First Post

[Cass]

Evening everyone,

I am a 34 year old E-6 in the Guard. I am a 35M with 16 years TIS. I deployed to KAF in 02-03 as an Engineer, and came into contact with 5th Group Soldiers. This spurred my interest in becoming an SF soldier. I got serious about getting to SFAS and the Q a few years ago. I read whatever information I can, to include GET SELECTED!, Chosen Soldier, From OSS to Green Berets, and Five Years to Freedom. I believe that I will be successful at SFAS and SFQC. I have been training, physically for awhile now. I had a small set back over the summer, but have recovered just fine. I have aspirations of becoming a QP because of many reasons. One of the main attractions to SF was the level of professionalism that they demand, as well as the high level of training they receive. I have been a successful NCO, and have done well in several leadership roles. My focus is now set on attending an SFRE, prove myself there, then attends SFAS. I look to further my career, while becoming a dependable, knowledgeable team member on one of the most demanding teams in the world.

Thank you in advance for any assistance and/or knowledge I gain from the Soldiers here.

- Cass

 

[Brian Nance]

Well here is my post to why I want to try out for SF. I always wanted to join the military growing up, but women and not knowing what I wanted my senior year changed that. Fast forward five years, went to school and got a good job, spent some time at Ft. Campbell with some family, watched my brother enlist and my brother in-law enlist, and began thoroughly regretting not enlisting myself. So I went to the recruiter and swore in. Now here I am almost a year later and still wanting to do more. (I feel like a shitbag for not going in right out of high school, and doing my part as an able-bodied male, and seeing buddies deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. So now I feelove SF is the best way to serve my country, 20th SFG would keep me close to where I live currently and she could keep her job (really good paying job) . I would like to thank everyone in advance for any help I receive in this mentor program!

 

[Bama Boy]

Hello gentleman, I first posted an introduction on here maybe a month or two ago. I hope I don't catch flak for this but as a sixteen year old guy who will be turning seventeen in March I have both changed my goals but, have also come to a realization of what I think I truly want to do and should do. I have now decided not to enlist active duty but to enlist in the national guard as a 11 B so I can also go to college through ROTC to hopefully become an Infantry officer. After I commission I would like to become a special forces officer. I have always wanted to be in the military not only because it was always a dream but because I wanted to do something most people can't and after talking to a mentor of mine was a 18 E I think being a officer is the way to go. The reason I want to be in Special Forces is he told me there is no better group of guys I could serve with and that if I could make I would love it, I guess I want to be in SOF because I want to be the best officer and soldier I can be. I still have a lot of work to do academically, physically and mentally, and I know it will be hard and I know sometimes it will be scary. But I know what I want to do and will work hard for it because I want to accomplish my goals and dreams. Thank you for letting me on your site gentleman.

 

[x SF med]

Hello gentleman, I first posted an introduction on here maybe a month or two ago. I hope I don't catch flak for this but as a sixteen year old guy who will be turning seventeen in March I have both changed my goals but, have also come to a realization of what I think I truly want to do and should do. I have now decided not to enlist active duty but to enlist in the national guard as a 11 B so I can also go to college through ROTC to hopefully become an Infantry officer. After I commission I would like to become a Special Forces officer. I have always wanted to be in the military not only because it was always a dream but because I wanted to do something most people can't and after talking to a mentor of mine was a 18 E I think being a officer is the way to go. The reason I want to be in Special Forces is he told me there is no better group of guys I could serve with and that if I could make I would love it, I guess I want to be in SOF because I want to be the best officer and soldier I can be. I still have a lot of work to do academically, physically and mentally, and I know it will be hard and I know sometimes it will be scary. But I know what I want to do and will work hard for it because I want to accomplish my goals and dreams. Thank you for letting me on your site gentleman.

You have a long way to go before you can even think about becoming a Special Forces Officer, note the correction in Rifle Green too, attention to detail. You haven't even graduated high school, so you are looking at least 12-14 years down the road. a lot can change in that time. You have to be the best in your year group to apply, and do it on time and correctly. What happens if you get branched AG and don't have the time to devote to PT and field work?

Just giving you things to ponder in the long journey ahead of you.

 

[Yosemite]

Hello all,
My name is Nick. I am currently in the USAF stationed at Beale AFB, CA as a 1N151A Geospatial Intelligence Analyst.
I have been active duty for 2.5 years, am an E-4, and plan on reenlisting at my 6 year mark.

Okay so here's what brought me here:
I come from a military family(mostly Air Force) so joining was always imminent. At a young age I had always wanted to be a SEAL and do "cool" guy things and kill bad guys. As I got older I realized I was no where fit enough to ever become a SEAL. When it was time I walked into the Air Force recruiters office and told him I wanted to be an Air traffic controller. No contracts came down fast enough so I got impatient and took an intelligence contract. After basic training and tech school I got in pretty good shape and thought to myself, "Well maybe I can accomplish my dream and go into a SOF career field." I realized right away that CCT was right for me because initially I had wanted air traffic control and I love all things related to planes. Anyways, Intel is rewarading because we get to support SOF guys with our Preds and Reapers but I hate having a desk job. CCT is my dream and I know it is the one thing I need to fulfill my life. I feel as if it is my calling. I have given up so much just to stay on track with my physical and mental training so I am completely invested in making this dream a reality.

My leadership has failed me and I have already contacted a special tactics recruiter at the 24th STS. He was no help either.
A mentor would be greatly appreciated because I have so many questions,
-How do I retrain?
I know the basic retraining process, but I assume it is a slightly different process when retraining into AFSOC.
-How do I get a hold of an Special tactics recruiter to administer a PAST test?
-What paperwork do I need to do?
-What is the timeline for all of these things?
(I don't want to miss an important step.)
I also would appreciate a mentor through this whole process.

Thanks for listening,
-Nick

 

[AWP]

My leadership has failed me and I have already contacted a special tactics recruiter at the 24th STS. He was no help either.
A mentor would be greatly appreciated because I have so many questions

You asked a special missions unit how to find a recruiter? :-/

What does 36-2626 have to say? What does the myPers retraining page have to say about crosstraining windows and requirements?

 

[Kheenbish]

Hello all,
My name is Nick. I am currently in the USAF stationed at Beale AFB, CA as a 1N151A Geospatial Intelligence Analyst.
I have been active duty for 2.5 years, am an E-4, and plan on reenlisting at my 6 year mark.

Okay so here's what brought me here:
I come from a military family(mostly Air Force) so joining was always imminent. At a young age I had always wanted to be a SEAL and do "cool" guy things and kill bad guys. As I got older I realized I was no where fit enough to ever become a SEAL. When it was time I walked into the Air Force recruiters office and told him I wanted to be an Air traffic controller. No contracts came down fast enough so I got impatient and took an intelligence contract. After basic training and tech school I got in pretty good shape and thought to myself, "Well maybe I can accomplish my dream and go into a SOF career field." I realized right away that CCT was right for me because initially I had wanted air traffic control and I love all things related to planes. Anyways, Intel is rewarading because we get to support SOF guys with our Preds and Reapers but I hate having a desk job. CCT is my dream and I know it is the one thing I need to fulfill my life. I feel as if it is my calling. I have given up so much just to stay on track with my physical and mental training so I am completely invested in making this dream a reality.

My leadership has failed me and I have already contacted a special tactics recruiter at the 24th STS. He was no help either.
A mentor would be greatly appreciated because I have so many questions,
-How do I retrain?
I know the basic retraining process, but I assume it is a slightly different process when retraining into AFSOC.
-How do I get a hold of an Special tactics recruiter to administer a PAST test?
-What paperwork do I need to do?
-What is the timeline for all of these things?
(I don't want to miss an important step.)
I also would appreciate a mentor through this whole process.

Thanks for listening,
-Nick

Process isn't different since it's a Battlefield Airmen position. Just go to MyPers and click retrain. They send you info and you follow the steps they lay out. EVERYTHING you need they will let you know. If you can't figure the simple steps out, how can you be depended upon to perform during the pipeline and eventually in the operational world?

 

[Yosemite]

Process isn't different since it's a Battlefield Airmen position. Just go to MyPers and click retrain. They send you info and you follow the steps they lay out. EVERYTHING you need they will let you know. If you can't figure the simple steps out, how can you be depended upon to perform during the pipeline and eventually in the operational world?

Thank you,
I didn't know that the steps are laid out when you attempt to retrain. I figured it would be different due to the fact that there needs to be special medical screening and a PAST test. I am just trying to be vigilant so I do not miss a step and screw myself down the road.

 

[Yosemite]

You asked a special missions unit how to find a recruiter? :-/

What does 36-2626 have to say? What does the myPers retraining page have to say about crosstraining windows and requirements?

Clarification: I went on to the 24th STS website and found a recruiter's email on there. That's who I contacted. He gave me some useful information but it was limited.

36-2626 was useful regarding eligibility, disqualifications, and timelines.

 

[AWP]

Clarification: I went on to the 24th STS website and found a recruiter's email on there. That's who I contacted. He gave me some useful information but it was limited.

36-2626 was useful regarding eligibility, disqualifications, and timelines.

24th STS or 24th SOW?
Air Force Special Tactics (24 SOW) > Special Tactics > Combat Control

That has an email and a phone number. Also, if you go into the AF Global the 24th SOW STTS has a SORL Liaison.

----

ADMIN NOTE: You are not a CCT and you need a new user name. There is a link to a User Name Change on the main forum page. Use that to request a new user name.

 

[Yosemite]

24th STS or 24th SOW?
Air Force Special Tactics (24 SOW) > Special Tactics > Combat Control

That has an email and a phone number. Also, if you go into the AF Global the 24th SOW STTS has a SORL Liaison.

----

ADMIN NOTE: You are not a CCT and you need a new user name. There is a link to a User Name Change on the main forum page. Use that to request a new user name.

Just submitted the User name change request. Apologies for that.

You're right it was the 24th SOW. I will definitely take a look in AF Global tonight. Thanks for the help!

 

[CDG]

I'd like to hear exactly why you made the statement that your command failed you, and why you say the info given to you by the 24 SOW recruiter was "limited". You come off as lacking self-initiative and as feeling entitled to be given answers after others do the work of finding them.

 

[Yosemite]

I'd like to hear exactly why you made the statement that your command failed you, and why you say the info given to you by the 24 SOW recruiter was "limited". You come off as lacking self-initiative and as feeling entitled to be given answers after others do the work of finding them.

There is an explanation about my command. Over the past year my group has been reorganizing like crazy. I have been in 2 different squadrons, 4 different flights and 5 different teams since March of last year and my chain of command changed every time we reorganized. I should give them more credit because we have been changing so much that there has been no consistency. What I meant by "they have failed me" is that every time I go to them for information or resources, they either never get back to me or lead me to dead ends. All of the information I have received about the whole process, I have found out by my own self initiative. I only go to them, the 24th SOW recruiter, and here when I have exhausted my own resources. As for the 24th SOW recruiter, he emailed me the current PAST worksheet, but other than that he just told me to go onto MyPers and click the retrain button.

I can't click the retrain button yet because I'm not in my retraining window yet.

My apologies for sounding self-entitled.

 

[AWP]

he just told me to go onto MyPers and click the retrain button.

I'm going to take you to task here, but in part because I HOPE someone will learn from this.

Why in the world didn't you put this in your first post? I have done this for years and am very proud of the guys we've mentored so why in the hell do people come in, give us half the story, and expect results? Jesus Christ, we spent time trying to figure out what you've done to help yourself, but only AFTER we prodded you did you give us information that mattered? You're already in the Air Force yet you didn't know this would help? What could you tell your commander if given part of the information needed to do your job? "Oh, my analysis is solid, minus the information I don't have, but trust my conclusions anyway."

What else aren't you telling us?

 

[CDG]

There is an explanation about my command. Over the past year my group has been reorganizing like crazy. I have been in 2 different squadrons, 4 different flights and 5 different teams since March of last year and my chain of command changed every time we reorganized. I should give them more credit because we have been changing so much that there has been no consistency. What I meant by "they have failed me" is that every time I go to them for information or resources, they either never get back to me or lead me to dead ends. All of the information I have received about the whole process, I have found out by my own self initiative. I only go to them, the 24th SOW recruiter, and here when I have exhausted my own resources. As for the 24th SOW recruiter, he emailed me the current PAST worksheet, but other than that he just told me to go onto MyPers and click the retrain button.

I can't click the retrain button yet because I'm not in my retraining window yet.

My apologies for sounding self-entitled.

So, a ST recruiter told you what to do (click the button in MyPers). However, you can't complete the necessary action because you aren't eligible to retrain yet. This would have been another key information set to pass in your first post. If you aren't eligible to retrain, then what did you expect to have happen?

 

[Yosemite]

I'm going to take you to task here, but in part because I HOPE someone will learn from this.

Why in the world didn't you put this in your first post? I have done this for years and am very proud of the guys we've mentored so why in the hell do people come in, give us half the story, and expect results? Jesus Christ, we spent time trying to figure out what you've done to help yourself, but only AFTER we prodded you did you give us information that mattered? You're already in the Air Force yet you didn't know this would help? What could you tell your commander if given part of the information needed to do your job? "Oh, my analysis is solid, minus the information I don't have, but trust my conclusions anyway."

What else aren't you telling us?

Roger that. That is an important lesson I will learn from: Never assume.

 

[MickeyMouse]

Good afternoon, gents,

I'm currently seeking admittance to Assessment and Selection for SF. I can't give you some existentialist reason I want to become SF. I just want it. I can give supplementary reasons, but the force driving me to do this can't be described.
I have been pushing papers for MARSOC for the past couple of years, and due to one problem or another, nothing has come of it. I did a little research on family history and discovered my grandfather (a Marine linguist) operated with the Green Berets in Vietnam.

I decided to pursue SF in November 2015, and started speaking to the recruiters. At the time I was a Corporal in the USMC Reserves. The conditional release I submitted took 2 months to be returned and when it was, I was told that the career planner put the wrong unit code into the paperwork. At this point (January) I had been promoted to Sergeant, thoroughly messing up my planning and work. The second set of papers was finished last week. My recruiter in the army said that I can't really hope for a rank reduction to get an 18X contract. I was also told my only option to get into the Active side is to sign a contract as a military policeman since that's the MOS I hold in the Reserves.

So far, I see my best option at this point to get into the Active Army and then apply for SF and train till there is an opening for me. I have done about as much research as I can on this, reading up on the Army's current policies regarding prior service enlistment. I have found quite a few answers to questions I had on this forum. I will be speaking to my recruiter on Monday about all options available to me.

That's all I have for now.
Thanks.
Mickey

 

[Badger]

Hello all,

I will keep this short and to the point.

I joined the National Guard in 2009 as a split-op. Fast forward 7 years and I have graduated high school, AIT, WLC, OCS, college, and MI-BOLC. Finally, I am now able actively pursuing SF. I have many reasons for this pursuit. The challenge, the development, the opportunity to make a difference around the world, and the chance to work side by side with some of the most driven professionals out there. I want to be part of a team that takes a more active role in protecting our nation through providing others with the capabilities to protect their own.

I believe I deserve the opportunity to pursue SF because of my passion and dedication to any and every unit I will ever be a part of. I will soon be posting in the SITREP thread on my progress thus far.

Thank you all and I appreciate your time!

 

[haywood15]

I'll try to keep my rationale for my goals as concise as possible. To start with, I don't necessarily come from a family with a strong military background, outside of my Papaw serving in the Navy during the Korean War and my Uncle serving as a Naval Aviator. Basically, the cliché thing for me to say is that pursuing service has always hung around the back of my mind as a totally personal thought.

Another aspect of my consideration is the fact that I grew up in my formative years seeing the aftermath of 9/11. That has weighed heavily on my mind, especially seeing the geopolitical state of the world right now and all the potential threats out there. So, I guess another aspect of my thought process is a desire to do my part to uphold what we have in this country.

To summarize, my biggest driving force in pursuing this is mainly a desire to know that I actually did something meaningful with my life whenever my time to go comes. My ultimate desire is to get a CCT contract, and, hopefully, serve in that capacity

 

[A-Aron]

All,

Coming from NYC military wasn't in the picture. You never heard of RANGERS or SEALS; It was more like that entrepreneur or stock broker making millions.. that's who you'd want to be growing up. I was perusing that dream, and to a degree still am, but I decided to take a last minute course of action and enlist in the AF right before college started. Throughout my enlistment process my recruiter was pushing me to go for a Battlefield Airman job but at the time I didn't know much about their job and was ignorant and "Didn't want to die". Fast forward 2 1/2 years into operation AF and there isn't a day that goes by where I'm itching to do more.. something greater. I started to dig deeper into AFSOC, started noticing what the 66 RQS and the JTAC's were doing on the daily and kept researching. The more and more I dug, the clearer it became, I started to "Connect the dots". This may sound strange but I work well under pressure and stress. It challenges me. My current job is doing the opposite. I want to break personal/mental walls and conquer fears, work with the best, be the best, and do great things.