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Old 05-02-2022, 16:29   #1
asg
Asset
 
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 8
Requesting .02 for First 25m Target

First, my gratitude to everyone that has contributed their experience and input to this website. I've found variations on my questions via the search bar, and would still welcome any further thoughts as I weigh my decision about my next steps forward.

Per my introduction, I recently turned 32, am in strong condition with no injuries having worked as a personal trainer for years, already have a Bachelor’s degree, no family of my own, and have two primary goals: to serve with SF and lead as an Officer. I am currently determining which route to take aim at for my first goal.

I am making this decision with the intention of a long-term investment on a new career path. Big picture, I would like to learn to competently serve and lead with the best of them, have the resources to support a family, God willing, and retire with a degree of security and opportunity.

For the enlisted route, age 30 is the cut off for 18x. So, outside of getting a waiver, the SF Recruiter at Ft. Bragg discouraged taking the 11x Option 40 contract suggested by my street recruiter and instead recommended going 11b with an Airborne Option and then volunteering for SFAS. He did also warn that 18x could end in being reclassed at the needs of the Army if I washed out for whatever reason. Beyond that, he further advised to aim for becoming an 180a down the line of the enlisted path. If I’m mapping this right, an 11b Airborne Option would put me on on an ODA in about 3 years (age 35). From there, if I really wanted to push on to OCS after operating for a while, I could while repeating Q course, but I might find that I prefer to remain enlisted and instead aim for 180a.

For the OCS route, the recruiter’s caveat was that I would really only have one shot at SFAS (unless I resigned my commission) in about two years (age 34) putting me on a team at 36, and even then, I would only get 18-24 months of team time. However, per Astronomy’s recommendation on post 13 in this thread, it seems like keeping my longterm view of making an impact, renumeration, and post retirement opportunity would be wise to factor into this choice.

My questions are the following as I weigh this decision:

-As an 18a, if you only operate from Cpt to Maj on an ODA, what is a day in the life like after that? Do you remain in SF, just not as an on the ground operator?
-Considering current age, timelines, waivers, etc. would it be wiser to go for SF via that enlisted route outlined above and drop a packet for OCS later or OCS now and be as ready as possible at senior 1st LT?
-What is the best course of action for the enlisted route: only accept an 18x (provided I can get an age waiver) or would 11b Airborne Option be a solid alternative?
-What factors am I missing or would you suggest contemplating, from your experience and looking back?

Thank you for your time and consideration.
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