Want to Join the Delta Force? Your Chances Are Almost Zero.

[rangerrebew]

July 12, 2020

Want to Join the Delta Force? Your Chances Are Almost Zero.

Do you have what it takes?
by Sebastien Roblin

Key Point: It takes a rare individual to muster the physical endurance, mental adaptability and sheer ambition to qualify.
 

Just how much torture is a person willing to undergo to get a prestigious job? Given that an average of 250 resumes are submitted for every job position in the United States, one would assume quite a lot.

But there’s writing endless resumes—and then there’s running forty miles at night on an uneven forest trail while lugging a fifty-pound rucksack—with more weight added upon achieving each waypoint.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/want-join-delta-force-your-chances-are-almost-zero-164503

[sneakypete]

 


I used to stop by the Delta compound when I was visiting Nha Trang to eat and drink,and socialize with friends I rarely got to see. This was back in 68-69,when it was still formally called Detachment B-52.

"Delta" was their code name that told "those in the know" their area of operations and gave a good hint as to what they did.

Even back then you didn't "apply" to Delta/B-52. You had to be invited,and nobody got invited that people already there in operational detachments like their "Road Runners" or their recon teams had not previously ran missions with them and was willing to vouch for them personally.

So,yeah,I guess that technically,you CAN volunteer,but if nobody there knows you and is willing to vouch for you,you are not getting in.

BTW,they probably had the best damn NCO club in VN. Excellent food,pretty waitresses,and top quality whisky at cheap prices.

NOT the place you wanted to go if you were looking to start trouble,though. Nobody in there knew how to back up,including the waitresses,who were watched over by a 6'8" tall Master Sgt who was a 3rd degree black belt in Shorin-Ryu Karate. I was friends with him and about half the other guys there from my time with the 1st on Okie.

His name was "Ed Clough",and he was an original Delta member that had a heart attack while running a platoon operation with them in the Delta in 64 or so,and had a heart attack after running across a rice paddy in the open a couple of times to throw wounded soldiers on his back and run back to to cover with them. It was hot like a MoFo in the Delta,and at 6'8" and 300 or so lbs and 50 years old,he was just too damn old to be running operations.

So they gave  him another Silver Star and made him the 5th Group NCO Clubs manager.

Yeah,the waitresses were pretty safe.

BTW,in the spirit of full disclosure,I volunteered for Delta myself in 69,and was turned down because there was no one there at the time who had ever ran combat operations with me so they could vouch for me. Training didn't count. Had to be combat missions under fire.

[truth_seeker]

I have immense respect for these people.

It is way tougher even than it looks, on TV.

[Bigun]

 


I used to stop by the Delta compound when I was visiting Nha Trang to eat and drink,and socialize with friends I rarely got to see. This was back in 68-69,when it was still formally called Detachment B-52.

"Delta" was their code name that told "those in the know" their area of operations and gave a good hint as to what they did.

Even back then you didn't "apply" to Delta/B-52. You had to be invited,and nobody got invited that people already there in operational detachments like their "Road Runners" or their recon teams had not previously ran missions with them and was willing to vouch for them personally.

So,yeah,I guess that technically,you CAN volunteer,but if nobody there knows you and is willing to vouch for you,you are not getting in.

BTW,they probably had the best damn NCO club in VN. Excellent food,pretty waitresses,and top quality whisky at cheap prices.

NOT the place you wanted to go if you were looking to start trouble,though. Nobody in there knew how to back up,including the waitresses,who were watched over by a 6'8" tall Master Sgt who was a 3rd degree black belt in Shorin-Ryu Karate. I was friends with him and about half the other guys there from my time with the 1st on Okie.

His name was "Ed Clough",and he was an original Delta member that had a heart attack while running a platoon operation with them in the Delta in 64 or so,and had a heart attack after running across a rice paddy in the open a couple of times to throw wounded soldiers on his back and run back to to cover with them. It was hot like a MoFo in the Delta,and at 6'8" and 300 or so lbs and 50 years old,he was just too damn old to be running operations.

So they gave  him another Silver Star and made him the 5th Group NCO Clubs manager.

Yeah,the waitresses were pretty safe.

BTW,in the spirit of full disclosure,I volunteered for Delta myself in 69,and was turned down because there was no one there at the time who had ever ran combat operations with me so they could vouch for me. Training didn't count. Had to be combat missions under fire.

IIRC back in the day, no one 'Joined" Delta but I did know a couple of guys who were later recruited.

[sneakypete]

IIRC back in the day, no one 'Joined" Delta but I did know a couple of guys who were later recruited.

@Bigun

Well,yes and no. If you were a "known operator" that could be counted on,you could ask for a slot there and get it,but only if someone already there could and would vouch for you. I knew lots of  their operators,but I was with SOG,not Delta.

Here is one of only 2 photos I still have from VN. The rest were lost in a house fire. I had just came in off a recon mission in Laos,and taken a shower when a friend with a brand new camera he wanted to use showed up and told me to grab my bush clothing and some web gear,and pose for a photo. The bush clothing I had just taken off had been worn for over a week without even airing out,so there was no way in hell I was putting them back on,so I grabbed clean stuff.