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In doing research I've found little information regarding life attached to group as compared to the regular army. I am personally a 25s who has been to airborne school and often contemplate requesting such a position. You often hear that group plays by big boy rules, but what does that mean more specifically? How do groups go about PT? Do attached personnel deploy as often as these guys? Also, anyone willing to share some pros and cons will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.
Special Operations
Military Life
Special Forces
Physical Training
Posted 5 y ago
Responses: 5
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Attached, or assigned? If you're attached, it's just a short while, basically for a mission, and that's it.
If you're assigned to a group as support then you are part of the group, usually the S6 as a 25S. Another, similar option is being part of one of the detachments from the 112th signal BN that are positioned all across the world in support of joint special operations.
Whats it like? It's different than what you're doing. Not better or worse. Every single unit is different based on the leadership at the time. Things like PT are local SOP depending on where you're at and when.
The only consistent factor is that you will probably be doing more technical work, with less leadership responsibilities. The good side about working special operations support is that it is very NCO heavy, and usually very technically challenging. You will probably be doing tasks assigned to higher ranks and other MOSs. The bad side is that the leadership development aspect is almost non existent. You may find a good NCO to mentor you, but you will have a VERY small number of junior subordinates (very high NCO to enlisted ratio) and as such you will never experience most of the leadership challenges that will make you grow as a leader that you would find in a convential unit.
My advice is that special operations is a great place to work, but it should be treatedike a broadening assignment: move into it, and then move out of it. Bounce back and forth your whole career, in fact. When people get sucked in by the relaxed lifestyle there and stay too long, it can have a negative impact on their personal leadership development and in their long-term career development. I know many, great, incredible technical geniuses in support MOS who have been passed over for promotion repeatedly because they never left group. The most important thing a support person can bring to a special operations assignment is there conventional knowledge and work ethic, and then return to the conventional Army to replenish before those skills become outdated.
If you're assigned to a group as support then you are part of the group, usually the S6 as a 25S. Another, similar option is being part of one of the detachments from the 112th signal BN that are positioned all across the world in support of joint special operations.
Whats it like? It's different than what you're doing. Not better or worse. Every single unit is different based on the leadership at the time. Things like PT are local SOP depending on where you're at and when.
The only consistent factor is that you will probably be doing more technical work, with less leadership responsibilities. The good side about working special operations support is that it is very NCO heavy, and usually very technically challenging. You will probably be doing tasks assigned to higher ranks and other MOSs. The bad side is that the leadership development aspect is almost non existent. You may find a good NCO to mentor you, but you will have a VERY small number of junior subordinates (very high NCO to enlisted ratio) and as such you will never experience most of the leadership challenges that will make you grow as a leader that you would find in a convential unit.
My advice is that special operations is a great place to work, but it should be treatedike a broadening assignment: move into it, and then move out of it. Bounce back and forth your whole career, in fact. When people get sucked in by the relaxed lifestyle there and stay too long, it can have a negative impact on their personal leadership development and in their long-term career development. I know many, great, incredible technical geniuses in support MOS who have been passed over for promotion repeatedly because they never left group. The most important thing a support person can bring to a special operations assignment is there conventional knowledge and work ethic, and then return to the conventional Army to replenish before those skills become outdated.
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Suspended Profile
I loved my time in SOF, but it's a broadening assignment unless you're CMF 18. You will find the most amazing people doing amazing things for a living. You're "hired" for your technical expertise; something the team needs but doesn't have. Big Boy Rules means you are in charge or doing what you need to do because like SFC (Join to see) said, there is little supervision and mentorship from your MOS or branch. I'd do it again if I could.
SSG (Join to see)
This is my experience exactly. I don’t want to say that most of the NCOs e5-e7 lacked good leadership qualities but it is my experience. While their technical knowledge in non leadership job duties usually exceeds what they’re expected to know. The good NCOs will standout by such a large margin. If they are an e8 in sof who spent anytime conventional, you can expect that they are great. The job you do is definitely different. As a 25s with ten years sof experience, you could be asked to do any number of jobs, 90% of which are not 25s typical duties. I’ve done missions where my only job is to be a radio operator and missions where I was doing only 25b the entire time. As a Sierra you’re expected to be able to do the job of 25b, 25n and 25c. Those mos duties make up 90% of a mission while setting up your antenna is done the first hour or so on location.
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Reserve SO and SF detachments train for the real world mission. They are definitely not "one weekend a month - one AT per year" units. I haven't seen one recently that did not expect their personnel to be able to drop everything, deploy, and accomplish the mission as well as the active component. Does this actually happen the way their command expects? Not as often as they would like, but light years ahead of any other reserve units. The only other nations I know of to have reserve units with an ability to match their active SO units are the UK's 21st & 23rd SAS Territorial Army (i.e. Reserve) and Israel.
To maintain that level of readiness, have a regular job and family responsibilities, requires superhuman determination and devotion to duty. It is certainly not the reserve force that the average Joe should aspire to. It does have one big plus however. If for some reason you couldn't get a slot in an active group, you can (very rarely) get one in a ARNG group. If you do, you must be better than the best and a no excuse non-complainer. If they decide to take a chance on you, they will send you to SFAS ADT. If you also pass that well above average, you will be recalled to AD for the SFQC (or whatever they happen to call it then). Depending upon how well you do in the "Q" Course, or how well you do during several deployments thereafter, you may be offered a position in one of the regular groups, but that is a real long-shot.
To maintain that level of readiness, have a regular job and family responsibilities, requires superhuman determination and devotion to duty. It is certainly not the reserve force that the average Joe should aspire to. It does have one big plus however. If for some reason you couldn't get a slot in an active group, you can (very rarely) get one in a ARNG group. If you do, you must be better than the best and a no excuse non-complainer. If they decide to take a chance on you, they will send you to SFAS ADT. If you also pass that well above average, you will be recalled to AD for the SFQC (or whatever they happen to call it then). Depending upon how well you do in the "Q" Course, or how well you do during several deployments thereafter, you may be offered a position in one of the regular groups, but that is a real long-shot.
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CPT (Join to see)
I forgot to mention, no one usually makes it into ARNG SF unless they are already an E-6. Also 95% of their personnel are transfers into the ARNG from regular SF groups. To do it the other way isn't impossible, but it is much harder.
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