18A family life.

[aad]

I know this question has been touched on in numerous other topics, but succinctly, i am curious:

For the SF officer, outside of the 24 months (avg.) you are on a team, what is the avg. seperation time between a sf officer and his family?

I know every career is unique and that "averages" are often not reflective of current demands, BUT for those 18A's out there...what has been your avg. seperation from families?

Also...if you were to look back on your career (be it from a retired position or a in the midst of a position) what is your avg. day? 5am to 9pm? More? Less?

For an 18A, what is your avg. time on station? A year? Two? Seven? How much of a career is spent at Bragg? If you do 20 years in SF, how many PCS’s would one expect?

And just an fyi--- i completely respect ANY sf trooper--- you are truely among the few and most elite of all of this nations troops. My earliest memory of meeting an SF trooper was at the snack-bar of the bx in Ramstein when i was in 2nd grade. We were eating hot-dogs and my dad said, "hey...my son thinks he can stand amongst you..." I was very embarrassed, but remember thinking, "this guy is skinny, this guy doesn't look like a giant, he just looks like....a normal guy." and rather than discouraged i thought....hey, maybe its my drive, not my genetics that decide if i make it. Ad to all reading this...i may never make sf, i may never even try...but i know full well that the thing that makes you unique, and a good soldier unique is less about inborn ability and more about determination and personal strength.

As i said, i probably wont end up SF (statistically, not my opinion) and very well might end up another branch entirely, but do know that your MISSION (ie not the superman aspects...not the cool tv portions but the reality of a day-to-day mission which is primarily tedious in that it requires repetitive prodding, and no rambo heroics) will remain important to me....You are among the few for a reason.

Thanks again,

-Andrew.