John Burton
On the Dalton Fischer Podcast, Burton reports having shot almost everyday at the unit to the point where he did not want to do it on weekends.
Fischer reports not having significantly shot pistols until he got to the Unit – except for 9mm qualification at the 75th Ranger Regiment. He notes that the unit trains everyone from the basics while some of the other operators there had been shooting competition champs. By the time he was there ten years, as a team leader, Fischer reports that he was “pretty good at it.”
In relation to why pistol shooting is so important at the Unit, Burton notes it is especially important for CQB, where rifles go down, and for hostage rescue. The logic of it is that, if you’re in an operation, you need to be able to switch automatically. Looking at combat, Burton notes he did not have to frequently go to his pistol in combat but knows guys who had to – for example in rooms that were too small for carbines. Burton reports that, other than situations like crawling into a tunnel, pistol usage was mostly tied to main rifles going down.
When Burton arrived at the Unit, they had just shifted from the 1911 to the Glock 40 9mm.
When asked for a funny Brent Tucker story, with Burton going through OTC with Tucker, albeit on separate teams, Burton’s team would play Rock Bang, and talking it up. HAlfway through the course, Brent invited whomever wanted to come over. Another operator, Ryan (?) was the drummer. Brent had the whole thing. A few of the guys went over before hitting the bars. It was a package house – the whole class was there pretty much. Brent answers the door looking like one of the dudes from Skidrow. Brent’s wife at the time (Ellie May). Not only were they dressed the part but they were really good, and Brent can actually sing.
Is Brent Tucker front, third from left, in Al-Wattiyah shot?
Burton reports that Delta Force makes extensive use of jujitsu training for hand-to-hand combat
The Midwest is disproportionately represented, and Ohio even more so. Burton keeps in touch with a cohort of Ohio State fans from his time in the Unit.
Burton recommends David Grossman’s “On Killing.” – Burton mentions that Delta Force selects for people who can “flip that switch” easily. Delta is looking
Someone will probably get mad at me for saying but “the person who could do this is borderline psychopath, and it’s a fine line, and we can stay on that right side of the line because we’re patriots… Once in a while, you’ll get a guy or two that will stray across that line. When you look at the rest of the populations, it’s your murderers, or the killers, those guys, who already in person. We’re already on that side of the line and that’s why they hire us. But there’s still knowing between right and wrong – and that’s where you draw the line.
Johh Burton, Former Delta Force, Dalton Fischer Podcast
I never had a problem killing guys – I still don’t today. – “it’s like work – somebody’s gotta do it… It’s not that I loved it… I’m actually a huge non-conformist… but for me that was like my calling and my duty at that time in my life. Someone had to do it – especially after 9/11 – it never stops – there’s always evil in the world.
“that tradition has to continue because there’s always evil people in the world.”