What was the deciding factor for you to become a green beret?

I was still a Senior in high school and my father confronted me about a lousy report card. He looked me in the eye and asked me to point to one thing in my life where I have achieved “excellence.” The shitty smirk on my face evaporated pretty quickly when I became aware of my own mediocrity. A few weeks later, that conversation still imprinted, I was in a recruiters office signing up for the REP-63 (ARNG predecessor to 18X in the late 90’s). I didn’t know what SF did... I was just looking for some “excellence” in my life.

As I continued to progress through the training and learned more about the path I pursued, I wanted more. Plus, 9/11 happened when I was in SUT, so I was also compelled to keep up the pace. If I was going to go to war... I wanted to be with the best.

I was super young and single. No family. No personal issues. No thoughts. No concerns. Just a kid that didn’t want to be mediocre. It was the best thing that I could have done. It set the tone for how I would live the rest of my life. I learned to demand excellence of myself in everything I do. College, Career (especially now as a pilot), Family... even little house projects... I didn’t learn that in High School. I learned what “excellence” means to me at Camp Mackall.

I served 9 years in the Infantry prior to going SF. I always knew that I had more to offer and the Infantry just wasn’t maximizing my potential. So I went to a recruiter and volunteered for Selection. Not one day was hard as I was more than ready physically and psychologically. I was then assigned to the best Group in SF and walked straight into a dive team. I knew then I was home and would spend 15 more years serving the Regiment.

Easy answer; mission, training, equipment and most of all relatively independent from the big green machine