Helping a friend......
 

I have a couple of questions to help out a friend who is an 18X that was not selected after SFAS, a straight enlistee for 18X. He has done a lot of thinking about things and come to the conclusion that it may be a blessing in disguise, so he can get some seasoning and come back to try again later (goal is 7th Group).
One of his biggest worries is something that I have told him repeatedly; if at all possible, stay out of conventional units. He is trying to figure out how to get to either a Ranger Bn. or into the 82nd RIP program, so he can stay with professionals that are trained and trustworthy.
I ask these questions to help him because, despite his size (boy is built like an Ox on steroids), he is like a little brother to me, and I want him with the best he can be with to watch his 6 and learn from.
Any advice, or a point of contact at JFK that I can point him towards?
Thank you all, any help is greatly appreciated!

Sorry for your friend but what are you asking? Your post is rambling. You should intro your situation and then make clear questions like 1. 2. 3.

You will get a better response if you are clearer in your writing.


If I read your post correctly this is my understanding.
1. Your buddy was not selected. (Was it medical, Never come back, etc ? )
2. Is your buddy still at Bragg? If so he is open for world wide assignment as the army sees fit. HE has been told that this is the situation. He can go to the SR Tac and ask for assistance and they may help. It depends on who is doing the orders process with DA on main post. Way back when I went to the course SWC had their own personnel doing orders and sometimes they would help but it depended on the needs of mother army.

A lot depends on what he was dropped for. Bottom line he is an unknown and it would be hard to go out on a limb for someone who has never been in a unit.

Better yet have your buddy do the asking himself. The fact that YOU are doing HIS research may speak to why he wasn't selected in the first place.
Special Operations is not a place where folks are carried...

Eagle

Your friend was briefed on why he was not selected. I would recommend that he do what the cadre instructed him to, and be the best soldier that he can wherever he is assigned. I doubt that an 18X non-select will get much choice in assignments.

Best of luck.

TR

When it comes to Army policy, these two sound SitUnAware to me. Y'all are being way nice to them in your responses today. Must've been a very relaxing weekend and everyone got lots of much needed rest. :D

Richard

No the election has taken so much out of me I am going to be Mr. Nice Guy until Jan 09....:D Well maybe :p

Im just waiting for a non SF guy to make comments....

Thank you for your candor, and I apologize for things being a bit jumbled as I was myself at finding out he wasn't selected. I told him that sometimes they don't select just to see if the candidate has the guts to come back and try again, and he has been thinking about that a lot.
I personally agree with his idea that it might not be the thing for him YET, as he doesn't understand the Army yet and is trying to get things together, one of the things I have always taught him is you are either part of the problem or part of the solution, so his thinking that getting back after getting a little seasoning under his belt would be the best way to go.
I know just enough about how things work there to be dangerous, so I wanted to make sure I could offer the best advice possible, which is why I came here to ask.
I spoke to him after posting this and found out he had already requested a RIP slot, if possible, and with already having done jump school I am at least confident he will be put in a Airborne unit, so some of my worries for him are put a little to rest.
Again, thank you all for your reposes, and I will work harder on making any of my posts a little more clear, I do have a bad habit of rambling, so will watch that in the future.

I've never heard that someone would not be selected "just to see if they'll try again..." If someone is capable and they complete SFAS, they'll be selected.
Regardless of physical ability, sometimes people don't show they have what it takes to be SF.

Do you know why your friend was not selected? Did he complete SFAS and then non-select during the boards or did he leave mid-course?

The selection committee does not waste their time, their instructors time, and military money by not selecting folks "just to see if they will come back".

Select or non select, it is on the individual. Perhaps it is best you not give him advice on things that you don't know anything about?

Better yet, have him come here and ask whatever questions he may have. He will be able to read the information here and draw his own conclusions, clarify issues he may not understand, and pick up something useful from folks who have been there. There are multiple threads, matter of fact an entire section, devoted entirely to preparation for SFAS.

I am certain that he will get more out of a couple hours of study on this site than he will listening to what you, or anyone else, "think" they know about how things work.

Give him a chance...invite him to the site and allow him his own freedom to learn and grow.:munchin

Eagle

If your friend didnt get selected its because he isnt what the Regiment is looking for. This could be for several reasons none of which include what you listed above.

Your friend needs to learn to be an infantryman in whatever unit he finds himself in. And FWIW, there are quite a few ABN qual'd former 18X's who have found themselves in non-ABN units after being dropped from SFAS/SFQC...

Crip

I understand you want the best for your friend, but you are not giving him useful or valuable advice. Stay out of the conventional units? Most QP come from conventional units, whether it be 25th ID, 101st ID, 1st CAV, you name it. The fact that you think these other units are not worthy of your friend is a bit disheartening and disturbing. Let your friend learn on his own so that he can fix any deficiencies that were identified during SFAS.

Good luck to your friend, which ever unit he is assigned to. They are all good units with bad apples.

I think you and your buddy are lost and confused. Having done RIP and SFAS, SFQC I can say that RIP is not any easier than SFAS and that the first year in the 75th can be equally demanding as SFAS. Both are very tough, but very different from each other.

As for your advice to your friend to stay out of conventional units so he can stay with professionals that are trained and trustworthy....I am not sure where to begin. You both need some help. I am positive that somewhere out there in the Army there is a hard charging fire team leader just waiting to get some new meat. Where your buddy fits into the big picture here is HE is the one that has proven himself to be trustworthy and is not trained. almost everyone in the line platoons throughout the Army has been deployed at least once. Some units have deployed as many as five or six times.

Perhaps the best advice you cangive your friend is that when he gets to his line platoon, to act like EVERYONE there outranks him and to stand at parade rest whenever anyone so much as looks at him. The guys in the line do not really look favorably on 18x non-selectees.

He completed Selection and was a non-select at the end, so I don't know what to read into that.
Matter of fact, from what a lot of you guys have been posting, sounds like the things I thought I knew were complete bunk, so I am going to just do a LOT more reading on here and tell him to get on here when he can.
Thank you again for all your help, I appreciate you taking the time to correct me and help him!

There are tons of forums where guys in the know spout all sorts of shit like they know about SOF units, where in reality their knowledge is from Discovery Channel, Military channel, Dick Marcinko etc... This is one of the few sites where guys are vetted - in other words - a QP here has been confirmed that he is who is he says he is. We take that very seriously.

Again the best thing your friend can do is ask his own questions, and take a serious look at himself to see his shortcomings. Use the time in whatever unit he gets assigned to learn and become a better soldier.

What to read from that?

He did not quit, but failed to meet standards.

He was found lacking in an SFAS program that is truthfully, significantly watered down from what it was just a few years ago.

He was counseled on the reason he was non-selected, and has chosen to to share what that was with you. He was trained, tested, assessed, and did not meet standards for Special Forces.

You cannot help him. He is the only one who can help himself. He needs to work on his weaknesses and deficiencies before reapplying for SFAS. You have given him the link to this site, he can visit or not as he chooses.

You appear to be offering advice and making assumptions in an area you are not qualified in. I would stop.

There is nothing wrong with going to a conventional unit as an 11B to soldier for a while, or even for the remainder of his service obligation.

Not sure that the Rangers really want SFAS non-selects. In fact, if he were to be able to find some way to get there, he would probably be best off not to mention his SF experience.

He is almost certainly not going to get a vote in where he goes. Not everyone goes to the 82nd or even an airborne assignment. I have seen non-selects sent to Korea. It just depends on the needs of the Army, and how many 11B10s are needed at each location.

Best of luck.

TR