Old 01-26-2005, 15:07   #1
The Reaper
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
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Read And Heed!!

Gents,

It is becoming obvious that some people here are failing to read any of the numerous stickies at the top of the forums here and have decided to plunge into this site by posting away.

That is a technique, but it is NOT a good one.

This shoot, ready, aim approach is reflective of a lack of the basic attributes that we in SF are looking for (like Situational Awareness), and while it may result in some humor for us (at your expense, of course), it is not a recipe for good responses or even a continued presence here.

The following threads would be recommended for reading before posting at PS.com.

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...read.php?t=474

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...ead.php?t=3452

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...hread.php?t=63

http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/...hread.php?t=64

If you can't be troubled to read before posting, don't expect us to be inclined to give you a quick, correct, or kind response.

On to specifics.

Every month (every day, lately), I see posts or get PMs from some heroes who have failed to read the stickies and are planning their SF career 10-20 years out, or what they are going to do after they complete ROTC and become the Army Chief of Staff.

As you can see here, this is not an easy road, attrition in the past four years from SFAS has run from a high of 77% to as little as 20% for one very special class. Odds are better than even that any particular individual will not make it through Selection.

Quit asking if you can go to Ranger, or CDQC, or MFF schools. Schools are for you to learn a skill that you need to do your job, not for you to collect shiny badges to impress your friends. If you need a school, the Army will send you to it. Only exceptions are for courses like SFAS, and when slots are left over from the people who need it. Most of the best SF guys wear a uniform with few, if any badges affixed. They let their performance and reputation speak for them. They need no badges to impress others.

Stop assuming that you are going to be an SF Soldier just because you signed an 18X contract or are going to graduate from ROTC. A lot of plans fail, and a lot of thngs happen in a few years to change the goals that you have. Set out to complete the course or be carried out of it, never lose sight of your goals and quit, but have another plan for what you want to do, and quit asking or telling people what you are going to do before, during, or after SF. You need to focus on the 25 meter target, be that ROTC, High School, Basic, or SFAS.

A fast run time or a good bench press does not equal success at SFAS or in the SFQC. We are looking for the total package, the "whole man". Intelligence, physical fitness, and the right attitude are all equally important. All of the bluster and bragging in the world will not move you one meter closer to the next point when you are out in those woods for days on end with the big green tick on your back, feet that are killing you, and miles to go before you rest.

All you can do is to prepare yourself as best you can, be quiet, watch, and learn, and roll the dice by giving it your best effort along with everyone else. The soldiers who make it do that. IMHO, those who talk the most, generally do the least. Think about it before you hit that "Post" or "Send" button.

Good luck.

TR
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

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