Are there any 35F MOS topics that I should brush up on, specifically for the MOS assessment for SFAB? Is the 5-mile ruck march a timed march?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 22:46:21 -0400

Any MOS topics that I should brush up in specifically for the MOS assessmrnt? And is the 5 mile ruck march a timed march?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 25 at 2018 7:42 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 07:42:30 -0400

Know the basics of your job and be prepared to answer non-multiple choice questions. The five mile march is timed. Time to meet is not releasable but very doable. Only like three out of hundreds have not made the March.

Response by LTC Stephen Franke made Jan 6 at 2019 12:23 AM

LTC Stephen Franke — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 00:23:17 -0500

Greetings.

Firstly, IMPO, duty with a SFAB (and / or eventually with the SFABs' "next higher," the SFA Command based at Fort Bragg) is important mission, institutionalized (finally) element in our (pardon) "Big Army" force structure, and selection for assignment reflects a serious DA commitment and investment in our Army's "SFA Enterprise" (the last thing our Army needs is a reprise of the reportedly-convoluted and disparate situation encountered by volunteers with the DOD's joint-service Af Pak Hands Program).

FWIW, in view of the (ahem) "operational culture" in which a SFAB arrives, connects, integrates and operates with its foreign military counterparts and also very-likely nearby local contacts, suggest that 35F focus additional MOS-relevant interest on [1] developing/refreshing skills in overt HUMINT collection (i.e. elicitation, interviewing, screening and observation) and reporting and [2] TTP for integration, orientation, rehearsal and effective use of available interpreters (if your SFAB does not have 35M, aka ex-97Es, at hand).

** If time allows, get the POIs of the Defense Strategic Debriefer Course (DSDC) conducted by MICoE at Ft Huachuca and also of the 35M MOSQ course.

Since you have a CAC card, visit and check out the archives at [1] US Army's Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), [2] US Army's Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) and US Army's Culture Knowledge Consortium (all three organizations are based at Fort Leavenworth, KS). Similar and valuable resources in USMC include [1] Center for Applied Operational Culture Lessons (CAOCL) and [2] Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA); both organizations are based at MC Base Quantico, VA. << FYI, MCIA produces some excellent unclassified or FOUO Country Handbooks and culture guides relevant to operations by US military units deployed and employed in those countries. >>

FULL DISCLOSURE FOLLOWS:

[1] I provide similar services as on-call LREC SME/advisor/role-player/"train the trainer" to a CONUS-based US Marine Corps (USMC) training organization which is functionally a close-equivalent of the MATA, in terms of training, assessing, certifying and deploying USMC-resourced "Security Assistance Teams" (SATs) for OCONUS duty as advisors, trainers, force modernizers, and influencers of their foreign military counterparts in various host countries in the CENTCOM AOR.
[2] On behalf and at request of a contractor which supports MCoE at Ft Benning, am preparing some country-specific "read-ahead and get smart fast" self-training materials for possible inclusion in POI of the MATA's basic / MOSQ-like Combat Advisor Training Course or distribution on graduation as supplemental references (that would be MATA's call).

Hope this helps. Today is Saturday, 5 June 2019.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
LTC, FAO (48G - Middle East) / MI / SOF / Attache /
HUMINT / Security Cooperation (since 1971),
U.S. Army Retired
San Pedro, California
E-mail: [login to see]

Response by LTC Stephen Franke made Jul 4 at 2019 3:25 PM

LTC Stephen Franke — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 15:25:57 -0400

Greetings again, SSG (P) Schell.
Ref your original query, posted here in RP over a year ago.
How did your application for selection, assessment, and assignment to duty with a SFAB finally turn out?
If you are now in a SFAB, good on you. Which SFAB gained you and sponsored you forr attendance at the CATC at MATA? If that SFAB acq
Today is 4 July 2019.

WHOOPS. JUST NOTICED THAT I MADE SIMILAR OFFER IN AN EARLIER NOTE BELOW. Apologies for inadvertent duplication.

Regards, SHF