How Do I Pick My Group? - MOS, Group, and ODA Assignments

I’ve seen these types of questions pop up more and more often recently, so an article is in order. The people want to know and I am a man of the people.

First, there are no bad 18 series MOSs (but 18A is E L I T E), there are no bad Groups (although 7th is by far the best), and there are no bad ODAs (however Dive Teams are superior). Every option that you might have is a good option. And you may be SF, but you’re still in the Army so there is still some bullshit. You still do inventories, you still pee in a cup and somebody has to be the meat-gazer, and you will never escape paperwork. In SF that bullshit will be 1/10th of the Big Army, but it still exists.

Second, does it matter? Shouldn’t you be focused on strength and conditioning goals? What are your ruck and run times? How are your land nav skills? Are you working on your communication and socialization skills? How much can you bench and deadlift? You gotta get past SFAS before any of this other stuff makes any difference at all. And if you didn’t get the Group, MOS, language, or advanced skill that you dreamed of, what would you do? Would you not go to Selection? Would you decline the Q course? Would you go to your brand new Company SGM and demand a different ODA? You can’t control any of that shit, so focus on getting selected.

The short answer to influencing your assignments is “No”, its ‘needs of the Army’. The long answer is “It depends”, but it’s invariably ‘needs of the Army’. But what does it depend on? Let’s explore…

MOS

At SFAS you will fill out a wish list. If the system (usually a shadowy cabal of CSMs and SGMs in senior leadership and proponency roles) are feeling good and have extra time, then you might get a little more say. How does the system work? There is a manning document (personnel tracking software) that tracks the totality of SF positions across the Regiment. It tracks who is currently manning what positions, who intends to continue to man those positions (retirement, separation, career broadening assignments, etc), any pending priority assignments, and now new inputs into the system—newly selected Candidates. As you can imagine the first few categories are in constant tension and transition. Every time some dickhead in Group changes his mind about getting out or taking a different assignment that decision has second and third order effects up and down the chain. And the Regiment really does it’s best to accommodate all of those things, but it is a Herculean task under perfect conditions, and perfect conditions don’t exist.

This is why you can’t get a firm answer. A firm answer simply does not exist. Ever. So when I say shadowy cabal of CSMs and SGMs I’m not using that as a pejorative, it has to be shadowy. If the Regiment knew exactly how that sausage was made, nobody would ever eat it. And of course, as in any shadowy system, there is some politicking. Guys take care of their guys and guys fuck the guys they have cause to fuck. That stuff doesn’t affect SFAS slating, but with ~8K GBs in the system there really isn’t much consideration for your preferences. You are inherently the most flexible component because you are both a near universal fit and your opinion isn’t all that valuable.

So when guys ask about their paramedic certs helping them secure 18D, or their ham radio license getting them 18E, or their engineering degree getting them 18C the answer is probably not. It might, but probably not. And there is a good deal of conjecture and guessing in your success forecast. Lots of guys fail out of the Q at various points and that’s a factor in assigning MOS as well. You gotta account for spoilage. If the stars align, the moon is in proper phase, your chi AND chakras are in flow, and the system just so happens to have a spare moment to accommodate you…then it might help. But probably not. So focus on getting selected.

Group

The only real way that you can influence your Group assignment is via your language assignment. If you really want 7th Group then get a good Spanish score on your record. If you’re an 18X you will likely struggle to get this done because you don’t know the system and you have limited access to it. If you’re already in then you will still struggle to get this done, but you can figure it out. Depending on where you are assigned your training NCO, unit language coordinator, or installation education center can help you. But this is a weird infrequent request, so be prepared to get lots of empty stares and “I’ve never heard of that”. I took the Spanish DLPT and scored a 0/0+ by just randomly filling in the bubbles (I had a very rudimentary understanding of Spanglish) but that was enough to get me in the Spanish classes to “reinforce my language skills”. You are your own best advocate.

That being said, I’ve seen lots of native Spanish speakers get 1st Group and a few native Korean speakers get 10th, so there are no guarantees. The Army works in mysterious ways and you are simultaneously its most valuable strategic asset and least import pile of shit. So shut up, wait over there, and do what you’re told. I’m on break until after lunch. Get used to it.

ODA

This is almost entirely dependent on when you show up to Group. The shadowy system at this level tries to track inbound players, but your buddy got a DUI in the Q or failed the fucking OPI again so now that roster is all janky. Your company SGM was tracking something different and now you showed up and he’s pissed that all of his hard work and planning is worth nothing. And he’s got Team Sergeants screaming for this guy or that guy. And now you show up and you’re trying to convince him that you’re a Sky God and only you can elevate the MFF team for the next Level I cert, and you keep calling it HALO like a fucking noob. And your uniform looks like shit, your PT scores are fucking pathetic because you don’t care, and your 1059 from the Q says that you skidded across the finish line with meeting minimum standards. How do you think that’s going to play out?

Story time- there was a CPT in my battalion who was on the West Point skydiving team. A real Sky God with nearly 800 jumps. A USPA C license holder. It was his whole personality. And he wasn’t shy about it. When he showed up to Group he was certain to let the Battalion Commander (a CAG guy) know all about his plans to take over the Freefall team. The CSM (a diver) overheard this and with a quick wink and a nod that CPT was promptly sent to a dive team with the biggest hard-ass Team Sergeant in Group. That CPT spent the next two years getting his ass handed to him, took 3 tries to finally get through CDQC (remind me to tell you about when he shit in the pool…one of the greatest stories ever), and did a few weeks shy of 2 years team time and was promptly ushered out of Group and never heard from again. He never got his MFF wings. So, be your own advocate but don’t overdue it…Sky Gods. Whenever the boys get together for a few drinks, CPT Shitty stories still always get recounted.

But if you want to prove yourself a man amongst men you can certainly volunteer for CDQC. They run a semi-formal training and prep campaign during language school that I highly recommend and dive teams are always recruiting. I think the current attrition rates at MAC (Pre-SCUBA) are around 75%. CDQC may be the one school that never meets its threshold for slots. Just keep your eyes and ears open for the announcements.

But there are so many specialized and advanced skills that you don’t even know about that it’s nearly impossible to prepare for (nobody cares that you think you’d be good on a mobility team because you got a wicked cool mall crawler jeep…probably with those stupid fucking purple LED lights…fucking weirdo) that it’s best to just go in with a open mind and willingness to do whatever is asked of you. This ain’t about you. If they ask, you can certainly express your interests and skills, but this is about the Regiment. PC not Beret.

All of these things are light years away for most of you. Focus on your prep. Get faster than the strongest lifter and stronger than the fastest runner. SFAS is in deep fucking water and you can’t swim yet. Put yourself in a position to accept whatever MOS, Group, or ODA assignment that you are blessed with. There are no bad ones.

Shut Up and Ruck…