SF Baby
 

While reading "Not a good day to die" it profiled a SOF Tier 1 soldier who was a SF baby. From my understanding SF babies are men who have enlisted into a SF option, which currently is 18x, and made it through the Q course. What I was wondering was since this is back in early 2002 and this soldiers SF career predated the 18x program what was the 18x predecessor?

SF Enlistment Option
 

SF Enlistment Option

A little searching would pull up many threads about this subject.

18X is not an MOS - Just a tracking tool.

Speaking of babies,when about 100 or so of us went to the 77th after having to re-enlist for 6 years,we were all in our late teens and the "Originals" definitely referred to us as "Banks Babies"...........;););)

Big Teddy :munchin

The program was called Rep63. A soldier could enlist with the SFQC as part of his training. A typical Rep63 initial entry for training might include OSUT (Basic and AIT), Airborne, SFAS, and the SFQC. Then it's on to your Team for laughs, fun, and worldwide deployments!

Incorrect! REP 63 is a law that pertains to reserve component enlistments. It is not an SF specific enlistment option, and not the predecessor of the 18X Option.



"THE TERM "REP 63 OBLIGATION" IS EXPLAINED IN PARAGRAPH 1-3D(1)(D), ARMY REGULATION 135-90, AS MEANING AN OBLIGATION INCURRED UNDER THE RESERVE ENLISTMENT PROGRAM OF 1963 (REP 63) (10 U.S.C. 511(D)) TO SERVE ON ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 4 MONTHS AND TO SERVE IN A RESERVE COMPONENT UNTIL THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DATE OF ENLISTMENT. "ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING" IS DEFINED IN ARMY REGULATION 310-25, AS FOLLOWS:

FULL-TIME DUTY IN THE ACTIVE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH OR WITHOUT PAY FOR TRAINING PURPOSES. THIS INCLUDES THE INITIAL PERIOD OF TRAINING REQUIRED BY 10 U.S.C. 511(D) FOR ENLISTED MEMBERS OF THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD OF THE UNITED STATES AND ARMY RESERVE AND, WITH RESPECT TO THE ARMY RESERVE, ANNUAL TRAINING, ATTENDANCE AT ARMY SERVICE SCHOOLS, PARTICIPATION IN SMALL ARMS COMPETITION, SHORT TOURS OF ACTIVE DUTY FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS, ATTENDANCE AT MILITARY CONFERENCES AND PARTICIPATION IN A COMMAND POST EXERCISE, FIELD TRAINING EXERCISE, OR MANEUVER, UNDER 10 U.S.C. 672(B), 672(D) OR 683.

THAT 1963 LAW ESTABLISHED A 6-YEAR RESERVE ENLISTMENT PROGRAM ("REP 63") OF TRAINING, UNDER WHICH THE MEMBER ENLISTS IN THE READY RESERVE OF ANY RESERVE COMPONENT OF THE ARMED FORCES OR NATIONAL GUARD TO SERVE AS A MEMBER OF AN ORGANIZED UNIT THEREOF IN ACCORDANCE WITH 10 U.S.C. 270 OR 32 U.S.C. 502 AND IN ADDITION PERFORMS "ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING WITH AN ARMED FORCE FOR NOT LESS THAN FOUR CONSECUTIVE MONTHS." SECTION 502 OF TITLE 32, U.S. CODE, ESTABLISHES THE PROGRAM OF INACTIVE DUTY TRAINING DRILLS AND TRAINING AT ENCAMPMENTS, MANEUVERS, OUTDOOR TARGET PRACTICE, OR OTHER EXERCISES, AT LEAST 15 DAYS EACH YEAR, FOR MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL GUARD.

THE TERM "ACTIVE DUTY" IS DEFINED IN 10 U.S.C. 101, 32 U.S.C. 101, AND 37 U.S.C. 101, AS INCLUDING "FULL-TIME TRAINING DUTY." IT IS CLEAR THAT ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING PURSUANT TO THE 1963 LAW AS WELL AS OTHER ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING IS FULL-TIME TRAINING DUTY AND IS "ACTIVE DUTY" WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLES 10, 32, AND 37, UNITED STATES CODE."

I was an SF baby in 67, Basic, AIT, (recruited in AIT at Ft Ord), Airborne and then reported to IMA (now SWC) for SF training, all in 67. No conventional time at all, except training. :D

My experience identical to LR 47.

Enlisted Abn Inf in 66,
Spring 67 they took three of us out of AIT one day and said we "had" to take the SF test.

Got orders to JFKSWC pending finishing AIT and graduation from BAC.

There was quite a flood of us on the Hill those days.

A lot of us did quite well, in spite of being babies.

I was drafted in July of 1970. While waiting for Basic to start at Ft Ord, SFC Roy Green gave his talk on SF. I had to be discharged from the army then enlist as RA to go to IMA.

Enlisted for it
 

I came in as an SF Baby in 78. Enlisted for my MOS (05B), jump school, the SFQC or whatever it was called then, and the Group I wanted to go to. When I left Benning, I was assigned to the Group with duty at IMA for the school. When I graduated I was pretty clueless about most things, but could send code like a wild man and was in good shape. Some great Team Sergeants taught me the rest.

Zfm7th

For an officer, it meant you signed Vol Indef (3 year min) and went straight from ROTC to IOBC. Abn, SFOC and then to an ODA. No experience required, just a pulse.

I enlisted as a Rep 63 into 20th Group in 1979. Left for OSUT & airborne @ Ft. Benning, then the Q Course @ Ft. Bragg. I was green as hell, but had the time of my life there! The Q course instructors were larger than life to me. Attending the Q course was one of the defining moments of my life.

My initial understanding was that "babies" referred to the 60s period when they opened the doors to guys under E5 and no time in service.
Most SF guys at the time were old professionals with extensive and varied service.
They had spent time in conventional units and foreign armies.
They knew a lot about "soldiering."
We knew little or nothing and needed a bit of coralling.

There was some oppososition at various levels, but most of us did pretty good in spite of ourselves.

There was asteady stream of guys departing bags in hand who couldn't adjust or make the grade.

Like Mark46th, I was drafted in 1970 and, after completing all of the initial entry testing, was discharged after being a US for 5 days to reenlist as an RA for the SF Enlistment Option (12B) as Pete mentioned. It was then BCT at Fort Ord, AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, BAC at Fort Benning, and then on the buses heading up US 301 for SFTG at Fort Bragg. Mark and I were in the same PH1 class but he went 05B and I then went 91B (F Co USAIMA).

By the time I got to Group, I had nearly 2 years of AD and was a SGT - although I had been wearing SGT stripes since completing PH1 as an 'Acting Jack' (SP4 in a leadership position) in my med training company. The Honor Grads from each of the MOSes used to get SSG out of SFTG - but that ended about the time Groups changed their TO&E to the H-series with numbered battalions.

Maybe those of us in the early 70s could be considered the 13th Generation (kinda like the 13th Warrior) of the SF Baby crowd. ;)

And so it goes...

Richard :munchin

An SF Baby from the 80s
 

I was in college in 84 when I met one of my buddies Dad who had been an SF Captain in Vietnam. I asked him about going directly into SF and at the time it could only be done through the reserves.

I was classified REP 63 and after a year of college enlisted into the reserves to go straight into 11th SFG in 1985. I trained with Co B 1/11th before leaving for basic then went to basic, AIT (91A combat medic), jump school, then SFQC. I was an E2 when I started and a PFC when I graduate in 87. Turned 21 during goat lab at Bragg. After I graduated I went right onto a team.

When I arrived at 10th Group in late 1969, I had three SP4's on ODA 32 who had flashes. They were continuously in trouble for one reason or the other and I was not much better myself. One of them decided he did not feel like being a soldier anymore and just quit showing up for formation. We just marked him as AWOL and never thought about him again.