First off I apologize if I placed this query in the wrong board of the forum. I wasn't certain if this belongs in the Base Camp or the SF Questions board.
I am Navy O-2 and a recent returnee from a tour in Iraq as a
Navy Individual Augmentee. I am set to do an interservice transfer to the US Army (Engineer Branch) later this September and become a 1LT in the US Army via the
Operation Blue to Green Program. The two URLs lead to descriptions of the two programs in question.
I'm looking forward to serving in the Corps of Engineers, but I've become curious about the two titled fields on the Army Reserve (Civil Affairs) or National Guard (19th or 20th Groups) sides.
From what I understand Civil Affairs tend to that area known as civil-military relations in the AO. From what I observed it seemed they were rather involved in nation building and stability operations.
I intend to do my owed three years of active duty time with the Army as an Engineer and then transfer into the reserves (either remaining an Engineer Officer or one of the two titled career fields) to pursue a civilian career in emergency services (likely with a fire department as an EMT-P in Florida or California and from their possibly working for FEMA with DHS). I'm simply learning what I can about all three of the Reserve/National Guard options available to me.
My background is thus: I attempted to be selected as a SEAL officer from my where I commissioned but I was not selected because of low class standing.
I served on a Navy vessel conducting Counter Narcotics OPS off the coast of South and Central America for 2.5 years (during that time I worked a good bit with USCG LEDETs (seaborne SWAT as a quick descriptor) typically taking care of detainee operations).
I'd also done various Community Relations (COMREL) jobs organizing volunteers from the ship's crew to carry out CA type ops in various ports we visited (we helped fix up an orphanage for abandoned or abused children in Panama as one notable project).
I'd rather not discuss in detail what my Iraq tour (11 mos) entailed on the forum but will be happy to discuss in PM or e-mail.
I'd always been the physically active sort having enjoyed the hobbies of indoor rock climbing (until recently I lived in FL), swimming, surfing, and the martial arts (I've been involved in boxing at university and trained in the Chinese Martial Art of Wing Chun) among other things. I believe a man can't be fit, just fitter.
I trained to be a shipboard rescue swimmer (in the Navy they usually send enlisted men through it but my ship had no enlisted capable of passing the SAR PT Test) during my last eight months on the ship. I went to the school house but failed due to having had three challenges (three issues were two timed swim failures I later mitigated and a mistake on a practical). I learned my lesson and used what I'd learned to train the man my ship sent after me. He made it through and became the ship's SAR Officer.
What sparked my interest in SF were stories of the SF teams of Vietnam that liased with Montagnard, Nung, and Vietnamese forces who worked and lived amongst the populace, earned their respect and turned them into cohesive fighting elements. Major Plaster's book
SOG was most enjoyable and informative light read. I also enjoyed SFC Frank Antenori's Roughneck 91 book and figured a soldier like him is exactly what I expect of an NCO no matter what field I fetch up in.
And I did observe how both CA and SF soldiers worked with the population in their respective lanes for the building of rapport. I found that to be fascinating how a team of twelve (SF) or five (CA) could influence an area of operations (an Iraqi province) so profoundly (for OPSEC I'd rather not state how).
Most compelling was the fact of the relative independence of operation that the SF and CA officers had and the rapport they had with their soldiers that transcended difference of rank. I am also aware with that autonomy comes responsibility to conduct effective operations independent of the headshed (thereby entailing that the officer put a large amount of trust in his NCOs). I've always believed that empowered subordinates are effective subordinates and that frees the officer to worry about the bigger picture of the operation as it develops or as he sees.
What I think are going to be the telling factors on which of three paths I follow (Reserve or Guard Engineer, Reserve CA, or Guard SF) are thus:
1.
Age: I'll be looking at thirty by the time I transition to the reserves (I'm wondering if age might be against me). I am aware that older bodies may be less resilient than younger ones but older recruits bring a lot of practical life experience to the military as a whole (not just SF). To prove my point we had a medic in my unit: a female PFC who enlisted in the Army at 40. She managed a pharmacy
and served as an EMT-Paramedic while volunteering as a K9 handler for a Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Unit. She was actually the go to medic at the aid station (I preferred her advice over that of the Specialist she worked with) and she was seen by other medics and the surgeon as a go to person.
On the physical front I know simply self discipline and smartly applied effort can ensure I have the physical tools I need for the occupation in question. (I took an Army PFT before my Iraq tour to assess my physical condition IAW the Army instruction and got a 270 in the 17-21 age group). That being said I am still stepping up my PT program
regardless of path. My next goal is a 280 in that age group by next year.
2.
Marital status: I know SF can be taxing on marriage but having a wife and a family I love is very important to me. I'm aware marriage issues can kill many an SF candidate (literally and figuratively).
That being said it would be something I'd have to do to master the art of negotiation with the future missus if I am to attempt the SF route. If I happened to be married that is.
I am not presently married nor do I have a serious girlfriend but I know that a committed and loving relationship is high on my priority list.
I seek input to help with decision making on this fairly life changing decision. I would personally be happy with any of the three paths I've looked into and would simply like to QA/QC my plan to make sure my head space and timing are right.
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