Quote:
Originally Posted by alfonzapayne
Hello. An Armor CPT at my unit went to selection last November and completed training and was a non-select and was told not to try again. Of course he said he got 'fucked' on peers, however didn't care to elaborate other than saying he was black. My question is what could he have possibly done to finish training but not get selected as a CPT. And are officers targeted at selection, should we not finish first in every event or excel while we are there? I mean someone has to lead from the front, someone will always finish in the top 3 in every event. If its an officer whats wrong with that? Someone told me SF is not looking for that guy who finishes first in everything and has never failed at anything in life, because that guy will not know how to handle failure and has never had to struggle. It's the guy that fails and keeps trying and giving it 110% that they want. Im not trying to stir up a hornets nest or anything, but if the peering system is anything like Ranger school then I'm f edit I had to give up bookoo MRE's in order not to get peered!
1. You need to address this board respectfully in all your post.
2. You need to frame your question and address them in the same manner.
3. Cascading question and disjointed thoughts are not appreciated, please consider to whom you are addressing and what response you hope to elicit.
Some one will be along shortly to correct your azimuth.
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Everyone who fails has to rationalize their failure to their own satisfaction. The healthy ones figure out what they did wrong and take action to fix those issues, rededicating themselves to do better. Many, unfortunately, blame others for their failure, which pretty much validates their non-selection. That is the whole point of the selection process-to pick the best to lead the best.
I spent four years working with SFAS to ensure fairness, and I interviewed virtually every class looking for any signs of discrimination. I never found any, but did hear anectdotally that a non-select was bitching to another black soldier in PTs about how "The Man" was keeping black soldiers from being selected. Unfortunately, the black soldier he was complaining to was the SFAS Company Commander, and he challenged him to show examples of discrimination, which he could not.
Officers are examined in leadership positions, as they are the only SFQC grads who will be in leadership positions from their first day on the team. There is little room for a long learning curve, especially with us at war. The 18A does something stupid, someone pays a very real price.
Candidates are not relieved from the course solely because of poor peer performance, and all officers are/were boarded. The boards are looking for a person who may not excel in all areas, but is not seriously deficient in any areas. It sounds like your Captain has additional issues he has failed to mention. Peers generally identify people who have issues working with others or who have chips on their shoulders, and it sounds like that worked this time. Being able to work with others is much more important in SF than maxing your APFT.
No, officers will not always be in the first place at all events, and that goes for all branches, not just SF. There is always someone faster, stronger, smarter, etc. If you approach being an officer with the expectation that you are better than everyone else, your career in any branch will be brief, and it should be.
It would be rare for an officer to get a second shot at SFAS, due to Year Group and PCS/schooling issues and the fact that there is insufficent time to fix the deficiencies in time to return, be reevaluated, complete SFAS, and be assigned to a Team. Plus some people cannot be fixed, or refuse to acknowledge what their real problems are.
If you got peered at Ranger School, you probably have a problem that would show up at SFAS, unless you have accepted and fixed it. From your post, I would recommend that you should probably not apply for SFAS.
Just my .02, YMMV.
Best of luck.
TR