Editing Delta Force (section)

== Organization and structure ==
The unit is under the organization of the [[United States Army Special Operations Command|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 (United States)|colonel]]'s [[billet]]. Virtually all information about the unit is highly [[classified information|classified]] and details about specific missions or operations generally are not available publicly. The unit is headquartered at [[Fort Bragg]], [[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 the very best in their fields.{{sfn|Naylor|2006}}

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 Squadron
* B Squadron
* C Squadron
* D Squadron
* [[SEASPRAY|E Squadron]]{{sfn|Naylor|2015|p=57}}
* G Squadron ([[Joint Special Operations Command#Advanced Force Operations|advanced force operations]] (AFO), formerly known as Operational Support Troop (OST))<ref>{{cite web|url=https://special-ops.org/1st-special-forces-operational-detachment-delta/|title=1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta (1st SFOD-D)|date=21 March 2013|publisher=special-ops.org}}</ref>
* Signal Squadron
* Combat Support Squadron
* Combat Development Directorate
* Selection and Training

A, B, C, and D{{nbsp}}Squadrons are [[sabre squadron]]s (assault). C{{nbsp}}Squadron was activated around 1990 and D{{nbsp}}Squadron in 2006. Combat Support Squadron was activated in 2005. E{{nbsp}}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|SeaSpray]].

Within each squadron there are three troops: troops 1 and 2 (assault) and troop 3 ([[Special reconnaissance|reconnaissance]]).{{sfn|Naylor|2006}} Each squadron is led by a [[lieutenant colonel]] (O-5),{{sfn|Naylor|2015|p=73, 122, 201, 222, 476}} executive officer and a command sergeant major (E-9). Troops are led by [[Captain (United States O-3)|captains]] (O-3) or [[Major (United States)|majors]] (O-4) and are assisted by [[Sergeant major (United States)|sergeants major]] (E-9).{{sfn|Naylor|2015|p=199, 476}} 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.<ref name="Delta Force Selection For Officers is Insane">{{cite web |last1=Hookstead |first1=David |title=Delta Force Selection For Officers is Insane |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IMqK008Qb0 |website=youtube.com|date=17 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ryan |first1=Shawn |title=Chris VanSant - Delta Force / Killing Off the "Deck of Cards" & Capturing Saddam |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WwGDVjEG7k |website=youtube.com|date=20 March 2023 }}</ref>

=== Recruitment ===
Since the 1990s, the Army has posted recruitment notices for the 1st SFOD-D.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 January 2003 |title=SFOD-D seeking new members |pages=6 |work=Mountaineer |location=Fort Carson, CO |url=http://www.carson.army.mil/pao/MountaineerArchive/2003%20Archive/01-16-03.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040117090928/http://www.carson.army.mil/pao/MountaineerArchive/2003%20Archive/01-16-03.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 February 2011 |title=1st SFOD-Delta Recruiting |work=Fort Campbell Courier |location=Fort Campbell, Kentucky |url=https://fortcampbell-courier.com/news/news_briefs/article_ce036aa4-3558-11e0-811c-001cc4c002e0.html |access-date=3 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720035731/https://fortcampbell-courier.com/news/news_briefs/article_ce036aa4-3558-11e0-811c-001cc4c002e0.html |archive-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> The Army, however, has never released an official fact sheet for the unit. The recruitment notices in Fort Bragg'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...".<ref>{{cite web|title=Fort Bragg's newspaper Paraglide, recruitment notice for Delta Force |url=http://us2.newsmemory.com/ee/paraglide/default.php |access-date=17 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611002659/http://us2.newsmemory.com/ee/paraglide/default.php |archive-date=11 June 2009 }}</ref> The notice states that applicants must be in the grade of [[U.S. uniformed services pay grades#Enlisted pay grades|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 a security clearance level of "[[United States security clearance#Secret|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 [[United States House Committee on Armed Services|Committee on Armed Services]], General [[Wayne Downing]] testified before the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] that "[t]he Delta Force is probably 70 percent Rangers who have come out of either a Ranger [to] [[Army Special Forces|Special Forces]] track or directly from [the] [[75th Ranger Regiment|Ranger Regiment]] to Delta".<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 June 2006 |title=Assessing U.S. Special Operations Command's Missions and Roles |url=https://fas.org/irp/congress/2006_hr/soc.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607190405/https://irp.fas.org/congress/2006_hr/soc.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2022 |access-date=11 August 2012 |website=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |publisher=[[United States House Committee on Armed Services|House Armed Services Committee]] |page=22}}</ref>

=== Selection process ===
Selection is held twice a year (late March to late April, and late September to late October) at [[Camp Dawson (West Virginia)|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 the course began with standard tests including [[push-ups]], [[sit-ups]], and a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} run, an inverted crawl and a {{convert|100|m|yd ft m|adj=on|order=out}} swim fully dressed. The candidates were then put through a series of [[land navigation]] courses, one of which required them to travel {{convert|18|mi|km}} at night while carrying a {{convert|40|lb|kg|adj=on}} rucksack. With every successive challenge, the distance to cover and the weight of the rucksack are increased, while less time is allotted. The final challenge was a {{convert|40|mi|km|adj=on}} march with a {{convert|45|lb|kg|adj=on}} rucksack over rough terrain that had to be completed in an unknown amount of time; this was also colloquially known as "The Long Walk".{{Sfn|Satterly|Jackson|2019}} Haney wrote that only the senior officer and NCO in charge of selection were allowed to see the set time limits, but all assessment and selection tasks and conditions were set by Delta training cadre.{{Sfn|Beckwith|Knox|2000}}{{Sfn|Haney|2002}}

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 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.{{Sfn|Haney|2002}}

In an interview, former Delta operator [[Paul R. Howe|Paul Howe]] mentioned 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.<ref>{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |date=18 July 2013 |title=Delta Force Tryouts |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59fL6ej_B-I |access-date=18 February 2014 |publisher=[[Military.com]] |via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}} Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/59fL6ej_B-I Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130824032919/http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=59fL6ej_B-I Wayback Machine].</ref>{{sfn|Bowden|1999|p=35}} Former [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEAL]], DEVGRU and Delta operator Kevin Holland stated that in his selection class 120 candidates started, 16 passed and eight finished OTC.<ref>{{cite web |title=From SEAL Team 6 to Delta Force MSgt Kevin Holland A Story of Courage |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK0ciF-nqb4&pp=ygUNa2V2aW4gaG9sbGFuZA%3D%3D |publisher=YouTube | date=2 February 2022 }}</ref>

The [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s secretive [[Special Activities Center]] (SAC) and more specifically its [[Special Activities Division|Special Operations Group]] (SOG), often works with&nbsp;– and recruits&nbsp;– former operators from Delta Force.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Waller |first=Douglas |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430130158/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 April 2009 |title=The CIA's Secret Army: The CIA's Secret Army |date=2003-02-03 |access-date=2015-12-06}}</ref>

=== Training ===
According to [[Eric Haney]], the unit's Operator Training Course is approximately six months long. While the course is constantly changing, the skills taught broadly include the following:

* [[Marksman]]ship:
** The trainees shoot without aiming at stationary targets at close range until they gain almost complete accuracy, then progress to moving targets.
** Once these shooting skills are perfected, trainees move to a [[Kill house|shoot house]] and clear rooms of "enemy" targets – first one only, then two at a time, then three, and finally four. When all trainees can demonstrate the sufficient skill required, "hostages" are added to the mix.
* Demolitions and [[Door breaching|Breaching]]:
** Trainees learn how to pick many different locks, including those on cars and safes.
** Advanced demolition and bomb-making using common materials.
* Combined skills (the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]], and other agencies were used to advise on the training of this portion of OTC):
** The new Delta operators use demolition and marksmanship at the shoot house and other training facilities to train for hostage and counter-terrorist operations with assault and sniper troops working together. They practice terrorist or hostage situations in buildings, aircraft, and other settings.
** All trainees learn how to set sniper positions around a building containing hostages. They learn the proper ways to set up a [[Tactical Operations Center]] (TOC) and communicate in an organized manner. Although Delta has specialized sniper troops, all members go through this training.
** The students then go back to the shoot house and the "hostages" are replaced with other students and Delta Force members. Live ammunition is known to have been used in these exercises, to test the students, and build trust between one another.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/delta-blew-up-generals-quarters/|title=The time Delta burned the barracks down|publisher=wearethemighty.com|date=1 August 2021|access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>
* [[Tradecraft]] (during the first OTCs and Delta creation, [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] personnel were used to teach this portion of the training):
** Students learn different espionage-related skills, such as [[dead drop]]s, [[Brush pass|brief encounters]], pickups, load and unload signals, danger and safe signals, [[surveillance]] and [[Countersurveillance|counter-surveillance]].
* [[Executive protection|Executive Protection]] (during the first OTCs and creation of Delta, the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]]'s [[Diplomatic Security Service]] and the [[United States Secret Service]] were consulted and advised Delta):
** Students take an advanced driving course to learn to use a vehicle or many vehicles as defensive and offensive weapons.
** They then learn techniques for [[Very important person|VIP]] and diplomatic protection developed by the Secret Service and DSS.
* Culmination Exercise:
** A final test requires the students to apply and dynamically adapt all of the skills that they have learned.

Delta Force trains with other foreign [[Special forces|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]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Atlamazoglou |first=Stavros |date=19 October 2021 |title=AUKUS security pact follows decades of special ops cooperation |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/aukus-security-pact-follows-decades-of-special-ops-cooperation-2021-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114114301/https://www.businessinsider.com/aukus-security-pact-follows-decades-of-special-ops-cooperation-2021-10 |archive-date=14 November 2021 |access-date=15 November 2021 |website=[[Business Insider]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Atlamazoglou |first=Stavros |date=2020-02-03 |title=Canadian soldier serving in a Tier 1 SOF unit kicked out of the military for theft |url=https://sofrep.com/news/canadian-soldier-serving-in-a-tier-1-sof-unit-kicked-out-of-the-military-for-theft/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509093646/https://sofrep.com/news/canadian-soldier-serving-in-a-tier-1-sof-unit-kicked-out-of-the-military-for-theft/ |archive-date=9 May 2022 |access-date=2021-11-15 |website=SOFREP |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sof |first=Eric |date=15 May 2013 |title=Sayeret Matkal: A<!-- Sic --> Israel's Equivalent to the Delta Force |url=https://special-ops.org/sayeret-matkal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115133413/https://special-ops.org/sayeret-matkal/ |archive-date=15 November 2021 |access-date=2021-11-15 |magazine=Spec Ops Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Unit name ===
In a 2010 article, Marc Ambinder reported that ''Army Compartmented Elements'' (ACE) was a new cover name for Delta Force.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ambinder |first=Marc |author-link=Marc Ambinder |date=12 October 2010 |title=Delta Force Gets a New Name |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/delta-force-gets-a-name-change/64310/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605105152/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/delta-force-gets-a-name-change/64310/ |archive-date=5 June 2022 |website=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref> However, Ambinder subsequently wrote an e-book about JSOC in which he reported that the Army Compartmented Elements is a different unit from Delta.{{sfn|Ambinder|Grady|2012|p=Emplacement 859}}<ref>{{cite web |date=22 March 2021 |title=Position Description shows that ACE is in fact not a part of Delta Force |url=https://acpol2.army.mil/fasclass/search_fs/search_fs_output.asp?fcp=zutpk3eFRtaToL2jpcBGuam0buidbX%2Bck6ZZhWC7hLBkZYGekqQ%3D |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105153700/https://acpol2.army.mil/fasclass/search_fs/search_fs_output.asp?fcp=zutpk3eFRtaToL2jpcBGuam0buidbX%2Bck6ZZhWC7hLBkZYGekqQ%3D |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2022 |publisher=Gatha}}</ref>

In January 2022 it was reported that the name of the unit may have recently been changed to the 3rd Operational Support Group.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Harp |first1=Seth |date=4 January 2022 |title=She Asked the Army to Investigate a Rape Trial. They Fired Her |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/army-rape-trial-special-forces-fort-bragg-1277246/ |access-date=9 August 2023 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>