A Delta man’s failure to follow instructions was more than it seemed

Delta’s James “Conan” Sudderth’s toes touched the roof of Modelo Prison from where he was seated in an MH-60 Little Bird assault helicopter. The date was December 20, 1989, and the operation was Just Cause, executed in Panama to oust dictator Manuel Noriega and free American citizen Kurt Muse from his prison cell at Modelo.

Conan burst through the door cupola on the roof of Modelo, which had been explosively opened by a member of his assault team just seconds before. He ran down several flights of stairs, gunning down Panamanian prison guards the whole way to Kurt’s cell.

“We’re Americans, and we’re here to take you home!” James yelled.

Freeing Kurt, the force climbed back aboard the Little Bird and made a mad dash to safety from a city that had erupted into machine guns and explosives. Conan’s helicopter was shot down almost as soon as it lifted off. On the ground, Conan’s foot was trapped firmly between the ground and the helicopter, hopelessly smashed. He kicked and kicked to free his foot, tearing off several of his toes in the process.

All personnel were recovered in what was a successfully planned and executed mission, though it was not without its casualties.

Kurt Muse had been in Panama in the capacity of a CIA operative spying and influencing the population to overthrow the dictator Noriega. He was caught overriding a radio broadcast with one of anti-Noriega rhetoric. It had been truly a black day for Kurt and his cohorts. The years were bleak as he wasted away in his cell in Modelo while his family fought tooth and nail for his repatriation.

Upon his recovery, Conan returned to business as usual.

In Delta, training is extremely important to its operators, therefore it goes on all year long if possible.

Conan’s training brought him to the Combat Diver Qualification Course, a waterborne infiltration course run in Key West Florida by a cadre of Green Berets.

At the time, I was a Green Beret and part of that cadre. (Altogether, I spent three years of my military career as part of the waterborne infiltration course cadre.)

The waterborne training lasted all day every day and even into the nights. Friday afternoons were a day of stand down and maintenance of all the course equipment – boats, kayaks, personal swimming equipment, and the like. I liked to jump on in with the guys and lend a hand with the grueling punishing work since it built rapport between the instructors and the student body.

Related: Special Forces deep-diving antics: Always stay away from the poop deck

At some point I spied Conan’s bare right foot, as the men were stripped down of T-shirts and shoes to contend with the wet splashing work. His foot looked gnarly, what with his missing middle toes. My mind churned and I felt I just had to make some kind of wise-guy remark about it:

“Sergeant… it is said among solders to never come late, light, or out of uniform. I cite you a Failure to Follow Instructions (FFI) for leaving behind an essential item of kit – in this case, your middle toes. You’re light and out of uniform.”

Conan grinned a grin of a man who did not necessarily wish to grin; he did it only as a favor to me. The men around us grew strangely quiet as they continued to work.

Once I was off and alone a pair of the men came up to me to read me a chapter from the Army riot act. It was then that I realized… I had phuqt up.

My sincere apology to James was followed by a recruitment spiel from him to invite me to try out for the Delta Force. I was inexorably flattered. What followed was my personal train up and application for the vaunted Delta Force. My military life had really only just begun.

By Almighty God and with Honor,
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Feature Image: An MH-6 “little bird” helicopter flies over Tampa Bay, Florida during a capabilities demonstration taking place at Special Operations Forces Week, May 8, 2024. (Photo by Photo by Gunnery Sgt. Demetrius Munnerlyn/USSOCOM)

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