Introduction

[rmataafa]

Hello
I am an upcoming graduate of the univ. of North Alabama and I have been giving a lot of thought into the military, with the extreme ambition of pursuing a contract in the Air Force as a PJ. The military has always been in the back of my mind with numerous family members serving and being men and women I particularly have the utmost respect for. I have always maintained that if I was to join however, that my reason would be the right reason: to serve for something greater than myself. Becoming a Christian two years ago, the PJ motto gripped me after I learned about it recently and what they do, and I really respect it. An uncle of mine who has been serving for some 26 years now however informed me upfront that a career in Special Tactics for a young man who one day has dreams of raising a family could be very difficult. The military is shrinking due to the govt. losing money but he said SOF are still recruiting because they still need men. I realize that the washout rate is in the high 80 to low 90 percentiles and the hardest part is mental strength, although the physical demand is also extreme.

I am looking for advice from this forum on anything and everything I can. I have been reading for a while and everyone seems to offer helpful and realistic advice. Thanks

 

[CDG]

Welcome to the site.

 

[LibraryLady]

Welcome

LL

 

[SkrewzLoose]

Welcome.

 

[Red Flag 1]

Welcome to SS.

 

[Squidward]

I've seen numerous people quote washout rates and question the difficult of a starting/being married/having kids within the SOF community. Ask anyone on this site with a green tag under their name. It's hard. It's hard to get there and maintain a family, but it's possible. If you truly want it and you're willing to work for it, it's yours. Don't ever let anyone distract you from your goals with numbers or statistics. Nothing good in this life comes easy, and this community is worth every day and night spent being cold, wet, tired and hungry. Train harder and never quit.

Welcome to SS. Good luck on your endeavors.

 

[rmataafa]

I've seen numerous people quote washout rates and question the difficult of a starting/being married/having kids within the SOF community. Ask anyone on this site with a green tag under their name. It's hard. It's hard to get there and maintain a family, but it's possible. If you truly want it and you're willing to work for it, it's yours. Don't ever let anyone distract you from your goals with numbers or statistics. Nothing good in this life comes easy, and this community is worth every day and night spent being cold, wet, tired and hungry. Train harder and never quit.

Welcome to SS. Good luck on your endeavors.

Thank you for your encouragement

 

[Muppet]

Welcome.

F.M.

 

[RackMaster]

Welcome.

 

[Scubadew]

Welcome.

 

[Marauder06]

It can be difficult for any man in any profession to juggle the twin responsibilities of family and career.

My father graduated from your school (back when it had a different name) and went on to a lengthy and very successful career serving in, and in one case commanding, top-level special operations units. He and my mother are still married, and their children turned out healthy, stable, and successful. It can be done.

Pick the right spouse, do the right things for your marriage, and you'll probably do OK. Despite what you might here, a successful career in SOF and a successful marriage are not mutually exclusive. In fact, depending on how you manage them, they could have a net positive reciprocal effect. That's how it has been in my personal experience.

 

[KiwiRecce63B]

Welcome to SS

 

[JohnnyKash]

Welcome, good luck with your journey.