Should I join Infantry to get a chance at Special Forces, or should I enlist on an 18X contract? I have never served, but I plan to do so after my 4 years of college.
I was an 18X when I entered the Army. I was also physically tough, having spent my entire life in the woods where I hunted, fished, and camped using whatever nature provided. I also had graduated from high school where I active in sports. I attended college but got bored and dropped out. My eyes wandered to the military. I took the entrance exam, made high enough to attract a recruiter’s attention and the rest is history.The thing is that I had the characteristics that SF was looking for, and I “fit” in. I was the outstanding “Trainee of the Cycle” out of Basic, blew through AIT and Jump School. Then I went to the Q Course- there things got real interesting, real quick! My class started with 135, of which 17 managed to cross the stage at graduation. 135 very tough men, all airborne qualified numbering combat vets among them, yet we lost over 87 percent during selection.I am not trying to scare you; I just want you to know the odds facing you. Four years is a long time in the life of a young man. What is viewed as immutable one year may seem the ideas of childhood the next. There is also the ever present danger represented by the fairer sex, emphasis on sex. Women can sway the most determined to go in another direction - 4 years is a long time. You show focus on the immediate future. You’ll need that attitude in the Q Course.There are two bridges your cattle truck crosses on the way to Camp Mackall, (where the Q Course initial selection and training is conducted), and as the trailer crossed over each, I swore that they would have to carry me back over those same bridges in a body bag if I failed to be chosen. The only way to survive is to take each day as it comes, and be prepared for the next. Don’t worry about the future, just concentrate on the next step, (literally the next step). 118 men didn’t do that, and 118 men failed. It’s a lot to think about and lastly, never, ever take things for granted as you will have to fight for each day as a matter of personal survival.
Can a US army Ranger say he was in the Special forces?
A US Army Ranger can say he … and only males are Rangers … was in “the” Special Forces, but he never will.He will say, “I was a Ranger” and tell you his Battalion. Rangers wear tan berets in garrison now, but Rangers used to wear black berets before the Army made the black beret standard dress head gear for the rest of the Army … except Airborne - maroon beret - and SF - green beret - units.By the way, a Ranger is a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment. A Ranger is not someone who finished Ranger School, exceedingly tough as it is. That person is Ranger Qualified and extremely good at what he or she does, but not a Ranger. Yes, now some woman are Ranger Qualified. But not Rangers. All Ranger officers and NCO’s go to Ranger School.All 75th Rangers are “Airborne Rangers”, but some graduates of Ranger School are not Airborne … until later. They are called Leg Rangers, because they walk into the jump parts of the Ranger School course. (The pejorative term Legs started in WWII. During the war, soldiers/OSS agents who did not attend Airborne school had a tendency to keep their legs straight. If you've been to jump school you know that's the last thing you should do during PLF - parachute landing fall. So the term Straight Leg was born.) The Leg Rangers, but not Rangers. And only Rangers are Airborne Rangers.AND the Marines as good as they are, are absolutely not the equals of Rangers. Though the Marines have Special Operations units and Force Recon which are equal to Rangers.In America, Special Forces are the name of the US Army Special Forces. They wear green berets but call themselves SF, not Green Berets. That was a Hollywood nickname.Rangers are part of the US Army SOCOM or Special Operations Command. Rangers are Special Operations, but they call themselves Rangers, not SpecOps and definitely not Special Forces.I think SpecOps is a video game term.There are a lot of Special Operations units, including the Special Forces. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines have them. But they don’t say that they are Special Operations. They say SEAL, Raider, PJ, etc. … and etc.Some of them call themselves Special Forces or SF. Those are the Army Special Forces or SF.Confusing, isn’t it?
Special forces are cross trained as signalers, medics, snipers, weapons, and so on. There is so much to learn. How is it ensured that skills don’t become obsolete?
The TV myth’s aside, special warfare operators aren’t really experts at much. Civilian mountain climbers might be vastly more experienced in rappelling, civilian dive masters more expert at scuba, civilian parachutists more expert at sky diving, civilian lock smiths much better at picking locks. Paramedics are typically much better at handling traumatic injury with the possible exception of gun shot wounds. Even civilian marksmen frequently more accurate than military snipers. Certainly Olympians run faster, swim better, and are better at wrestling.The reality is experienced operators are extremely well trained (close to expert) at a few skills and pretty competent at about a dozen more. If you want someone to jump out of a plane in the middle of the night, land in the ocean, swim to shore, sneak up to a building, kill the security elements and wrestle a HVT to the ground and then carry him away while defeating enemy combatants you would be hard pressed to find someone better suited than a SWO.
Navy Life VS Air Force Life
NAVY Seasick: You hardly feel it on the big boats. Family: My husband loves being a Navy husband (I know, different.) There are alot of different sources to help out you and your family. Duty stations: You can also be stationed on a base full time. You more than likely be attatched to a ship, but they have to dock somewhere and at that time it's a regular 9-5 practically. All branches run the risk of being stationed overseas, but in the Navy, married on your first term has a less likely chance of moving to another country. Deployments: You will get to see a lot of the world for 6 months at a time. College: You can still take college courses and we even have an office dedicated solely to continuing your education. While we're deployed there are even a few classes you can take on your ship. Weigh all your options. Read unbiased facts and make a decision that way. I'm going to tell you Navy just like the guy before said Air Force. :)
Any information on these Air Force careers?
1A131 - Flight Engineer - Chances are you won't be able to get this job straight out of basic you'll need to do at least three years in an aircraft maintenance career field like the last two on your list then you can cross-train into it. There are two types of FE's, helicopter and fixed wing, your job is to get the aircraft ready for flight, coordinate with maintenance to get things fixed, keep an eye of the fuel while flying and other duties dependent on the airframe and yes you fly with the plane where ever it goes. Deployments are usually about 4-6 months for helicopters and C-130s, KC-10s deploy but not as long and C-5 Galaxy's don't deploy (not yet anyways). I do this job and love it. 1C631 - Space Systems Operations- don't know much about this job but sounds like you make sure satellites are operating and send commands to them. Not sure on the deployment rate. 1C531 - Aerospace Control & Warning Systems - not sure 2A331 - Avionics Systems - You'll be working with the instrument systems of the airplane, most of the time you'll just switch out a bad box and put in a new box. Depends on the airplane what systems you'll actually work with. Since this is maintenance you'll deploy with the jets and could be gone as long as they are. 2A333 - Tactical Aircraft Maintenance- Crew Chief on a fighter. You're a gas station attendant, making sure the tires are good, check the oil on the engines, fill it up with gas and clean the windows. Any big problems you'll call on specialist to fix the affected item(s) and you get to hold the flashlight. I was a crew chief on C130s, it was fun but didn't like the long hours and lack of recognition. And yes you will deploy.
What is the world's best special operations force?
Special Forces are recognized by their roles and missions. These are some of the best special forces not in any sort of ranking which are known to be battle-hardened special forces with a vast amount of experience in different sort of operations :-Joint Task Force-2, CanadaUS Delta ForceUS Navy SEALSUS Green BeretsUS PararescueMexican Cuerpo de Fuerzas EspecialesBrazilian GRUMECSpecial Air Service-SAS of UKFrench GIGN commandosFrench Foreign LegionSpecial Boat Service-UKGSG-9 , GermanyGROM , PolandEKO COBRA, HungaryGIS, ItalyUnit 777, EgyptRecces, South AfricaSayaret Matakal, IsraelIsraeli Shayetet 13Para SF-IndiaMARCOS-IndiaSSG , PakistanKopassus , IndonesiaGrup Gerak Khas , MalaysiaRussian Alfa Group707th Special Mission Battalion , South KoreaKorean People's Army Special Operation Force , North KoreaAustralian SASRHope my answer helps =)
What role would a commissioned PJ have?
I am going to USC this coming year and am considering doing ROTC (most likely AF). The specialty which looks most like what I want to do is the PJs/Rescue Rangers/Maroon Berets, whatever you want to call them. My question has multiple parts: First, as a commissioned PJ, what would be my role exactly in combat rescue situations? Also, who flies Air Force Pararescue missions, would they be PJ pilots or straight up rotary aircraft pilots who aren't PJs? And, finally, what exactly is the pathway from ROTC to becoming a commissioned officer wearing a maroon beret? Please don't direct me to military.about.com, I've tried it and it doesn't really help for someone who doesn't already have some knowledge about it. And, also, please only answer if you know what you're talking about. If you, for example, are/were a PJ, particularly a commissioned PJ, or are someone in/who was in the Air Force who would know how it works, that would be extremely helpful. Thanks.