Help a dad help his son

[Han Yolo]

I apologize if this is posted in the wrong forum. I’m looking for some parental guidance here…

My 15 1/2 year old son has desired to be an Airborne Infantryman since he was 5. By 10, he became committed to serve Ranger Battalion or SF. It’s been 20 years since I was recruited and things have changed considerably. I want to be able to give him sound intel. It appears there are two viable contracts to put him on track to his ultimate career goal:

11X Option 40 tract (Basic, 11B AIT, Airborne School, RASP)

18X tract (Basic, 11B AIT, Airborne School, Pre-SFAS, SFAS)

Am I tracking? It appears he’s set up for success with either tract because, should his ultimate goal get derailed for whatever reason (failure, injury, etc.), his fallback will be his first goal, Airborne Infantry, right?

Now, I understand that there’s no guarantee these contracts will be available when he recruits, so our plan is to open a dialog with a recruiter once he turns 17. With the delayed entry program, that gives him one year to await one of these contracts opening with no pressure to sign the line, right?

When I enlisted, the best you could get was an 11X contract with hopes a Ranger recruiter was recruiting out of your Airborne School class. It's nice to see they give recruits a bit more certainty.

My son is a smart, fit, ethical kid who’s been called to serve since he was young. Guidance is appreciated.

Thank you,

Brian

 

[Lefty375]

I would say you are on the right track.

Only thing about 18X is age IIRC.

From an Army Facebook:

"You must meet the minimum age of 19 to initially apply but have turned 20 by the end of Infantry Training (approx 17 weeks); max application age is 29 (non-waiverable). You must also meet and complete other physical and course criteria to garner this exciting and challenging opportunity!"

 

[Scubadew]

Shit. I wish half the guys on active duty had the same drive as your son. Probably some strong parenting.

 

[tweeder]

"You must meet the minimum age of 19 to initially apply but have turned 20 by the end of Infantry Training (approx 17 weeks); max application age is 29 (non-waiverable)."

Non-waiverable, but we did have some Guard guys find ways to circumvent this. That being said, If I could be 18 again I'd try to "grow up" in Ranger Battalion, The 82nd, or The 173rd before going to the Q.

Best of luck to your son, I truly hope he is able to achieve his dreams. Keep his goals in his sights, but I hope he remembers to enjoy his childhood too.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

@Han Yolo -

Thanks for posting this. My 13 year old wants nothing more than to be a Marine, and then eventually Recon...to the point that he is already memorizing General Orders and rank structures. I neither encourage or discourage it, but take a bit of pride that he feels the way he does. Truth be told, he's turning into a fitness freak and is getting me back into the game. He seems to have a pretty good balance right now, alternating his free time between Roblox, running and reading. Current books of choice are any "I was there" books from Afghanistan/Iraq. He's gone through Lone Survivor twice and is reading American Sniper now.

Side note, one of the fascinating things about raising twins (both boys) is how different they are turning out. For the most part they have been exposed to the same things around the same time, but M is turning into a future hard-charger...and J...well J is turning into a anti-gun, planet saving, bleeding heart liberal.:wall:

Best of success to your boy. It is such a trip teaching them how to be men and watching the choices they make as they go along.