SFAS Advice

[Sir topham hatt]

Originally Posted by hotshot

Powder would be preventative steps taken. After you have a blister powder isn't going to do much for that.

I just noticed I read it wrong. I was focusing on the bodyglide part.

To provide some actual feedback, preventative maintenance is the best way to negate foot problems. I followed Reaper's advice to a T, and added some of my own "foot hardening" things in about 2 months before SFAS and only got 4 blisters, and didn't get them until the 2nd to last day of team week. (HOLY RUN-ON) One of my additions was walking barefoot around the little town I live in every other day (about 5 miles, all sidewalk). I have very very sensitive feet, bad enough that I almost panic when somebody accidentally brushes against them. The advice Reaper gives is gold, so heed it for your own good.

[jurisdoctor]

Originally Posted by Elkins

Packing List
1. Uniforms 8 Pairs -you are not limited in the number of ACUs you are allowed to bring. I brought eight pairs, yes that is a lot. However I did not spend any time at all during SFAS washing clothes. While others were running half a click to wash their clothes during personal time I was taking care of my feet, resting, and drinking water.

2. Socks 21 Pairs- it has been said many times in this thread to bring a fresh pair of socks for each day. I took this advice even though it seemed ridiculous. I can honestly say this suggestion alone was the most valuable of all the advice I received in regards to the packing list. When your feet are shredded like hamburger, a fresh pair of socks that are soft and completely dry will make a difference. Also the current packing list clearly states any sock can be used as long as it is not a civilian color. I personally use Fox River socks, find what works best for you. I personally do not recommend using cotton issued socks.

3. Sock Liners 10 Pairs- the current packing list allows the use of a sock liner, this is not mandatory but highly recommended as sock liners reduce friction.

4. Under Armor- the current packing list allows moisture wicking underwear and T-shirts such as under armor. Spandex is prohibited. I brought five pairs of under armor underwear and five under armor T shirts. Not only did this help prevent heatstroke but also drastically reduced chafing.

5. Boots 3 Pairs-use whatever military boot you want!, let me state that again, USE WHATEVER MILITARY BOOT YOU WANT! So many people ask about boots, read the current packing list. It clearly states that any boot within Army regulations is allow. That being said I brought three pairs. All three were Nikes. I kept one in my Ruck, had one on my feet, and let the other pair dry.

6. PT's 4 Pairs/White Socks 8 Pairs- again I did not want to have to wash anything, which saved me a lot of time.

For those whose eyes went wide when you read this list don't worry. While he certainly didn't want for anything, this is grossly overpacked IMO. 4 pairs of ACUs, a set or two of PTs, and 10-12 pairs of socks is more than sufficient. Throw in a couple nice, synthetic tan shirts you can wash in the faucet and dry real quick and you'll be fine.

[mud slinger]

Read every post on this site pertaining to SFAS and take what you feel will benefit you and get fit and don't QUIT!. There will be a day or days that you want to just don't. Have fun with it.

[DocBrown]

Selected Class 08-12.

Most of the advice I have seen here is advice I would give myself. Even the "unconventional" tips and tricks are, at a minimum, worth considering and maybe even testing out prior to your SFAS date. Something I don't remember seeing was:

Don't be a hard-headed dumba$$. You will experience aches, pains, and even injuries. It's a fact of life at SFAS. If you hurt and want treatment, GO TO SICK CALL! Unless you have an injury that would prevent you from continuing SFAS or even your further on career, you're not going to get looked down upon. By halfway through "The Hoffman", the line for sick call was usually 15 or so guys. Most of it was for minor blister care(so much so that the medic had pre made "blister packs"), but occasionally there were some more serious things. We even had one guy that, upon physical exam, the medics basically told him,"we are pretty sure you have stress fractures, but if we take you to the TMC and xray it it will drop you from the course. We can give you stuff to manage it and you need to come see us everyday to assess so you can continue." He was on crutches and in a boot 30 minutes after team week was over, but he got selected!!

Good luck and dont quit!

[sean827]

A little advice to guys going to SFAS that may not already be listed... don't talk sh** to 18X guys. Most of them helped us regular Army guys out a lot with land nav advice and ruck set up. There well trained for the task at hand, use there skills to your advantage; because winning a combat experience argument will get you no where in this process. I was selected last class, April 13.

[That_Guy]

Originally Posted by sean827

A little advice to guys going to SFAS that may not already be listed... don't talk sh** to 18X guys. Most of them helped us regular Army guys out a lot with land nav advice and ruck set up. There well trained for the task at hand, use there skills to your advantage; because winning a combat experience argument will get you no where in this process. I was selected last class, April 13.

A lot of them are good kids that want to do what most others wont.
They're a fun bunch to be around with, and are, for the most part, always looking for advice from us seasoned folk.
Everyone is equal at SFAS so treat each other as such. Be professional from the moment first call is to lights out. Take it one day at a time and don't quit. It may seem like certain days are taking forever but eventually SFAS will be over.
Good luck to all who attend.
-

[The Reaper]

You might also remember that the SOPC candidates have been together since Basic.

They will tend to self-protect on the peer reporting, and if you have been an asshole or less than a team player, they will mostly tend to vote along similar lines.

TR

[mhaggs]

To tag on to what The Reaper was saying about the peer evaluations. They are incredibly important. I saw some good guys go home because they pulled the rank/experience card. They performed well above the standard in general but could not get along with anyone. There is plenty of room in the course to be an NCO, but everyone's equal in SFAS. In fact they expect EVERYONE to act like an NCO during the course. I was an 18x, I guess still am, selected Dec '11. (To future X-Rays, even with an 18 series designator at this point, your an X-ray to most GBs, own it, its easier that way haha). From my experience my SFAS class was about 70% regular army 30% X-rays. The X-rays will pick the brains of the regular army guys for experience tips and general military knowledge and if you're a regular Army guy pick the X-rays brains for land nav tips like what was stated earlier. We are pretty damn good at Land Nav and rucking. They have incredibly high standards physically for the 18X's prior to Selection and show them plenty of tips.

And DON"T shame at team week, everyone will notice if your walking behind the apparatus all the time. Be the guy people have to tell to get off and take a break. If your that type of guy anyways, you've got a head start.

Remember, if you can't get along with guys at selection your going to have a hard time on a team.

[Jersey Dirtbag]

I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but in class 08-13 it seemed as if the peer evaluations were hardly considered at all. After the trek, they IVW'd a whole crop of dudes based on their performance during team week, but there was no apparent correlation between who got an IVW and their peer evaluations. It seemed like it was based mostly on cadre members' assessment during team week. Additionally, there were several total shitbags (one guy had 12 pink slips, one of which he got from me) who somehow survived that cut and went on to get selected.

On the other hand, during my counseling at the end, I was told that I didn't get any pink slips and that if I had I'd probably have been a non-select because I'm an officer.

[Bortz]

deleted

[Hernando]

First off, I must qualify this advice with saying that I was essentially a non-select. That being said, my advice may help someone better prepare and achieve the goal of getting selected. I attended class 10-13.

I went into selection scoring a 300+ PT score. I'd prepared with crossfit, rucking, and various forms of cardio.

The best advice I can give is this. Don't worry so much about cardio, focus much more on your ability to ruck. I went into selection being able too ruck fairly well. Not well enough though. You'll run 3 times in selection. The rest of the time is spent with a ruck on your back all day long.

You don't want too just be good at rucking, you want too be able stand out above everyone else. When you've got unimaginable amounts of weight on your back you want too be strong enough too let the weaker guy have that break first. Your team should be able too think back about you and remember how you more than pulled your weight durning team week. Be able too accept pain you didn't know you could possibly endure and continue on for miles with that pain.

Farmers carries. Do them.

I didn't really specifically do this. It came back too bite me. My first team was very strong and I was the weak link on the water can carry event. I was able too pull my weight on everything else but when you're on a strong team someone has too be peered. My team didn't forget about my lack of forearm strength.

I successfully completed selection and was dropped 4 hours after finishing the trek as a team weak drop. It wasn't something I expected. Looking back now I realize my mistake. While I was good enough too meet the standard, I wasn't strong enough too stand out and leave no doubt in my fellow candidates and the cadres mind that I was cut out for the job.

To sum it up.

Rucking, rucking, and more rucking.
Farmers carries.

[The Reaper]

Excellent advice gents.

I am particularly impressed that unlike many of your peers, who will forever be in denial about why they were non-selected, you guys are able to accept the constructive criticism for what it is and determine the best path for you to return with your deficiencies corrected and be successful.

As noted, the SWCS prep program emphasizes rucking and that is most of what you will be doing. Spending time doing trendy workouts and ignoring rucking because you think anyone will be able to do that after getting into fantastic shape with the latest routine is a pretty certain path to failure.

Thanks for sharing, gents, and thanks for testing yourself at SFAS.

TR

[JWil]

Originally Posted by Hernando

First off, I must qualify this advice with saying that I was essentially a non-select. That being said, my advice may help someone better prepare and achieve the goal of getting selected. I attended class 10-13.

I went into selection scoring a 300+ PT score. I'd prepared with crossfit, rucking, and various forms of cardio.

The best advice I can give is this. Don't worry so much about cardio, focus much more on your ability to ruck. I went into selection being able too ruck fairly well. Not well enough though. You'll run 3 times in selection. The rest of the time is spent with a ruck on your back all day long.

You don't want too just be good at rucking, you want too be able stand out above everyone else. When you've got unimaginable amounts of weight on your back you want too be strong enough too let the weaker guy have that break first. Your team should be able too think back about you and remember how you more than pulled your weight durning team week. Be able too accept pain you didn't know you could possibly endure and continue on for miles with that pain.

Farmers carries. Do them.

I didn't really specifically do this. It came back too bite me. My first team was very strong and I was the weak link on the water can carry event. I was able too pull my weight on everything else but when you're on a strong team someone has too be peered. My team didn't forget about my lack of forearm strength.

I successfully completed selection and was dropped 4 hours after finishing the trek as a team weak drop. It wasn't something I expected. Looking back now I realize my mistake. While I was good enough too meet the standard, I wasn't strong enough too stand out and leave no doubt in my fellow candidates and the cadres mind that I was cut out for the job.

To sum it up.

Rucking, rucking, and more rucking.
Farmers carries.

Thank you for advice.. Very motivating to push even hard on my rucks.. Prior sfas.

[mariley85]

I have read this thread a handful of times, trying to retain as much as possible from of you who have completed selection.

This feels like common sense, but I figure I should ask the experts on the matter in case there is a reason I can't see. First off, I live in an area where short trails can scale almost 2000' vertical. I incorporate these steep grades (10-17%+) on dirt trails in my my rucking regimen, it skews my times, but this is better than training on low grade/flat terrain, correct?

Thank you.

[Jersey Dirtbag]

Originally Posted by mariley85

I have read this thread a handful of times, trying to retain as much as possible from of you who have completed selection.

This feels like common sense, but I figure I should ask the experts on the matter in case there is a reason I can't see. First off, I live in an area where short trails can scale almost 2000' vertical. I incorporate these steep grades (10-17%+) on dirt trails in my my rucking regimen, it skews my times, but this is better than training on low grade/flat terrain, correct?

Thank you.

Firstly, understand that I am not a medical or fitness professional and that any advice I give is based solely on my personal experience rather than formal education.

That said, I believe you are correct. Specifically, your ability to handle steep grades on rough terrain over an uneven surface will strengthen your body over a wider spectrum of motion and make you more resilient than training on flat, paved ground. There are guys who can bang out a 12-mile ruck in ~2 hours who fall apart once the loads exceed the standard ruck weight or the distances get crazy. Personally, I'd rather be the guy who needs 2:45 for the 12-miler but knows his feet, hips, and knees can sustain continuous abuse under an excessive load for 20+ miles. But I'm kind of tooting my own horn because there ain't no way in hell I'm covering 12 miles in 2 hours, period.

I did the vast majority of my ruck training in the southern portion of the Catskill Mountains without ever setting a time target. I would hike 6-12 miles per session, usually with several ~800 foot elevation changes over rocky, uneven trails. I never got a single blister or injury during SFAS or phase 1 of the Q. On the other hand, my mile split during ruck events is mediocre (13:30 to 14:00). If I had done more "ruck running" while training I probably would have performed better on the timed marches, but I'd also have increased my chances of injury.

I would still recommend doing at least one "full dress rehearsal" 12-mile ruck march on a relatively flat course just to see where you stand, if possible.