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SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), are the most highly trained elite forces in the US 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.

So what’s the difference between the two? Delta Force recently took out ISIS bad guy Abu Sayyaf in Syria; DevGru took out Al Qaeda bad guy Osama bin Laden a few years ago. Same-same, right?

Wrong.

WATM 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 is an Army outfit that primarily selects candidates from within their own special forces and infantry units. However, they will also select candidates from all branches of service, including the National Guard and Coast Guard.

SEAL Team 6 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 says.

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 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

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,” says our former Delta operator

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 says.  “It’s a matter of learning new equipment, tactics, and rules of engagement.”

4. Missions

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 like 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 2 groups of the most elite operators the military can provide,” says Craig Sawyer.

5. Media exposure

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Retired Army Ranger Jack Murphy explains the mistake that caused the Obama administration to take credit for the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

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If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I really want to go for a swim, but nah, that’s way too much work,” then these Jetboots might be right up your alley.

Officially called the Jetboots Diver Propulsion System, it’s essentially a pair of small thrusters that attach to a diver’s leg, allowing for hands-free movement underwater. Developed by Patriot3 for military use, the Jetboots weigh roughly 25 pounds, are easily stowed in a ruck, and the batteries can be swapped out underwater. Using the Jetboots is pretty straightforward: Strap the thrusters on and you can move quickly through the water with minimal effort. Even changing direction is easy — all you have to do is move your head or torso. It also lets you pull off cool backflips underwater while you talk with fish, like this guy:

Patriot3 designed the system for military divers and the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka SEAL Team 6, occasionally issues the Jetboots to its members, according to The Drive.

Watch a video demonstration of Patriot3’s Jetboots:

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Former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura dropped by Business Insider to talk about his new book, "Jesse Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto."

A former Navy SEAL, Ventura said that he thinks the elite special forces unit has changed, but that he understands and acknowledges why this change has taken place.

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Jocko Willink retired in 2010 after 20 years in the Navy SEALs, but he still gets up at 4:30 a.m. nearly every day to work out.

Willink served as the commander of US Navy SEAL Team Three, Task Unit Bruiser, the most decorated unit of the Iraq War, and established a culture of discipline and responsibility that he calls "extreme ownership."

He and one of his former platoon commanders, Leif Babin, got together after Babin left the SEALs in 2011 to form Echelon Front, a leadership consulting firm that has worked with companies like Shell Oil and Citibank.

To teach discipline, they stay disciplined themselves, and this starts as soon as they get out of bed.

"Just on a practical side, if you wake up early in the morning — like at 4:30 in the morning — you're going to have some free time to yourself to make things happen, to take care of things that are important to you," Willink said during a recent Facebook Live Q&A in Business Insider's New York office. "If you try and work out at 4:30 in the afternoon, how many people are going to chip away at that time? Your boss, your job, your work, your family, your other obligations that you might have. At 4:30 in the morning, all those people are asleep, so you can do whatever you want."

The other benefit is "straight-up self-discipline," he said.

"It's not fun to get out of bed early in the morning. When the alarm goes off, it doesn't sing you a song, it hits you in the head with a baseball bat. So how do you respond to that? Do you crawl underneath your covers and hide? Or do you get up, get aggressive, and attack the day?"

Willink has an intense workout regimen he does in his home gym, which is full of heavy-duty equipment, but it doesn't matter if you put up heavy iron, go for a run, or even go surfing, he said — whatever gets you out of bed and moving.

Babin added that he and Willink are on the road a lot for Echelon Front, and that sometimes the hotel gym isn't up their usual standards for their morning workout or there isn't even a gym. That's fine.

"You don't need any of that stuff," Babin said. "You can just crank out a workout in your room. Do burpees until you puke in the trash can."

"It's really hard to guarantee things in life," Willink said. "I guarantee if you get up in the morning and you work out and you work hard, you will have a better day — 100% guaranteed."

Watch the full interview below:

SEE ALSO: A retired Navy SEAL commander breaks down his morning fitness routine that starts before dawn

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NOW WATCH: Former Navy SEAL commanders explain why they still wake up at 4:30 a.m. — and why you should, too

Former Navy SEALs and "Extreme Ownership" authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin talk about the importance of waking up at 4:30 am every single day.  

Follow Jocko and Leif on Twitter. Listen to Jocko's podcast.

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Former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura dropped by Business Insider to talk about his new book, "Jesse Ventura's Marijuana Manifesto."

The former Navy SEAL is embroiled in a lawsuit he brought against the estate of deceased "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle. In his best-selling book, Kyle alleged that he physically assaulted a person he refers to in the book as "Scruff Face," after making offensive comments about the elite special-forces unit. Kyle later said that "Scruff Face" was indeed Ventura.

Ventura said the incident never occurred, and he sued Kyle for defamation. A Minnesota court ruled in Ventura's favor and awarded him $1.8 million in damages, but an appeals court threw out the verdict. Ventura now plans to seek a new trial with the US Supreme Court.

We asked Ventura if he thinks Kyle should be remembered as a hero.

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When Leif Babin became a Hell Week instructor for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S), he had already served as a Navy SEAL platoon leader in the most decorated special-operations unit of the Iraq War.

Still, he learned a profound lesson about leadership: "There are no bad teams, only bad leaders."

Babin and his former task-unit commander and current business partner, Jocko Willink, recently visited Business Insider's New York office for a Facebook Live Q&A. Babin told a story about learning this lesson through BUD/S, which he also shares in his and Willink's best-seller, "Extreme Ownership."

In one exercise, Babin explained, SEAL candidates were grouped by height into boat crews of seven men and assigned to a WWII-relic inflatable boat that weighed more than 200 pounds. The most senior-ranking sailor became the boat-crew leader responsible for receiving, transmitting, and overseeing the execution of the lead instructor's orders. They were to go through a grueling string of races that involved running with the boat and then paddling it in the ocean.

After several rounds, one particular team came in first and another in last nearly every time. The instructors decided to switch the leaders of the best and worst teams, and the results were remarkable. Under new leadership, the formerly great team did relatively well but was a shadow of its past self, and the formerly terrible team placed first in nearly every race.

The once great team had practiced enough with each other to accomplish something even under bad management, but the bad leader was unable to command respect or maintain synchronicity.

Meanwhile, the excellent leader had taken his new team from last to first by getting them to believe that they were just as capable as his former team, and that bickering with each other during the exercise would not be tolerated.

During the Facebook Live interview, Babin explained that he and Willink see the same behaviors in the companies they work with through their leadership-consulting firm, Echelon Front.

He said that managers will often ask them to come in and fix their underperforming teams. And while there are certainly underperforming employees who may need to be fired, it would be silly to think that an entire team should be fired due to their own incompetence, Babin explained. So before anyone is let go, bosses need to correct their own behavior.

"One of the things that I learned from that boat-crew example is that most people want to lead," Babin said.
"The team that was failing there, they didn't want to be on the failing team. They wanted to win. ... It's about checking the ego — it's about being humble, to recognize what can I do better to lead my team."

Babin said he can remember times from his years with the SEALs where he thought, "If I just had a better team, I would do better."

"Wrong," he said of this train of thought. "If I was a better leader, my team would have been better, and that's what leaders have to recognize and step up and make happen."

You can watch the full Facebook Live Q&A below.

SEE ALSO: Former Navy SEAL commanders explain why they still wake up before dawn every day — and why you should, too

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NOW WATCH: Former Navy SEAL commanders explain why they still wake up at 4:30 a.m. — and why you should, too

Jocko Willink retired from 20 years serving as a US Navy SEAL in 2010, but his morning routine is as intense as ever.

As he said in a recent Facebook Live Q&A at Business Insider's New York headquarters, "It's not fun to get out of bed early in the morning. When the alarm goes off, it doesn't sing you a song, it hits you in the head with a baseball bat. So how do you respond to that? Do you crawl underneath your covers and hide? Or do you get up, get aggressive, and attack the day?"

Willink is the former commander of Task Unit Bruiser, which became the most decorated special-operations unit in the Iraq War. In his book, "Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win," cowritten with his former platoon commander and current business partner Leif Babin, Willink writes that one of his guiding principles is "Discipline equals freedom," and that discipline begins every morning when his alarm goes off, well before the sun rises.

Business Insider asked Willink to break down his mornings for us. Here's how a typical day begins:

Wake up at 4:30 a.m.Three alarms are set— one electric, one battery-powered, and one windup — but he almost always only needs one. The two others are safeguards.

After a quick cleanup in the bathroom, take a photo of wristwatch to show his Twitter followers what time he's beginning the day. It's become both a way to hold himself accountable as well as inspire others to stick to their goals.

Grab his workout clothes, laid out the night before, and head to the gym in his garage for one of the following strength workouts, which lasts around an hour. The exercises can either be lower weight with high reps and little rest or heavy weight with low reps and lots of rest.

• Day 1: Pull ups, muscle ups, related exercises.
• Day 2: Overhead lifts, bench press, deadlifts, handstand push-ups, kettle-bell swings.
• Day 3: Ring dips, regular dips, push-ups.
• Day 4: Overhead squats, front squats, regular squats.

Spend anywhere from a few minutes (intense bursts) to a half hour (steady) for cardiovascular training. This could include sprints or a jog.

Finish workout around 6:00 a.m. Depending on the day, go out to hit the beach near his home near San Diego, California, to spend time swimming or surfing. If the weather is nice, he may also do his cardio on the beach.

Shower and start working for his leadership consulting firm, Echelon Front, or for his popular podcast, any time after 6:00 a.m. He doesn't get hungry until around noon, and only has a snack, like a few handfuls of nuts, in the morning.

After work, Willink gets in two hours of jujitsu training and heads to bed around 11:00 pm.

Willink said that he recognizes that everyone is different, and that not everyone would benefit from getting up at 4:00 a.m. for an intense workout. The key is that "you get up and move," whether that's jogging, weight lifting, or yoga.

If you need some further motivation:

The discipline comes in in setting a schedule and sticking to it so that your day begins with an energizing accomplishment, not a demoralizing stretch of time where you lie in bed and hit snooze on your alarm a few times. Every morning should start off with a predictable routine.

"And that's the way that you own it," he said. "Because once the day starts, well, then other people get to have a vote in what you're doing."

You can watch the Facebook Live Q&A below.

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Former Navy SEALs and "Extreme Ownership" authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin explain how they trained to handle stressful situations on the battlefield, and how you can apply that skill to your life.

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The United States military is currently engaged in a clandestine war in the African nation of Somalia. American special operations forces are working with government forces from Somalia, Kenya, and other African nations to fight the militant group al-Shabaab, which has ties to al-Qaeda. 

The US military hasn't had this many troops in the war-torn country since the "Black Hawk Down" tragedy of 1993.

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Jesse Itzler felt he was in a rut. So he asked Navy SEAL David Goggins to live with him for 31 days, during which Jesse would do anything David told him to do.

Jesse would later write "Living With A Seal" documenting the grueling experience of getting whipped into shape by one of the toughest men on the planet. They ran through snow storms, jumped into a frozen lake, and did lots and lots of push-ups. 

The adopted the philosophy "if it doesn't suck, we don't do it." David and Jesse explain in order to get better you need to constantly take yourself out of your comfort zone, or do something that sucks every day.

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It's a stressful day.

If watching the results of the exit polls is giving you heart palpitations so that you can barely focus on doing your work, you're hardly alone.

But ordering yourself to focus, focus! probably isn't the most effective strategy for calming down. In fact, it can sometimes backfire, because now you're nervous and angry that forcing yourself to stop being nervous didn't work.

Here's a better solution: Trick yourself into a calmer state. Specifically, instead of telling yourself to relax, pretend that you already are relaxed by breathing deeply, the way a super-relaxed person would. Your body and mind will probably soon follow suit.

That tip comes courtesy of Eric Potterat, the former head psychologist for the US Navy Seals. Potterat is currently the scientific advisor at Thync, which makes wearable technology that helps reduce stress. He told us about this technique in relation to preparing for a stressful meeting at work, but it works just as well on a stressful day.

Potterat calls the breathing technique"tactical breathing," and has taught the strategy to elite athletes. It's a component of arousal control, or diminishing the body's stress response and kickstarting the relaxation process.

Potterat likens the stress response to the body's "gas pedal": The sympathetic nervous system goes into action, meaning your heart rate increases and your breaths become shallow. Fortunately, Potterat said, the body also has a "built-in brake system to help recover and relax." You can activate that brake system, also known as the parasympathetic nervous system, simply by taking a few deep breaths.

This strategy works for two reasons. One, Potterat said you don't think about the stressor at hand because you're focusing on breathing.

Two, and perhaps more importantly, it "exactly counteracts the human stress response." In other words, you're working from the outside in, behaving the way a relaxed person would, so that your body thinks you are in fact relaxed.

When you're under extreme stress, Potterat recommends finding a private place to take a few depth breaths for four to five minutes.

"It's a technique anyone should and could do," he said.

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"When one examines the elite cohorts on the planet — whether you're an elite athlete or an elite military member — it's pretty clear that the way that they handle stress is not by accident."

So says Eric Potterat, the former head psychologist for the US Navy SEALs.

Potterat, who is now the scientific adviser at Thync, which produces wearable technology that helps reduce stress, told Business Insider about eight techniques those elite cohorts typically learn.

He said the overarching theme behind all of them is that stress is under your control. Meaning that even if you can't entirely avoid external pressures, you can decide how you react to them.

"If you control stress, you control performance in any environment," he said.

Potterat thinks that anyone —not just elite performers — can learn these techniques and start making them into habits. We've rounded them up below, along with details on how you can implement them in your daily life.

1. Develop a performance routine

This is a routine you practice either the night before or the day of the high-stakes situation.

Maybe you listen to a certain song or wear a lucky article of clothing. It's about getting into that peak-performance mindset.

As Kristin Keim, a sports psychologist who trains Olympic athletes, previously told Business Insider, routines go back to that idea of controlling what you can — even if it's just what color shirt you wear.

2. Break down big goals into smaller pieces

Potterat said we're often affected negatively by stress because we're overwhelmed by the entire feat we have to accomplish.

That's why it's important to use what Potterat calls "segmenting": chopping up big goals into smaller pieces. "If you're thrust into a seemingly overwhelming, stressful situation, the best thing you can do is just kind of manage one step at a time and focus on what's controllable," he said.

For example, say you're about to give an important presentation at work. You can make the situation less intimidating by breaking that presentation into manageable pieces, Potterat said. Focus on getting through three minutes at a time.

"Good coaches and athletes know this inherently," Potterat added.

3. Visualize success

When Potterat talks about visualization, he means using as many senses as possible. So say you're an elite swimmer. What will the competition feel, smell, and even taste like — both before you win and when you win?

If you're heading into a job interview, don't just rehearse your answers to commonly asked questions— imagine what the meeting room will look like and what the chair you sit on will feel like. That way, you'll feel less overwhelmed and more confident when you walk in.

"The reason visualization or imagery works as a stress mitigator," Potterat said, "is because the first time your mind sees it in reality, you've been practicing it already."

4. Control your arousal levels

When you get nervous, your body typically displays a fight-or-flight response. Your blood pressure increases, your arteries get tighter, and your heart rate shoots up.

You can kickstart the relaxation response through "tactical breathing," or taking slow, deep breaths. It's what Potterat calls the body's "built-in brake system," and it's a way of convincing your body and mind that you're relaxed instead of anxious, so that all those stress symptoms start to disappear.

All it takes is five minutes before that big presentation, even if you have to hide in the bathroom.

5. Engage in positive self-talk

Positive self-talk is not, Potterat said, about telling yourself "everything is okay."

Instead it's about managing your negative, destructive thoughts when you're in a stressful situation. Again, it goes back to what you can control — maybe not your coworker's performance, but what you think about your coworker's performance.

When you catch yourself catastrophizing — deciding you're going to perform terribly and there's nothing you can do about it — ask yourself if there's anything you can do about it.

6. Do some contingency planning

In the days or even weeks before a stressful event, Potterat recommends coming up with as many contingency plans as possible. So not just a Plan A and B — a Plan C, D, and E, just in case.

Imagine situations in which "something we didn't predict or didn't think could happen happens." That way, if the unpredictable does happen, you can handle it with confidence.

Interestingly, five-time Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps told The Washington Post that he visualizes different scenarios in which something goes wrong: "If my suit ripped or if my goggles broke, you know, what would I do?"

At work, you might envision your computer malfunctioning during your presentation or one of your coworkers jumping in with a trick question.

7. Compartmentalize

"Sometimes bad things happen," Potterat said. "Maybe you'll blow a presentation or whatever it may be. The worst thing you can do is just to kind of get caught up in that moment."

Potterat said elite performers learn to put the negative experience "in a box until the performance is done and then we'll re-investigate or re-look at what went wrong later."

So if you fumble part of your presentation, keep going. Don't dwell on your mess-up, which will only sabotage the rest of it.

8. Cultivate self-awareness

"You'd be surprised how little we are all self-aware in the midst of stress," Potterat said.

Some people don't eat well or sleep well; others consume too much caffeine or alcohol. "We're really not aware of those things that are not helping the stressful situation," Potterat added. "They're only making it worse."

Take a look at your own habits when you're under pressure and figure out which ones are only exacerbating the problem. If you're staying up all night and then drinking eight cups of coffee to deal with the stress of an upcoming deadline, you might want to find some healthier coping mechanisms, either on your own or with the help of a professional.

SEE ALSO: Former Navy SEAL commanders explain why they still wake up before dawn every day — and why you should, too

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Former Navy SEAL sniper Brandon Webb completed one of the military's hardest training programs in order to become a SEAL. Many of us have heard of "Hell Week" and how brutal the experience can be, but Webb describes a different phase of his training that proved to be even more challenging. 

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Former Navy SEALs and "Extreme Ownership" authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin explain how teamwork is crucial for survival in the battlefield and in business. 

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Former Navy SEALs and "Extreme Ownership" authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin know how hard it is to focus on a long-term goal. Willink breaks down the importance of short-term goals when planning for the long term. 

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