How has being SF or in the Army changed you? - Page 5

Matta mile · 04-03-2009, 19:45

I am wondering if it amplified and better defined who I am or if it made me who I am.....
Tough question

In either event I can say this with confidence: SF provided me the opportunity to contribute along with like minded individuals to a demanding goal far bigger than any of us even if that goal included the ultimate sacrifice. As I write these words I detect in my self a sense of arrogance in that "if I go down, it will be because I have applied the max amount of effort with the maximum force".
MM

charlietwo · 04-03-2009, 20:54

As "one of those damn X-rays", I can definitely say my time in SF has changed me. It's instilled an appreciation for leadership, and the keen ability to identify leaders just by hearing their voice. Being able to identify that voice, has led me to develop my own voice of leadership. It's hard to identify through a post like this, but I could probably do it over a few beers.

The wide range of experiences has also made me more introspective. I remember my final moments at SERE school as one of the most formative moments in my short life. Also, deploying to a combat zone and being left to your own devices, ingenuity, and wits with your teammates definitely makes life in general taste sweeter. On a side note, feeling the cold breath of death has brought me closer to God and given me a deeper appreciation for life in general.

Pretty esoteric thread we got here

I like it!

dennisw · 09-16-2010, 12:25

I know we have had many QP's who have joined the site since this thread was originally started. It would be interesting to also hear their answers.

1stindoor · 09-16-2010, 12:42

I don't know that SF has changed me so much as it's given me a home. I spent three years in the regular Infantry...and while I wouldn't change one thing about my time there...I knew I didn't belong. Special Forces gave me a home. I've been a fast riser and a pain in the a$$ to Tm Sgts over the years...but all of them allowed me the space to develop into the person I am. It's truly been my niche in life...it's not everyone that has a job they truly love...but around this community...nearly everyone comes to work happy to be there (well at least in the teamroom). It's one of the few places you'll find where you get paid to hang out with friends. For those fortunate enough to make a career of it...it's a family that'll always be there for you.

Bennett · 09-16-2010, 13:34

I don’t know if SF changed me or if I just grew up! I joined the Army when I just turned 20, 1977 and SF in 1984 and I was 49 when I left. I spent more time in 10th Group then I did with my Mom and Dad. SF has changed along the way so maybe we grew together. Sure did give me a chance to hone my BS skills, which I come by naturally.

taskforceiron · 09-16-2010, 14:27

NM

**The Reaper** · 09-16-2010, 16:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by taskforceiron

Yes. I can endure more hardship than most people and I am a much harder worker than what I was as a kid before I enlisted.

tfi:

Have you read the rules at the top of this forum?

TR

1stindoor · 09-17-2010, 07:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper

tfi:

Have you read the rules at the top of this forum?

TR

It's also changed what I view as entertainment.

ZonieDiver · 09-17-2010, 09:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blitzzz

No, It formed me. I am what I always was. SF took what had to offer and molded, shaped , formed me into what I became. You learn that there is no problem that can't be solved. If not by yourself then with a team. Impossible situations are not impossible. they're just extreme challenges. challenges that increase the fullness of life. Never ending education of life, people, and events. If you don't posses the raw materials you won't become SF. Blitz

I think this answer is the core of what I would say about "how SF changed me." I was very much a loner and individualist - relied on myself almost exclusively, prior to SF. SF taught me how to function as an integral part of a team. I think there must have been a part of the extensive testing I underwent that measured that ability... CAN this person function as a member of a team.

I already knew how to "not quit" from my days as a cross country runner with absolutely NO talent (at least that is what my coach said). I knew quitting was almost all mental, but SF training reinforced that knowledge to the Nth degree. I saw men with much greater "raw materials" than I possessed, who could have been great SF soldiers, except for one thing, fall by the wayside. That one thing they lacked was the will NOT to quit, when things got very tough. That is when SF soldiers rise to the occasion - when it gets very, very tough.

Many people loved the Rambo movies. I was totally disappointed - not so much for the absolute BS of what he could do, but for the absolute lack of a TEAM! Whatever Rambo was, he was NOT SF. At least the "A Team" had a team!

Utah Bob · 09-17-2010, 10:11

Top Ten Things SF did for Me:

It exhilarated me.
It exhausted me.
It challenged me.
It scared me.
It matured me.
It amused me.
It saddened me.
It uplifted me.
It strengthened me.
It humbled me.

ZonieDiver · 09-17-2010, 10:15

Quote:

It humbled me.

Well said! That is something that has constantly happened to me since my first exposure to SF, and continues to this day - at an ever accelerating pace.

I am constantly reminded of the remark by the admiral at the end of the movie "The Bridges of Toko Ri": "Where do we find such men...?"

x SF med · 09-17-2010, 11:20

SF made me live up to my own expectations.
SF made me realize I had nothing to prove to anybody else, I proved to myself what I needed to know (and those that matter needed to know) by graduating the Q course.
SF gave me a family of brothers that expect more of me than the rest of the world, and the desire to live up to those expectations.
SF refined my sense of Honor and my sense of Integrity.
SF took raw material and refined it, shaped it, and honed it into somebody I like.

GSquared · 09-21-2010, 08:33

Well, being in the Army has given me the tools to succeed in the civilian world, and being a support guy in group has further sharpened those tools. Some people need the big Army mentality, others don't, but it's all the way it is because it works. Different people get different things out of their experience.

09-21-2010, 22:26

I remember sitting in the bleachers when James Ward (WWII, Burma Det 101) visited.

"Men, Special Forces is a mistress. Your wives will envy her because she will have your hearts, your wives will be jealous of her because of the power to pull you away. This mistress will show you things never before seen and experience things never before felt. She will love you only a little, suducing you to want more, give more, die for her. She will take you away from the ones you love, and you will hate her for it, but leave her you never will, but if you must, you will miss her, for she has a part of you that will never be returned intact.

And in the end, she will leave you for a younger man."

**Team Sergeant** · 09-22-2010, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by wet dog

I remember sitting in the bleachers when James Ward (WWII, Burma Det 101) visited.

"Men, Special Forces is a mistress. Your wives will envy her because she will have your hearts, your wives will be jealous of her because of the power to pull you away. This mistress will show you things never before seen and experience things never before felt. She will love you only a little, suducing you to want more, give more, die for her. She will take you away from the ones you love, and you will hate her for it, but leave her you never will, but if you must, you will miss her, for she has a part of you that will never be returned intact.

And in the end, she will leave you for a younger man."

That is most profound....without a doubt the saddest day of my life was when I left her....