I am currently a 21 year old college student majoring in Middle East and North African studies with a minor in Spanish. I always had a desire to serve in the military for at least one enlistment, if not for a career. I posted my forum introduction a few months ago, but I avoided posting an introduction here in the mentoring section. My reasoning was that I am not sure I can adequately put into words, why I want to serve in a special operations unit, or why I thought I deserved it. Also, I thought I might sound like a douche. However, I'm just going to sack up and write this intro. If it makes me sound like a douche, feel free to ridicule me for it.
Here are my general reasons for wanting to serve in an SOF unit. Besides a brief period in which I boxed, I have always played team sports and thus enjoy being surrounded by individuals with a common goal. After 3.5 years of college always acting as an individual, I know without a doubt that I would like to work in an environment in which I can work with like minded, similarly motivated individuals. I will also admit that I like the idea of partaking in operations that the general public may never hear about, and being paid to keep myself in the best physical condition possible while getting to do all of the cool guy things that go along with the job. Additionally, I want to be in a position that has the highest chances of me being able to do my job. The deployment tempo of SOF units makes it extremely likely that I will be given the opportunity to deploy and do my job. (I am sure that many who serve now will tell me to be careful what I wish for.)
As for what I want to do exactly for my military career, I am to this point still unsure. For the last few years, I have gone back and forth as to my post college plans. I know I either want to take an option 40 contract or an 18x contract. I believe that being an Special Forces soldier is my ideal job that I could do for a career. Naturally that makes the 18x contract the more appealing of the two, however, I have reservations. I'm not sure if I could bring a lot to the table as a possible teammate. The only work experience I ever had was working in my uncles' warehouse one summer and working at a water park for another summer. I have made it my mission in college to acquire skills that would give me something to offer, but college experience is a weak substitute for real life.
This is where my attraction to an option 40 contract and a shot at joining the 75th comes in. As has been echoed numerous times on this site, growing up as a soldier in the 75th Ranger Regiment is an experience like no other. I can't think of a better environment to learn and grow as a young soldier in the U.S. Army. I would have to make it through a selection process, then if I made to a Battalion, continue to excel or else I could be RFSed and sent packing. Also, before I began to read everything I could about SF, being a Ranger was what I always saw myself doing in the Army. It seemed to me that the Regiment was deployed in just about every modern conflict that the U.S. was involved in, and if I was fortunate enough to make it into the Regiment I could expect to be deployed and do my job.
That said, I do think that my temperament is better suited for Special Forces. I am a reasonably well travelled individual, and have spent time studying abroad in the past. In fact, I am currently studying abroad right now as well. I enjoy learning the language and the nuances of living with members of another culture. I speak Spanish and Arabic with varying degrees of proficiency depending on where I am and what language I am focused on. I value the importance of being a warrior-ambassador. Especially given the nature of the conflicts we currently find ourselves in. The idea of being on a close nit team of professionals, far from the flag pole and given flexibility in how to complete the objective, strongly appeals to me. Having to, train, advise, and fight alongside fighters from a foreign nation, all the while building report with the general populace is a mission that resonates with me. It is this unique skill of a Special Forces soldier that makes me want to try to join their ranks. SF soldiers deploy often in times of peace and in war, fitting in with my desire to do the job, and not just train to do the job.
Now as for the big question, why do I deserve to be in one of these esteemed units? Well I don't know if I do. The odds of me making it through either one of these pipelines are weighed heavily against me. Hell, even if I make it through the pipeline I might not deserve it or have what it takes to hack it in the units in question. I suppose, at the risk of sounding like a self promoter, that I see myself as an athletic and durable individual, with reasonable doses of common sense and intelligence. Naturally, others may see me in a completely different way, so it is entirely realistic that I might be dumber than I think. Oh and in regards to the athletic and durable bit, it seems I often overestimate my physical abilities and give myself unrealistic physical fitness goals, so maybe I am not as athletic as I think I am. But I haven't seriously injured myself yet, despite all of the contact sports I participated in, so I may be as durable as I think I am. (That may have come at the expense of intelligence...) However I can say that I keep myself in shape, I always try to expand my education, either through reading, or experience, and that I do my best not to be a shit bag. Does this mean I deserve to be on your team, or anyone's team, of course not. But I have to start somewhere.