Differences between Delta Force and SEAL Team 6

SEAL Team 6 and Delta Force are the most highly trained elite forces in the U.S. military.

Both are Special Missions Units (SMU) under the control of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). They perform various clandestine and highly classified missions around the world. Each unit can equally perform various types of operations, but their primary mission is counterterrorism.

Also Read: The difference between Special Forces and special operations

So what’s the difference between the two? Delta Force took out ISIS bad guy Abu Sayyaf in Syria on May 16, 2015, several years after DevGru killed al Qaida bad guy Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Same-same, right?

Wrong.

We Are The Mighty spoke with former DEVGRU operator Craig Sawyer, as well as a former Delta operator who asked to remain anonymous, to uncover five key differences between the two elite forces.

1. Selection

Delta Force Tryouts | Delta Force: Tier 1 thumbnail

Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), is an Army outfit that primarily selects candidates from within its own special forces and infantry units. However, Delta Force will also select candidates from all branches of service, including the National Guard and Coast Guard.

SEAL Team 6, officially known as the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), selects candidates exclusively from the Navy‘s SEAL team community. If a candidate does not pass the grueling selection process, they will still remain part of the elite SEAL teams.

“It’s a matter of, can candidates quickly process what they are taught and keep up?” Sawyer said.

2. Training

Both units have the most sophisticated equipment and are highly trained in Close Quarters Combat (CQB), hostage rescue, high-value target extraction, and other specialized operations. The difference is the extensive training that DEVGRU operators have in specialized maritime operations, given their naval heritage.

“Each unit has strengths and weaknesses; neither is better or worse,” according to our Delta operator source.

3. Culture

CAG | 1st SFOD-D | Delta Force || “Speed, Surprise, and Violence of Action” thumbnail

Delta Force operators can be vastly diversified in their training background since they can come from various units across different military branches (including DEVGRU). Delta operators will even be awarded medals of their respective branch of service while serving with the Army unit.

“No matter what your background is, everyone starts from zero so that everyone is on the same page,” our former Delta operator said.

DEVGRU operators come from the SEAL community, and while the training is intensified and more competitive, they all retain their roots in familiar SEAL training and culture.

“Candidates have proven themselves within the SEAL teams,” Sawyer said. “It’s a matter of learning new equipment, tactics, and rules of engagement.”

4. Missions

Delta Force | SEAL Team 6 - Special Mission Unit thumbnail

Generally speaking, both units are equally capable of executing all specialized missions that JSOC is tasked with. Again, because of DEVGRU’s extensive training for specialized maritime operations, they are more likely to receive missions such as the rescue of Captain Phillips at sea. Delta’s known and successful missions include finding Saddam Hussein and tracking down Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

“These are two groups of the most elite operators the military can provide,” Sawyer said.

5. Media Exposure

"Zero Dark Thirty" — Jessica Chastain in a scene from ‘Zero Dark Thirty.’ (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Members of both units are known as “quiet professionals” and are notorious for being massively secretive. Unfortunately, with today’s social media, 24-hour news coverage and leaks within the government, it can be difficult to keep operations secret, no matter what steps are taken. While both units carry out high-profile missions, SEAL Team 6 has gained much more notoriety and (largely unwanted) exposure in the media in recent years, thanks to government leaks and movies such as “Zero Dark Thirty.”

“We are very strict with our quiet professionalism. If someone talks, you will probably be blacklisted,” according to our former Delta operator.

For more detailed differences between these elite forces, check out this SOFREP article.

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