pic.twitter.com/kYgEvBktql

— Cutters Choice Radio (@CuttersChRadio) March 23, 2025

The top twelve all-time absolute worst people in history, ranked by the wisdom of the crowd

For other uses, see Leet (disambiguation).

Leet (or “1337“), also known as eleet or leetspeak, or simply hacker speech, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance. Additionally, it modifies certain words on the basis of a system of suffixes and alternative meanings. There are many dialects or linguistic varieties in different online communities.

The term “leet” is derived from the word elite, used as an adjective to describe skill or accomplishment, especially in the fields of online gaming and computer hacking. The leet lexicon includes spellings of the word as 1337 or leet.

History

[edit]

Leet originated within bulletin board systems (BBS) in the 1980s,^[1][2] where having “elite” status on a BBS allowed a user access to file folders, games, and special chat rooms. The Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective has been credited with the original coining of the term, in their text-files of that era.^[3] One theory is that it was developed to defeat text filters created by BBS or Internet Relay Chat system operators for message boards to discourage the discussion of forbidden topics, like cracking and hacking.^[1] Creative misspellings and ASCII-art-derived words were also a way to attempt to indicate one was knowledgeable about the culture of computer users.

Once reserved for hackers, crackers, and script kiddies, leet later entered the mainstream.^[1] Some consider emoticons and ASCII art, like smiley faces, to be leet, while others maintain that leet consists of only symbolic word obfuscation. More obscure forms of leet, involving the use of symbol combinations and almost no letters or numbers, continue to be used for its original purpose of obfuscated communication. It is also sometimes used as a scripting language. Variants of leet have been used to evade censorship for many years; for instance “@$$” (ass) and “$#!+” (shit) are frequently seen to make a word appear censored to the untrained eye but obvious to a person familiar with leet. This enables coders and programmers especially to circumvent filters and speak about topics that would usually get banned. “Hacker” would end up as “H4x0r”, for example.^[4]

Leet symbols, especially the number 1337, are Internet memes that have spilled over into some culture. Signs that show the numbers “1337” are popular motifs for pictures and are shared widely across the Internet.^[5]

Algospeak

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Main article: Algospeak

Algospeak shares conceptual similarities with leet, albeit with its primary purpose to circumvent algorithmic censorship online, “algospeak” deriving from algo of algorithm and speak. These are euphemisms that aim to evade automated online moderation techniques, especially those that are considered unfair or hindering free speech.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} One prominent example is using the term “unalive” as opposed to the verb “kill” or even “suicide”. Other examples include using “restarted” or “regarded” instead of “retarded” and “seggs” in place of “sex”. These phrases are easily understandable to humans, providing either the same general meaning, pronunciation, or shape of the original word. It is furthermore often employed as a more contemporary alternative to leet. The approach has gained more popularity in 2023 and 2024 due to the rise in conflict between Israel and Gaza with the topic’s contentious nature on the Internet, especially on Meta and TikTok platforms.^[11][12]

Orthography

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One of the hallmarks of leet is its unique approach to orthography, using substitutions of other letters, or indeed of characters other than letters, to represent letters in a word.^[13][14] For more casual use of leet, the primary strategy is to use quasi-homoglyphs, symbols that closely resemble (to varying degrees) the letters for which they stand.

The choice of symbol is not fixed: anything the reader can make sense of is valid in leet-speak. Sometimes, a gamer would work around a nickname being already taken (and maybe abandoned as well) by replacing a letter with a similar-looking digit.

• However, leet is also seen in situations where the argot (e.g. secret language) characteristics of the system are required, either to exclude newbies or outsiders in general, i.e., anything that the average reader cannot make sense of is valid; a valid reader should themselves try to make sense, if deserving of the underlying message.
• Mild leet can be used to mess with frequency analysis “as is”.

Another use for leet orthographic substitutions is the creation of paraphrased passwords.^[1] Limitations imposed by websites on password length (usually no more than 36) and the characters permitted (e.g. alphanumeric and symbols)^[15] require less extensive forms when used in this application.

Some examples of leet include:

• B1ff.
• n00b — a term for “noob”, the stereotypical newbie.
• The l33t programming language.
• “E5C4P3”: stylized cover of Journey‘s Escape album.
• k3w1 deciphers as “kewl” (which is derived from “cool”).
• The web-comics Megatokyo and Homestuck, which contain characters who speak variations of leet.^[16][17]
• The digit “5” in Deadmau5 nickname.
• Upside-down “1337” (with a bar under “1”) also reads as “LEET” (see example on the photo).
• “DEF 4L7” plates are used by Defalt (sic!), a hacker from the Watch Dogs videogame (the first in the series).
• “1 (4/\/”7 |_|/\/[)3|2574/\/[) ‘/0|_||2 \/\/|2171/\/9.17’5 (0/\/|=|_|51/\/9” is heavily leet-styled “I can’t understand your writing. It’s confusing”.
• Sometimes, a word can be typed in leet with digits only:
  • “360” codes word “EGO” in leet.
  • “1687” or “1987” can be used to hint to IGBTs, e.g. insulated-gate bipolar transistors.
  • “2007 2008” deciphers as “qoot qoob” (which is derived from “cute cube”).
  • “2077” (as a hint to Cyberpunk 2077) can be jokingly used towards “ZOTT” dairy brand;
  • “11363015” means LIEGEOIS, e.g. Liège.
  • “12314734813” happens to cover “RELATEABLE” word.
  • “137 17 83 137 17 60” hides “let it be, let it go” phrase
  • “4150” may stand for “ALSO”
  • “33571 – 18124” unravels as “Eesti – Ibiza“.
• Alternatively, sometimes 3 or 6 letters can be leet-ified into a valid hexadecimal color code:
  • █ “614D05” is a valid HEX-code for a dark shade of gold color, referencing GLaDOS;
  • █ “572E55” (or █ “572355”) is a dark purple color, coming from the word “STRESS”;
  • █ “1C373A” is a dark cyan (“icy”) color, derived from “ICE TEA”;
  • █ “C47C47” is a peach-orange color related to cats;
  • █ “C01025” is a pink-ish shade of red, derived from the word “COLORS”;
  • █ “D35327” is a dark orange color, produced from “DESERT” word.
  • █ “80771E” is a yellowish-orange color, produced from “BOTTLE” word.
  • █ “B00B15” is a redish color, derived from the misspelled “BOOBIES” word.
• Spelling given names in Leet in a way the output would reference to something is also possible.
  • For example, the female name “Marisa” can be spelled as /\/\AR15/\ – with a reference to the AR-15 platform.
  • 834-613 means BEA-GLE all while also referencing to the Beagle Boys and their 6-digit IDs in particular.
  • VA-11 HALL-A reads as modified “Valhalla“.

However, leetspeak should not be confused with SMS-speak, characterized by using “4” as “for”, “2” as “to”, “b&” as “ban’d” (e.g. “banned”), “gr8 b8, m8, appreci8, no h8” as “great bait, mate, appreciate, no hate”, and so on.

Table of leet-speak substitutes for normal letters

[edit]

Morphology

[edit]

Text rendered in leet is often characterized by distinctive, recurring forms.-xor suffixThe meaning of this suffix is parallel with the English -er and -or suffixes (seen in hacker and lesser)^[2] in that it derives agent nouns from a verb stem. It is realized in two different forms: -xor and -zor, /-sɔːr/ and /-zɔːr/, respectively. For example, the first may be seen in the word hax(x)or (H4x0r in leet) /ˈhæksɔːr/ and the second in pwnzor/ˈoʊnzɔːr/. Additionally, this nominalization may also be inflected with all of the suffixes of regular English verbs. The letter ‘o’ is often replaced with the numeral 0.-age suffixDerivation of a noun from a verb stem is possible by attaching -age to the base form of any verb. Attested derivations are pwnage, skillage, and speakage. However, leet provides exceptions; the word leetage is acceptable, referring to actively being leet.^[18] These nouns are often used with a form of “to be” rather than “to have,” e.g., “that was pwnage” rather than “he has pwnage”. Either is a more emphatic way of expressing the simpler “he pwns,” but the former implies that the person is embodying the trait rather than merely possessing it.-ness suffixDerivation of a noun from an adjective stem is done by attaching -ness to any adjective. This is entirely the same as the English form, except it is used much more often in Leet. Nouns such as lulzness and leetness are derivations using this suffix.Words ending in -edWhen forming a past participle ending in -ed, the Leet user may replace the -e with an apostrophe, as was common in poetry of previous centuries, (e.g. “pwned” becomes “pwn’d”). Sometimes, the apostrophe is removed as well (e.g. “pwned” becomes “pwnd”). The word ending may also be substituted by -t (e.g. pwned becomes pwnt).^[19]Use of the -& suffixWords ending in -and, -anned, -ant, or a similar sound can sometimes be spelled with an ampersand (&) to express the ending sound (e.g. “This is the s&box“, “I’m sorry, you’ve been b&”, “&hill/&farm”). It is most commonly used with the word banned. An alternative form of “B&” is “B7”, as the ampersand is with the “7” key on the standard US keyboard. It is often seen in the abbreviation “IBB7” (in before banned), which indicates that the poster believes that a previous poster will soon be banned from the site, channel, or board on which they are posting.

Grammar

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Leet can be pronounced as a single syllable, /ˈliːt/, rhyming with eat, by way of apheresis of the initial vowel of “elite”. It may also be pronounced as two syllables, /ɛˈliːt/. Like hacker slang, leet enjoys a looser grammar than standard English. The loose grammar, just like loose spelling, encodes some level of emphasis, ironic or otherwise. A reader must rely more on intuitive parsing of leet to determine the meaning of a sentence rather than the actual sentence structure. In particular, speakers of leet are fond of verbing nouns, turning verbs into nouns (and back again) as forms of emphasis, e.g. “Austin rocks” is weaker than “Austin roxxorz” (note spelling), which is weaker than “Au5t1N is t3h r0xx0rz” (note grammar), which is weaker than something like “0MFG D00D /\Ü571N 15 T3H l_l83Я 1337 Я0XX0ЯZ” (OMG, dude, Austin is the über-elite rocks-er!). In essence, all of these mean “Austin rocks,” not necessarily the other options. Added words and misspellings add to the speaker’s enjoyment. Leet, like hacker slang, employs analogy in construction of new words. For example, if haxored is the past tense of the verb “to hack” (hack → haxor → haxored), then winzored would be easily understood to be the past tense conjugation of “to win,” even if the reader had not seen that particular word before.

Leet has its own colloquialisms, many of which originated as jokes based on common typing errors, habits of new computer users, or knowledge of cyberculture and history.^[20] Leet is not solely based upon one language or character set. Greek, Russian, and other languages have leet forms, and leet in one language may use characters from another where they are available. As such, while it may be referred to as a “cipher“, a “dialect”, or a “language”, leet does not fit squarely into any of these categories. The term leet itself is often written 31337, or 1337, and many other variations. After the meaning of these became widely familiar, 10100111001 came to be used in its place, because it is the binary form of 1337 decimal, making it more of a puzzle to interpret. An increasingly common characteristic of leet is the changing of grammatical usage so as to be deliberately incorrect. The widespread popularity of deliberate misspelling is similar to the cult following of the “All your base are belong to us” phrase. Indeed, the online and computer communities have been international from their inception, so spellings and phrases typical of non-native speakers are quite common.

Vocabulary

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Many words originally derived from leet have now become part of modern Internet slang, such as “pwned“.^[1] The original driving forces of new vocabulary in leet were common misspellings and typing errors such as “teh” (generally considered lolspeak), and intentional misspellings,^[21] especially the “z” at the end of words (“skillz”).^[1] Another prominent example of a surviving leet expression is w00t, an exclamation of joy.^[2] w00t is sometimes used as a backronym for “We owned the other team.”

New words (or corruptions thereof) may arise from a need to make one’s username unique. As any given Internet service reaches more people, the number of names available to a given user is drastically reduced. While many users may wish to have the username “CatLover,” for example, in many cases it is only possible for one user to have the moniker. As such, degradations of the name may evolve, such as “C@7L0vr.” As the leet cipher is highly dynamic, there is a wider possibility for multiple users to share the “same” name, through combinations of spelling and transliterations.

Additionally, leet—the word itself—can be found in the screen-names and gamertags of many Internet and video games. Use of the term in such a manner announces a high level of skill, though such an announcement may be seen as baseless hubris.^{[22][more detail needed]}

Terminology and common misspellings

[edit]

Warez (nominally /wɛərz/) is a plural shortening of “software”, typically referring to cracked and redistributed software.^[22] Phreaking refers to the hacking of telephone systems and other non-Internet equipment.^[1] Teh originated as a typographical error of “the”, and is sometimes spelled t3h.^[1][23] j00 takes the place of “you”,^[2] originating from the affricate sound that occurs in place of the palatal approximant, /j/, when you follows a word ending in an alveolar plosive consonant, such as /t/ or /d/. Also, from German, is über, which means “over” or “above”; it usually appears as a prefix attached to adjectives, and is frequently written without the umlaut over the u.^[24]

Haxor and suxxor (suxorz)

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Haxor, and derivations thereof, is leet for “hacker”,^[25] and it is one of the most commonplace examples of the use of the -xor suffix. Suxxor (pronounced suck-zor) is a derogatory term which originated in warez culture and is currently^[when?] used in multi-user environments such as multiplayer video games and instant messaging; it, like haxor, is one of the early leet words to use the -xor suffix. Suxxor is a modified version of “sucks” (the phrase “to suck”), and the meaning is the same as the English slang. Suxxor can be mistaken with Succer/Succker if used in the wrong context. Its negative definition essentially makes it the opposite of roxxor, and both can be used as a verb or a noun. The letters ck are often replaced with the Greek Χ (chi) in other words as well.

n00b

[edit]

Main article: Newbie

Within leet, the term n00b (and derivations thereof) is used extensively. The term is derived from newbie (as in new and inexperienced, or uninformed),^[21][24][26] and is used to differentiate “n00bs” from the “elite” (or even “normal”) members of a group.

Owned and pwned

[edit]

“Pwn” redirects here. For other uses, see Pwn (disambiguation).

Owned and pwned (generally pronounced “poned”^[27] [pʰo͡ʊnd]) both refer to the domination of a player in a video game or argument (rather than just a win), or the successful hacking of a website or computer.^{[28][29][30][1][24][31]} It is a slang term derived from the verb own, meaning to appropriate or to conquer to gain ownership. As is a common characteristic of leet, the terms have also been adapted into noun and adjective forms,^[24] ownage and pwnage, which can refer to the situation of pwning or to the superiority of its subject (e.g., “He is a very good player. He is pwnage.”).

The term was created accidentally by the misspelling of “own” due to the keyboard proximity of the “O” and “P” keys. It implies domination or humiliation of a rival,^[32] used primarily in the Internet-based video game culture to taunt an opponent who has just been soundly defeated (e.g., “You just got pwned!”).^[33] In 2015 Scrabble added pwn to their Official Scrabble Words list.^[34]

Pr0n

[edit]

Pr0n is slang for pornography.^[1] This is a deliberately inaccurate spelling/pronunciation for porn,^[26] where a zero is often used to replace the letter O. It is sometimes used in legitimate communications (such as email discussion groups, Usenet, chat rooms, and Internet web pages) to circumvent language and content filters, which may reject messages as offensive or spam. The word also helps prevent search engines from associating commercial sites with pornography, which might result in unwelcome traffic.^{[citation needed]} Pr0n is also sometimes spelled backwards (n0rp) to further obscure the meaning to potentially uninformed readers. It can also refer to ASCII art depicting pornographic images, or to photos of the internals of consumer and industrial hardware. Prawn, a spoof of the misspelling, has started to come into use, as well; in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a pornographer films his movies on “Prawn Island”. Conversely, in the RPG Kingdom of Loathing, prawn, referring to a kind of crustacean, is spelled pr0n, leading to the creation of food items such as “pr0n chow mein”. Also see porm.

See also

[edit]

• Internet portal
• Language portal

• All your base are belong to us
• Calculator spelling
  • 7-segment display
• Faux Cyrillic and Engrish
• Geek Code
• Gyaru-moji, a similar phenomenon in Japanese language
• Hexspeak
• IDN homograph attack
• Jargon File, a glossary and usage dictionary of computer programmer slang
• LOLCAT and its “lolspeak”, a similar phenomenon in 21st century English language
• Martian language, a similar phenomenon in Chinese language
• Padonkaffsky jargon, a similar phenomenon in Russian language
• SMS language
• Yaminjeongeum, a similar phenomenon in Korean language
• YOGTZE case, involving interpreting the word’s letters as digits

Footnotes

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1. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f g h i j} Mitchell.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d An Explanation of l33t Speak.
3. ^ Mello, John P. (February 2, 2015). “Google Expands Bug Bounty Program”. E-Commerce Times.
4. ^ “A guide to leetspeak”. IONOS Digitalguide. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
5. ^ Huh, Ben (March 12, 2014). “10 classic memes that owned the Internet”. CNN. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
6. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (8 April 2022). “Internet ‘algospeak’ is changing our language in real time, from ‘nip nops’ to ‘le dollar bean'”. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
7. ^ “What is ‘algospeak’? Inside the newest version of linguistic subterfuge”. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
8. ^ “‘Mascara,’ ‘Unalive,’ ‘Corn’: What Common Social Media Algospeak Words Actually Mean”. Forbes. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
9. ^ “From Camping to Cheese Pizza, ‘Algospeak’ is Taking over Social Media”. Forbes. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
10. ^ Klug, Daniel; Steen, Ella; Yurechko, Kathryn (2022). “How Algorithm Awareness Impacts Algospeak Use on TikTok”. Companion Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference 2022. pp. 234–237. doi:10.1145/3543873.3587355. ISBN 9781450394192. S2CID 258377709. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
11. ^ Nix, Naomi (20 October 2023). “Pro-Palestinian creators use secret spellings, code words to evade social media algorithms”. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
12. ^ “How pro-Palestinians are using ‘Algospeak’ to dodge social media scrutiny and disseminate hateful rhetoric”. Fox News. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
13. ^ Sterling, 70.
14. ^ Blashki & Nichol, 80.
15. ^ “Username and Password Guidelines”. help.pearsoncmg.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
16. ^ Gallagher, Fred; Caston, Rodney. “”MegaTokyo – [9] Speak L33t?””. MegaTokyo. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
17. ^ Hussie, Andrew. “==>”. Homestuck. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
18. ^ Blashki & Nichol, 79.
19. ^ LeBlanc, 33.
20. ^ Blashki & Nichol, 81.
21. ^ Jump up to:^a b Blashki & Nichol, 83.
22. ^ Jump up to:^a b Computer Hope Dictionary.
23. ^ LeBlanc, 34-35.
24. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d Van de Velde & Meuleman.
25. ^ LeBlanc, 30; 32.
26. ^ Jump up to:^a b The Acronym Finder.
27. ^ Merriam-Webster: What Does ‘Pwn’ Mean? And how do you say it?
28. ^ Pichlmair, Martin. Pwned – 10 Tales of Appropriation in Video Games (PDF).
29. ^ Computer Slang (PDF). December 9, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 9, 2008.
30. ^ Ludlow, Peter; Wallace, Mark (2007). The Second Life Herald. MIT Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-262-12294-8.
31. ^ LeBlanc, 32-33.
32. ^ Naone, Erica (November 2008). “The Flaw at the Heart of the Internet”. Technology Review. Vol. 111, no. 6. pp. 62–67.
33. ^ Peckham, Aaron (2007). Mo’ Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-7407-6875-0.
34. ^ Chappell, Bill (21 May 2015). “Go Forth And Pwn For Shizzle, Word List Guardians Tell Scrabble Players”. NPR. Retrieved 2020-07-05.

References

[edit]

• “The Acronym Finder”. Mountain Data Systems, LLC. Retrieved 2007-04-11. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• “An Explanation of l33t Speak”. h2g2. BBC. 2002-08-16. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
• Blashki, Katherine; Nichol, Sophie (2005). “Game Geek’s Goss: Linguistic Creativity In Young Males Within An Online University Forum” (PDF). Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society. 3 (2): 77–86.
• “Computer Hope Dictionary – Game definitions”. Computer Hope. Retrieved 2007-04-02. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• “The Free Dictionary — Acronyms”. The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc. Retrieved 2007-04-11. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• “Google Directory – Computers”. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-29. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• Haig, Matt (2001). E-Mail Essentials: How to Make the Most of E-Communications. Kogan Page. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7494-3576-9. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• LeBlanc, Tracy Rene (May 2005). “Is There A Translator in Teh House?”: Cultural and Discourse Analysis of a Virtual Speech Community on an Internet Message Board (MA thesis). Louisiana State University. doi:10.31390/gradschool_theses.4112.
• Mitchell, Anthony (2006-06-12). “A Leet Primer”. Technology News. ECT News Network, Inc. Archived from the original on 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
• Perea, M.; Duñabeitia, J. A.; Carreiras, M. (2008). “R34D1Ng W0Rd5 W1Th Numb3R5” (PDF). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 34 (1): 237–241. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.34.1.237. ISSN 0096-1523. PMID 18248151. S2CID 6054151. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• Raymond, Eric R.; Steele, Guy L. (1996). The New Hacker’s Dictionary. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-68092-9. ^{[inline citation needed]}
• Rome, James Andrew (2001-12-18). “relax we understand j00”. Sigma Tau Delta, The International English Honor Society. Case Western University, Beta Beta Chapter. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
• Sterling, Bruce (1994). The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier. New York: Bantam Spectra Books. p. 70. Bibcode:1994hcld.book…..S. ISBN 978-0-553-56370-2. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
• Van de Velde, Kristof; Meuleman, Jeroen (2004). “Lexical tensions in ‘internet english’ : 1337 as language?”. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
• Pearson, Wayne. “The creation of “LOL””. Retrieved 2008-11-06. ^{[inline citation needed]}

Further reading

[edit]

• Katelnikoff, Joel (2013). SCROLL / NETWORK / HACK: A Poetics of ASCII Literature (1983-1989) (PhD dissertation). University of Alberta. doi:10.7939/R3PG1J01C.

External links

[edit]

Look up leet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• “B.Tech/B.Tech (Leet) – CSE (Cloud technology, information security, data science, artificial intelligence, cyber security)”. www.osgu.ac.in/programs OM Sterling Global University. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.

Categories: 

• Leet
• Alphabets
• Encodings
• In-jokes
• Internet culture
• Internet memes
• Internet slang
• Latin-script representations
• Nerd culture
• Nonstandard spelling
• 1990s slang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the special operations force. For other uses, see Delta Force (disambiguation).

1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (Airborne)
USASOC‘s shoulder sleeve insignia worn by Delta operators, depicting the historical Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife inside the outline of an arrowhead
Founded	19 November 1977; 47 years ago
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Special mission unit
Role	Special operations Counterterrorism
Size	Classified[1] see below
Part of	Joint Special Operations Command U.S. Army Special Operations Command
Headquarters	Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S.
Nickname(s)	“The Unit”, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Task Force Green, “D’Boys”[2]
Engagements	Operation Eagle ClawOperation Urgent FuryOperation Just CauseOperation Acid GambitPersian Gulf WarColombian Drug WarSomali Civil WarOperation Restore HopeOperation Gothic SerpentOperation Uphold Democracy[3]Yugoslav WarsNATO intervention in BosniaKosovo WarGlobal War on TerrorismOperation Enduring FreedomBattle of Tora BoraInsurgency in Jammu and Kashmir[4]Iraq WarOperation Juniper ShieldOperation Inherent Resolve[5]Operation Kayla Mueller2012 Benghazi attack[6][7]Mexican drug war[8]Operation Black Swan
Decorations	Presidential Unit Citation Joint Meritorious Unit Award Valorous Unit Award
Commanders
Current commander	Classified
Notable commanders	Charles Alvin Beckwith William F. Garrison William G. Boykin Peter J. Schoomaker Eldon A. Bargewell Gary L. Harrell Bennet S. Sacolick Austin S. Miller Mark J. O’Neil James Jarrard Christopher T. Donahue
Insignia
USASOC Distinctive Unit Insignia

The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green,^[2] is a special operations force of the United States Army under the operational control of JSOC. The unit’s missions primarily involve counterterrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, and special reconnaissance, often against high-value targets.

Delta Force, along with the Intelligence Support Activity, and its Navy and Air Force counterparts, DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6) and the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, are the U.S. military’s tier one special mission units that are tasked with performing the most complex, covert, and dangerous missions directed by the president of the United States and the secretary of defense.^[9][10]

Most Delta Force operators and combat support members are selected from the Army Special Operations Command‘s 75th Ranger Regiment and U.S. Army Special Forces, though selection is open to other special operations and conventional units across the Army and other military branches.^[11][12]

History

[edit]

Delta Force was created in 1977 after numerous well-publicized terrorist incidents led the U.S. government to develop a full-time counter-terrorism unit.

Key military and government figures had already been briefed on this type of unit in the early 1960s. Charlie Beckwith, a Special Forces (Green Berets) officer and Vietnam War veteran, served as an exchange officer with the British Army‘s 22 Special Air Service Regiment during the Malayan Emergency. On his return, Beckwith presented a detailed report highlighting the U.S. Army’s vulnerability in not having a SAS-type unit. U.S. Army Special Forces in that period focused on unconventional warfare providing training and medical care to indigenous resistance fighters, but Beckwith recognized the need for “not only a force of teachers, but a force of doers”.^[13] He envisioned highly adaptable and completely autonomous small teams with a broad array of special skills for direct action and counter-terrorism missions. He briefed military and government figures, who were resistant to creating a new unit outside of Special Forces or changing existing methods.^[14]

Finally, in the mid-1970s, as the threat of terrorism grew, Pentagon and Army senior leaders appointed Beckwith to form the unit.^[15] Beckwith estimated that it would take 24 months to get his new unit mission ready. Beckwith’s estimate came from a conversation he had had earlier with Brigadier John Watts while in England in 1976. Watts had made it clear to Beckwith that it would take eighteen months to build a squadron, but advised him to tell Army leaders that it would take two years, and not to “let anyone talk (him) out of this.” To justify why it would take two years to build Delta, Beckwith and his staff drafted what they dubbed the “Robert Redford Paper,” which outlined its necessities and historical precedents for a four-phase selection/assessment process.^[16]

Delta Force was established on 19 November 1977, by Beckwith and Colonel Thomas Henry.^[17] In the meantime, Colonel Bob “Black Gloves” Mountel of the 5th Special Forces Group created a unit to bridge the short-term gap that existed until Delta was ready, dubbed Blue Light.^[18] The initial members of the unit were screened from volunteers and put through a specialized selection process in early 1978, involving a series of land navigation problems in mountainous terrain while carrying increasing weight. The purpose was to test candidates’ endurance, stamina, willingness to endure, and mental resolve. The first training course lasted from April to September 1978. Delta Force was certified as fully mission capable in fall 1979, right before the Iran hostage crisis.^[19]

On 4 November 1979, 52 American diplomats and citizens were taken captive and held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran. Delta Force was tasked to plan and execute Operation Eagle Claw, the effort to recover the hostages from the embassy by force on the nights of 24 and 25 April in 1980. The operation was aborted due to helicopter failures. The review commission that examined the failure found 23 problems with the operation, among them unexpected weather encountered by the aircraft, command-and-control problems between the multi-service component commanders, a collision between a helicopter and a ground-refueling tanker aircraft, and mechanical problems that reduced the number of available helicopters from eight to five (one fewer than the minimum desired) before the mission contingent could leave the trans-loading/refueling site.^[20][21]

After the failed operation, the U.S. government realized more changes were needed. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), also known as the “Night Stalkers”, was created for special operations requiring air support. The Navy’s SEAL Team Six, an earlier incarnation of the current Naval Special Warfare Development Group, was created for maritime counter-terrorism operations. The Joint Special Operations Command was created for command and control of the military’s various counter-terrorism units.

Organization and structure

[edit]

The unit is under the organization of the 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‘s billet. Virtually all information about the unit is highly 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.^[22]

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
• E Squadron^[23]
• G Squadron (advanced force operations (AFO), formerly known as Operational Support Troop (OST))^[24]
• Signal Squadron
• Combat Support Squadron
• Combat Development Directorate
• Selection and Training

A, B, C, and D Squadrons are sabre squadrons (assault). C Squadron was activated around 1990 and D Squadron in 2006. Combat Support Squadron was activated in 2005. E 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.

Within each squadron there are three troops: troops 1 and 2 (assault) and troop 3 (reconnaissance).^[22] Each squadron is led by a lieutenant colonel (O-5),^[25] executive officer and a command sergeant major (E-9). Troops are led by captains (O-3) or majors (O-4) and are assisted by sergeants major (E-9).^[26] 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.^[27][28]

Recruitment

[edit]

Since the 1990s, the Army has posted recruitment notices for the 1st SFOD-D.^[29][30] 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…”.^[31] The notice states that applicants must be in the grade of 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 “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 Committee on Armed Services, General Wayne Downing testified before the U.S. House of Representatives that “[t]he Delta Force is probably 70 percent Rangers who have come out of either a Ranger [to] Special Forces track or directly from [the] Ranger Regiment to Delta”.^[32]

Selection process

[edit]

Selection is held twice a year (late March to late April, and late September to late October) at 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 2-mile (3.2 km) run, an inverted crawl and a 110-yard (330 ft; 100 m) swim fully dressed. The candidates were then put through a series of land navigation courses, one of which required them to travel 18 miles (29 km) at night while carrying a 40-pound (18 kg) 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 40-mile (64 km) march with a 45-pound (20 kg) rucksack over rough terrain that had to be completed in an unknown amount of time; this was also colloquially known as “The Long Walk”.^[33] 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.^[15][1]

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.^[1]

In an interview, former Delta operator 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.^[34][35] Former Navy SEAL, DEVGRU and Delta operator Kevin Holland stated that in his selection class 120 candidates started, 16 passed and eight finished OTC.^[36]

The Central Intelligence Agency‘s secretive Special Activities Center (SAC) and more specifically its Special Operations Group (SOG), often works with – and recruits – former operators from Delta Force.^[37]

Training

[edit]

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:

• Marksmanship:
  • 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 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 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 FBI, 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.^[38]
• Tradecraft (during the first OTCs and Delta creation, CIA personnel were used to teach this portion of the training):
  • Students learn different espionage-related skills, such as dead drops, brief encounters, pickups, load and unload signals, danger and safe signals, surveillance and counter-surveillance.
• Executive Protection (during the first OTCs and creation of Delta, the 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 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 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.^[39][40][41]

Unit name

[edit]

In a 2010 article, Marc Ambinder reported that Army Compartmented Elements (ACE) was a new cover name for Delta Force.^[42] However, Ambinder subsequently wrote an e-book about JSOC in which he reported that the Army Compartmented Elements is a different unit from Delta.^[43][44]

In January 2022 it was reported that the name of the unit may have recently been changed to the 3rd Operational Support Group.^[45]

Secrecy

[edit]

The Department of Defense tightly controls information about Delta Force and usually refuses to comment publicly on the highly secretive unit and its activities, unless the unit is part of a major operation or a unit member has been killed. Delta operators are granted an enormous amount of flexibility and autonomy during military operations overseas.^[1] Relaxed grooming standards such as civilian hairstyles and facial hair are allowed to enable the members to blend in and avoid recognition as military personnel.^[35][1]

2023 Israel incident

During President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, the White House accidentally published a photo of Delta Force operators with unblurred faces and tattoos, drawing scrutiny.^[46][47] The White House later issued an apology for the incident.^[48]

The term “operator”

[edit]

In Veritas, the Journal of Army Special Operations History, Charles H. Briscoe stated that “SF did not misappropriate the appellation. Unbeknownst to most members of the ARSOF (Army Special Operations Forces) community, that moniker was adopted by Special Forces in the mid to late 1950s.” He goes on to state that all qualified enlisted and officers in Special Forces had to “voluntarily subscribe to the provisions of the ‘Code of the Special Forces Operator’ and pledge themselves to its tenets by witnessed signature.”^[49]

Inside the United States special operations community, an operator is a Delta Force member who has completed selection and has finished OTC (Operator Training Course). “Operator” was used by Delta Force to distinguish between operators (assaulters and snipers) and combat support assigned to the unit.^[1]

Operations

[edit]

Main article: List of operations conducted by Delta Force

Most operations assigned to Delta are classified, but some details have become public knowledge. For service during Operation Urgent Fury, the United States’ invasion of Grenada, Delta was awarded the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. The unit was awarded the Valorous Unit Award for extraordinary heroism during the Modelo Prison hostage rescue mission and the capture of Manuel Noriega in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause in Panama. 1st SFOD-D operators from C Squadron were also involved in Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia.

During Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, 1st SFOD-D was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for combat operations in Afghanistan from 4 October 2001 to 15 March 2002 and Iraq from 19 March 2003 to 13 December 2003.^[50]

On 26 October 2019, Delta operators accompanied by members of the 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a raid on the compound of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leading to his death.^[51]

See also

[edit]

• List of Delta Force members

References

[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} Haney 2002.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b Naylor 2015.
3. ^ Cawthorne 2008, p. 97.
4. ^ Smith, Michael (23 February 2002). “SAS joins Kashmir Hunt for bin Laden”. The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022.
5. ^ “US-Iraqi rescue operation ‘foils IS mass execution'”. BBC News. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022.
6. ^ Scarborough, Rowan (25 January 2014). “Delta Force commando who saved ‘numerous lives’ in Benghazi seige honored”. The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
7. ^ Harkins, Gina (29 April 2020). “A Delta Force Marine earned the Navy Cross in Benghazi”. We Are the Mighty. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
8. ^ Murphy, Jack (11 January 2016). “JSOC’s Secretive Delta Force Operators on the Ground for El Chapo Capture”. SOFREP News. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
9. ^ “In high demand, Air Force commandos must find new ways to cope with stress of duty”. The Gaffney Ledger. Gaffney, South Carolina. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
10. ^ updated, Marc Ambinder last (22 March 2013). “The most secret of secret units”. theweek. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
11. ^ “Special Operations/Delta Force”. Military.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
12. ^ “5 key differences between Delta Force and SEAL Team 6”. We Are the Mighty. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
13. ^ Beckwith & Knox 2000, p. 39.
14. ^ Lewis, Jon E., ed. (1997). The Handbook of the SAS And Elite Forces. How The Professionals Fight And Win. Robinson Publishing Ltd. p. 39 -Tactics And Techniques, American Army Special Forces. ISBN 1-85487-675-9.
15. ^ Jump up to:^a b Beckwith & Knox 2000.
16. ^ Beckwith & Knox 2000, p. 142-143.
17. ^ Goolsby, Denise (14 July 2016). “Palm Springs man was Army Delta Force co-creator”. The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, Cal. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022.
18. ^ Beckwith & Knox 2000, p. 131.
19. ^ Smith, Stew (9 July 2021). “Delta Force: Missions and History”. Military.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022.
20. ^ Bowden, Mark (May 2006). “The Desert One Debacle”. The Atlantic Monthly. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022.
21. ^ Gabriel 1985, p. 106–16.
22. ^ Jump up to:^a b Naylor 2006.
23. ^ Naylor 2015, p. 57.
24. ^ “1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta (1st SFOD-D)”. special-ops.org. 21 March 2013.
25. ^ Naylor 2015, p. 73, 122, 201, 222, 476.
26. ^ Naylor 2015, p. 199, 476.
27. ^ Hookstead, David (17 January 2024). “Delta Force Selection For Officers is Insane”. youtube.com.
28. ^ Ryan, Shawn (20 March 2023). “Chris VanSant – Delta Force / Killing Off the “Deck of Cards” & Capturing Saddam”. youtube.com.
29. ^ “SFOD-D seeking new members” (PDF). Mountaineer. Fort Carson, CO. 16 January 2003. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2004.
30. ^ “1st SFOD-Delta Recruiting”. Fort Campbell Courier. Fort Campbell, Kentucky. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
31. ^ “Fort Bragg’s newspaper Paraglide, recruitment notice for Delta Force”. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
32. ^ “Assessing U.S. Special Operations Command’s Missions and Roles” (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. House Armed Services Committee. 29 June 2006. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
33. ^ Satterly & Jackson 2019.
34. ^ : “Delta Force Tryouts”. Military.com. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2014 – via YouTube. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine.
35. ^ Jump up to:^a b Bowden 1999, p. 35.
36. ^ “From SEAL Team 6 to Delta Force MSgt Kevin Holland A Story of Courage”. YouTube. 2 February 2022.
37. ^ Waller, Douglas (3 February 2003). “The CIA’s Secret Army: The CIA’s Secret Army”. Time. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
38. ^ “The time Delta burned the barracks down”. wearethemighty.com. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
39. ^ Atlamazoglou, Stavros (19 October 2021). “AUKUS security pact follows decades of special ops cooperation”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
40. ^ Atlamazoglou, Stavros (3 February 2020). “Canadian soldier serving in a Tier 1 SOF unit kicked out of the military for theft”. SOFREP. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
41. ^ Sof, Eric (15 May 2013). “Sayeret Matkal: A Israel’s Equivalent to the Delta Force”. Spec Ops Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
42. ^ Ambinder, Marc (12 October 2010). “Delta Force Gets a New Name”. The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022.
43. ^ Ambinder & Grady 2012, p. Emplacement 859.
44. ^ “Position Description shows that ACE is in fact not a part of Delta Force”. Gatha. 22 March 2021.
45. ^ Harp, Seth (4 January 2022). “She Asked the Army to Investigate a Rape Trial. They Fired Her”. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
46. ^ “Blundering White House shares identities of secret hostage rescue unit in Israel”. telegraph.co.uk. 20 October 2023.
47. ^ “White House faces backlash for accidentally revealing identities of US troops in Israel”. WION. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
48. ^ “White House apologizes for publishing photo with faces of Delta Force members during Biden’s visit to Israel”. 20 October 2023.
49. ^ Briscoe, Charles H. (2018). “The Special Forces Operator”. Veritas. Vol. 14, no. 1. pp. 63–64. ISSN 1553-9830. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021.
50. ^ “PERMANENT ORDERS 137-33” (PDF). U.S. Army Center of Military History. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
51. ^ Warrick, Joby; Nakashima, Ellen; Lamothe, Dan (30 October 2019). “Islamic State defector inside Baghdadi’s hideout critical to success of raid, officials say”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.

Bibliography

[edit]

• Ambinder, Marc; Grady, D. B. (2012). The Command: Deep Inside the President’s Secret Army. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-34672-3.
• Beckwith, Charlie; Knox, Donald (2000) [1983]. Delta Force: The Army’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit (Paperback ed.). Avon Books. ISBN 978-0-380-80939-4.
• Bowden, Mark (1999). Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 978-0-87113-738-8. Archived.
• Bowden, Mark (2001). Killing Pablo : The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw (1st ed.). New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 978-0871137838.
• Bowden, Mark (2006). Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America’s War with Militant Islam. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 978-0-87113-925-2. OCLC 62738726.
• Boykin, William G. (2008). Never Surrender : A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom (1st ed.). New York: FaithWords. ISBN 978-0-446-59361-8. OCLC 882106240.
• Cawthorne, Nigel (2008). The Mammoth Book of Inside the Elite Forces. London: Robinson Publishing. ISBN 978-1845298210. OCLC 176894746.
• Fury, Dalton (2008). Kill Bin Laden : A Delta Force Commander’s Account of the Hunt for the World’s Most Wanted Man (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 9780312384395. OCLC 1035934309.
• Gabriel, Richard A. (1985). Military Incompetence: Why the American Military Doesn’t Win. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-52137-0.
• Griswold, Terry; Giangreco, D. M. (1992). Delta, America’s Elite Counterterrorist Force. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-0879386153. OCLC 25549191.
• Haney, Eric L. (2002). Inside Delta Force. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0385336031.
• National Geographic documentary: Road to Baghdad.
• Naylor, Sean (2006). Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda. Berkley Books. ISBN 978-0-425-19609-0.
• Naylor, Sean (2015). Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. ISBN 9781250014542. OCLC 908554550.
• Pushies, Fred (2002). U.S. Counterterrorist Forces. St. Paul, MN: MBI Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0760313633.
• Satterly, Tom; Jackson, Steve (2019). All Secure : A Special Operations Soldier’s Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront (1st ed.). New York: Center Street. ISBN 978-1546076575. OCLC 1091687950.
• Schauer, Hartmut (2008). Delta Force (1st ed.). Stuttgart, DE: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-613-02958-3.
• Smith, Michael (2007). Killer Elite : The Inside Story of America’s Most Secret Special Operations Team] (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 978-0312362720.

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne) (category)

• Military.com article on Delta Force Archived
• Special-ops.com article Archived
• Transcript of Sean Naylor’s speech to American Enterprise Institute Archived

showvte United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)