Back a few years, specifically the late 70s thru the 80s, occasional press was given to the Delta Force, the US Army’s elite anti-terrorist group. They had the botched Iranian hostage rescue, the Chuck Norris movie, and tons of rumors about them when I was at Fort Bragg (“Dude, when they go to the firing range, they shoot at targets while doing backflips”).
Now, when they should be front and center and very busy, not a peep about them on any news outlet that I have seen. I tried searching google but it is not working right now.
So my question(s) - Do they still exist? Are they doing anything now (they sure as hell should be)? Are they really all that? Have they had any successful missions that can be discussed? The only mission I ever heard of was the Iranian hostage thing and that didn’t go over too well.
Well, they still existed as of the mission in Somalia (see Black Hawk Down), so I would assume they’re around. Now is probably not the time that the administration wants to start talking in detail about our special ops resources. AFAIK, accourding to the Army, Delta still doesn’t exist.
‘Delta Force’ is more of a nickname applied to the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment (1SFOD). They’re rumoured to be based at Fort Bragg, with a strength reported as up to 2,500. Still around, as far as sites like this are concerned.
I’ve seen them repeatedly on the news (CNN, MSNBC). One of the news stations even had a special about them in the last week, mentioning that the army still officially denies they exist.
I can confirm that, at least they were there in 1987 when I was stationed there. Their building is not labeled and is fenced and guarded, but the members do talk enough to confirm that they & the building were in fact Delta Force.
I had just expected them to be at least mentioned in the news recently, but had heard not one mention of them. So I wondered if they were still around.
I think that anti-terrorist commando groups are more common now than they were back when I first heard about Delta Force and their plans to try and rescue the hostages in Iran.
When I was in the U.S. Marines I knew that we had commando units such as Force Recon, but their purpose was not to fight terrorists. I recently discovered that the U.S. Marines do have anti-terrorist units, as part of the Marine Corps Security Force which was established in 1987.
MOS 8154, Marine Corps Security Force (MCSF) Close Quarters Battle (CQB) Team Member (SSgt to LCpl)**
a. Summary. The MCSF CQB team member will be assigned to duty with MCSF Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams (FAST) Companies. As a part of a CQB team and utilizing CQB techniques, the team member will be required to restore security to prevent access, damage, or removal of vital naval assets. The CQB team member will be physically and mentally capable of enduring the rigors of combat, be knowledgeable in the safe and proper employment of CQB weapons, be skilled in land navigation and patrolling, be well versed in interior guard procedures, and be familiar with antiterrorist tactics and techniques. He also will be required to conduct offensive infantry tactics in confined spaces, ashore and afloat, to restore security when breached.
They may not be in the middle east. While I’m sure that the concentration of US (and allied) special forces in the region has drastically increased, it would be foolish for the military to leave the home front completely devoid of people with their unique skills.
