Army Special Forces culture and personalities

j22cowboys22

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Hello group. I am seriously considering trying out for Army Special Forces. I am a prior service combat arms soldier and currently serving in the air force national guard (long story). I wanted some honest and unfiltered commentary on what its like being part of a team.

What is the sf culture like?
Is everyone of a "type a" personality?
Are people within teams encouraged to speak up when shit isn't right or do things get swept under the rug?
Are the teams hyper competitive? If so, are they hypercompetitive to a fault?
Generally, what is the day to day interaction like with others in the team?

Ive been in a few organizations in my short life. The people can make or break it! The high speed stuff is not so high speed when people suck. I just want some real info.

Any reaponses will help! Thank you much.
 
Hello group. I am seriously considering trying out for Army Special Forces. I am a prior service combat arms soldier and currently serving in the air force national guard (long story). I wanted some honest and unfiltered commentary on what its like being part of a team.

What is the sf culture like?
Is everyone of a "type a" personality?
Are people within teams encouraged to speak up when shit isn't right or do things get swept under the rug?
Are the teams hyper competitive? If so, are they hypercompetitive to a fault?
Generally, what is the day to day interaction like with others in the team?

Ive been in a few organizations in my short life. The people can make or break it! The high speed stuff is not so high speed when people suck. I just want some real info.

Any reaponses will help! Thank you much.

"The SF culture" is like every other culture. There are ingroups and outgroups. If you are on an MFF Team - its well known that all the guys on the scuba team are fags. If you are in 1st Battalion, it's well known that the guys in the other Battalions are fags. In fact - the only guys that are bigger fags than the guys on the scuba team in your company - are the guys from ANY scuba team that is NOT in your company.
It's also well known that if you are from one of the "other" SF groups - you are and even bigger fag than the guys NOT in my battalion - but at least you aren't as big a fag as the other services.
I suspect that everyone that has spent more than 72 hours on a "team" be it Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force the culture is going to be similar to the same as you experience as you walk through your local Walmart.

Not everyone is a type-A personality. Everyone likes to pretend that "they" are the alpha male of the wolf pack - but if that was true - nothing would ever get done.
-Imagine filling a hide site for an SR mission with four people that are ALL highly competitive, impatient, hyper aware of time management, and inherently aggressive... then tell them to be quiet and stay put for three days.
-On that same thought, trying building a DA team with a bunch of guys that are relaxed, laid back, and predicable; then see how well they flow when it is time to be kinetic. Personality is important - but type-a or type-B is less important than "is this guy an asshole"

-People on an SF ODA are not "encouraged" to speak up when shit goes wrong. The expectation is that no encouragement is needed. Do things get "swept under the rug" of course they do - humans make mistakes and other humans cover for them. There is a YUGE difference between ignoring misconduct and dealing with problems at the lowest level.

-I'm not sure I understand what "hypercompetitive to a fault" is. I want to win. I want to win ALL OF THE TIME. I do not win all of the time. I do not even win MOST of the time. I am however, quite pleased just being able to win SOME of the time. I have yet to sabotage someone elses succes simply because it became evident that I wasn't going to win - I'd rather strike out twice and bunt my way on with an RBI during a 1-0 victory than go 4 for 5 with a three run homer and still lose 4-3. I would be lying if I said there weren't times when I absolutely rejoice in the failure of others. Hypercompetitive to a fault?? I'm not sure how you quantify that one.

Day to day interaction with others on a team is just like day to day interaction with the foks working at a Lowes Distribution Center - you have good days and bad days. You wont like everyone you work with. You're going to eventually get stuck with a shitty commander. Occasionally you'll be blessed with an AWESOME commander. Lots of times you'll realize that you work for a regular guy that is just trying to do his best.
Do YOUR best.

Overall - I think the best answer came from your own experience: "high speed stuff is not so high speed when people suck"
Focus on the fundamentals because a bunt that wins the game is better than a 3-Run homer when you are down by four.


Just my opinion - I could be wrong.
 
"The SF culture" is like every other culture. There are ingroups and outgroups. If you are on an MFF Team - its well known that all the guys on the scuba team are fags. If you are in 1st Battalion, it's well known that the guys in the other Battalions are fags. In fact - the only guys that are bigger fags than the guys on the scuba team in your company - are the guys from ANY scuba team that is NOT in your company.
It's also well known that if you are from one of the "other" SF groups - you are and even bigger fag than the guys NOT in my battalion - but at least you aren't as big a fag as the other services.
I suspect that everyone that has spent more than 72 hours on a "team" be it Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force the culture is going to be similar to the same as you experience as you walk through your local Walmart.

Not everyone is a type-A personality. Everyone likes to pretend that "they" are the alpha male of the wolf pack - but if that was true - nothing would ever get done.
-Imagine filling a hide site for an SR mission with four people that are ALL highly competitive, impatient, hyper aware of time management, and inherently aggressive... then tell them to be quiet and stay put for three days.
-On that same thought, trying building a DA team with a bunch of guys that are relaxed, laid back, and predicable; then see how well they flow when it is time to be kinetic. Personality is important - but type-a or type-B is less important than "is this guy an asshole"

-People on an SF ODA are not "encouraged" to speak up when shit goes wrong. The expectation is that no encouragement is needed. Do things get "swept under the rug" of course they do - humans make mistakes and other humans cover for them. There is a YUGE difference between ignoring misconduct and dealing with problems at the lowest level.

-I'm not sure I understand what "hypercompetitive to a fault" is. I want to win. I want to win ALL OF THE TIME. I do not win all of the time. I do not even win MOST of the time. I am however, quite pleased just being able to win SOME of the time. I have yet to sabotage someone elses succes simply because it became evident that I wasn't going to win - I'd rather strike out twice and bunt my way on with an RBI during a 1-0 victory than go 4 for 5 with a three run homer and still lose 4-3. I would be lying if I said there weren't times when I absolutely rejoice in the failure of others. Hypercompetitive to a fault?? I'm not sure how you quantify that one.

Day to day interaction with others on a team is just like day to day interaction with the foks working at a Lowes Distribution Center - you have good days and bad days. You wont like everyone you work with. You're going to eventually get stuck with a shitty commander. Occasionally you'll be blessed with an AWESOME commander. Lots of times you'll realize that you work for a regular guy that is just trying to do his best.
Do YOUR best.

Overall - I think the best answer came from your own experience: "high speed stuff is not so high speed when people suck"
Focus on the fundamentals because a bunt that wins the game is better than a 3-Run homer when you are down by four.


Just my opinion - I could be wrong.

This should be a sticky.
 
"The SF culture" is like every other culture. There are ingroups and outgroups. If you are on an MFF Team - its well known that all the guys on the scuba team are fags. If you are in 1st Battalion, it's well known that the guys in the other Battalions are fags. In fact - the only guys that are bigger fags than the guys on the scuba team in your company - are the guys from ANY scuba team that is NOT in your company.
It's also well known that if you are from one of the "other" SF groups - you are and even bigger fag than the guys NOT in my battalion - but at least you aren't as big a fag as the other services.
I suspect that everyone that has spent more than 72 hours on a "team" be it Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force the culture is going to be similar to the same as you experience as you walk through your local Walmart.

Can confirm. <Mod Edit>
 
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And calling other dudes fags? 😂
Well for starters, yeah. Mostly because you were corrected, and chose to repeat the same behavior. That’s warning points.

The mentor threads of all places are a great example of what sets this board apart from other boards out there and it’s a reason why people come here.

I want you to assimilate to our culture here. It’s not a freefire environment and you know better.

Any questions you can just PM me directly.

Everyone else, move it along.
 
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