Hello everybody.
I would go by “Peregrine” but I had some issues with registration that caused me to just make a second account. Shouldn’t matter too much considering I will be pretty quiet having never donned a uniform, let alone The Beret.
I am currently 20 yrs old out of Florida. I had always possessed some interest in the military even as a kid but never gave it serious thought until my senior year of HS, being met with the question of what do I want to do with my life? Of course like everyone else further education was the default answer, but the more I thought about it the less I could see myself pursuing some engineering, CS, or some otherwise soul sucking but secure career field. That being said knowing where I don’t want to be is not a solution to not knowing where I want to be. As that one Roosevelt quote goes: “It is not the critic who counts…”. I didn’t know much about SOF as a whole to be honest until having spent some time around a family member (who will not be named for obvious reasons) who spent a large portion of his military career in the SOF world. At first I knew nothing of SF or what their mission was, so I never really took interest in them and did more research into other units but I never really felt a drive towards those (no shade to those guys of course, nothing but respect for them). Bringing this up to that family member though, he gave me pointers towards SF and told me about the real identity that it has, the importance of its mission and its uniqueness even within the SOF community. At that moment i knew I wanted to take my shot at this.
Honestly, having read other posts here Im probably one of the least qualified guys to be pursuing the 18x pipeline. I was an average student and I never really pushed myself. I didn’t participate in team sports or clubs. Not because I wasn’t capable but I think I was disenchanted and lacked purpose. On top of that there was no way I could pursue enlistment then because of *certain political climates* within the military. That being said though, the SF community has helped me find purpose and find self discipline in a way that nothing else has, and for that I am grateful. Even if I make it all the way there just to fail, that alone is a success in my eyes.
I have just started training for the pipeline and plan on about a 6 month track (give or take) before shipping out. I was admittedly ahead of the curve from a complete average joe because of my experience riding MTB, (here in florida you have to be a damn good XC rider!) but of course nothing replaces consistency and I am by no means a PT superstar at the moment. Keeping my nose to grindstone and keeping my head sharp are my main priorities at the moment. Any advice or constructive criticisms would be appreciated. God willing, De Oppresso Liber