Delta Force
No, not the crappy movie starring Chuck "Fucking Chuck Norris" Norris, but the book Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney.
In a comment on a Garfield Ridge post about lock-picking, someone mentioned how Delta members are taught to pick locks with everyday items like pieces of Coke cans.
It just reminded me what a cool book that was. Haney was in the first batch of soldiers to be selected and trained for Delta, and his story makes for fascinating reading.
It's a short read, divided roughly into three parts: 1) testing and selection for Delta 2) Delta training and 3) Delta assignments.
I read the book nearly two years ago, but many of the anecdotes have stuck with me.
For instance, during the selection process, they were told to prepare a 40-lb pack for a hike. Haney threw a couple extra pounds on just to be sure. At the start of the hike, the packs were weighed, only the scale was blank until it hit "40", so if your pack was only 39.5 lbs, the instructer would say, "As far as I can tell from this scale, your pack doesn't weigh anything. So to make sure you're carrying 40 lbs, you're going to have to carry this 40 lb block of concrete." At least one guy gave up on the spot.
They were also subjected to intrusive psychological tests. One question was, "Complete this sentence: 'I love my mother but...'". According to Haney, he answered, "No buts. I love my mother. Period."
Once they got into Delta, a lot of the training focused on pinpoint shooting. They would shoot up to 8 hours a day. The guys developed calluses on the flesh between the thumb and forefinger. They first shot at stationary targets with their preferred hand. Then with their "off" hand. Then they would shoot at them while walking, then running. They had elaboarte mock-ups of hostage situtations in rooms and airline cabins. As part of their final test, each of them took turns sitting in a chair in one of the mock-ups, surrounded by mannequins representing terrorists. While a guy sat there, his buddies had to bust in and clear the room with live ammo. Of course, you failed if you accidentally blew off the head of your fellow Delta teammate.
The part with Haney's actual missions was the thinnest bit, presumably because of secrecy issues. But it's still gripping stuff. Haney was on President Carter's failed helicopter mission to rescue the Iranian embassy hostages, and his account is practically worth the price of the book. Also interesting is his role in the Grenada invasion, and how some of the best-trained soldiers in the American military were taken out of action by an unexpectedly strong fusilade of machine-gun fire as they flew in.
This is one of those books filled with so much cool stuff, you'll frequently be telling your friends and colleagues, "Woah. Check this out..."
In a comment on a Garfield Ridge post about lock-picking, someone mentioned how Delta members are taught to pick locks with everyday items like pieces of Coke cans.
It just reminded me what a cool book that was. Haney was in the first batch of soldiers to be selected and trained for Delta, and his story makes for fascinating reading.
It's a short read, divided roughly into three parts: 1) testing and selection for Delta 2) Delta training and 3) Delta assignments.
I read the book nearly two years ago, but many of the anecdotes have stuck with me.
For instance, during the selection process, they were told to prepare a 40-lb pack for a hike. Haney threw a couple extra pounds on just to be sure. At the start of the hike, the packs were weighed, only the scale was blank until it hit "40", so if your pack was only 39.5 lbs, the instructer would say, "As far as I can tell from this scale, your pack doesn't weigh anything. So to make sure you're carrying 40 lbs, you're going to have to carry this 40 lb block of concrete." At least one guy gave up on the spot.
They were also subjected to intrusive psychological tests. One question was, "Complete this sentence: 'I love my mother but...'". According to Haney, he answered, "No buts. I love my mother. Period."
Once they got into Delta, a lot of the training focused on pinpoint shooting. They would shoot up to 8 hours a day. The guys developed calluses on the flesh between the thumb and forefinger. They first shot at stationary targets with their preferred hand. Then with their "off" hand. Then they would shoot at them while walking, then running. They had elaboarte mock-ups of hostage situtations in rooms and airline cabins. As part of their final test, each of them took turns sitting in a chair in one of the mock-ups, surrounded by mannequins representing terrorists. While a guy sat there, his buddies had to bust in and clear the room with live ammo. Of course, you failed if you accidentally blew off the head of your fellow Delta teammate.
The part with Haney's actual missions was the thinnest bit, presumably because of secrecy issues. But it's still gripping stuff. Haney was on President Carter's failed helicopter mission to rescue the Iranian embassy hostages, and his account is practically worth the price of the book. Also interesting is his role in the Grenada invasion, and how some of the best-trained soldiers in the American military were taken out of action by an unexpectedly strong fusilade of machine-gun fire as they flew in.
This is one of those books filled with so much cool stuff, you'll frequently be telling your friends and colleagues, "Woah. Check this out..."
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