Quoted:
I'm guessing that initially the Green Berets only recruited within the Army ranks? I know that you can apply for SEALS right after Navy boot.
[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,47678,00.html[/url]
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xsquid:
New program now, been done on occasion before, when we needed more bodies, with varying degrees of success.
This version drew its first group out of AIT where we picked the top students in each class, recommended by the drills and interviewed them, selecting a few dozen to try out.
As the article states, to get to a detachment will take at least two years, some almost three. Graduates will arrive on teams as E-5 SGTs.
Road to war will be to recruit future personnel off the street, but must meet a number of special quals (PT score, GT score, DLAB score or language, Eagle Scout/JROTC/CAP experience, etc.). Recruit must go to Basic, AIT, Airborne, SFAS Prep Course, SFAS, SFQC Prep Course, SFQC, Language, and SERE Schools before arriving on ODA. 18Bs and Cs take 24 months, 18Es and Ds closer to 30 months. Failures turn into 11B10 Airborne Infantryman replacements here at Ft Bragg.
First group of students just completed SFAS and succeeded at a substantially better rate than their more experienced Army peers.
No longer possible to select and train sufficient SF personnel from an Army of 485,000 when we were filling same 5 AC SFG force (and 2 NG SFGs) by selecting and training from 835,000 man force in 1989.
Ben:
No Ranger requirement, or time in Airborne unit now or in recent history to go SF.
Non-combat arms MOSs have little more "Army" experience that would get them through SFAS or the SFQC.
Casualty rate been pretty low for SF so far.
BYU:
Pretty much correct. Good info. You come to try out before?
Trickshot:
What are you asking?
P226:
Few running injuries in SFAS. Some ruck and obstacle injuries. Mostly what you would expect for humping a heavy ruck around in the woods by yourself navigating for several days.
Failures run the gamut. Primary cause for elimination: quitting (voluntary termination). Many PT test failures within 72 hrs of arrival. Many PT run and ruck march quitters. Some obstacle course failures. Some psych problems, criminal/drug/alcohol issues, some peer failures, some integrity issues, some attention to detail, many land nav failures, even after being trained during selection. All events are scored, with many just not making enough points.
Cut off age for initial entry soldiers is currently 29.
Hope this helps.