18X vs Option 40
This isn’t really a question about the pathways, it’s more a question about the lifestyle.
18X is the “street to seat” option for aspiring operators to assess directory into Special Forces. It is the absolute fastest way to become a Green Beret, but we’ve covered many times the potential pitfalls, misconceptions, and issues. This of course includes the National Guard.
Option 40 is the “street to seat” option for aspiring operators to assess directly into the 75th Ranger Regiment. It is the absolute fastest way to become a Ranger, and while we haven’t deeply covered the potential issues, I would note that only 8% of Option 40 contracts end up in a Ranger Battalion. There is no National Guard facsimile.
If you are weighing multiple options then take the exact same advice that I would give my Son if he was a young motivated aspiring operator.
If you want to learn more about the respective pipelines and how to prepare, then you can read RUSU and SUAR for SFAS. For the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP) you’ll have to wait. We’re working on our RASP prep plan and it will be available sometime in the Summer of 2025. In the meantime you can follow SUAR for a very good prep. Everyone should read Never Get Lost as land navigation is a problem that is not going away anytime soon.
So, back to the lifestyle. The general conceit is that younger guys should go Ranger, while older guys should go SF. The system is certainly designed that way as you generally can’t go SF until you are at least 21 (20 for SFAS, 21 by the time graduate the Q, sometimes they briefly lower the age requirement) while you can go straight into an OP40 contract.
A special note about age - It’s more than just the age, but seeing as we get this question on an infinite loop of being endlessly asked and answered let me just cover it definitively here. SFAS and RASP are hard. Really fucking hard. SFAS averages a ~64% attrition rate and RASP averages a ~50% attrition rate. Both pipelines lose tons of guys long before they even get to their respective selections. If you’re older then you will struggle. Yes, old guys go; yes, old guys make it regularly; no, most old guys don’t make it. Every time I say this, some blowhard pipes in and says that they know a guy, or had a guy in their class, or heard of a guy who was 38 or 42 or some other “older” age and they made it so I don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s what’s called an anomaly. The average age for SFAS selects is 26. This is likely skewed because the average of all attendees is around 26. Not understanding how normal dtronger than women and you say that you know a girl who can squat more than you, then you are both weak and stupid.
But age matters because age is correlated to physical performance. While most adult males reach peak physical performance around their late 20s or early 30s, SFAS and RASP are unique in that there is no recovery time. Every aging operator can attest that performance is the easy part, recovery is the variable. What gets most older guys isn’t the performance, it’s the repetition and lack of recovery. Your performance benchmarks during your prep are unlikely to be repeated during your assessment. So you can go and be successful as an older guy, but the challenge is not insignificant and you will not have access to the wide array of recovery tools that you likely depend upon. Younger is better.
Enough about age and back to lifestyle…in SF we value a more mature operator. We require it really. The UW mission set demands an independent and resourceful approach. A Renaissance Man. This usually comes with maturity. Supervision is normally limited and the outcome for mismanaged behavior and performance can be catastrophic. As such, older, more mature operators thrive in this lifestyle. I often refer to this as Big Boy Rules with Big Boy Consequences which we cover extensively in RUSU. In SF, you don’t get fucked with much after the pipeline.
In the Ranger Regiment you can expect the opposite. The primary Ranger mission is the raid, often technically advanced with a high degree of difficulty, but a raid nonetheless. They occupy a unique position in the national response architecture for high volume fires and that is usually achieved with lots of guns. As such, they favor a force tailored for that mission set. They need lots guys to do exactly what they are told to do. Again and again and again. So that means younger, less experienced guys that don’t require a great deal of independent thinking. Squad Leaders and above can think, but Ranger privates do what they are told. Exactly what they are told without hesitation and without debate.
And the lifestyle follows. Ranger Regiment is a human wood chipper. Young guys are fed into the machine and you either perform or you are gone. This is reflected well in the RASP system. First timers attend RASP I, and it’s a grinder. But the Ranger Regiment demands that you attend RASP II for every attendant positional promotion. If you were a successful Squad Leader and you wanted to compete for a Platoon Sergeant position, guess where you’re going? RASP II, and the standards aren’t any easier. The same goes for Senior NCOs and officers. The Regimental Commander and Sergeant Major both must attend and successfully pass RASP II. Legit. (For the record, I would endorse a similar system in SF, but I’m in the vast minority, I suspect. Plus, I’m retired so it’s easy to throw barriers out now!)
So this culture of competition is the underlying culture of the entire Regimental experience. They like to say that you only rent the scroll and payment is due daily. It is remarkably easy to Relieve For Standards (RFS) anyone who doesn’t toe the line. A young, untabbed, Ranger private is seen as an expendable commodity. You will be seen as requiring intense supervision and your daily life is marked by discipline and more discipline. You do get to do some really cool shit, you’ll be fed, watered, and equipped well, but you’ll fucking earn it. Even a tabbed Spec4 is subject to intense scrutiny.
And before the keyboard warriors chime in…no, Rangers are not more likely to see combat. Yes, Rangers were constantly and uninterruptedly deployed from October 19th, 2001 through the GWOT, I would remind you that the GWOT is over. You are far more likely to be “deployed” as a Green Beret. Combat is a fleeting target.
So if you’re a little older, you may want to reflect on how you might respond to a young, yoked, Zyned up, and freshly tabbed 21-year-old E4 mafioso type stomping a mud hole in your ass on the daily. Most normal dudes won’t put up with that shit for very long. The decision is entirely yours. If you’re a young 18X you’ll get a little light ribbing and more relaxed ‘mentorship’ than most, but you aren’t very likely to get fucking thrashed like a young Ranger.
So I would implore you to not rely on us, random internet strangers, to guide you through your decision. It is entirely up to you which path is best for you personally. Rangers skew younger because the mission demands it. Green Berets skew more mature because the mission demands it. The lifestyles reinforce the missions.
Choose wisely. But either way, quit kicking the can down the road. It’s time to Ruck Up.
