Green Beret Question?

Question

I wanna be a green beret, im in college right now, when i graduate ill be 25 years old with a bachelors degree (i started college late). I was going to join the marines after high school but i wanted to go to college and get a degree, now that ill be done in a couple of semesters my goal to join the miltary has not changed. Im in great physcial shape. I heavy lift 3 days, boxing 2, intense cadio 2, and swim on the weekends (ive been doing this training for 2 years now). Im a good shooter, i go to the shooting range at least once or twice a month, and i hunt 4 times a year (could do better but im busy with school). At my age will i still be qualified to join the Green Berets, ill do whatever it takes. Whats the average age of a Green Beret, How long is traning, How many years average is the contract, any help will be great.

P.S and does having a degree help at all?

Answer 1

Call an Army recruiter and ask about the 18X (Special Forces Candidate) enlistment option. Even though you have a degree and would be eligible for OCS programs, most SF positions are NCOs and there are many officers competing for the 1 team leader slot and then you only get to be on the team for like two years as an officer. If anything, go 18X, become SF, do it for a while, and then go to OCS if you want later. Good luck.

Answer 2

Green Beret Contract

Answer 3

You have two choices to make right off the bat.



1. Apply for OCS

2. Go enlisted.



A. If you apply for OCS, it will be alot harder.



You would have to go to OCS, get Infantry ( which will be next to impossible ) Unlike the enlisted side where Infantry is hard to fill, Infantry is the first choice for Officers.



You do not have to be Infantry, but it makes it alot easier.



You would go to OCS, then your Basic branch Couse, apply for Ranger School ( but if your not combat arms, you probally will not get Ranger School ) PS: Ranger School does not make you a Ranger .



Then go to your first duty station.



in about 3 or 4 years , when you are a 1st Lt ( promotable ) or a Captian,



You can apply for Special Forces.



That will put you close to the age limit of 30 years old.



Plus, it is alot more competetive for Officers to get into SF.



B. Enlist in the Army, MOS really doesn't matter much, but combat arms helps alot.



With a degree you will enlist as an E-4,



Serve 3 years, then apply for SFAS ( SF selection )



C. Enlist under the 18X enlistment option.



You go to OSUT ( basic and infantry AIT combined )

Jump School

A pre SFAS course at Fort Benning

Then SFAS



The washoutrate for 18X enlistments is around 98%



You just don't have the soldier skills or fitness level necessary, especially the rucking over hilly terrian fitness level.



If you pass SFAS, you start the Q course



If you fail SFAS, you are assigned as infantry somewhere else.



The Q course can last from one year to two years, depending on your assigned SF speciality.



You have a 3 year service commitment, After you complete the Q course.



So for the enlisted side, the minimum service commitment would be around 5 years total.



For the Officer side, it would be around 7 years total.



Go give yourself an Army PTF and see what you score.



According to SF, to have a reasonable chance of passing SFAS, you need a score of 276 or higher. For scores lower than that, the pass rate drops considerably.

Answer 4

The 18X enlistment option is the thing your looking for, as the first response to your question indicated.



As for your age, you must be at least 20 years old to go Special Forces via the 18x option. Since you're 25 as of graduation, you're covered and right in the sweet spot as far as age. You're not too young, and you're not too old.



Most everyone I've talked to who is currently a member of SF have said that no matter how good of shape you're in, the tests are made to test your will and strength of mind above all else. Those other skills should definitely come in handy, but you have to adopt the mindset that you will never quit or give up to make it through the selection process.



The phrase "cast or tab" gets thrown around a lot, too. This means that you'll only stop if you've sustained a major injury or you've succeeded. Another favorite line is " a man only fails in one of two ways, he decides to give up, or he dies before he finishes the task." Deep stuff, right?



Anyways, the minimum enlistment period is 6 years for the 18x option, but training time will depend on your specialization within the 18 series. Medics(18D) and Communications(18E) guys will have about 2 years worth of training, slightly less for demo/engineers (18C(?)) and weapons(18B) sergeants.



You start off going to Infantry BCT/ OSUT at Fort Benning, GA for about 14 weeks. Then you would go through Airborne training fora bit longer, at Fort Bragg, NC (I think). Then you'd do SFAS and the Q course, as well as other types of training at either Fort Bragg, or Fort McKall (I think, don't remember off the top of my head). By the time you're awarded your Special Forces tab (and your Green beret) you'll also be promoted to the rank of Sergeant.



Also, a piece of advice, the joke that no one is a "Green Beret", because a green beret is just a hat, is something you'll hear quite a bit as well. Refer to them as Special Forces soldiers (NOT to be confused with "Special Operations Forces" which is a catch-all term for most of the elite units in the US military like the Navy SEALS, Marine Force recon, 1st SFODD (Delta), Nightstalkers, Green Berets and Rangers.)



Hope this answers your question, feel free to email me if you want to talk any more about this topic.



----Also, to the tool who posted the second reply... stop giving us liberals a bad name by being such a dumb A$s. You're not being witty by disrespecting our service members. Find something more productive to do than trolling military boards and offering an opinion that is clearly the product of ignorance and misplaced bravado. Good day, and good riddance.

Answer 5

All army contracts are 8 years. For 18x you'll sign up for a minimum of 3 years active + time of training "usually 18+ months depending on job". To train for selection start running 5+ miles a day. Also in selection you'll have to road/ruck march "back pack" 15+ miles with around 50 pounds of gear.

Answer 6

because of the fact they used to coach with some British unit that wore green berets. After polishing off the learning, the yank have been allowed to placed on the golf green beret additionally. comparable with American paratroopers and the maroon beret.

Answer 7

Its very tough and your sound like your physically in shape but it will be a giant mental trial.



Pretty sure u can join as long as you are 20+ as a Special Forces Candidate in the U.S. Army.



The Special Forces have a very high drop-out rate. (over 75%) so joining as infantry to get in soldierin shape would be best but i dont want to see you to pass up your prime and fail. Do it while you are young. I hear guys saying all the time " oh i wish i would have atleast tried for Spec Forces while i was young and in my prime"



Good Luck. (u might even see me in a few years)

Answer 8

Ugh...I am sorry I am not answering your question the way I should, but in the long run this book will help you out way more than I could. Buy the Tom Clancy book: Special Forces. it is part of his non-fiction series, to help you, it has a picture of a Soldier fast roping out of a Black Hawk. And I don't think you are a douche like this idiot!

Answer 9

Hey there,

I downloaded Combat arms 1 for free here: http://bit.ly/1rlH2ms



it's a perfectly working link!

If the First Person Shooter games’ genre is your favorite and you’re looking for a new experience in this field, Combat Arms is one of the funniest and most comprehensive computer titles.

For me, it's the best game ever.

Answer 10

if you go the officer route you will have to wait until your a captain (o-3).

if you go enlisted you can go 18x which is the pipeline route to sf.

getting through selection and all that is of how far you can push yourself and what you can deal with than how physically fit you are.

yes your still young enough so taht you wouldnt need a waiver, but ask yourself:

what seperates you from the 98% of everyone else, which is the failure rate?