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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stories of Special Forces Operators podcast. Listen to

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<v Speaker 1>some of the bravest and toughest people on the planet

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<v Speaker 1>share their stories, Sit back and enjoy.

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<v Speaker 2>So we'll take a look today at special forces the

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<v Speaker 2>United States Army Special Forces green Berets selection process. Just

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<v Speaker 2>to kind of give you a basic idea, the United

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<v Speaker 2>States Army Special Forces, known as green Berets, are elite

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<v Speaker 2>soldiers trained for unconventional warfare, tana terrorism, and foreign internal defense.

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<v Speaker 2>The selection process encompasses a couple of things. One is

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<v Speaker 2>a special force with assessment and selection and the Special

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<v Speaker 2>Forces Qualification course. They're among the most brewing in the

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<v Speaker 2>US military. Eligibility for the Special Forces pipeline requires candidates

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<v Speaker 2>to be US citizens, active duty soldiers or National Guard

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<v Speaker 2>VIAREP sixty three contract aged twenty to thirty two, airborne qualified,

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<v Speaker 2>or willing to train and physically and mentally robust. Candidates

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<v Speaker 2>might score at least two to sixty on the Army

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<v Speaker 2>Physical Fitness tests with a minimum of eighty points in

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<v Speaker 2>each event that includes push ups, sit ups, and a

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<v Speaker 2>two mile run, and achieve a general technical score of

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred or higher on the ASVAB. The eighteen x

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<v Speaker 2>enlistment option allows civilians to inter apter, completing basic training

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<v Speaker 2>and infantry school. The process begins with a Special Forces

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<v Speaker 2>Preparation Course, a six week program on Fort Liberty SFPC

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<v Speaker 2>focuses on physical conditioning rucksack marches carrying fifty pound loads

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<v Speaker 2>over twelve to fifteen miles, land navigation with map and compass,

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<v Speaker 2>and small unit tactics. Candidates build endurance with a subsequent

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<v Speaker 2>SFAs and conducted at Camp Call in North Carolina. The

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<v Speaker 2>SFAs lasts about twenty four days and it's the heart

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<v Speaker 2>of the selection process design to tests pysical stamina, mental resilience,

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<v Speaker 2>and character under extreme stress. Candidates face time rucksack marches

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<v Speaker 2>up to twenty miles with a fifty to seventy pound load.

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<v Speaker 2>So if you're preparing to try it out for the

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<v Speaker 2>Special Forces, these are some ideals for you to start

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<v Speaker 2>training now, and I would train past the amount they want,

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<v Speaker 2>So if they want you to do twenty miles, I'd

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<v Speaker 2>go twenty two, maybe with seventy pounds to start getting

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<v Speaker 2>better than what they want you to be. You also

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<v Speaker 2>have obstacle courses fifty meters, swims and boots, and uniform

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<v Speaker 2>land navigation challenges across rugged terrain, often at night. Psychological

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<v Speaker 2>assessments will be there, including peer evaluations, gauge leadership, and

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<v Speaker 2>team and teamwork. Team Week involves collaborative tasks such as

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<v Speaker 2>carrying heavy logs or equipment over long distances to reveal

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<v Speaker 2>how candidates perform under pressure. In twenty nineteen, just about

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<v Speaker 2>thirty percent of candidates were selected. Many were dropping out

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<v Speaker 2>due to voluntary withdrawal, exhaustion, some due to injuries. Those

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<v Speaker 2>selected proceeded to the SFQC or Q course lasting fifty

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<v Speaker 2>six to ninety five weeks, so quite a bit of time.

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<v Speaker 2>You're talking here about almost what is that fifteen to

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<v Speaker 2>twenty months, it's almost two years. Depending on the chosen

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<v Speaker 2>military Occupational specialty or MOS. Weapons is eighteen B or Beta,

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<v Speaker 2>Engineering eighteen Charlie or C, Medical eighteen D or Delta

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<v Speaker 2>or Communications eighteen ECHO. The Q course includes five phases

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<v Speaker 2>small unit tactics, weapons and Patrolling, Survival, Evasion, resistance and

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<v Speaker 2>escape which you probably heard the acronym see your training.

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<v Speaker 2>In addition to that, they also learn foreign languages Spanish,

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<v Speaker 2>Arabic or Pashti requiring a one to one proficiency score,

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<v Speaker 2>and MOS specific training. Medical sergeants, for instance, undergo ten

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<v Speaker 2>months of advanced trauma care training. The final phase, Robin Sage,

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<v Speaker 2>is a four week unconventional warfare exercise in a fictional

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<v Speaker 2>land called pine Land, where candidates lead guerrilla forces against

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<v Speaker 2>a simulated enemy. Graduates earned the Green Beret support a

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<v Speaker 2>Special Forces tab an assignment to an Operational Detachment Alpha

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<v Speaker 2>or ODA. So really, to wrap it up, the Green

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<v Speaker 2>Beret selection process through SFAs and SFQC regulously test physical endurance,

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<v Speaker 2>mental fortitude, and adaptability. It's high attrition rate ensures only

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<v Speaker 2>the most capable join special Forces and something for you

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<v Speaker 2>to think about. It's not just about your physical prowess,

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<v Speaker 2>it's also about your mental fortitude. One of the things

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<v Speaker 2>that I've learned after interviewing over one hundred Special Forces

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<v Speaker 2>operators is that they have the ability for cognitive flexibility.

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<v Speaker 2>And what does that mean When they have a problem,

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<v Speaker 2>if something goes wrong, they'll think about another way to

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<v Speaker 2>solve it. They're always looking to get to the goal,

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<v Speaker 2>no matter what it is, They're finding a way to

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<v Speaker 2>get there. They don't give up, and this is a

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<v Speaker 2>big quality that I've seen with most special Forces. That's

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<v Speaker 2>it for now