Posted on Feb 2, 2019
SPC Logan Daniels
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I want to attend SFAS this spring/summer And I’m looking For advice or someone who can give me some pointers on what the community is looking for in candidates and what I can do to make my self a better candidate? I’m interested in the 18E pathway. Any advice / mentorship is greatly appreciated.
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Responses: 12
SFC Retention Operations Nco
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It's helpful to be in good shape, though not really necessary. You'd be surprised the amount of people who make it through and are less fit than your average paratrooper. But being fit certainly makes selection a bit more bearable.
Physically, just be capable of carrying lots of weight at a consistent pace.
The best advice that someone gave me was, "Be the last to sit down, and the first to get up. Double check and retie the knots. Be an asset to the team." It worked for me.

I would make sure you're pursuing it for the right purpose and that you have a realistic idea of what an SF NCO does. It's not shooting people in the face, and it's not being a Network Ninja as an 18E. When I was a Career Counselor in SF Group, the most common reason guys told me they were leaving the Army was that SF was not what they were led to believe it was. As opposed to shooting bad guys in the face, they were doing training exercises with foreign allies most of the time. You will not become an expert in all things signal as an 18E; SF Command has a large detachment of signal support MOSs at each battalion, group, and an entire battalion of special operations signal personnel with numerous detachments across the world.
Finally, you might not be offered 18E. Whether it's your scores or their need, you may be offered something else. I was already a medic when I was selected. I attended with the express intent of becoming an 18D. All of my scores were very high, but I was given 18E instead. You are at the need of the Regiment. The name may say Special, but there are 24,000 special forces CMF18 in the Army and they will fill your slot with someone else who wants it of you don't accept what they offer.

My advice would be research the lifestyle first because that will determine whether or not you enjoy it. Better yet, go to Airborne School and reenlist for an assignment at a group so you can see first hand. Trust me, it will benefit you to have some regular army NCO time under your belt prior to switching.
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SPC Logan Daniels
SPC Logan Daniels
5 y
And I want to do sf for the mission of training foreign nations and the training they receive
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CPT Special Forces Officer
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SPC Logan Daniels - Regrettably a lot of that mission was recently given to the USMC. Why? I have no idea.
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SFC Michial (Mike) Bergen
SFC Michial (Mike) Bergen
>1 y
Wait...what? You had 18series saying it wasn’t what they thought it would be? No reason to retain anyone with that attitude. You should have given them the info to the advanced land nav course. Then if they don’t make it show them the door.
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SFC Michial (Mike) Bergen
SFC Michial (Mike) Bergen
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there was rumor the SEALs were wanting FID missions, but I believe AFG changed all of that
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SFC Steve Bakke
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All I can say is thank God that I was in before the SFAS! I don't know if I could have done it! My best advice is to be in the best shape you can be in! You need to condition yourself by lots of long distance running and you will need to condition yourself to "rucking". Use the same type of rucksack that you will be using and begin to build yourself up. Start with 25 pounds and begin working yourself up to about 75 pounds. Begin working on your distance and speed. Try to stay at under a 12 minute mile. Work on your rucking technique, use your hips to increase your stride. But most of all, be a useful member of a TEAM! Help those who are struggling. It's not about you, it's about them! You will mostly need to keep up a positive mental attitude, you CAN work through the pain! Lots of others have been through this and passed, and YOU can too!
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