So, you want to be a Green Beret Officer…

As you should. There is no higher station in life than to be an Officer and a Gentleman and there is no higher calling than to wear the coveted Green Beret. Backbone of the Army. Be, Know, Do. Handling the hard technical work in the trenches. That’s what Officers do.

For the satirically challenged, most of that is hyperbole and sarcasm. Most of it. But being an 18A is elite, by definition. We often see guys talk about Officer vs. Enlisted. It’s a valid question, but I’m often struck by how dismissive most guys are of the real challenge it is to become a Special Forces Officer. They just announce their intentions as though it’s a done deal. So I thought an article was in order.

First, as noted in the linked article above, if you want max team time then go Enlisted. It’s a great life and as honorable as it gets, but it is not without its own limitations. But let’s assume that you’ve successfully navigated that decision and you are now committed to the Officer route. What does that look like?

The generic requirements for SF Officers are quite basic.

• Pay grade of O-1(P), O-2, or O-3 and in the targeted year group for the captain's board

• Must have at least a SECRET security clearance prior to final packet approval and meet eligibility criteria for a TOP SECRET clearance

• Must have completed the Officer Basic Course

• Must have been successful in your branch assignments prior to applying to SF

But there is, of course, way more to it than just that. First, you have to become an officer. We like to play on the trope that young officers are clueless neophytes wandering about bumping into random NCOs and trying to find blinker fluid, canopy lights, or a box of grid squares. The reality is that becoming an officer is hard and most officers are competent, if not downright relatively switched on.

You can commission through a service academy (like USMA), through ROTC, or through OCS. There is a provision for direct commission but that’s not a relevant factor in this discussion.

Earning a spot at an academy is really hard and there are multiple subreddits and forums dedicated to this exceedingly complex topic. I never found much interest in an academy as it deprived me of a traditional college experience. I wanted to drink and cavort and engage in debauchery. For me it was an easy decision.

That decision was reinforced when I was one of 3 non-USMA officers in my first unit and I was unimpressed with my competition. Nice guys for the most part, but the sense of entitlement and malingering was easy enough to outperform. There were multiple tales of these guys being wholly unable to navigate routine socialization and life skills issues. Renting an apartment, acquiring housewares, or interacting with non-cadets were real challenges. It was more than a little embarrassing and it forever cemented in my mind that I made the right choice.

But it’s free tuition, a likely top tier education, and a near guaranteed commission. There is also something appealing about the tradition and heritage of West Point. So for many, this is ideal. USMA has about a 10% acceptance rate.

ROTC can be vastly different depending on what school you go to. Some big schools are almost academy like, while smaller schools seem wholly inadequate to prepare graduates for the rigors of Officer life. I went to a small school (only 12 in my commissioning class, spread out across a year) but I had exceptionally good PMS and Cadre. They were very focused and we were willing trainees.

Most of my peers had some prior experience, even if it was just BCT for Reserve/NG SMP duty (you go to regular Basic Training during the summer, then do OJT in a unit while simultaneously meeting your ROTC duties). So I had a great cohort and it felt like a perfect balance of wild college experience coupled with high-quality military instruction. Acceptance rates vary widely, buts it’s far from a guaranteed commission. You’ve got to get into a school with a program, get into that program, meet all of the criteria as a cadet, do well enough to earn an AD commission, and graduate. Lots of gates and plenty of cadets lose their way.

The last option is OCS. You can either enter OCS from the regular Army or enlist as an 09S and go to 10-week BCT then OCS. OCS has about a 65% acceptance rate. You must have a college degree and have a decent enough record. I’ve seen hopeful AD candidates apply and attend within 12 months and I’ve seen civilians spend 3 years navigating the process. So be prepared to work for it.

That’s just the commissioning part. That simply gets your foot in the door. Now you have to perform. It doesn’t really matter what branch you get. I’ve seen all branches be competitive, but certainly combat arms gives you some inherent advantages. You’ll likely be hardened and conditioned to rough field routine, you’ll likely have a good assignment history, and your file will make sense to the board.

That’s right, the board. Hopeful SF Officer candidates have to compete for a chance just to get to SFAS. Every year, SF Branch crunches the numbers and determines how many Officer slots they need filled. It’s something like 150 a year (half of all ODA slots +/- 10%). We know that historically it takes 300 attendees to end up with 150 Q course graduates, so only 300 packets are accepted (for example). Branch then announces the Year Group eligibility message and eligible Officers can apply. I have seen plenty of times when Officers get selected at a higher rate than forecasted early in an FY, so open slots get shut off mid-FY. So if you intend to assess, you should do so as soon as you are eligible.

The board picks the Most Qualified packets, which is different from the MQ OER ratings. I’ve sat on several of these boards and the competition is tough. In a phrase, manner of performance is what matters. You must be a high performer. But context matters.

You don’t have to agree with this and you won’t find this in any DA Pamphlet, but your assignment history and branch matter. If you’re a #3 of 25 in an MI Battalion…well you’re still in an MI Battalion and my question is why weren’t you #1? It’s an MI Battalion, you should be crushing those nerds. If you’re #3 of 25 coming from a Ranger or Airborne Infantry Battalion then I have some context for that. These are hyper competitive units with lots of high performing junior officers. So it matters, no matter what the official policy says.

You’ll also hear lots of guys bleating about how your LT OERs don’t really mean anything, everyone makes it to CPT unless you get a DUI, and your KD (specifically your Company Command) OERs are really what matters. That’s mostly true, but they aren’t competing at the O-2 level for a spot at SFAS. Your LT OERs very much matter. Your assignments very much matter (everyone knows that specialty platoons…Scout, Mortar, and Support…are reserved for top performers). 12 months of platoon leader time followed by Assistant Battalion S4 or Brigade Safety Officer sends a clear message.

So your branch, your unit, your assignments, and most importantly…your manner of performance…matter from the moment you start this journey. None of them are insurmountable if you don’t get your ideal pick, but they matter. If you got branched Chemical Corps, then you better be the best Chemo that Ranger Regiment ever saw. You don’t have the luxury of searching for the proverbial box of grid squares. You better start hustling from day one, or you won’t even earn a chance to get fucked up by the Sandman.

At SFAS, despite what all of the ‘experts’ (with zero expertise) say, the selection standards are identical across the board. There are no differences, save the KLE event (which I’ve never seen someone fail). Officers do better at SFAS because they have inherently more land nav training and there is a culture of higher physical fitness amongst officers. OFFICERS ARE JUST BUILT DIFFERENT…deal with it!!! (/s). The Q is a different story.

When you get to the Q you go back to zero. You don’t get any special treatment, but there is most definitely a higher performance expectation. You’ll get higher level leadership positions, your learning load is much higher, and the Cadre are not just looking at you as a potential teammate that can spend some time getting polished as a junior. Officers will be in charge from day 1, and the Cadre are keenly aware of this. They’re picking their next Detachment Commander and I’ve seen guys in Group send HEAT missiles back to their buddies in SWCS when a lower performing CPT shows up. It’s the ultimate meritocracy. You’re a fucking Commando, act like it.

Once you get to Group the competition continues. But remember, every single Detachment Commander is already the best of the best. Even the bad ones. You’ve had to compete to earn a commission, earn a favorable branch selection, earn a good first assignment, earn good LT OERs, earn a spot at SFAS, get selected, get through the Q, and then be a good Team Leader. Even bad SF CPTs would be enumerated in a conventional unit. Are you prepared for this lifestyle?

So, before you announce to the world that you’re on track to be the next SMU commander, or a PMOO, or a NASA test pilot you might consider my thoughts above. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my career as a Green Beret, but I fought for my chance to get here from even before the day I first put on a uniform and I kept competing until the day I retired. You can expect the same or you can go straight to NASA. Your choice.

I know that I’ve left a bunch of stuff out, but this is a 95% solution for 99% of you. It’s certainly enough to start making more informed decisions and to stop announcing your pending change of command ceremony. And before guys start asking about CA and PsyOps, it’s about the same but 75% less intense. There’s SF…and there’s everything else.