The Making of a Legend - Larry Vickers

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 8/24/20 | T Taysom

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From his roots in the Green Berets, Larry Vickers has spent a lifetime training civilians and law enforcement alike for the rigors of real-world threats.

Internet videos have launched numerous people into stardom, many for doing silly and stupid tricks while inebriated. When I need a good laugh at someone else’s expense, I go to the internet and look for the latest rube who has skirted death and videoed it. But the internet has also introduced some interesting people who we would have otherwise never known about. Larry Vickers is one of these people.

By now, most people in the shooting world have an idea who he is, or have watched one of his videos. After seeing a few, I decided that there was so much more to this guy, so I set out to speak with him. Vickers did not disappoint.

IN THE BEGINNING
Vickers was born the son of a World War II veteran and had military service in his DNA. Hailing from a small town in Ohio, he enlisted in the US Army's delayed-entry program before graduating from high school in the early 1980s. His enlistment gave him the opportunity to go through Infantry School, followed by Airborne School and then the Special Forces qualification course. Following his successful graduation from all of these schools, Vickers was awarded the coveted Green Beret and began his career in the Army.

During his enlistment, however, Vickers decided that being in the Green Berets wasn’t really what he wanted to do, so when his stint was up, he left active duty. Vickers expressed interest in Delta Force, but was advised that he had to be on active duty to even attempt qualification, so he reenlisted.

DELTA FORCE
The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D) is the brainchild of Colonel Charles Beckwith, who served with the British Special Air Service (SAS) as an exchange officer in the early 1960s. After a decade of pitching the idea for a similar group to the US Army, Beckwith was eventually tasked with forming a counter-terrorism and hostage-rescue team of highly trained soldiers capable of operating in small teams. Today, we more commonly refer to this as Delta Force.

After the full Delta-course training is complete and the enlisted service member is ready to graduate, there is one final test – another land-navigation course, again in the mountains of West Virginia. But this time it’s 40 miles with a 45-pound pack and the time is, again, unknown to the candidate. Go or no-go is all you get at the end. The failure rate during the course is high; estimates are as high as 95 percent, but official numbers are never given. Vickers made the cut and became a Delta Force operator.

OPERATION ACID GAMBIT
The overwhelming majority of Delta’s missions are classified top secret and never made public. Of the few that have come to light, Acid Gambit represents one of Delta’s victories and Vickers was there.

Kurt Muse, an American civilian living in Panama, was accused by President Manuel Noriega’s regime of being a CIA asset. Delta was tasked with rescuing him. The mission involved flying by helicopter to the Modelo Prison in Panama, then landing on and entering via the roof. The prison was heavily guarded and resistance was expected to be heavy. Read the rest of Larry Vickers