Advice on an Officer MOS?
 

As helpful as everyone's response was to Ross' post concerning college majors, I thought a few of you would have some thoughts on this question. It is really a three-part question that has to do with Ranger school as well, a subject I'm sure many users here are all too familiar with.

As former or current SF team members:

1.) Which Officer MOS do you feel would provide the greatest experience necessary to operate as an 18A? More specifically, would working in something like the Intelligence or Medical branches give more useful training than in the Infantry branch?

2.) Since it seems as though there are more applicants for an 18-A than there are open slots, is there an MOS that would increase my chances to be later selected for SFAS?

3.) Is Ranger School still an option for non-Combat Arms officers?

As a sidenote, I'd just like to extend my gratitude for those who have responded to this forum. While there seems to be ample information concerning the NCO SF MOS, it has been exceedingly difficult to find a good source of discussion about pursuing a military career as an 18A. If anyone can recommend any good books or websites that address this topic, I would be in your debt.

1. 11A.

2. No. You should be selected for SFAS regardless.

3. No idea. Why not go as a cadet?

Good luck.

TR

1. Concur

2. Concur

3. According to a speech by General Schoomaker, Ranger School is going to get a lot more emphasis for all branches.

If you follow TR's advice in #1, you're pretty much guaranteed #3 right after IOBC. More importantly, you should probably choose an MOS of which you'd be willing to make a career, as there's no guarantee you'll get into SF (always plan PACE).

Thank you for the advice.

I anticipated 11A as the appropriate MOS, I just wanted to confirm that. As far as picking one that I would be willing to make a career out of, all of the three I mentioned were ones I was hoping to get into, including Infantry.

I appreciate your rapid responses to this question. I'll start looking into more information about 11A immediately to make sure it fits my military interests.

Officer MOS
 

Looking at the list from this year there were quite a few different AOC's selected but 11A was predominant. You will see very few Medical Officers (70B) selected. Don't know if that was due to lack of applicants or type of person applying. Could be a little of both. Just my two cents.

Steve

Re: Officer MOS
 

This is somewhat secondhand, but my understanding from a friend who was a Group Surgeon with 10th Group is that the Surgeon General of the Army generally opposes losing his doctors to another branch, after the time and money the Army invests in them. While SF can get priority over other Army-competitive branches, the Medical Corps may have a veto over branch transfers.

Re: Re: Officer MOS
 

Doctors do not Branch transfer, they merely complete the training and receive a beret and tab.

They have been permittted to attend and denied the opportunity to. Current policy is that they may go to all phases but the language phase (Phase V). The exception is that they are presently sent to SERE first, to determine their suitability for further SF training.

If they are not permitted to attend, then we are going to run out of SF qualified Docs to fill positions in the headquarters, and that would be a seriously bad thing.

TR

Thanks for the firsthand info. When my friend finished his internship and got to Carson, he had problems with AMEDD releasing him to go to the Q and I don't think he ever did (though I've lost touch). He did go to the undersea medicine program at Panama City and a few other places.

The chief group surgeon at 11th Group was tabbed, but I don't recall any of the other medical officers being so.

Has having a CIB-wearing and Ranger-tabbed Surgeon General affected AMEDD's attitude toward its doctors getting their boots dirty?

Thank you both for the clarification. I should have been a little more specific in my response though. I was talking in reference Medical Service Corps Officers and their lack of applications, desire to apply, whatever it may be. Looking over the past couple of years I have only seen a few.

Not sure about that, but I have a half dozen physician friends who are SF Tabbed.

The Surgeons at USSOCOM, USASOC, and the Dean of the SOF Med School at Bragg are almost always SF qualified.

Until recently, physicians were not permitted to attend the SFQC. That could change again.

I know of no SF qualified MSC officers.

TR

Deleted, asked same question on multiple forums and failed to read instructions before posting.

TR

We tried to get my old boss (BN MD) in the program and it was an uphill battle that we didn't win.

Personally, I wished they let the BN Doctors and Chaplains go through. I don't see this happening with the war and the need for training slots at a premium right now.

Doc

1. 11A.

2. No.

3. My understanding is that it's now opened up to non-combat arms. The reality is the majority of slots still go to the Infantry.

Ref your last question about books to read specific to being or becoming an 18A...you won't find one written for a market that small...most books are targeted for "niche" markets of at least 200,000 people. I wrote GET SELECTED for a micro-niche (all SFAS Candidates), considering there's only about 3,000 men going to SFAS a year (10x classes of up to 300 studs).

Best bet is to read GET SELECTED, then ask SF O's (Me, Reaper, Razor, etc) about their experiences and advice. That way, you've got a foundation to ask from and you're not asking redundant things that have been covered already.

Best,
JM

1. i was an 11A...i was first selected for OCS as a 35A, but after seeing how the world shook out during my 90 days of bliss, i opted for Infantry branch...probably should have done that from the outset (almost wound up in the Corps of Engineers)...

2. don't know about now...

3. once again, i've been away for awhile...i know this...for a year and a half, this was my mantra..."Every Infantry lieutenant will be encouraged to attend Ranger School and all efforts will be made by the Trainers to prepare them for that endeavor..."
my son, who attended IOBC not all that long ago says that mantra is still in effect...Infantry LTs are expected to want to be Ranger School graduates and the course (IOBC or whatever passes for that these days) stresses the importance of that training, perhaps, (IMNSHO) to the detriment of other instruction...

as far as sources of information about the 18A career field, it is not an accession branch...very few of us served in SF at Lieutenants, even fewer as 2LTs...the days of LTs on A detachments are over, so until an officer has been in for awhile, there's not a lot of reason to discuss the career field during the pre-commissioning years, once again, IMNHO...

by the way, TR...a long time ago, in a land far away, i knew an MSC branched SF qualified officer...CRS, but i believe he was an SF medic gone astray...he had the group medical platoon at Devens around 77-78...?