I want to become a Green Beret, but considering the route the Army is going now, should I look forward to doing something different?

2016-11-11T21:53:34-05:00

I want to do something more with my career and I feel stagnate even though I haven't been in long. I just feel like I should do something now or I never will. If I'm not mistaken the army is going more back towards garrison so I just want to know your thoughts and if I should look forward to doing something different.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 11 at 2016 9:57 PM

2016-11-11T21:57:20-05:00

Fuck no brother...Lean forward the worst day in SF is better than the best day in the Conventional Force. Charge forward and knock it out.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 11 at 2016 10:08 PM

2016-11-11T22:08:18-05:00

If SF has been a goal/dream for you.....then go for it.

Response by SFC George Smith made Nov 11 at 2016 10:12 PM

2016-11-11T22:12:58-05:00

The army will most likely do at least a 3 year turn around since the Trumpster won, and with the ISIS as wild card you can most likely find a good home in SF... for the next 12-15 years...
Don't be deterred from your dreams... IF you want it ... go for it grab it and growl...
But Remember They will try to cut you out
They will push you past your limits
They will stress you beyond your coping points ...
They will try to break you...
If you pass and graduate you will never look back and the rest ot the army will look so ordinary...
One of the Advantages is SF is a Force Multiplier and they can be used around the world of a moments notice...
They Have been exempt from hack and slash cuts since Reagan... only Carter cut the ranks

hang in there and hang tough...

DOL...

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 11 at 2016 10:49 PM

2016-11-11T22:49:06-05:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member Garrison or not, there will always be trouble spots that call for skilled men and women. Go for it. Best wishes!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 11 at 2016 11:08 PM

2016-11-11T23:08:38-05:00

Special Forces is being run into the ground because of too many missions so then they need new blood so you should try out for Special Forces which includes psychological operations and civil affairs as a secondary skill set. I'm in civil Affairs and I'm not in Special Forces and it's amazing what these guys can do so listen to the other special forces operators here they're saying the demands always there the job security is always there and they always need people. People get promoted people leave people retire so go for it.

Response by SPC Phil Norton made Nov 12 at 2016 12:12 AM

2016-11-12T00:12:49-05:00

I worked with SF at Bragg and I would say if you can do it. I would also get a Ranger tab. The combination of the two opens many doors. On my second enlistment I was 35 and I knew a ranger 1st Sgt younger than me. That's pretty dang impressive. Just make sure you have the proper mind set to handle the constent deployment good luck you can do it

Response by SN Greg Wright made Nov 12 at 2016 1:03 AM

2016-11-12T01:03:43-05:00

Respect from an old guy. Just by serving at all, you're in the 1% of Americans that Do Something for their Country. That's not enough, and you want to do more? I wish we had more young men and women like you.

Response by MSG Dan Castaneda made Nov 12 at 2016 1:07 AM

2016-11-12T01:07:58-05:00

If you have something we need, by all means step to the plate. It's a long and hard road, but well worth it. There's a slot on an ODA in one of the Groups for you, but come prepared, you're going to be busy.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 12 at 2016 1:59 AM

2016-11-12T01:59:58-05:00

The Army is Army. SOF is its own people. Embrace the suck and get er done, or be that guy 10 years from now in a bar saying how you could of would of, but didn't. You either want to leave saying you did it all or don't. End of story. I hope you choose the one with the "Long Tab"....drops mic

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Nov 12 at 2016 10:59 AM

2016-11-12T10:59:24-05:00

If that is what you want to do, go for it now while you still can. While I am not SF, I have worked with many who are/were. The advice they told me was "be careful what you wish for."

As with any job, do your research, talk to as many SF and former SF folks that you can. While you cant know everything, try to be as informed as you can before you make this leap. It may turn out to be the best decision of your life.

Good luck.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 12 at 2016 12:17 PM

2016-11-12T12:17:12-05:00

What I saw as a SOF support guy is that SOF are men of action. They are leaders and they are quiet professionals. It's what separates the Army from their Navy counterparts. Can you live with just doing something or do you want to challenge yourself to be the best at a variety of life skills, not just shooting someone in the face? If you have to ask, you may have your answer but like MSG Private RallyPoint Member eloquently pointed out, the worst day in SF is better than the best day in the big Army.

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 12 at 2016 1:55 PM

2016-11-12T13:55:11-05:00

Sounds like an excuse to me, SPC. ;)
Either commit to your dream, or find another dream. Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can't, you're probably right; but do not live in a constant state of "what if".

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 12 at 2016 9:11 PM

2016-11-12T21:11:38-05:00

Just go for it. SF is always doing something. Good luck in your endeavors should you choose to try out!

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 12 at 2016 11:43 PM

2016-11-12T23:43:29-05:00

Last I heard/checked SOF was in 153 different countries. I'm not SF, but my unit has more missions than we can even supply with manpower. You will do garrison related things in SOF. 1SFC will make sure you do your annual SHARP training. If you get assigned at Bragg - Your gonna do clean sweep if your here. However - You will get some of the best training available, and the door to unreal amounts of training opportunites will open to you. Not to mention deploying somewhere to put your craft to work - you will deploy. Trust me.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 14 at 2016 12:22 AM

2016-11-14T00:22:27-05:00

I'd say do any kind of schooling you can put under your belt. If you try and don't get it then keep trying and keep grabbing what you can. Just don't stop.

Response by CPT Nicholas D. made Nov 14 at 2016 6:47 AM

2016-11-14T06:47:16-05:00

You will never regret taking the journey. If you try and fail, you will at least know that you didn't let the opportunity go by. If you never try, you will never know. You don't want to be the "I almost did that" guy in the VFW. I hear that a lot. If you try and SUCCEED, you will reshape your life completely. Let me tell you a story:

When I was joining the Army (a lifetime ago), I was gung-ho on doing the 18 series route. I was a 17 year old HS Senior and found a pipeline program with the ARNG called the REP-63 program. It was a pre-cursor to the 18X program in the late 1990's. Same concept. "Street to Seat" SF pipeline. Infantry OSUT, Airborne, SFAS... Q. Despite discovering the program, there weren't a lot of recruiters that were familiar with how to enlist a kid straight into SF. I "enlisted" an AD recruiter to help me hunt down the POC's for the SF unit in my state to get the ground-truth story on how to make this happen. My brother went with me. (This is where the story stops being about me.)

I listened to an experienced 18Z explain to me the route. The challenges I'd face. The level of commitment I was going to be expected to demonstrate sounded daunting. My brother snapped and popped his chewing gum staring at the "cool-guy" posters on the walls, half listening to the spiel, and waiting for me to finish asking my wide-eyed questions. Eventually the MSG (who would become a "godfather to me") turned to him and asked him if he was ready to sign up too. He giggled and said "I just want to drive a tank." He had no interest in doing a career in the Army. Just wanted to get free school while doing something fun for six years and get out.

Fast forward 2 months later, we are at MEPS and we are knocking out our contract in-processing. I got what I wanted. SF Pipleline. My brother, going through MED got flagged for color vision. It was suspicious since we are identical twins, but maybe he didn't listen when they said don't stare at the sun. Who knows. Anyway, they told him he could be a personnel clerk or a radio repairman... but not a 19K. His initial response is "forget it." He lamented about it, evaluated college tuition prices, and eventually got talked into being a personnel clerk in an ARNG Paladin Artillery unit (it's like a Tank) and at least he'd get college tuition paid for.

I got back from the Q 2 years later, and had marching orders to go to Eastern Europe on my new ODA. I was stoked. My brother was going to school, "felt stagnant", and was "looking to do something different." We had a few drinks, talked about the difference of our experiences (SF vs. Conventional Army), and he resolved he was going to give it a try. I am sure it didn't hurt having a person with identical DNA prove the course is doable... but he was going to have to prove he had the heart, the drive, and the commitment. We had a support opening in the unit for a personnel clerk for the deployment, so my brother got to tag along and do some prep work on a "training team" while doing his other duties. An SF Physical revealed that he was NOT colorblind and there must have been an error at the test in MEPS. The unit was so impressed with his determination preparing physically, they sent him home from a deployment early to go to SFAS. He passed. He went to the Q. He did phenomenally. Now, the bored teenager chomping away on his Dubble Bubble who could care less about doing a career in the Army has 11 years on an ODA and will be short final to retirement in a couple years. I can't imagine WHO my brother would be if he hadn't sat down at that table that "Martini Monday" at the university bar and started the conversation with me about taking the journey.

It will change you. We all have an idea of who we think we are. Army SF will prove it to you. You will be tested and your true colors will be on display, and that is a great feeling when you know you have proven yourself. Then you get to an ODA, and you will meet perfect strangers from opposite walks of life who you will truly come to call "Brother." I'm fortunate that one of my Regimental Brothers is also my biological one!

Response by SSG Sirhc Prahs made Nov 14 at 2016 10:43 PM

2016-11-14T22:43:57-05:00

Every one owes it to them self to go to SFAS... you don't want to live wondering what if, and more important then that, you learn a lot about yourself.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 15 at 2016 7:18 AM

2016-11-15T07:18:08-05:00

Wait, you want to become a hat? That's kind of strange. Hahahaha I am just messing with you. If you try out for Special Forces, it will likely be the hardest thing you have done in your life... ever. If you have the drive and the will to win, you can make it through if you condition yourself. There are some training programs online that can prepare you physically, but it is mostly about the mental will to succeed. If you make it through, it will be the most rewarding career move you will ever make. Especially if you like deployments. Our mission is not going to slow down. Our work will never stop. We are everywhere. If you join the Brotherhood, you will never feel like your career is "stagnant".

DOL

Response by SGT James Belcher made Nov 16 at 2016 7:44 PM

2016-11-16T19:44:30-05:00

Do it....a life of regret if you never even tried !

Response by SSG John Jensen made Nov 17 at 2016 3:23 AM

2016-11-17T03:23:49-05:00

one day in pre-phase, they grabbed all of us who wore glasses, and took us to the optometrist, 'cause the MEPS stations don't know the eye standards, and the optometrist at Bragg told me that if I jumped without my glasses that I would miss the ground, it was a good thing to be cut out early, my enlistment was for SF medic, and in my unit in the 82d I saw the guys who failed Med Lab, they were an emotional mess, and while in the 82d discovered I had a congenital bone deformity, there's no way I would have made SF, but you're right about looking at the rest of the Army that way. There's a local kid who wants to go SF, cause his Dad was, I tell him 1st enlistment go for something fun, for the rest create your own hard core

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 18 at 2016 12:10 AM

2016-11-18T00:10:18-05:00

Special Forces is never garrison. No matter what the big army is doing we're always gone doing something somewhere.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Apr 10 at 2018 11:38 AM

2018-04-10T11:38:13-04:00

Moving back to garrison? Son you need to read more- last check we are deployed/supporting 50 nations around the world- combat troops still in the Middle East, still getting causalities. Follow your heart- want a change up then go for it- Lots of folks in 82nd went Ranger or SF, some came back later.

Response by Nick Favillo made Jun 25 at 2018 12:18 AM

2018-06-25T00:18:20-04:00

My only regret is that I was unable to join the military

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2018 2:51 PM

2018-07-04T14:51:54-04:00

The title statement isn’t completely accurate I believe. The worst day in SF is way worse than any day in the regular army. In SF, you become extremely close with the other guys in your team/ group, because of stabalitazion within the community. You become family. I would think that a loss hits way harder than in SF than in reg army. Not taking away from losses in RA. Guys can become close there too, but not 10+ years of deployments together. But if we are talking about day-to-day life, SF is way better.

Response by SGT Johnnie Daniel made Apr 3 at 2023 12:08 PM

2023-04-03T12:08:10-04:00

Of course you should try. Do you really want to be a leg the rest of your career. Good luck.