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When I joined the Army in 2007 I was unfamiliar with the program, and really the Army in general. At the time I was excited by the challenge, and opportunities that came with them. However in hindsight I've come to believe that while some men can come in off the street and perform the necessary requirements to don the Green Beret, they simply do not have the overall knowledge that comes with growing up in a regular unit. I acknowledge that not being indoctrinated to the regular Army has advantages in such an unconventional unit, but I wonder if they outweigh the drawbacks. What are your thoughts?
Posted in these groups: 
Special Forces
Special Forces
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 9
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I had a lot of great kids as a Drill Sergeant that signed up for and were excited about the 18X program, and even got dozens of kids added to the program during basic because I felt they had the maturity and fitness needed to be SF. Unfortunately, only a handful made it all the way through to earn their Green Berets.
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Speaking as someone who has great admiration for the Special Forces, and has seen a few of my friends make the jump from conventional Army medic to SF medic, one of the things in my mind that Special Forces has always had throughout its ranks was maturity. The exceptional level of evaluation in SFAS, both by Special Forces senior NCOs and specially trained psychologists weeds out the types of Soldiers who are not SF material. Those SF NCOs are picking the men who they will serve with on the ODAs, but also the men who will carry on the legacy. I think it is safe to say that the SF community is still very much in control of "the gateway" to becoming a Green Beret. So if the smart kid that just came in the Army has the intelligence, resiliency, and maturity to make the cut, I am glad that there is a program to put them in the right place.
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MAJ (Join to see)
SFC Jim Neel- You have both hands on the elephant. My comment relates to the story of six blind men trying to describe an elephant , when each has felt a different part. From my old peacetime knowledge your comment is accurate to SF, even back in the dark ages of 33 -35 years ago. I was proud to be an early branch transfer to SF after ten conventional years in Infantry. I contributed to the SF community, but after SF Co, Bn and Group experience, I could educate the conventional Army while being a Corps G-3 Plans officer. Several TDYs back to SOCEUR (SOTFE at the time) carried big picture knowledge of the General Defense Plan back to PF. SF time with SUPERB NCOs motivated me to prepare direct commission JAGs to be the best they could be and to become MORE than just acquainted with their environment of soldiers and the overall mission.
SF NCOs are very dedicated to protecting the legacy through mentoring. A knife maker uses fire to temper the metal, harden the blade, and eliminate the carbon. Heat and pressure makes diamonds out of lumps of coal. One of the times I said that to a great black JAG COL was misinterpreted at first-- but then he started using it himself! Do Oppresso Liber! John B.
SF NCOs are very dedicated to protecting the legacy through mentoring. A knife maker uses fire to temper the metal, harden the blade, and eliminate the carbon. Heat and pressure makes diamonds out of lumps of coal. One of the times I said that to a great black JAG COL was misinterpreted at first-- but then he started using it himself! Do Oppresso Liber! John B.
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18X is a great program I am bias of course. Obviously there is a need and I am not so sure the quality of Soldier is any better coming from conventional Army channels. Out of a particular basic training class of 58 that I am familiar with only two 18X's made it all the way to earn the long tab. I believe one or two more were recycled and graduated at a later date.
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SGT(P) (Join to see)
The length of the course is the real killer. It's sooo long! People get complacent, lazy, and develop bad habits.
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