My son is interested in special forces. I want him to talk to someone with firsthand knowledge, not just a recruiter. Any suggestions?

Your son will most likely not pass the selection and the course. Have him talk to a recruiter and pick a job he likes. After school he can try out for SF with no negative repercussions. If he joins on the SF 18X program, when he fails - and the majority do fail - the Army will pick his next job till he finishes his contract

As a recruiter I would completely agree with SFC (Join to see) I tell every person who walks through my doors and wants 18X that they are more than likely not going to pass. There is an extremely large number of combat arms soldiers that come from the Army that does not pass SFAS...a kid off of the street doesn’t seem to stand a chance. I’ve said multiple times, I don’t think that it should even be an enlistment option. If he really wants to go SF, I’d say go infantry and after a few years, try out then. It’s less on what your son is capable of and more on what’s expected that he just won’t know.

If you are near an Army base that has a Special Forces element, perhaps someone there can speak with your son. There are also plenty of SF personnel here on RP. He can also start here:

https://goarmysof.com/specialforces/sfrecruiting.html