Family SOF

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In the SOF world, you can bank on spending about half of your time in another country. Of the 50% of your life that live in the US, a portion of that will be spent training- possibly in other states, possibly only a couple miles from your home yet not actually going there.

Of the guys I work with, over 90% are married and have kids- they are strong in their convictions and know what they want and what they are here to do.

To tell you the truth, people who have doubts such as not wanting to sacrifice for the sake of their families usually self-select after a couple hard, lonely weeks in the woods.
 
Hello everybody, I have been trying to decide what career I want after AFROTC for a couple years. Here is why I am struggling with this decision:

I am willing to sacrifice from myself as much as is necessary. I can give and give as much as I need to get through things. However, I am not willing to make my family sacrifice as much. I am married and we plan to have kids after college. She is not fond of the idea of me getting killed. Thus I would like a job where I am home quite a bit or my family can go with me.

I crave the knowledge and experience special tactics airmen get. I love to have that knowledge and plan operation and understanding military tactics and operations.

I also crave the camaraderie that exists within special tactics. The immensely strong bond of steel sharpening steel is something I have always sought out.

Is there a position in the Air Force as an officer that I could pursue to combine all of these things?

Are you fucking kidding?

Yes SOWT I am contracted. I am a sophomore in college in a 5 year mechanical engineering major and I have considered RPV.

Ooh-Rah I understand the strangeness of what I'm asking that is why I'm asking. As stated in the post if I were not married I would happily die for my my country. However, having a wife that would appreciate me staying alive I would like a job that would put me in that situation less. I am even still considering STO but it is hard to find information on what deployments are like, how frequent they are, how frequently I would go into the field. Which would all be things I would discuss with my wife before I decided on what career I would like. I have also considered intelligence, I have heard of OSI but am having the same problem. Since so much is classified its hard to find out what it would be like.

You do not understand the strangeness of what you are asking.... the things you want are diametrically opposed, mutually exclusive and show no real research made.
You have already chosen your wife.... either make her understand why a SOF career is important, or take a job in the military that does not deploy - Special Tactics is wrong for what you have stated.... period. My suggestion is that you get a job in a civilian Engineering firm and join the Air Force Reserve in a support role.

I understand that when I agreed to join the military I signed a check for up to and including my life. Its not that I'm not willing to sacrifice for others its that I would prefer not to leave a family fatherless. I don't want to die but if that's what's asked of me in the line of duty then I will know what must be done.

You are a contract Cadet in your first year of that contract (5 year degree program) take your reserve commission and do NOT think about any AFSOF positions, you will be divorced in a heartbeat - from what you say in your posts. Hell just BOC will probably get you divorced.

Ooh-Rah: That is pretty much what I am attempting to say. I am sorry if I was unclear before. I am willing to die, I just hope it never comes to that because I would like my wife to have a husband and my kids to have a father.
Thank you for your time and responses. Your challenge's to my post are actually provoking me to think about this.

You are NOT SOF material in any way shape or form, sorry.

Thank you gentleman. I am willing to sacrifice. I am trying to understand why everyone thinks I am not genuinely could someone point this out to me?

Blizzard
Integrity first
Service before self and
Excellence in all we do.

In all of your posts - this has not been the theme.

Your theme is :
My wife told me so
I have to stay safe
How can I have everything great with no sacrifice at all.

As I have said.... take the desk job in the reserves and get a civilian job to pay the bills. But remember... even the reserves deploy.

Hell, get your contract cancelled then you don't have to worry about any of this.
 
If you have some "willing to sacrifice your life" complex, you may be better off finding a time machine and becoming a samurai for the shogun.

In all seriousness- its a pretty small percentage of folks who actually die. Sorry to disappoint you, but you probably won't be one of the unlucky ones. That's IF you even make it to a job that has such a risk, which as an officer in the Air Force carries a very low probability.
 
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Read this and I hope it may piss you off enough to give it some real thought, insight and consideration. Mainly because, this is the picture you're painting of yourself to all of us here. Really.

I joined this website because "I'm the mediocre type." I like to settle at just doing enough to get by, but still want to be considered one of the cool guys should my other half ever let me go out to play with my buddies. I need someone else to hand me the brass ring and if the guy in front of me is bigger, it's better that someone else block him and take him out, or if the quarterback can deal with him, even better as I bruise easily.

I don't do very well at all when I get stung by an insect and I hate bugs. I need 10 hours of sleep every night and require a strict diet of what I choose. I expect to be paid well for doing everything at 50% or less and it must always be in a temperature controlled environment. It's who I am and I must accept the fact that going out of my way and putting forth any effort during the course of my life is out of the question. It must either be gift wrapped or handed to me on a silver platter.

The thought of combat or having to deal with our enemy up close and personal, scares me to death and would more than likely give me seizures, causing me to run in the other direction. I don't really know how I would be able to effectively serve my country and still be at my wife's beck and call 24/7, or God forbid, if it included the thought of death constantly hanging over my head, but I still feel the urge to lead from the rear, and waste everyone's time when it comes to manpower, allocations, resources, effort, time, and money when I start something, knowing full well, ahead of time, that this isn't really me and never will be.

I would really like to know what you all honestly think, but in spite of all that's been said up until now, I don't do well with constructive criticism either. Often times, I find it hurts my feelings.


Now, is some of this an exaggeration / embellishment? Perhaps. However, when it comes to doing something in life, most of us learned something long ago from our fathers. Mine told me whatever it is you decide to do in life and what ever you decide to be, while on this earth, whether it's digging a ditch, flipping burgers, working on cars whatever you choose, you are only bound by the limits of your imagination, but more importantly, your desires and how much sweat and effort you put forth and into it. Whatever it is you choose, even if it's a ditch digger son, take pride in your work, go out there and be the best damn ditch digger that ever walked the face of the earth. Whatever it is you decide, if you do that, and do it well, and not go through life half assed, I promise, you will always have the respect, and admiration of others. And somewhere later on in life, you will gain an appreciation for hard work because, in the end, it's your name that's on it, not because of money, fame or taking the easy way out.
 
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Mwalker,
I have no idea why you are still on this board You should have been ban by now for just being clueless. I will let it go for now because Admins and Mods have not suggested it yet. You keep up with the stupidity and I will ban you without a discussion with the other staff. Pull your head out of your ass.
 
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