Originally Posted by The Reaper
I guess I will be the odd man out here.
This is not the Army, or the SF, of 30 years ago.
My opinion, based on 20 years in SF and 4 years sitting in on SFAS, Phase II and Robin Sage boards is that you need to be a good soldier in order to be a good SF soldier.
If you are the sort of anti-social, sociopathic person who consistently defies authority, ignores the rules, breaks laws, can't tell right from wrong, and who has little regard for other people and their property, I do not want to serve with you.
People who come to SF to get away with misconduct, to grow their hair long, or to dress differently are not normally good SF soldiers, and tend to be disciplinary distractors.
I saw gang bangers trying to get into SF, and I always recommended against them, unless they had a pattern of good military service for at least one enlistment.
There were serious alcoholics, substance abusers, perpetrators of domestic violence, and child abusers trying to get into as well. Anyone who has been in leadership positions knows how corrosive this behavior can become, and how much fun these soldiers are to have on our teams or in our units. We have to be pretty desperate to take a chance on the long shot that these people can shake off their problems, straighten themselves out, and become good SF soldiers. FWIW, the psychs tended to agree with me.
I could understand giving someone who made a single mistake an exception to policy to come into the service (note that I did not say directly into SF). I would not say the same for people with a pattern of misconduct, or those who demonstrate a lack of integrity.
Just my .02, YMMV.
TR
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