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How I Have Prepared
Howdy All,
I have been in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and Army ROTC for 4 years. My Grandad used to talk to me about Special Forces while growing up and it always interested me.
I was in high school sports like football and track, AROTC at A&M was also really helpful in learning basic infantry skills such as 9-line MEDEVAC, LandNAV, call for fire, EOD/UOD call for disposal, CLS skills, combatives, marksmanship, OPORDers, small unit tactics, MOUT warfare, SALUTE & LACE reports, and learning warrior ethos. The PT was always competitive and the Cadre training me were very professional although all of them were conventional officers and enlisted.
However, at my time at the university, there was an organization derived from an Old Ag Major General James E. Rudder (who was a influential soldier in WW2) called Rudder's Rangers. The military heads of this organization were Special Forces enlisted personnel and they were very eager to develop the young cadets in as much knowledge as possible in order to make them successful officers. The impact of these very special soldiers couldn't be explained in words and the cadets they trained have become one of the most brave and talented officer's due to their training.
I can attest to this organization and it's impact it has impressed on me. I was an average kid and I sucked at Ruck Marches (I am not the tallest person) and I was barely 134 lbs.
I assume the purpose of this thread is to tell future generations of Special Forces candidates ways they can accomplish their goals in life, so I humbly offer my experiences for you.
Since I have been very specific about who I am, I will say only that a officer that was one of the most "squared away" people I have encountered gave me a book on the reading list that I will post below and said very sternly "You gotta F(*&ing read otherwise your not going to be smart enough for this".
I know you must have been intelligent in order to achieve the scores required for your ASVAB, but these books have prepared me in the preperation and understanding of Special Forces and the military.
Get Selected
Small Unit Leadership A Commonsense Approach (the book the officer gave me and hasn't asked for back)
Chosen Soldier
Masters of Chaos
Horse Soldiers
Kill Bin Laden
Reading Selection For Soldiers (suggested reading A&M Cadets were offered)
On Killing
On Combat
Ender's Game
Message To Garcia* (Very Important)
Starship Troopers (Very different from the movie)
Art of War
We Were Soldier Once and Young
Other Reading List semi-pertinent
House to House
No Easy Day (controversial)
War
Generation Kill
One Bullet Away
Dune
1984
The Dynamics of Persuasion
The Afghan Campaign
Gates of Fire
Physically I'd be lying if I didn't lift weights, did crossfit, and ran on ruck marches that were "release rucks", I would pay more attention to the advice already given by the Special Forces members of this forum.
The information given now is a benchmark for other future soldiers
I am 5'8" 163 lbs and 23 years old
BA in English from A&M
my last record APFT was 364 last year administered by AROTC cadre officers but it may be closer to 375 now
12 mile ruck @ 65lbs in 2 hours 18 minutes (note that I was not rucking at pace, but running on and off (not advised))
ASVAB score of 93 gt 128 co 126
Operator Ugly Score (for those who know) 136
I typically rest 4 days a month (I do have active rest days such as 3-5 mile runs or any other monostructural movements)
I chose the "paleo diet" for eating and nutrition, but before 4 months of my ship date I ate normal foods because there is no way to eat as healthy while in basic,airborne,SOPC, and SFAS and if you eat too healthy before those you will feel really sick when you need to be at your very best.
Hopefully some of you reading this are saying to themselves "I got this sucker" which means you have at least outscored someone who has had help for SFAS by conventional officers and enlisted soldiers to be prepared for SFAS as well as two Special Forces enlisted soldiers who have guided me at my time at A&M. This is meant to give you plenty of confidence in your endeavor and good luck to you.
If you are under these scores then don't worry, because your likely to be much taller than me and have no need to be in that level of fitness...(just a joke) Something that I may say though is that you should read this as just an experience, I'm an 18x just like you, just as untested. This is thread is meant as a benchmark and for the QP's here to make sure the candidates do not do something that would hurt their chances for selection.
There are many avenues of approach to reaching the same fitness level and crossfit, the corps, going to college, or any experience I have had are not the only ways to obtain my level of preparation and one of the most important pieces of advice from my mentors was that SFAS is about how much courage you can muster and how determined you are as a person to achieve your goals.
Lastly, I have read this site for several years, almost 3, before becoming a member. I have enjoyed the threads and gleaned the valuable information from all of the Quiet Professionals of this site. ProfessionalSoldiers could not be more important in your "prep" for SFAS.
Sorry For The Lengthy Post,
Aud
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