The Deltas

Key military and government figures had already been briefed on a model for this type of unit in the early 1960s. Charlie Beckwith, a Special Forces (Green Berets) officer and Vietnam veteran, had served as an exchange officer with the British Army's Special Air Service (22 SAS Regiment) during the Malayan Emergency. Upon his return, Beckwith presented a detailed report highlighting the U.S. Army's vulnerability in not having an SAS-type unit. U.S. Army Special Forces in that period focused on unconventional warfare, but Beckwith recognized the need for "not only teachers, but doers."[8] He envisioned highly adaptable and completely autonomous small teams with a broad array of special skills for direct action and counterterrorist missions. He briefed military and government figures, who were resistant to creating a new unit outside of Special Forces or changing existing methods.