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Old 01-29-2010, 18:40   #66
Light_Fighter
Quiet Professional
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Clarksville
Posts: 6
I can't say about animosity towards SF units in general, or at the higher (BDE and up) levels, all I can comment on is how my company command viewed my volunteering. First I'll give the negative, then I'll try to rationalize it a bit.

After telling them that I was volunteering to go to SFAS I was instantly made the unit armorer. This basically killed my training time by making me always on call and having to miss unit PT to come in and open the arms room for various reasons. They also moved me from my duty position as a squad leader in my MOS to put me in HQ for arms room administration. Basically, I went from filling a 20 level slot in my MOS to a non-MTOE'd slot. Then they added a couple more additional duties to take my time and resisted my going to work out with the SF recruiters for PT (when I had the time and didn't have to be at the arms room). It all culminated when a last minute (okay, not last minute, but it came on the training schedule after I had volunteered) field excercise caused my CO & my 1SG to call my recruiting station to tell them I couldn't go because I had to go to the field.

All this makes it seem like they hated me for going, but I believe they had good intentions. For the unit, at least. As an NCO I can understand the desire of CO's and 1SG's to keep the exemplary NCO's. This is something I've read mentioned a few times already. Also, there is the fear that if one person goes and gets selected then other people may decide to see if it's for them. If multiple people go, the best will be selected and then, to them, it's like their best troops are being syphoned away by SF. Every commander understands that his unit will be deploying soon, and none of them want to lose NCO's (or officers) who have combat experience, are highly motivated and disciplined, and score well on PT tests. Yet these are just the soldiers who if they go to SFAS will likely get selected.

Ultimately, it comes down to your individual unit command. Some will be for it, some neutral, and some against. Regardless of how your command acts, they are probably not against you personally (probably not, there are certain cases...), they just want what's best for their unit, and you are probably among the best in their unit. What I'm trying to say is, try to see it from the other sides point of view before you assume that your unit is trying to screw you.
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