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Delta Force or 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta(SFOD-D) as they are known, Are one of the United States' secretive tier-one counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units.
because of the versatility of the units and the variety of the missions, active delta operators must have their identities concealed
Delta pulls it's roots from the legendary US Army Special Forces also known as the Green Berets. The 1970's seen the rise of international terrorism, in 1977 a Colonel in the Green Berets named Charles Beckwith created a new company in the Green Berets. The Green Berets already had 3 companies Alpha company, Bravo company, and Charlie company. But their rose a need for a fourth and thus Delta company was created.
Guarding General Schwarzkopf during operation: desert storm in 1991
Colonel Beckwith looked to create a unit more elite and specialized than the Green Berets for the purposes of counter-terrorism, autonomous direct action missions, and black operations. Delta exists outside of the Army special operations community and is managed by the Joint Special Operations Command, with a direct line to top Department of Defense brass. Very autonomous and no bureaucracy to slow them down. Make no mistake about them, Delta started as Green Berets. But Green Berets are teir-two, Delta is teir-one.
Delta is an extremely versatile group capable of conducting many types of covert missions, including counter-terrorism, direct action, national intervention operations, VIP protection detail, hostage rescue, and raids.
A Delta Force operator (left) stands beside Walter B. Slocombe, US Under Secretary of Defense, as he talks to a British soldier, in Bosnia, 1996.
Delta has two forms of combat missions that where made public their Advanced Force Operation or AFO teams, are special four man groups sent in to assault enemy strongholds and bunkers to laze them for air support assets to do an ordinance drop(drop bombs on) to make it easier to send in larger light infantry companies or the rangers. Most noted mission of this kind, Delta's aid in operation anaconda. The second is special teams of delta members will be inserted with light infantry teams to pursue targets of interest. Most noted mission of this kind, the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Alright something I want to get out of the way here and now, because the more posts I do over special forces elements the more this will come up, so I can refer you back to this post. The tier system refers to a classification system for Special Operations Forces. The system originated with the United States Special Operations Command but has been expanded to include Special Forces groups from a range of countries.
Tier One:
Are Black elements, which are national-level assets that comprise the highest level of a nations Special Operations force. The chain of command for these units bypasses traditional military bureaucracy, and they are directed by the Head of Government/State, top commanding Generals or Defense Ministers or Secretaries. These Special Mission Units include US Army's Delta Force, the US Navy's Seal Team Six, and the US Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron. International counterparts include Canada's Joint Task Force Two, United Kingdom's Special Air Service, Poland's GROM units, etc.
Tier Two:
Are referred to as Grey Special Operations units, which include US Army Special Forces, US Army Rangers, US Navy SEAL teams, US Navy SWCC teams, and MARSOC. International counterparts include the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom's Special Boat Service, etc.
Tier Three:
Are be referred to as White elements and comprise larger infantry support elements. These are not special forces units, but provide broad manpower support when needed for large-scale engagements and are capable of rapid deployment and response.
