I was just relating what was said on the show. We should also remember if may be the opinion of “former” members and perhaps not completely representative of Delta today.
I personally believe Delta would have been just as capable and I imagine Devgru could perform most Delta missions. I think this is probably nothing more than unit pride and the extra bravado that comes with the package at the cost of assuming “they are the best” and therefore nobody else can be as good.
It’s unfortunate when members of the military that most of us greatly respect seem to be taking shots at each other, but if that is what it takes to get their head in a place where they save lives and bring everyone home, it’s probably a small price to pay.
They go through a LOT to be members of whatever elite unit. That they may consider themselves “the best on this planet” is probably something they’ve more than earned. In a way it must be wonderful to have the backgrounds and accomplishments to actually think that way even if it is slightly unbecoming.
In our daydreams we all assume we’d be the humble “quiet professional” but those daydreams don’t make us members of any SOCCOM group.
Honestly if ever even got a Ranger tab it’d probably take me a whole to stfu about it. And I’m sure they both consider themselves to be the best in the world, nothing wrong with a healthy competition and from what little I’ve seen, it isn’t to the point that its unhealthy. I thought it was pretty decent of Kyle Lamb to compliment the guys on the OBL raid even if he did joke that he’d never say it to their face.
I have heard one guy say that the SEALs are great at what they do (maritime ops) but are definitely a bit out of place when it comes to extended land ops. Granted this was from a sample of one Army SOF member, but it would make sense based on their primary mission statements. Of course I mean no disrespect towards any of them. Watching any of those guys train for about 5 minutes in person you really develop one hell of a respect for them.
I don’t recall any chest thumping. The only person that said anything about CAG “being the best” was the British journalist who quoted one of his SAS sources who had served along side CAG in Iraq dismantling AQ.
LAV even said that there are successful missions that have been carried out throughout the world that we will never no about, and that is the way it is supposed to be. IIRC it was Joe Big Mouth Biden who announced to the world that it was DEVGRU who secured OBL’s heart beat. It’s not like the Navy held a press conference.
The book “No Easy Day” said that CAG and DEVGRU fill slots for each other when necessary. The author (a DEVGRU guy) was temporarily assigned to a CAG unit in Iraq that had taken some casualties and needed slots filled. This was revealing to me as I never realized that this cross-filling occurred. I assume it would be mission-dependent, i.e. a major maritime op might not be best accomplished using CAG as filler for a DEVGRU unit, but for land-based HVT raids they are both quite adept.
He spoke highly of the CAG folks and I suppose in the end that they all have a great deal of respect for each other.