I've got a good buddy of mine who is volenteering to go over to Afghanistan, in an ARNG unit as a 13F (forward observer). He's prior service USMC, and had some high-speed Recon schools along the way.
We've both looked at trying our hands at SF, 19th SFG for him, and mine would be 20th SFG. But he's convinced himself that going through Selection would be a waste of time with the war looking to wind down. He's told me he's planning on just 'hooking up' with an ODA once in country and pretty much being a 'ride along'.
I've spent a year in Iraq, and though I was able to catch a few glimpes of SF on the ground, we were always security and support to them, and always at arms length.
My question....is he being realistic about 'tagging along' with an ODA, or if he really wants 'the life' should he start with Selection?
One more question, if I'm lucky enough to get a transfer over to 20th group to prep for Selection, would they consider deploying me overseas before I'm tabbed?
Originally posted by 13509277: I've got a good buddy of mine who is volenteering to go over to Afghanistan, in an ARNG unit as a 13F (forward observer). He's prior service USMC, and had some high-speed Recon schools along the way.
We've both looked at trying our hands at SF, 19th SFG for him, and mine would be 20th SFG. But he's convinced himself that going through Selection would be a waste of time with the war looking to wind down. He's told me he's planning on just 'hooking up' with an ODA once in country and pretty much being a 'ride along'.
I've spent a year in Iraq, and though I was able to catch a few glimpes of SF on the ground, we were always security and support to them, and always at arms length.
My question....is he being realistic about 'tagging along' with an ODA, or if he really wants 'the life' should he start with Selection?
One more question, if I'm lucky enough to get a transfer over to 20th group to prep for Selection, would they consider deploying me overseas before I'm tabbed?
As for your buddy, I don't know. I have never heard of such a thing. If he plans on going to an SF unit, he has to go through selection sooner than later though. Don't know why he would think of it as a waste of time. As it is the first thing you have to do in the long journey to being SF.
As fo you. I do know that one batt from 20th Group took guys with them to Iraq that went through selection, and put off the "Q" course until they got back. They were used as extra security or something like that, I think. I can't really say what they did, as I don't know, but they did go, but only after attending selection and getting selected to attend the "Q" course.
That was what my "horse sense" was telling me. I wish I could convince him of it, before he commits to putting off trying out for SF till after a tour overseas.
Originally posted by 13509277: That was what my "horse sense" was telling me. I wish I could convince him of it, before he commits to putting off trying out for SF till after a tour overseas.
People are always trying to find short cuts to things. Remember, if it were easy everyone would be doing it.
Teams have JTACs or CCT not 13Fs with them. Your friend is wasting his time. Doesn't sound like SF material to begin with, he sounds like a simpleton, as Shardik put it so eloquintly, "This is the US Army not Hollywood fantasy". SF will be in Iraq and Afghanistan for many years to come conducting FID and as WKD put it, there are many other things going on around the world besides Iraq and the A-Stan.
We did have non-quals that we took out on missions with us and used them as turret gunners, drivers, or outer security if they had a skill set that we liked and we were short-staffed.
But we hand-picked them. Almost universally, the ones that came to us wanting to go out on missions were a bunch of crap-talking wannabes that just wanted to have a cool story to go with their SFG T-shirts. The ones we picked were the guys who quietly and professionally did their jobs in the TOC and struck us as the kind that would be good on a team. So we gave them a shot.
My first deployment with 20th we deployed volunteers from our non-qual detachment with us. The last tour, we took none. So it can happen, you can get mobilized prior to going to selection or Q, but it means you will probably be doing support work in the rear.
Originally posted by JBierly: My first deployment with 20th we deployed volunteers from our non-qual detachment with us. The last tour, we took none. So it can happen, you can get mobilized prior to going to selection or Q, but it means you will probably be doing support work in the rear.
When 20th mobilized for Desert Storm, one of the first things they did on arrival at Ft. Bragg was to bus the non-Q platoon straight to Camp Camp Mackall for SFAS. Do not stop at go, do not collect $200. That shook out a lot of the hanger-ons who had been loafing in the NQP (some for years) just to have something to brag about.
I wish we had done the same thing. I can't think of a single Non-Qual that deployed with us in 03 that ended up going to SFAS. They all came back bragging about their combat tour with SF and went on to contracting jobs.
Originally posted by JBierly: I wish we had done the same thing. I can't think of a single Non-Qual that deployed with us in 03 that ended up going to SFAS. They all came back bragging about their combat tour with SF and went on to contracting jobs.
I think I ran into one of these guy's, I helped our medic reattach his right nostril and left index finger.
Originally posted by Duster6: Tell your friend to be very careful about tagging along with an ODA. I have heard that some ODAs if they don't like you they will kill you.
LOL! We had a tabbed guy right out of the Q come to a team in our company that thought that the team was going to murder him down in South America on his first deployment(he had been on the team just a few weeks, all the guys on that team are heavy duty warriors, down right SF Commandos!). He quickly was moved out on the Black Chinook. Cookoo cookoo!!!
Here are some thoughts on his being able to tag along. He could change his MOS to cook. He could create a longer signature block showing his ego. He could sneak accross the wire. if all else fails he could tell them he stayed at a holiday Inn.
