Any tips on Preparing for Special Forces Assessment & Selection (SFAS)?

I went through in 1989 and supported SFAS when I was in charge of Phase 3.

1. Think 1 thing! Graduate! Never, ever allow the word Quit in your world. Not an Option.
2. Shut up and Listen. Write shit down. Don't out think the instructions.
3. Dont be a Gazelle, be a Mule. Push yourself at 110% . Constant! It s a marathon, not a sprint.
4. They can See You and through You.. Do the right thing always. Be 5 minutes early, lay out your gear, check it twice, write shit down, Make rules and follow them, check yourself and your stuff everytime you leave a place (bunk, classroom, Land Nav Point), assess your body nightly, stretch every morning and night, shower every day, and take care of your FEET. Don't cheat, lay down, talk shit, be stupid on the classroom assignments, or think for one second you can charm your way through.
5. Accept the Suck.
6. Pattern the Suck. On Navigation or Tasks, trot 100 steps, walk 25, and/or jog up hills, walk downhill. Your body will not quit, your mind will.
Sing, recite poetry, do math problems, name all the girls in your senior class, or have a conversation with God on why he made the Platypus. Keep your mind strong. Quit can't take over a sound and active mind. If it is not in your vocabulary, it won't happen.
7. Be the Hero. Hero's aren't made in an instant. They learn, observe, change, endure, err, take responsibility, learn, choose, and most of all, Act.
You are your own Demon. Rage against fear, pain, and strive. Accept it and then be Heroic.

Send me an e-mail, [login to see] . We (B1/20 SFG) have a 98% pass rate at SFAS. I'm sure I can give me some very useful info.

SGT (Join to see) I went through SFAS over a decade ago... And though I didn't wind up becoming an 18 series, I'm pretty sure most of what I'm going to say here still applies:

1st: Before you go PT... You have to be able to ruck and run more than anything else. Set up a PT program where you ruck at least 1x-2x a week, with increasing weight and distance.

2nd: Don't OVERTRAIN - train, but when you hit your limit - back off... I know a lot of guys who tried to train up until the week before they left, and they wound up injuring themselves... Also, when you get to about two weeks out from going - back off your training/PT. You want to do enough to maintain, but at this point, you need to focus on preventing ANY injuries before you go.

3rd: When you are in put in charge of a group during SFAS, take friggin charge - I mean TAKE charge. You need to assign two people underneath you as you lieutenants, and have them do things such as make sure that they check the planning board every hour. They need to help you control the rest of the guys. They need to run errands for you and also get other guys to run errands. When you have a team exercise/event, make sure the WHOLE team is participating as much as possible, and last, identify who has what strengths and who has what weaknesses. Try to use those strengths where you can. If someone isn't working out in a particular position, put them in a different position.

A couple of last pointers: Take everything litterally! If the blackshirts say to run between the cones, and the cones are set up so that there's a puddle between them, run through the puddle, not around it!

If they say your ruck needs to weigh 65 lbs. without water, you better make it weigh 70 lbs without water, because somehow, it's going to lose 5 lbs before you get to the finish line, and you better make sure that it weighs that much WITHOUT water.

If you are told to check the board every hour, make sure you or someone reliable checks it every hour!

If you get hurt, TELL SOMEONE in charge, and first, try to get some ranger candy (800 mg Motrin). Take one pill no more than 1x every 8-hours. Any more than that, and you risk an OD on Motrin - which is bad.

Drink a lots of water, but also make sure you take salts/carbs in during SFAS to prevent Hyponitremia (where your body flushes all its electrolytes and you die from over-hydration).

June is snake/tick/spider season. Watch where you dump your ruck, and make sure you clear your area first when you lay down, and check your clothing/sleeping gear/boots before you put any part of your body in them. Bring lots of sunscreen and insect repellent.

There's way to much to cover - most of it is common sense - just use your head, and if you find yourself in a situation where you have to make a decision, then MAKE A DECISION and don't be afraid to change your mind if NEW information indicates you're going down the wrong path!