Psychology major. Collar bone plate General advice.

[Chaszs]

Hello, First off, I would like to say that I am a 17 year old high school senior with hopes of enlisting with an 18X contract when I am 21. I have a couple of questions that I could not find the answers to in any other posts (here or on other sites) Hopefully I did not miss one and apologize if I am re-asking something.

First, since I cannot get an 18X contract until I am 20, I am looking into getting a degree in psychology with a criminal justice minor as a fall back plan to go into law enforcement after I get out of the Army. The question: is this degree going to be helpful in SF? Does a college degree play any role at all as an enlistee?

Second, I had a mountain biking accident a couple of years ago and broke my collar bone, as a result I had to get a plate surgically implanted on top of it to hold it in place. It is now completely healed and does not inhibit me in any way, I just cannot get it removed because of the expense of the surgery. The question: Would this require a medical waiver? What about if I was able to save enough money to get it removed?

Third, I read the post "SFAS Advice" and found it very helpful; however, one question that I would like to ask (if you can answer it without giving anything away that would reduce the effectiveness of SFAS) was: in your experience, what was the part of SFAS that the candidates were least prepared for? If you were to go through it a second time, is there something that you would have prepared for more?

Finally, on a different note, I was looking for a good book on the history of the Green Berets and found that there are more than I had imagined. Is there one you would recommend that is both detailed and accurate?

Thank you for your service and help, it is greatly appreciated.
Chaszs

[k-rub]

A college degree will benefit you in a military career. It seems the military is increasingly focusing on education. Unless things have changed in recent years, a 4 year degree will help you to enlist at a higher rank, SPC. That being said, a degree is not an end all. You can still accomplish much in the military without it.

I can't answer your 2nd question. A recruiter is your best bet. I would imagine that retained hardware would require a waiver.

You cannot prepare for everything. SFAS tests each person differently. There is a plethora of info so candidates can have a very good idea of what to expect. Get it into your head that you have to adapt to whatever situation you come upon. If you aren't prepared for a certain situation, find a way to adapt and overcome.

Books: I would start with reading about the OSS and Jedburgh Teams during WWII and the Mike Force and CIDG in Vietnam. Horse Soldiers is a good account of early on in Afghanistan. Also, LT Ramsey's War is an excellent read and talks about UW conducted in the Philippines during WWII.

[The Reaper]

Concur with k-rub's comments.

I would advise you to stop trying to G2 the course, and just be the very best you can. Plenty of advice on that already here.

I would also recommend reading, "A Message to Garcia."

That is the kind of person we are looking for.

TR

[spottedmedic111]

College isn't required, but having a degree will certainly help you do your job better. Writing is becoming an increasingly important skill, and employment of technology always seems to grow as well.


SFAS....so much has been discussed already but I stand by my perspective: less is more. If I had to sum up why I think many people failed my course, I would say it was from false expectations. Train without inside information and do it without music or other artificial motivation. Get used to listening to nothing but your own hard breathing and as k-rub and Reaper said, be prepared for everything. If you think you have the course figured out you'll only train to those events you expect, then become discouraged when it isn't like you thought.

Personally, I would have given myself more time to heal from intense rucking before attending SFAS. I had shin splints for the entire first week, probably from rucking on pavement.

[Dive08]

In answer to your first question - what you have planned is fine. The most important thing regarding degree selection prior to entering the Army (with SF in mind) is to have a major that you will excel in and that can serve as a fall back if things don't work out the way you want them to.