panama . 1st SFOD-D operators from C Squadron were also involved in Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia. During Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom , 1st SFOD-D was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for combat operations in Afghanistan from 4 October 2001 to 15 March 2002 and Iraq from 19 March 2003 to 13 December 2003. On 26 October 2019, Delta operators accompanied by members of
1550-551: The Presidential inauguration . They were allegedly deployed under a secret counter-terrorism program named Power Geyser . The New York Times quoted a senior military official as saying, "They bring unique military and technical capabilities that often are centered around potential WMD events," A civil liberties advocate who was NOT the Constitutionally elected Civil Officer of the U.S. National Organizations but who
1612-586: The White House accidentally published a photo of Delta Force operators with unblurred faces and tattoos, drawing scrutiny. The White House later issued an apology for the incident. In Veritas , the Journal of Army Special Operations History, Charles H. Briscoe stated that "SF did not misappropriate the appellation. Unbeknownst to most members of the ARSOF (Army Special Operations Forces) community, that moniker
1674-430: The "Robert Redford Paper," which outlined its necessities and historical precedents for a four-phase selection/assessment process. Delta Force was established on 19 November 1977, by Beckwith and Colonel Thomas Henry. In the meantime, Colonel Bob "Black Gloves" Mountel of the 5th Special Forces Group created a unit to bridge the short-term gap that existed until Delta was ready, dubbed Blue Light . The initial members of
1736-497: The 1st SFOD-D. The Army, however, has never released an official fact sheet for the unit. The recruitment notices in Fort Liberty's newspaper, Paraglide , refer to Delta Force by name, and label it "...the U.S. Army's special operations unit organized for the conduct of missions requiring rapid response with surgical application of a wide variety of unique special operations skills...". The notice states that applicants must be in
1798-479: The Army's 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Task Force Brown) are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces such as Task Force 121 and Task Force 145 . JSOC has an operational relationship with the CIA 's Special Activities Center (SAC). SAC's Special Operations Group (SOG) often recruits from JSOC SMU personnel. JSOC's Security Operations Training Facility
1860-530: The Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Department Authorization Act, Public Law 106-65, permits the secretary of defense to authorize military forces to support civilian agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation , in the event of a national emergency, especially any involving nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. In January 2005, a small group of commandos were deployed to support security at
1922-763: The Joint Special Operations Command, with the Pakistani military to provide support for operations in the country. This goes beyond the original claims of the U.S. that the only role of the Special Forces was in training the Pakistani military. The leak further revealed that JSOC elements involved in intelligence gathering and surveillance and use of drone UAV technology. JSOC is credited with coordinating Operation Neptune Spear that killed Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011. JSOC directed
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1984-508: The Obama administration has decided to escalate operations against Al-Shabaab in the aftermath of the group's Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, that took place from 21–24 September 2013 and which left some 70 people dead. According to The New York Times the Yemen government banned military drone operations after a series of botched drone strikes by JSOC, the last of which was
2046-820: The World Cup, political party conventions, and Presidential inaugurations. Although the use of the military for Local law enforcement purposes in the U.S. is generally prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act , Title 10 of the U.S. Code expressly allows the Secretary of Defense to make military personnel available to train Federal, State, and local civilian public safety officials in the operation and maintenance of equipment; and to provide such officials with expert advice. Additionally, civilian and military lawyers said provisions in several federal statutes, including
2108-605: The border with Turkey that resulted in the death of brahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai also known as Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi . The raid was launched based on a CIA Special Activities Center intelligence collection and close target reconnaissance effort that located the leader of ISIS. Launched after midnight local time, the eight helicopters carrying the teams along with support aircraft crossed hundreds of miles of airspace controlled by Iraq, Turkey and Russia. Upon arrival, efforts were made for Baghdadi to surrender, with those efforts unsuccessful U.S. forces responded by blowing
2170-475: The candidate mentally. The commander then approaches the candidate and informs him if he has been selected. Those who passed the screening process underwent an intense six-month Operator Training Course (OTC), to learn counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence techniques, and training with firearms and other weapons. Participants were allowed very little contact with friends and family for the duration. In an interview, former Delta operator Paul Howe mentioned
2232-467: The complexity. Death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi On 3 February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that a raid conducted by Joint Special Operations Command in the city of Atme , Syria in Northwest Syria near the border with Turkey, had killed the second leader of ISIS, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. After U.S. forces evacuated 10 civilians using an Arabic translator and
2294-400: The course began with standard tests including push-ups, sit-ups, and a 2-mile (3.2 km) run, an inverted crawl and a 110-yard (330 ft; 100 m) swim fully dressed. The candidates were then put through a series of land navigation courses, one of which required them to travel 18 miles (29 km) at night while carrying a 40-pound (18 kg) rucksack. With every successive challenge,
2356-406: The distance to cover and the weight of the rucksack are increased, while less time is allotted. The final challenge was a 40-mile (64 km) march with a 45-pound (20 kg) rucksack over rough terrain that had to be completed in an unknown amount of time; this was also colloquially known as "The Long Walk". Haney wrote that only the senior officer and NCO in charge of selection were allowed to see
2418-653: The early 1960s. Charlie Beckwith , a Special Forces (Green Berets) officer and Vietnam War veteran , served as an exchange officer with the British Army 's 22 Special Air Service Regiment during the Malayan Emergency . On his return, Beckwith presented a detailed report highlighting the U.S. Army's vulnerability in not having a SAS-type unit. U.S. Army Special Forces in that period focused on unconventional warfare providing training and medical care to indigenous resistance fighters, but Beckwith recognized
2480-433: The failure found 23 problems with the operation, among them unexpected weather encountered by the aircraft, command-and-control problems between the multi-service component commanders, a collision between a helicopter and a ground-refueling tanker aircraft , and mechanical problems that reduced the number of available helicopters from eight to five (one fewer than the minimum desired) before the mission contingent could leave
2542-963: The following four JSOC units are known, each has an internal task force color code: The Intelligence Support Activity's primary role is to act as a deep reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering special mission unit, in support of other combat oriented units within JSOC. Delta Force and DEVGRU are the military's primary counter-terrorism units, eliminating high-value targets and performing hostage rescues are their main roles, along with special reconnaissance and direct action assignments. The 24th Special Tactics Squadron attaches personnel as enablers to these two units such as Combat Controllers to provide air traffic control and fire support , Pararescuemen to provide combat medicine and combat search and rescue , and Tactical Air Control Party specialists to co-ordinate close air support . The Joint Communications Unit provides communications capabilities. Units from
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2604-418: The grade of E-4 through E-8 , have at least two and a half years of service remaining in their enlistment, be 22 years or older, and have an Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery GT score of 110 or higher to attend a briefing to be considered for admission. Candidates must be airborne qualified or volunteer for airborne training. Officer candidates need to be O-3 or O-4. All candidates must be eligible for
2666-656: The high attrition rate of the Delta selection course. He said that out of his two classes of 120 applicants each, 12 to 14 completed the selection. Former Navy SEAL, DEVGRU and Delta operator Kevin Holland stated that in his selection class 120 candidates started, 16 passed and eight finished OTC. The Central Intelligence Agency 's secretive Special Activities Center (SAC) and more specifically its Special Operations Group (SOG), often works with – and recruits – former operators from Delta Force. According to Eric Haney ,
2728-479: The highly secretive unit and its activities, unless the unit is part of a major operation or a unit member has been killed. Delta operators are granted an enormous amount of flexibility and autonomy during military operations overseas. Relaxed grooming standards such as civilian hairstyles and facial hair are allowed to enable the members to blend in and avoid recognition as military personnel. 2023 Israel incident During President Joe Biden's visit to Israel ,
2790-406: The jihadist Inspire magazine, also reportedly died in the attack. The combined CIA/JSOC drone strike was the first in Yemen since 2002—there have been others by the military's Special Operations forces—and was part of an effort by the spy agency to duplicate in Yemen the covert war which has been running in Afghanistan and Pakistan. On 28 October 2013, a drone strike by JSOC on a vehicle near
2852-504: The men's aid. Then-JSOC commander William McRaven visited the affected family, offered them a sheep in restitution, and apologized. In May 2003, elements of Task Force 20 (TF 20) remained in Iraq following the invasion and shifted to hunting down high-value former Ba'athist insurgents under direct JSOC command. In July 2003, Task Force 5 (formerly Task Force 11) and Task Force 20 were merged to form Task Force 21, later renamed Task Force 121. On 11 January 2007, President Bush pledged in
2914-400: The need for "not only a force of teachers, but a force of doers". He envisioned highly adaptable and completely autonomous small teams with a broad array of special skills for direct action and counter-terrorism missions. He briefed military and government figures, who were resistant to creating a new unit outside of Special Forces or changing existing methods. Finally, in the mid-1970s, as
2976-405: The set time limits, but all assessment and selection tasks and conditions were set by Delta training cadre. The mental portion of the testing began with numerous psychological exams. Each candidate was then called to face a board of Delta instructors, unit psychologists, and the Delta commander, who asked the candidate a barrage of questions and then dissected every response and mannerism to exhaust
3038-620: The target of lethal operations by the military or the CIA. In May 2013, the White House announced that it would carry out targeted killing operations only against those who posed a "continuing and imminent threat to the American people." The strike on 28 Oct was the first known American operation resulting in death since that policy was announced and is considered evidence by some observers that views have changed in Washington and that
3100-669: The threat of terrorism grew, Pentagon and Army senior leaders appointed Beckwith to form the unit. Beckwith estimated that it would take 24 months to get his new unit mission ready. Beckwith's estimate came from a conversation he had had earlier with Brigadier John Watts while in England in 1976. Watts had made it clear to Beckwith that it would take eighteen months to build a squadron , but advised him to tell Army leaders that it would take two years, and not to "let anyone talk (him) out of this." To justify why it would take two years to build Delta, Beckwith and his staff drafted what they dubbed
3162-558: The town of Jilib in Lower Shabelle killed two senior Somali members of Al-Shabaab . Preliminary evidence suggested that one of them was Ibrahim Ali (also known as Anta), an explosives specialist known for his skill in building and using homemade bombs and suicide vests. The US administration has been reluctant to use drone strikes in Somalia. The reluctance partly centered on questions of whether Al-Shabaab—which has not tried to carry out an attack on American soil—could legally be
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#17327798473123224-475: The trans-loading/refueling site. After the failed operation, the U.S. government realized more changes were needed. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) , also known as the "Night Stalkers", was created for special operations requiring air support. The Navy's SEAL Team Six , an earlier incarnation of the current Naval Special Warfare Development Group , was created for maritime counter-terrorism operations. The Joint Special Operations Command
3286-447: The unit were screened from volunteers and put through a specialized selection process in early 1978, involving a series of land navigation problems in mountainous terrain while carrying increasing weight. The purpose was to test candidates' endurance, stamina, willingness to endure, and mental resolve. The first training course lasted from April to September 1978. Delta Force was certified as fully mission capable in fall 1979, right before
3348-593: The unit's Operator Training Course is approximately six months long. While the course is constantly changing, the skills taught broadly include the following: Delta Force trains with other foreign special operations units to improve tactics and increase relationships with them, including the Australian Special Air Service Regiment , the British Special Air Service , and Canada's Joint Task Force 2 . In
3410-434: The very best in their fields. Naylor further details Delta Force's structure in his book Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command . He describes a few formations in Delta, primarily the following operational elements: A, B, C, and D Squadrons are sabre squadrons (assault). C Squadron was activated around 1989/1990 and D Squadron around 2005/2006. Combat Support Squadron
3472-528: The war on terror. The Bush administration allegedly combined the CIA's intelligence operations and covert action with JSOC clandestine military operations so that Congress would only partially see how the money was spent. According to The Washington Post , JSOC's commander Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal operated in 2006 on the understanding with Pakistan that US units will not enter Pakistan except under extreme circumstances, and that Pakistan would deny giving them permission if exposed. According to
3534-550: Was activated in 2005. E Squadron was activated in 1989 and is stationed separately in Fort Eustis , Virginia, where it is known as the Aviation Technology Office . An earlier forerunner of the unit was known as SeaSpray . Within each squadron there are three troops: troops 1 and 2 (assault) and troop 3 ( reconnaissance ). Each squadron is led by a Lieutenant Colonel (O-5), executive officer and
3596-610: Was adopted by Special Forces in the mid to late 1950s." He goes on to state that all qualified enlisted and officers in Special Forces had to "voluntarily subscribe to the provisions of the 'Code of the Special Forces Operator' and pledge themselves to its tenets by witnessed signature." Inside the United States special operations community, an operator is a Delta Force member who has completed selection and has finished OTC (Operator Training Course). "Operator"
3658-457: Was created for command and control of the military's various counter-terrorism units. The unit is under the organization of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), but is controlled by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Command of 1st SFOD-D is a colonel 's billet . Virtually all information about the unit is highly classified and details about specific missions or operations generally are not available publicly. The unit
3720-486: Was established in 1980 on recommendation of Colonel Charlie Beckwith , in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw . It is headquartered at Pope Field ( Fort Liberty, North Carolina ). The JSOC is the "joint headquarters designed to study special operations requirements and techniques; ensure interoperability and equipment standardization; plan and conduct joint special operations exercises and training; develop joint special operations tactics." For this task,
3782-655: Was told about the program by a reporter said that he had no objections to the program as described to him because its scope appeared to be limited to supporting the counterterrorism efforts of civilian authorities. JSOC carried out raids in Afghanistan. The number is not publicly known, but is estimated to be in the hundreds. Several have been documented in the 2013 documentary Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill and by other reporting. In one 2010 raid in Gardez , JSOC troops killed one U.S.-trained Police commander and another man, and three women, two of whom were pregnant, who went to
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#17327798473123844-591: Was used by Delta Force to distinguish between operators (assaulters and snipers) and combat support assigned to the unit. Most operations assigned to Delta are classified, but some details have become public knowledge. For service during Operation Urgent Fury , the United States' invasion of Grenada, Delta was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award . The unit was awarded the Valorous Unit Award for extraordinary heroism during
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