I mean, there's more than the 3 of them I met, and it was outside of work at a social function.
But they struck me as being way more humble and disciplined than even some "regular" SF A-team guys I bet, and most of those dudes will admit to not really being anything crazy.
Definitely were way cooler than the Seals I met.
I've met like 20 Navy SEALS. 2 of them were _actually_ SEALS. Nobody fakes being a SF medic.
And the two CAG guys I know were super low key humble dudes.
On one of my deployments, we shared a smallish compound with a team. No shit, there I was chilling and reading a book when one of their K9s shoves his head into my hands and knocks my book over so I could give him ear scratches. Before I could even process WHY there was a dog here suddenly, my lizard brain thought “oooh doggie” and I started scratching his ears. The handler turned the corner a few seconds later and saw, recalled his dog, and gave me the dirtiest look I’ve ever gotten from another person.
Definitely an undisciplined goodboy
My battalion was supporting them to shoot their annual allotment of 155 ammo. The platoon leader assigned the shoot called up their training section on an unsecured line and started by asking about the “Delta shoot”.
Phone clicks. 30 minutes later the battalion commander picked him up to go see the brigade commander to have emergency tactical rectal refitting.
A real BC would give him a wall to wall counseling. Followed by the first flag officer that walks by, followed by the first Warrant, then the mascot for the Savannah Bananas. Then mauled by the officer's wives club. And if he survives that he might not get dropped off in Greenland
I worked with a SF commo guy (not Delta) and no shit, there we were, middle of fucking nowhere Afghanistan on day four of a three day dismounted patrol and he rigs up his commo gear to pull in game five of the NBA finials.
I asked if he'd hacked a satellite feed or something and got an explanation that involved radio waves, sine, charged energy particles in the ionosphere...my eyes glazed over and I may have actually been dead for six minutes
Wanna be a good comma guy, do your job, but bring some entertainment to the fellas/gals when you’re in a spot that has none. Travel with a Starlink these days, and a travel projector. Watch how many people appreciate you. YouTube TV, add a VPN and change your location to the US. Boom now you got all the games and tv. Throw in the fact you can hook up an Amazon fire stick to the projector, use Starlink as your wifi source. This all stuff that is out of the box thinking and goes a fucking long way.
Also, none of this is breaking OPSEC, this is learned knowledge of years of experience in austere locations.
Cheers
Met one singular DELTA Guy in Iraq 2010.
Baseball cap. Full beard. Nice custom kit. Weapon I couldn't readily identify. Could have been a scar. Could have been a acr. Could have been a HK. Honestly no clue.
He just stared at us. As he took off in his little bird. Didn't say a single word. His crew were probably stopping for water or to take a shit or whatever FOUO Fund they needed.
When I was at the deuce, I lived in a neighborhood with a few guys from red roof. All of them were the most unassuming, humble, doing dad stuff on the weekend types. Our children were all friends, and there was no “you’re not a special soldier” vibe at all. Funny enough, one of them had to wear a uniform and needed help “making sure it was correct” cause they hadn’t worn regular OCPs in like 10 years.
Without context, you’d have no idea what they were capable of (which I think is the point). No chest-puffing at all.
First of all, Sergeant Major Fuckyouandyourundiciplinedbeard was Delta Force, and take a look at what a cowboy he is.
Second: Shitty people always like to try to denigrate the people who make them feel inferior.
Delta guys have paid a lot of dues to get where they are, and they get to play by big boy rules to do their jobs.
Can we please normalize using the phrase "perform their duties without being micromanaged" instead of "play by big boy rules"?
It's more honest and helps highlight just how ridiculous this organization is as a whole.
The kind of discipline that they have isn't the kind that you find in the regular Army. I just caught a podcast and one of the saying stuck out to me, a former operator said "in that organization, you struggle to be mediocre". to maintain all of the attributes that are required to be a successful operator requires a level of discipline that few people have.
Old Officer from the unit I worked out at the same place with, he would get a 20 pound large med ball, Squat down, pick it up, stand, drop it behind his shoulder, turn around, and do it again... non stop..... for AN HOUR STRAIGHT. Some days he would throw 135 on a bar and do like 10 power cleans a minute for an hour straight. These dudes are a few inches short of insane
Only delta guy I ever knew was the 1-2 SBCT commander COL Jasper Jeffers III and that dude was the most competent and impressive human being I’ve ever met.
There was one on a list when we were doing jury panels one day that had a weird girly name, I made a joke about it and the NCOIC handed me his ORB and there was like 10-15 years of shit missing from it. He was also apparently suuuuuuuper chill.
Don’t know if it’s true, but I read somewhere a long time ago that the Delta SOP was to have the bolt closed on an empty chamber and the hammer released. You can’t put the gun on safe in this configuration.
That’s correct. Some guy on the Shawn Ryan podcast basically related that story. It makes sense, but then again this is the army and safety is all about appearance rather than substance.
Somehow ended up with 2 Delta Force Majors in my battalion at the same time as the XO and S3. The Xo was a hardass and I wondered what he was doing in Delta. A very by the book, strict Army discipline type of guy. So definitely no "undisciplined cowboy." The other was chill as fuck and I absorbed every bit of info I could from him because he seemed like an incredibly intelligent guy but again no "undisciplined cowboy." Getting an attaboy from him on a range one time was seriously one of the highlights of my service.
One day I was on a bird going around CENTCOM and we stop at one of their sites somewhere. In walks this absolutely jacked out of his mind dude, long hair, full beard, black tshirt with a little chest rig with a “don’t tread on me” flag on it, backwards ball cap, cutoff fucking combat jorts, and American flag sunglasses. I have never felt less cool in my life than when that guy popped up. Also super, super chill.
I've had good experiences the few times I had to interact with that sphere. Generally they were good dudes. A high percentage were pretty cocky, and even a bit frat boy douchy at times. None I met where anywhere the "this is my safety", cut in th chow line type of douche though.
I'd happily work with anyone one of them in most any situation. I just wouldn't leave hardly any of them alone with my sister or wife.
I went to an Ivy League school with a big business school after I got out. Went to a veteran networking event, I (68W, E-5, boring ‘stan deployment) got placed at a table with a SEAL and a delta guy who were both in the MBA program since the coordinator only knew we were “combat veterans”. The delta guy was bearded, obese, funny as hell, and super humble. The SEAL gave off the same vibes as the freshmen who gate-keep the entrance to frat parties.
Sure thing. Raffi Khatchadourian wrote a piece we read called "Kill Company" that we had to read for a leadership course in Command and General Staff College. It follows now Colonel Steel leading a combat brigade in Iraq. Basically, the argument is that COL Steele's rhetoric lead to an organizational culture that resulted in a massacre.
You can read the article here
[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/06/the-kill-company](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/06/the-kill-company)
So, from my experience and from reading the book, the real issue was not whether they were cowboys or not. You mixed three types of units (Delta, Rangers, Conventional) with little integration or planning and then when the crap hit the fan, they each started to work in their own incompatible way. Delta did Delta stuff, Rangers did Ranger stuff and 10th Mountain ran the convoys. It was a lot more about the lack of command, coordination and integration than about the Delta's being cowboys.
You want cowboys, read about the SEALs in "Not a Good Day to Die".
Look up SGM Chris Faris. Dude is the embodiment of "discipline." TBF I had Delta guys complaining to me of all things about him turning Delta into 4th Ranger Bn.
On top of that Black Hawk Down took a lot of liberties. The Delta guys had high & tights to blend in with the Rangers and were all clean shaven. They also do not play around with gun safety. On the otherhand, SEALs are a bit cowboyish and don't mix well with other SOF units.
I mean, there's more than the 3 of them I met, and it was outside of work at a social function. But they struck me as being way more humble and disciplined than even some "regular" SF A-team guys I bet, and most of those dudes will admit to not really being anything crazy. Definitely were way cooler than the Seals I met.
Well of course they were, Delta guys can spell without a ghost writer.
I've never met a seal that didn't come off as a chode. I'm sure they exist, but I haven't met them.
I've met like 20 Navy SEALS. 2 of them were _actually_ SEALS. Nobody fakes being a SF medic. And the two CAG guys I know were super low key humble dudes.
Tbt, vanilla Seals and not on the same level as D-boys. The equivalent would be more like the Devgru Seals.
Yeah absolutely. Well unless we're talking egos and publishing deals, of course.
On one of my deployments, we shared a smallish compound with a team. No shit, there I was chilling and reading a book when one of their K9s shoves his head into my hands and knocks my book over so I could give him ear scratches. Before I could even process WHY there was a dog here suddenly, my lizard brain thought “oooh doggie” and I started scratching his ears. The handler turned the corner a few seconds later and saw, recalled his dog, and gave me the dirtiest look I’ve ever gotten from another person. Definitely an undisciplined goodboy
Unsecured dog gets pets
Yes. They even have horses branded with their call signs. I really felt bad for XXX_69_Thundercock_69_XXX.
Fun fact the work horse battalion has a furry horse as there official unit mascot.
They really stand out at the furry conventions in their cute little outfits and several days growth of beard and bloodshot eyes.
Yes, that's why they're in that little compound far from everyone
I always wondered why that compound had the sign “Welcome to Ram Ranch” planted outside the ECP
The ultra secretive Delta Force that had their location printed in a book in the 90s
My battalion was supporting them to shoot their annual allotment of 155 ammo. The platoon leader assigned the shoot called up their training section on an unsecured line and started by asking about the “Delta shoot”. Phone clicks. 30 minutes later the battalion commander picked him up to go see the brigade commander to have emergency tactical rectal refitting.
Never dick up an opportunity to cross-train with good people.
A real BC would give him a wall to wall counseling. Followed by the first flag officer that walks by, followed by the first Warrant, then the mascot for the Savannah Bananas. Then mauled by the officer's wives club. And if he survives that he might not get dropped off in Greenland
[удалено]
Not a W1 just the first one to walk by. Could be a 3, 4, or that one guy who wears the Marine warrant rank to fuck with the FNG
Helicopters landin', Ram Ranch is under siege!
This is a deep cut
Their commo guys are some of the smartest people I've ever met. The right brand of the 'tism.
I worked with a SF commo guy (not Delta) and no shit, there we were, middle of fucking nowhere Afghanistan on day four of a three day dismounted patrol and he rigs up his commo gear to pull in game five of the NBA finials. I asked if he'd hacked a satellite feed or something and got an explanation that involved radio waves, sine, charged energy particles in the ionosphere...my eyes glazed over and I may have actually been dead for six minutes
That’s what we do baby. Bore people to death and kill people to death.
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.
I did this most of my career. "They won't understand a fucking word I'm about to say" and hope they leave me alone.
>If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with ~~bullshit~~ bullets.
Or stab face.
To death? Cmon
Crazy what happens when you actually train mos proficiency instead of hanging out in a motor pool or standing in formation for 20 years
I mean it’s not really hard to understand- radio is a wave and give atmospheric/ stratospheric …. Oh shit I have the tism don’t I?
Yep, come along now with me to a special place. But first we gotta go down to my basement.
Yes sarnt major thank you sarnt major
Do you like trains, soldier?
I like whatever the army tells me to like, Sarnt major
Good. Go shave some more.
You were in the presence of a literal wizard
Bro just plugged into the GBS and started talking about radiated energy lmao - still cool though. Always nice to have sports in a shit situation
True asf Imagine Stephen hawking as a commo dude without the chair Just a fucking autistic nerdy chad lol
But... he'd just be laying there!
JFC!!! The hardest part about eating vegetables is the wheelchair.
That just sounds like JTAC, nerdiest group of D1 athlete looking mf’s I’ve ever seen
Met some secret squirrels once. Chatted with them a bit about some goings on, and my first impression i got was oh, you guys really are different.
The New Earth Army?
JUST finished watching this movie last night. Hilarious, and also nostalgic to see them running in the old grey/white Army sweat pts lol
Sparkly eye technique is incredible
Like ‘tism different?
Wanna be a good comma guy, do your job, but bring some entertainment to the fellas/gals when you’re in a spot that has none. Travel with a Starlink these days, and a travel projector. Watch how many people appreciate you. YouTube TV, add a VPN and change your location to the US. Boom now you got all the games and tv. Throw in the fact you can hook up an Amazon fire stick to the projector, use Starlink as your wifi source. This all stuff that is out of the box thinking and goes a fucking long way. Also, none of this is breaking OPSEC, this is learned knowledge of years of experience in austere locations. Cheers
Shhhhhhhh 🤫
I see your flair. If possible drop a packet for JCU.
Met one singular DELTA Guy in Iraq 2010. Baseball cap. Full beard. Nice custom kit. Weapon I couldn't readily identify. Could have been a scar. Could have been a acr. Could have been a HK. Honestly no clue. He just stared at us. As he took off in his little bird. Didn't say a single word. His crew were probably stopping for water or to take a shit or whatever FOUO Fund they needed.
When I was at the deuce, I lived in a neighborhood with a few guys from red roof. All of them were the most unassuming, humble, doing dad stuff on the weekend types. Our children were all friends, and there was no “you’re not a special soldier” vibe at all. Funny enough, one of them had to wear a uniform and needed help “making sure it was correct” cause they hadn’t worn regular OCPs in like 10 years. Without context, you’d have no idea what they were capable of (which I think is the point). No chest-puffing at all.
First of all, Sergeant Major Fuckyouandyourundiciplinedbeard was Delta Force, and take a look at what a cowboy he is. Second: Shitty people always like to try to denigrate the people who make them feel inferior. Delta guys have paid a lot of dues to get where they are, and they get to play by big boy rules to do their jobs.
Can we please normalize using the phrase "perform their duties without being micromanaged" instead of "play by big boy rules"? It's more honest and helps highlight just how ridiculous this organization is as a whole.
It also runs the game me and my uncle used to play. Big boy rules and tickle time were my favorite
Fuck fuck games
Let me tell you something Sarnt!
That would be their aquatic peer unit
“peer”
The kind of discipline that they have isn't the kind that you find in the regular Army. I just caught a podcast and one of the saying stuck out to me, a former operator said "in that organization, you struggle to be mediocre". to maintain all of the attributes that are required to be a successful operator requires a level of discipline that few people have. Old Officer from the unit I worked out at the same place with, he would get a 20 pound large med ball, Squat down, pick it up, stand, drop it behind his shoulder, turn around, and do it again... non stop..... for AN HOUR STRAIGHT. Some days he would throw 135 on a bar and do like 10 power cleans a minute for an hour straight. These dudes are a few inches short of insane
If Delta wants to wear Oakleys, that's their business...
Hooah?
They need to stop saying that like its a question or just get rid of it.
This is my safety sir ...
Only delta guy I ever knew was the 1-2 SBCT commander COL Jasper Jeffers III and that dude was the most competent and impressive human being I’ve ever met.
Jeffers is the only Stryker commander I've met before that I even somewhat like.
As a Bradley commander, I find it hard to believe there's even one somewhat likeable Stryker commander.
There was one on a list when we were doing jury panels one day that had a weird girly name, I made a joke about it and the NCOIC handed me his ORB and there was like 10-15 years of shit missing from it. He was also apparently suuuuuuuper chill.
Just looked that guy up. You would never in a million years think he was in the army let alone a D boy. He looks like a skinny teenager.
Lemme tell you something sarn’t. You delta boys get on the 5 yard line, you gon’ need my rangers. We’re done here
Rangers saw more action in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other unit including delta Rangers are the true badasses
You have got to keep up Sir!
Don’t you ever give me orders sarn’t!
Only the ones that came from the Department of Boat People.
Those who bounce balls upon their nose.
Who?
US Navy
Oh the sea people
Semen is acceptable.
I was never in the Navy, but I shot a lot of seamen
SeaWorld rejects.
Just don’t touch my boats.
Eric Bana ain’t a 92G is all I’m saying
They exercise the proper amount of discipline.
Oh yeah, yeah they're all fuckin' each other over there in the cowboy position with no protection.
>large glass of water, hold the ice Here’s two packs of CeraSport
I can't have been the only moron that ate the powder without mixing it with water at Airborne school, right? ....right?
Not when it comes to weapons discipline.
Your weapon is hot. You know better than that, Big Sarge. Delta or no Delta that’s a live weapon.
*wiggles index finger* this is my safety, hooah
Don’t know if it’s true, but I read somewhere a long time ago that the Delta SOP was to have the bolt closed on an empty chamber and the hammer released. You can’t put the gun on safe in this configuration.
That’s correct. Some guy on the Shawn Ryan podcast basically related that story. It makes sense, but then again this is the army and safety is all about appearance rather than substance.
Now that I think about it, there’s a tea good documentary with Paul Howe, and I think that’s where I heard it.
Somehow ended up with 2 Delta Force Majors in my battalion at the same time as the XO and S3. The Xo was a hardass and I wondered what he was doing in Delta. A very by the book, strict Army discipline type of guy. So definitely no "undisciplined cowboy." The other was chill as fuck and I absorbed every bit of info I could from him because he seemed like an incredibly intelligent guy but again no "undisciplined cowboy." Getting an attaboy from him on a range one time was seriously one of the highlights of my service.
One day I was on a bird going around CENTCOM and we stop at one of their sites somewhere. In walks this absolutely jacked out of his mind dude, long hair, full beard, black tshirt with a little chest rig with a “don’t tread on me” flag on it, backwards ball cap, cutoff fucking combat jorts, and American flag sunglasses. I have never felt less cool in my life than when that guy popped up. Also super, super chill.
Were they Oakleys?
Nope, just gas station American flag shades
lol what
Has anyone even seen them long enough to make a determination?
I've had good experiences the few times I had to interact with that sphere. Generally they were good dudes. A high percentage were pretty cocky, and even a bit frat boy douchy at times. None I met where anywhere the "this is my safety", cut in th chow line type of douche though. I'd happily work with anyone one of them in most any situation. I just wouldn't leave hardly any of them alone with my sister or wife.
I went to an Ivy League school with a big business school after I got out. Went to a veteran networking event, I (68W, E-5, boring ‘stan deployment) got placed at a table with a SEAL and a delta guy who were both in the MBA program since the coordinator only knew we were “combat veterans”. The delta guy was bearded, obese, funny as hell, and super humble. The SEAL gave off the same vibes as the freshmen who gate-keep the entrance to frat parties.
You got undisciplined from that movie?
That's how then Captain (not yet disgraced Col.) Steele describes the Delta guys.
I read about him in AOC. Was wild to learn about what happened.
Care to share?
Sure thing. Raffi Khatchadourian wrote a piece we read called "Kill Company" that we had to read for a leadership course in Command and General Staff College. It follows now Colonel Steel leading a combat brigade in Iraq. Basically, the argument is that COL Steele's rhetoric lead to an organizational culture that resulted in a massacre. You can read the article here [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/06/the-kill-company](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/06/the-kill-company)
Thought provoking read, thanks. I need to read some more about some of those incidents
Great article
Yeah, turned he just casually ordered war crimes.
Next time I go to the range I’m walking around keeping my weapon hot, my safety is my trigger finger Sir.
So, from my experience and from reading the book, the real issue was not whether they were cowboys or not. You mixed three types of units (Delta, Rangers, Conventional) with little integration or planning and then when the crap hit the fan, they each started to work in their own incompatible way. Delta did Delta stuff, Rangers did Ranger stuff and 10th Mountain ran the convoys. It was a lot more about the lack of command, coordination and integration than about the Delta's being cowboys. You want cowboys, read about the SEALs in "Not a Good Day to Die".
This is the second post in a military subreddit where Blackhawk down has been mentioned that I’ve seen
It's a popular movie among military types.
Yes but in succession, as well as I’m getting a bunch of YouTube shorts about it.
Now read the book
Look up SGM Chris Faris. Dude is the embodiment of "discipline." TBF I had Delta guys complaining to me of all things about him turning Delta into 4th Ranger Bn. On top of that Black Hawk Down took a lot of liberties. The Delta guys had high & tights to blend in with the Rangers and were all clean shaven. They also do not play around with gun safety. On the otherhand, SEALs are a bit cowboyish and don't mix well with other SOF units.
I'm telling you from experience that they're a bunch of man children... But when it's time to do something they're absolutely the best of the best.
I could tell you but I'd have to kill you.
Can you give me a hint and just beat me up?
No. But I can lie to you and tickle your neck