SFQC Class Number

[longrange1947]

Remember, SF was not hurting for bodies a lot of times and ran a lot of good guys out of SWC and sent them to division for years.

Granted I retired in 90, but I don't ever remember SF not hurting for people. Hell in 3/7 in the 70s and 80s we had 4 to 7 guys per team.

Only once in my career did I ever have full team. Now money cut backs would cause a wind down in classes but not because we had enough guys. If I remember correctly.

Originally Posted by longrange1947

Granted I retired in 90, but I don't ever remember SF not hurting for people. Hell in 3/7 in the 70s and 80s we had 4 to 7 guys per team.

Only once in my career did I ever have full team. Now money cut backs would cause a wind down in classes but not because we had enough guys. If I remember correctly.

I hear you, and there were only 8 guys on my first team when I got to 2/3 in March 93.

Even so they were recycling less than 10% of the guys who bombed the 18D course before trauma 3 and only about 25% of the others went on to another MOS. They sent the vast majority "world-wide assignment."

My class started with 82, had 120 at one point from recycles. When I got booted, 2 others got booted to and that reduced my class to 7 TOTAL 18D students who went on to Ft Bragg. I passed trauma 3 (300-F1) and failed with 3 weeks left and I got orders to report to the 82nd.

I did not sign into 82nd. I went straight to the SWTG CSM (Kraus at the time I think) and begged to get into anything they had a slot for.

There were only a dozen or so of us from the 82/120 who bombed the medic course and got to stay in the Q. Most of them got sent packing to Ft Hood, Ft Polk, and Ft Lewis. 6 of us were assigned to Bragg. 4 signed right into division and never came back to the Q course, 1 other guy did what I did and got back in.

It sure felt like we were hurting for bodies when I finally got to my first team, but SWC sure wasn't acting like it. Some GOOD dudes got sent packing and ended up very successful in the conventional Army regardless.

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by rltipton

Remember, SF was not hurting for bodies a lot of times and ran a lot of good guys out of SWC and sent them to division for years. There were also periods when they were completely unable to fill class seats and had to cancel and condense classes and had a surplus of students-in-wait hanging around for a class to start.



I am curious which class is considered as the official SFQC Class #1.



Be safe,
Randy

I know that I was out of training for 6 weeks after we finished the 05B course waiting for Phase 3 to start - not sure if that was because they were running too many clases or too few - that was spring of 69.

I only lasted one day at the slave market that time - they got me and Rodney T that first day and sent us - as I said earlier - to Mackall to build the - up until that time - non existant Obstacle Course

[Pete]

Originally Posted by longrange1947

.......... Hell in 3/7 in the 70s and 80s we had 4 to 7 guys per team..................

Have you forgotten the time when they were going to cut one of the Groups but to save the HQs they cut the 6th team out of all the line companies.

Mad scramble for a real line number, excess people were sent off everywhere and the companies finally stablized.

Then when the 6th team came back the companies were immediately short on people.

Guys SCUBA (me) and HALO qualified could lean back and watch the scramble among the other three teams during the whole ordeal. It was not pretty.

[Richard]

Have you forgotten the time when they were going to cut one of the Groups but to save the HQs they cut the 6th team out of all the line companies.

Mad scramble for a real line number, excess people were sent off everywhere and the companies finally stablized.

Oh yeah - circa 1980-81 - ODA726 was a SCUBA team - we remained intact but were redesignated ODA724 while the previous members of ODA724 were dispersed throughout the B/C Team - it was how MG Lutz kept the 7th SFG on the 'books' when the Army was looking to cut a Group.

Richard

[Green Light]

In 1983, they reactivated (temporarily) 716, 726, and 736 for TF Label Field. I was in 5th Group at the time. I showed up for PT one morning and my Tm Sgt said he'd gotten a phone call the previous night (late) saying that I'd been transfered (late that night) from 5th to 7th Gp. Everyone they could find in the 5th who had ever spoken Spanish (or eaten a taco) showed up with me that morning at HHC 7th Gp. The 1SG wasn't sure what the heck was going on but he got orders that afternoon.

Anyway, those teams were sent to Honduras for 6 months just north of the Nic border. They got all of the equipment for the 6th teams out of the warehouse and sent us packing. When we got back, the teams were inactivated and we were absorbed into the companies in 1/7.

After WOCS, I went to your old team 724. It was a wreck - team sergeant was an old HALO instructor and could only skydive. I stayed there for two years and went to Panama. Best move I ever made.

BG Lutz was still there IIRC. His dropping one team per company probably saved SF. Taking us to two A/C groups would have been our death sentence. Heck, when the WAG (RIP) got rid of 11th and 12th later on (1990s) it hurt us enough. Ya think we could use two more SF groups today?[/drift]

When I graduated SFQC in 77, we were SFQC 01-77. I would imagine the actual class one would be sometime back in the early 0s.

[cetheridge]

My first post since joining...this thread seems like a good one to start with, since I too have been curious as to when class numbers were started. Thought I'd throw in my 2-cents worth. I went thru Phase I, Engineer Course (12B), and Phase III in 1968 and don't recall any SFQC class numbers at that time. At the end of PIII of the QC, 24 of us out of a class of about 150 received orders for the 8th Group, but first to Language (Spanish) School in Arlington. 40 years was quite some time ago and I don't remember everything ....hell, sometimes I can't remember what I did yesterday...need to take more Gingko.

[Combat Diver]

I started the Q in Mar 84 and would have gradulated Jul that year but broke my leg on infil. Was on medical hold til two classes later and gradulated Nov 84. My PIII team picture had a class date on it but its long away from me at my mothers house. Did have a Jordanian officer on that team that eventully was the Jordanian SF Commander last I saw of him. The first thing I remember when I went across post to 1/5th was reporting to the CSM Joe "Smoking Joe" Dennison for my company assignment.

When I reported out to Robin Sage in summer of 06 as an instructor that's when we went from 6 classes to 8 a year under Parker. Just went and checked my records and class 03-06 was the last class for FY 06 that started the 8 a year. Next class was 01-07.

CD

[Dusty]

I started Phase I in about June of '83. Bad Bob took us on our first ruck run. I was thinking-damn, this is gonna be a loooooooong school.

They gave me a chicken and dropped me off at the lake for Survival, and some kid saw a snake, popped his flare, and burned down my straw hooch the next afternoon.

I think that was the only time in 11 years wearing the beanie that I was in any kind of danger.

[Nick710]

I graduated the Q-course in July, 1982. My diploma says Class 4-82. Major Howard was the Phase I commander. BG Lutz signed my diploma and I think it was Nick Rowe who spoke at our graduation.

Time really flys when you're having fun.

[dennisw]

FWIW

The program from my son's graduation ceremony reads:

Graduates of Class 04-05

The 214th class

23 Nov 2005

[Beretverde]

Originally Posted by 2018commo

I did phase one with 2-80, phase 3 with 3-80 due to code speed. 1-80 went out in late November, we went out in Feb. We called our selves the first easy class as CM had left for another outfit. I never met the man but his rep was bad assed, it was like the whole camp had exhaled. The TACs anounced the US beat the USSR (Hockey) on the loud speaker we thought it was psyops! I remember over twenty inches of snow at the end of phase 1, we ended up walking back to Mackall. We also had a guy struck by lightening in phase 3, he graduated but I heard he died later.

CM was the senior TAC and Kaiser was his assistant. So long ago! But I never forgot CM and the big words (wallocker banana) and hydroplaning. I can remember that, but not the class number! Class motto "I sold my kids, divorced my wife, I'll be a Special forces Soldier for the rest of my life. Ruckers make better fuckers!"

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by cetheridge

...and Phase III in 1968 and don't recall any SFQC class numbers at that time. At the end of PIII of the QC, 24 of us out of a class of about 150 received orders for the 8th Group, but first to Language (Spanish) School in Arlington. 40 years was quite some time ago and I don't remember everything


....hell, sometimes I can't remember what I did yesterday...need to take more Gingko.

I hear you brother - what's worse, I now find that lots of stuff I remember. I've remembered wrong -somewhere over these 40 years a wire or two got crossed - hell, - that's damn frustrating.

[122418b]

Graduated April 89, Class 1-89. Nick Rowe had been assinated in the Phillipines shortly before our graduation IIRC.

[CSB]

I wonder how I could find out my class number?

It should be on your orders.
(You do still have your orders, don't you?)