Something UNTHINKABLE Happens If US Delta Force and Navy SEALs CLASH

What this episode is about

The discussion explores the capabilities, training, and operational specialties of the US Army's Delta Force and Navy SEAL Team Six, two of the most elite special forces units. The analysis seeks to determine which unit would prevail in a direct confrontation, highlighting their similarities and differences while acknowledging the secrecy surrounding their missions and operations.

Key takeaways

• When SEAL Team 6 wrestles with Delta Force in glory, herpes isn't the only thing that breaks the tension.
• Both forces thrive on secrecy, but Delta's discretion outshines SEAL's book deals — mystery trumps memoir.
• Testing who’s best means double duty: elite versus average; peak prowess vs. collective might reveals the true picture.
• SEALs may dive deeper in water, but Delta's land ops show versatility — ultimately, the battlefield spares no preference.
• Public relations can lead to rivalry; in the special ops world, combat isn’t the only arena for competition.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Jack Ma (Host) · 15 min speaking
• Chris Fetis (Guest) · 4 min speaking
• Mike Ritland (Guest) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, Chris Fetis
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Delta Force
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Delta Force, Bob Kerry, Financial Times, Taiwan
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Delta Force, Eric Haney, SEAL Team Six, Inside Delta Force
5. 20:00 – 21:35: Delta Force

Notable quotes from "Something UNTHINKABLE Happens If US Delta Force and Navy SEALs CLASH"

• Issue of secrecy has in recent years become somewhat of a bone of contention between the two. Seal Team 6 members have tended to be somewhat more forthcoming about publicizing…

  about SEAL Team Six · at 2:40

• Retired Navy Seal sniper Chris Fetis makes an interesting suggestion. The selected exercises or conflict situation chosen for the challenge should have two versions. The first should involve both.

  about Chris Fetis · at 4:09

• Specific training for particularly important or challenging missions. In 2024, for example, the Financial Times reported that for a year Dev Group had been training for…

  about Financial Times · at 11:10

• Immediate effect. But how does it stack up against this fearsome opponent? As Devgru is to the US Navy, Delta Force is to the US Army. i.e. it's the army's elite tier 1 special operations unit.

  about Delta Force · at 14:56

• With Eric Haney's book, Inside Delta Force, one of the few sources of firstirhand insights into Delta's training and selection process, the screening certainly involves torturous physical tests on a par with devgus.

  about Eric Haney · at 16:58

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Eric Haney — Person · Referenced author / source · 2 mentions · first at 16:58
  Referenced as the author of a key firsthand account used to describe Delta Force selection and training, helping compare Delta Force to DEVGRU.
• Chris Fetis — Person · Referenced expert · 1 mention · first at 4:09
  Cited as a retired Navy SEAL sniper offering a proposed method to fairly compare SEAL Team 6 vs Delta Force via two competition formats (elite-picked teams vs randomly selected teams).
• Bob Kerry — Person · Referenced expert · 1 mention · first at 14:36
  Quoted to frame the strategic purpose of top-tier special operations units (e.g., DEVGRU) as tools for extreme, no-good-options scenarios requiring immediate action.
  Hat. The unit is specifically designed for fast, lethal precision at the highest level of emergency. As former senator and retired SEAL operative Bob Kerry put it, US special…

Books & papers

• Inside Delta Force — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 16:58
  One of the few sources providing firsthand insights into Delta Force's training and selection process.
  With Eric Haney's book, Inside Delta Force, one of the few sources of firstirhand insights into Delta's training and selection process, the screening certainly involves torturous.

Companies & orgs

• Delta Force — Company · Business focus · 17 mentions · first at 0:30
  One of the two elite US special forces units compared in the episode, known for counterterrorism and hostage rescue.
• SEAL Team Six — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 0:30
  One of the two elite US special forces units compared in the episode, known for maritime and counterterrorism operations.

Places & events

• Taiwan — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 11:23
  Mentioned as a potential location for Seal Team Six missions if invaded by China.
  Important or challenging missions. In 2024, for example, the Financial Times reported that for a year Dev Group had been training for missions to help Taiwan if it's invaded by…
• Obatabad — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 11:38
  Mentioned as the location of Osama bin Laden's compound during the 2011 operation Neptune Spear.
  According to the CIA, in the weeks leading up to the famous 2011 operation Neptune spear that put an end to 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden inside his compound in Obatabad, Pakistan, Devgroup rehearsed the raid meticulously. This.

Media & podcasts

• Financial Times — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 11:15
  Cited as a source reporting on Seal Team Six's training for missions to help Taiwan if invaded by China.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 In any military, the most elite, best trained, best equipped, and deadliest soldiers tend to be found in the special forces. These are the troops that handle the most dangerous covert operations such as hostage rescues, anti-terrorist operations, and sabotage deep behind enemy lines. So, they have to be the best of the best. And when it comes to the very best special forces in the world, you'd be hardressed to find better than the US's top tier special forces divisions. The US Army's Delta Force and the US Navy's Seal Team Six.

0:36 Between them, they've been key players in some of the most daring and high-risk operations in recent memory. the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, taking out Osama bin Laden in his compound in Pakistan, the recent abduction of President Nicholas Maduro from Venezuela. But if you had to pit the two forces against each other directly in a series of operational competitions or even in direct conflict, who would come out on top? Which of the two forces survived the battle? So, let's take a closer look at these two elite forces.

1:12 the similarities and differences between them and determine who would come out on top if they went head-to-head. Now, to start with, while there are many similarities between the two forces and a large overlap between their operational capabilities, they're actually two highly specialized forces with core expertise in different areas. That said, getting a handle on both forces exact composition, capabilities, training, or even the selection process to join these forces is a lot easier said than done. That's due to the extreme secrecy that surrounds the activities of both forces. The majority of both their operations are highly classified, and in many cases, even the US Congress only finds out about their activities after the fact, if at all. In fact, it's pretty rare for the US government to even admit to either Seal Team 6 or Delta Force activities in the first place. Requests for comment are

2:11 typically met with a standard response of no comment unless we comment. There's a healthy rivalry between the two forces which regularly conduct joint exercises and have reportedly on occasion been deployed on the same missions. Judging from the few exposees and biographies written by former members of each force and interviews with current and former members, it's clear that there's plenty of respect for each other. However, this issue of secrecy has in recent years become somewhat of a bone of contention between the two. Seal Team 6 members have tended to be somewhat more forthcoming about publicizing their exploits, writing books and giving interviews to a noticeably greater extent than the Delta Force compadres.

3:00 This has led to accusations of glory hunting from the Delta Force side at times. The tensions became so palpable that at one point in 1996, a sanctioned brawl between representatives from each side to settle the score was planned. That scuffle might have settled the long-running dispute as to which force is superior, at least to an extent. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the brawl was ultimately called off, not due to classified orders or secret missions, but because of an unexpected outbreak of herpes in a SEAL team competitor.

3:38 Nonetheless, the incident raises an interesting point about what the best way would be to actually test which force is ultimately superior. What kinds of exercises or battle situations would best test overall competency? Which members of each side should participate in the competition and how many of them? In an interview with YouTuber Mike Ritland, the kind of publicity that some Delta Force operators say Seal Team 6 members are too willing to provide. Retired Navy Seal sniper Chris Fetis makes an interesting suggestion. The selected exercises or conflict situation chosen for the challenge should have two versions. The first should involve both sides handpicking a team of their most elite soldiers, the best of their best to compete against each other. the A team versus the A team. The second would involve teams of randomly picked soldiers, creating a competition between average capability forces. Fetis notes

4:38 that just squaring off the elite teams would give a good idea of the peak competencies of both sides, but wouldn't accurately capture the capabilities of the forces as a whole. By contrast, just squaring off average troops from both sides wouldn't give you a sense of how good both sides are at the peak of their powers. So running both competitions and summing the results would provide the broadest sense of who's best. Because of similarity across most criteria between the two forces, it might be difficult to work out who comes out tops in a direct clash between them. So a battle between them might take an innovative solution to determine a winner. Take the selection process to even be offered a chance to join one of these elite forces, for example. To label these processes as tough as it gets just doesn't do them justice. Seal Team 6 is the elite tier one unit of the US Navy Seals or Sea, Air, and Land Teams, which

5:37 are the Navy's elite special forces operating under the Naval Special Warfare Command. They're officially known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or dev group for short. The Navy Seals were established in 1962, 10 years after the formation of the Army Special Forces and 15 years before Delta Force evolved out of that. As Navy assets, SEALs are primarily trained to conduct small unit maritime military special operations that originate from and return to a body of water like an ocean, sea, river, swamp, or coastline.

6:14 However, that's far from the only place where their expertise extends. SEALs are deservedly one of the most respected units in all of the military because their extensive training makes them supremely capable of operating in land and air environments, just as effectively as on or under the water. If there's any special forces unit in the US security apparatus that is even more skilled than either SEAL team 6 or Delta Force, it's arguably the CIA's highly secretive special operations group or SOG for short. In arrangement that stretches back to the Vietnam War, SEALs continued to serve as one of the selection pools for the SOG, demonstrating just how high a grade of soldier SEALs are. That's in part because becoming a Navy Seal trident is one of the most grueling feats in the US military. Candidates who must already be Navy servicemen must pass a series of physical tests including a pre-inlistment medical screening ASVAB,

7:17 AFQT, Sea Salt, and PST. The physical screening is reportedly extremely intense and includes completing a 500y swim in 12 minutes and 30 seconds, 42 push-ups within 2 minutes, 50 situps within 2 minutes, six pull-ups, and a 1.5 mile run in under 11 minutes. Candidates who are able to successfully pass physical screenings are then accepted into the actual training for the special ops unit. The training takes more than a year and is one of the most rugged and intense training periods of any soldier anywhere. It includes roughly eight weeks in naval special warfare prep school, 24 weeks in basic underwater demolition seal training, 3 weeks in parachute jump school, and roughly half a year in SEAL qualification training. Graduates who survive all of that are honored with a special warfare operator naval rating and Navy enlisted classification NEC 5326 combatant swimmer seal. They then progress to 18 months of pre-eployment

8:23 training before they become officially deployable. That involves 6 months each of individual specialty training, unit level training, and task group level training. Only after undergoing all of that and then accumulating enough experience, typically at least 5 years of service as a SEAL and two deployments, will they even be considered for joining SEAL team 6. Now the fun really starts. If you're a massochist, basic SEAL training is so tough that around four out of five candidates are estimated to drop out before the end of the basic underwater demolition seal training. During the so-called hell week that kicks training off, for example, you can expect a maximum of around four hours of sleep over 5 days while being pushed to your limits. It's so hardcore that at least 17 candidate seals are known to have died during training. Now, Devgrrew training takes it to the next level.

9:22 First, candidates have to endure a long and secretive selection process under the supervision of dev group's training and evaluation unit, the green team. Dubbed the operators training course or OTC, the process is designed to push the already elite seals beyond their limits. It tests their physical endurance to the max and attempts to expose any mental, emotional, or tactical weaknesses that might compromise the team in the field. The OTC lasts 6 to 8 months and only around half of the candidates make it through. Fortunately, if you fail, you can apply again at a later point. The first part involves close quarters battle or CQB drills. Here, candidates practice shooting at close range and in cramped quarters using a variety of firearms to clear warehouse size killouses. The next phase involves skydiving from up to 35,000 ft, but waiting until about 2,000 ft from the ground before opening your parachute.

10:23 The last part is survival, evasion, resistance, and escape, or sear training, where candidates learn how to keep themselves alive during dire situations and escape from captivity. Now, if you survive all of that, welcome to Seal Team 6. But if you thought you could then rest on your laurels, think again. Devgu members are expected to maintain supreme levels of fitness alongside advanced strength, endurance, and combat skills. That means regular training with foreign counterparts such as the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, British Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, and Canada's Joint Task Force 2. And of course sometimes with other US special forces like Delta Force. Dev Group members also undergo specific training for particularly important or challenging missions. In 2024, for example, the Financial Times reported that for a year Dev Group had been training for missions to help

11:23 Taiwan if it's invaded by China. We can only guess what exactly that training entails, but we do have some clues. According to the CIA, in the weeks leading up to the famous 2011 operation Neptune spear that put an end to 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden inside his compound in Obatabad, Pakistan, Devgroup rehearsed the raid meticulously. This included using a full-scale replica of the compound that had movable interior walls to prepare the assault teams for any internal layout. Within Seal Team 6 itself, there are different teams and units. These include the aforementioned recruitment focus green team, assault ccentric gold, silver and blue squadrons, mobility transport ccentric gray squadron, and the elusive black squadron, perhaps best described as a confidential unit within a confidential unit. Originally designated as the unit's dedicated sniper team, Black Squadron changed its focus after the

12:24 September 11 attacks. It now specializes in advanced force operations, a term that encompasses intelligence gathering, surveillance, and setting the stage for raids before the other operatives charge in. Essentially, if Devgrrew is a missile, Black Squadron is the guidance system that ensures it hits the target. Black Squadron is also the only dev group team that includes female operatives, an uncommon feature in the traditionally allmale SEAL pipeline. That's because the unit also supports overseas espionage style missions where female operatives can be useful, helping the team blend naturally into environments where solo male operatives would be too conspicuous. A technique known as profile softening. For example, in Afghanistan, black squadron infiltrated villages disguised as tribes persons to plant bugs in the homes of unsuspecting locals ahead of military strikes. Besides the intent and

13:24 sometimes highly individualized training, SEAL Team 16 teams are also likely to have the most advanced weaponry and equipment available to them, including some that aren't officially acknowledged. Most of their loadouts are classified, but glimpses into their toolkit do surface once in a while, such as in the aftermath of the 2011 Bin Laden raid during which one of the SEAL team stealth modified Blackhawk helicopters crash landed and was partially destroyed. Aviation experts analyzing the wreckage identified unknown components such as a windshield coated with radar scrambling capabilities, advanced noise dampening technology, and custom airframe modifications.

14:07 You can just imagine what kind of advanced tech they're packing today. Sonic weapons like the one allegedly used to incapacitate Venezuelan troops during the Maduro abduction and the like. Put it all together and you get a sense of why the secretive force is regarded as one of the most lethal in the world. What's more, Seal Team 6 is ready to be deployed at the drop of a hat. The unit is specifically designed for fast, lethal precision at the highest level of emergency. As former senator and retired SEAL operative Bob Kerry put it, "US special forces like Devgar are for those situations where the choice you have is between a horrible choice and a bad choice. One of those cases where you have no option.

14:51 Likewise, Delta Force is intended for use in similar situations and with immediate effect. But how does it stack up against this fearsome opponent? As Devgru is to the US Navy, Delta Force is to the US Army. i.e. it's the army's elite tier 1 special operations unit. The first special forces operational detachment delta to use its official designation was founded in 1977 and is also known as the combat applications group or kag army compartmented element or ACE. The unit task force green and most commonly delta force. While Delta Force falls administratively under the Army, it's operationally controlled by the US's Joint Special Operations Command or JOC. Like Devgrrew, Delta specializes in counterterrorism, direct action, hostage rescue, and reconnaissance. Also like Devgrrew, Delta Force is typically tasked with carrying out high-risk operations that are almost always classified and often

15:54 directed from the highest levels of the US government. However, unlike Devgrrew, whose members are strictly drawn from Navy Seals, Delta Force members are recruited from throughout the US armed forces with most originating from other US Special Forces, including occasionally a SEAL and the 75th Ranger Regiment communities. That's not to say that it's any easier to get in. To apply for Delta selection, you must at a minimum have entered the army, achieve the rank of E4 through E8 or 03 through 04, i.e. have a ranking ranging from corporal to major and be 21 years old.

16:33 You must also be airborne qualified or a volunteer for airborne training, have a certain ASVAB score, be capable of obtaining a secret security clearance, have no disciplinary action on your file, and have at least 2 and 1/2 years remaining of your military obligation. As for selection, if anything, the process is shrouded in even deeper layers of secrecy than Seal Team Six's. With Eric Haney's book, Inside Delta Force, one of the few sources of firstirhand insights into Delta's training and selection process, the screening certainly involves torturous physical tests on a par with devgus.

17:11 However, where the Navy's endurance and strength tests naturally veered towards aquatic capabilities like swimming, Delta Force seems to put greater focus on land-based capabilities. In particular, Delta Selection is known for its arduous land navigation and rocking exercises, including an 18-mi all-night land navigation course while lugging a 40lb ruck. But that's just where it starts. As you progress through selection, the weight of the rucks progressively increases as the time allowed for completing the course decreases. The final test, also known as the long walk, involves a 40-mile march with a 45lb ruck with the time allowed to complete the walk a closely guarded secret. Just like with Seal Team 6, Delta Force candidates must endure being put through a psychological grinder as well as subjecting themselves to serious physical abuse. You're put in front of a review board, including psychologists,

18:09 instructors, and the Delta Force commander. This intimidating and uncompromising team grills you with many questions with each of your responses broken down and analyzed in front of you. The goal is to wear you down and evaluate how you handle overwhelming mental pressure. After the questioning, the Delta Commander will inform you if you've been selected to attend Delta's OTC or not. Most don't cut with the attrition rate for Delta selection reportedly often hovering around 90%. As for the course itself, from the little that's publicly known, it does seem to be just as grueling as the equivalent Devgrrew course, although arguably more comprehensive. That may provide the Delta Force with an edge in our hypothetical clash between the two, depending on the circumstances of the challenge. Delta Forc's OTC has six blocks compared to Devgr's three.

19:04 Similar to the Devgroove first block, the first here is marksmanship. You start out learning how to shoot at stationary targets without aiming with targets increasing in range and movement as your skills improve. You then transition into CQB, learning the fundamentals of room clearing with multiple hostiles and hostages progressively added into the mix. Also much the same as Devgru's OTC, Delta Force's second block is demolitions and breaching, where you learn how to pick locks, build bombs and explosives with commonly available items, blow things up effectively, and similar skills. Then in block three, combine skills, you put the skills you learned in the first two blocks into practice in dynamic direct action, counterterrorism, and hostage rescue takedown exercises. This block also includes sniper and communications equipment training. Block four is tradecraft aka spy school. It's all

20:03 about learning how to conduct espionage and collect intelligence. For example, executing dead drops, conducting pickups, signaling, and surveillance. Block 5 is executive protection where you learn the same techniques used by the US State Department diplomatic security service and the United States Secret Service. It includes an advanced driving course to learn how to effectively maneuver and drive defensively and defensively. Finally, there's a culmination exercise which, as the name suggests, pulls everything you've learned together. Once you've graduated from all of that, you're ready to be deployed into Delta Force. Like Seal Team 6, Delta Force is also divided into different units with different specialtities. A, B, C, and D squadrons are the assault groups. E squadron is the aviation group, and G squadron is the clandestine squadron, the equivalent of Dev Group's Black Squadron. According to Sha Naylor's

21:01 Relentless Strike, The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command, there are three troops in each assault squadron. Two are dedicated to direct action and assault style operations, while the third specializes in reconnaissance and surveillance, often behind enemy lines. Sniper elements can also be attached to the unit, and like Sealed Team 6, Delta Force operators are likely to have the full range of advanced weaponry in the army's locker at their disposal and then some. But their part

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Something UNTHINKABLE Happens If US Delta Force and Navy SEALs CLASH"?

Jack Ma (Host), Chris Fetis (Guest), Mike Ritland (Guest).

What is "Something UNTHINKABLE Happens If US Delta Force and Navy SEALs CLASH" about?

The discussion explores the capabilities, training, and operational specialties of the US Army's Delta Force and Navy SEAL Team Six, two of the most elite special forces units. The analysis seeks to determine which unit would prevail in a direct confrontation, highlighting their similarities and differences while acknowledging the secrecy surrounding their missions and operations.

What is mentioned in this Jack Ma Billionaire Mindset episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, Eric Haney, Chris Fetis, Financial Times, Bob Kerry. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Something UNTHINKABLE Happens If US Delta Force and Navy SEALs CLASH"?

The episode runs 22 min; the transcript is about 3,196 words in 25 timestamped sections.

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