Its founder, US Army Colonel charles baker Beckwith, served in the British Airborne Secret Service from 1962 to 1963. When he returned to the US Army, he always wanted to establish a unit with the same organization, conception and functions as the Airborne Secret Service. After years and countless attempts, he finally succeeded. This new unit-named the first special forces combat unit (abbreviated as Delta)-was officially recognized on1977165438+10/9.
The Delta Special Forces of the United States was established in April 1978, imitating the 22nd Special Air Service Corps (SAS) of the United Kingdom. Nicknamed D-boy within the U.S. military, he referred to the anti-terrorism special forces of European countries at that time in organizational structure, but specialized in overseas anti-terrorism operations in his duties. Because of its excellent equipment, high personnel quality and strong mobility, it has the ability to deploy flexibly anytime and anywhere.
According to the airborne secret service mode, Delta Force is divided into several squadrons, and then divided into teams (troops). The number of people in each team is 16, which can be operated by teams of 16, or divided into two groups of eight people, four groups of four people, or eight groups of two people. There was only one squadron (Squadron A) in the early days, but it soon split into two. 1979 At the beginning of this year, Squadron B was established.
This unit can be said to be the elite of American special forces. It is an ace team selected by different special forces in the United States. The names are 73rd Airborne Troop (Green Beret), Ranger Special Police (specialized in combating drug trafficking), Marine Navy Seals (ground advance troops against Iraq) and so on. These carefully selected members received very strict training in their respective units, and they received the training of the devil in Delta Force! It mainly trains counter-terrorism tactics, rescues hostages and encircles drug trafficking groups. "Delta Force" is not in name only. For example, in the 1980 Iranian-American Embassy hostage incident, the hostage rescue team sent by the US government was "Delta Force". Even after the Vietnam War, the United States secretly sent "Delta Force" personnel to Vietnam to rescue American prisoners. However, in recent years, "Delta Force" has been secretly cracking down on drug traffickers in Central and South America.
This unit should not be confused with Delta Project (B-52 Unit), which are two completely different organizational concepts. Delta Force's main task is to deal with terrorist activities that affect the interests of the United States, and deal with these accidents randomly according to the situation at that time.
In the eastern United States, there is a mysterious military base-Bredenberg, North Carolina. This is the Delta Force headquarters established by the United States in the late 1970s to carry out anti-terrorism operations. The vast training area in fort bragg, North Carolina, includes a Boeing 727, which is used to practice sudden rescue of hostages. There is also the famous Close Ouarter Battle House-another name is Haunted House, which is more famous. Delta Force still has two squadrons, with 65,438+000 people ready for action, but more people have participated in the training of other special operations forces and engaged in anti-terrorism or riot prevention tasks.
Special operations forces are the essence of the US military, and Delta Force is the essence of the essence. The early personnel selection of the "Delta" troops almost completely referred to the practice of the British SAS special forces, and selected the most suitable personnel from the special forces of the army, navy and air force.
The application qualification of "Delta" special forces is American citizen, under 22 years old, who has served in special forces for more than two years.
Physically, you should be able to climb back to 35 meters in 25 seconds, do 37 sit-ups per minute, do 33 push-ups per minute, pass the set obstacles in 24 seconds, 16 minutes to complete the two-kilometer long-distance running, and 100 meters military swimming is fully covered. After the completion of these projects, an emergency March of 18 km was immediately carried out. After two hours' rest, without any hints and guidance, we must complete the physical strength limit test of marching alone for 74 kilometers in a deserted area within 24 hours.
In terms of skills, we must be proficient in using all kinds of light weapons, operating all kinds of mechanical equipment and driving all kinds of cars, tanks, armored vehicles, large transport planes or helicopters. You also need skills such as grasping, hitting, climbing cliffs and crossing obstacles. In addition, everyone should have at least one specialty such as blasting, rescue, repair and unpacking. In addition, volunteers must pass a very demanding psychological quality test.
At 1978, according to this standard, Colonel Beckvis selected 53 volunteers from 200 as the first members of Delta Force. The first lesson that Colonel Beckham gave the players was to let them watch the video of 1972 Munich terrorist incident. A sentence he gave to the team members: "Remember, when the gun rings, someone dies. Whoever shoots first will have the hope of living. This is our creed. "
The training base of the "Delta" troops was dubbed as a children's playground by the team members. During shooting training, each team member has to train the hostage rescue operation for more than ten hours in a simulated "terror room"; Conduct anti-hijacking training in a real cabin suspended in the air; Make use of the actual racing field to carry out chasing training for driving racing cars; In addition to conducting vertical assault training on high-rise buildings in simulated venues, we often go to skyscrapers in major cities for actual combat vertical assault training; In addition, "Delta" troops often carry out snow combat and underwater infiltration combat training. The unit is also equipped with C- 130 or C- 14 1 transport aircraft, ready for overseas mobile deployment at any time.
In a short period of time, through almost harsh training, Delta Force has become a sharp knife for the United States to carry out anti-terrorism operations around the world. A joint evaluation committee composed of the U.S. Counter-Terrorism Office, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Bureau and other units conducted a mock exam for the Delta Force, and the results shocked the people present. A reporter from the Associated Press even commented humorously: "If we give this army a long ladder, they can climb to the moon!"
Delta Special Forces, as a detachment (the first detachment D of the US Army Special Forces), has certain particularity, so it is authorized to wear the armband of the US Army Special Operations Command instead of the armband of the Army Special Forces. Of course, Delta Special Forces also have independent armbands (similar to US Army Special Forces and US Navy Seals, each unit has its own armbands).
Some operations:
Since its establishment, Delta Force has played an active role in the anti-terrorism campaign, but its record seems unsatisfactory. In the 1980s, the scale and combat strength of "Delta Force" increased continuously. We have established close cooperative relations with the special forces of Britain's SAS, Germany's GSG9, Israel's General Staff Reconnaissance Brigade, Australia's SAS, Italy's GIS and other countries, and carried out extensive cooperation in training and operations. 1982, they provided technical assistance for Italian special forces to rescue American general Dozier kidnapped by the terrorist organization "Red Brigade"; 1987, they assisted the FBI in capturing 1985, the terrorist eunice who participated in the global hijacking of American passenger planes; Also participated in the security work of 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and 1988 g-7 Summit.
Although the United States has spent huge sums of money to equip Delta Force with the most advanced and sophisticated weapons and equipment in the world, it has a huge computer, high-tech facilities and global intelligence network, which can be used at will. However, how does the U.S. government use this special forces to maximize its strike capability? However, due to poor coordination among various departments, a series of strikes failed. 1in April, 1980, the "talon" operation to rescue the hostages held by the US Embassy in Iran completely failed due to helicopter failure and joint service coordination problems. On February 4th, 1984, 1984, a Kuwaiti passenger plane was hijacked to Pakistan, and Delta Force's surprise operation ran aground due to logistical failure. 1985 On June 14, an American flight from Mecca to Algeria was hijacked. An American sailor on board was killed by terrorists because the Algerian government refused to let Delta Force use force on its territory.
Around 1990, the "Delta" forces cooperated with Israel to secretly carry out many hostage rescue missions in the Middle East, and also participated in the secret anti-drug operations in Latin America, with no brilliant results. The biggest surprise operation of this force in recent years was1June 3, 1993, which searched for Aideed, a military strongman in Somalia. Because it violated the principle that special forces should avoid sudden attacks during the day, it left a tragic page in the operational history of the "Delta" forces.
The record of the US "Delta" troops for more than 20 years can be said to be the bleakest of all special forces, so it is described as a special force that can never be a bride. The actions carried out by the "Delta" troops have been shrouded in a mysterious veil, and it is still difficult for people to understand the truth behind it. However, Delta Force does exist as a special force, but for some political reasons, it has not been officially recognized by the US military. Therefore, when many troops involved in the operation in Delta Force act at the same time, most other troops call Delta Force members "D-boy".
Reference website: Baidu Encyclopedia; 360 encyclopedia