Brendon
03-21-2005, 13:24
Here is some background information... I joined the National Guard last May as a 19D cav scout. I was not set to ship to OSUT training until mid February so I attended a semester of college and was a ROTC cadet during that semester. My plan was to come back from training and finish college and ROTC.
During break before i was to leave for OSUT training I decided to go speak with an active duty recruiter and learned about the 18x enlistment. This interested me because the whole reason i joined the army was to eventually make my way into Special Forces. I had always thought that i would go to the training about ten years in my future (I am only 18 at the moment). I went through the entire enlistment process and finished everything about a week ago. I am now an 18x and I am set to ship to training on March 31st. I am not yet obligated and all I have to do is tell my new recruiter that I do not wish to ship and I will go back to my old guard unit and go back to ROTC.
This is what I am hoping to get some advice on. I acknowledge that a college education is very important, and I plan on getting one sometime in the next ten years. Also I am somewhat afraid that I am not yet in the physical shape that I will need to be in to be successful in Special Forces training. I am 6' tall and weigh less than 145 pounds. I am in fairly good shape and can score in the 260's on the APFT but I am afraid that my lack of strength, especially in my legs, will cause me problems, especially since from what I hear I will have to have a ruck that is more than half my weight for most of the training.
I think I have pretty much narrowed my options down to about three routes, i was hoping that someone would be able to help me out on narrowing it down even further.
1.) Take my chances with the 18x training and go back to college in five years when my enlistment is over with.
2.) Turn down the 18x enlistment and stay with the guard, go to training to be a Cav Scout, and become infantry in about a year. (all of the 19D's in my unit are changing over to 11B in about a year) Stay in ROTC and finish college, then go to Special Forces training as a First Lieutenant.
3.) Stay in college and the guard for now, and when I feel I am ready for Special Forces training and have reached at least the rank of specialist or sergeant switch over to active duty as infantry and keep applying for SF training until I am accepted.
I feel that the second and third options would give me the best chances of making SF because they would give me more time to get into better shape, I will only have a little over a week to further prepare for training if i take the 18x enlistment since they found me a training slot so soon when i finished the enlistment process last week.
I am also afraid that if I leave now for active duty I may never come back to college, and I know that college is very important.
I was also curious as to how difficult it is to get accepted into SF training as a 1st Lieutenant or either a Specialist or a Sergeant in an infantry unit. If it is extremely difficult I don't want to throw away my chance at going now as an 18x.
I have a strong desire to eventually be Special Forces, and I am not going to let anything stop me. But i need to figure out which route would be my best bet.
Sorry this was so long, I guess I have a lot on my mind.
During break before i was to leave for OSUT training I decided to go speak with an active duty recruiter and learned about the 18x enlistment. This interested me because the whole reason i joined the army was to eventually make my way into Special Forces. I had always thought that i would go to the training about ten years in my future (I am only 18 at the moment). I went through the entire enlistment process and finished everything about a week ago. I am now an 18x and I am set to ship to training on March 31st. I am not yet obligated and all I have to do is tell my new recruiter that I do not wish to ship and I will go back to my old guard unit and go back to ROTC.
This is what I am hoping to get some advice on. I acknowledge that a college education is very important, and I plan on getting one sometime in the next ten years. Also I am somewhat afraid that I am not yet in the physical shape that I will need to be in to be successful in Special Forces training. I am 6' tall and weigh less than 145 pounds. I am in fairly good shape and can score in the 260's on the APFT but I am afraid that my lack of strength, especially in my legs, will cause me problems, especially since from what I hear I will have to have a ruck that is more than half my weight for most of the training.
I think I have pretty much narrowed my options down to about three routes, i was hoping that someone would be able to help me out on narrowing it down even further.
1.) Take my chances with the 18x training and go back to college in five years when my enlistment is over with.
2.) Turn down the 18x enlistment and stay with the guard, go to training to be a Cav Scout, and become infantry in about a year. (all of the 19D's in my unit are changing over to 11B in about a year) Stay in ROTC and finish college, then go to Special Forces training as a First Lieutenant.
3.) Stay in college and the guard for now, and when I feel I am ready for Special Forces training and have reached at least the rank of specialist or sergeant switch over to active duty as infantry and keep applying for SF training until I am accepted.
I feel that the second and third options would give me the best chances of making SF because they would give me more time to get into better shape, I will only have a little over a week to further prepare for training if i take the 18x enlistment since they found me a training slot so soon when i finished the enlistment process last week.
I am also afraid that if I leave now for active duty I may never come back to college, and I know that college is very important.
I was also curious as to how difficult it is to get accepted into SF training as a 1st Lieutenant or either a Specialist or a Sergeant in an infantry unit. If it is extremely difficult I don't want to throw away my chance at going now as an 18x.
I have a strong desire to eventually be Special Forces, and I am not going to let anything stop me. But i need to figure out which route would be my best bet.
Sorry this was so long, I guess I have a lot on my mind.