Need help from experienced SOF personnel.

For a while now I've known that I want to serve in the military, specifically in a special operations force. Through extensive amounts of research I've narrowed my choices to becoming either a Ranger or SEAL.

One of the issues I've run into as someone with no military or special operations experience is knowing which factors should matter and how much weight they should hold when deciding on a SOF. I could come up with a list of reasons as to why I would want to be a Ranger over a SEAL or vice versa, but as someone with no experience in anything I'm talking about I don't know if what I'm talking about even matters.

For example I could say I want to be a SEAL over a Ranger because they have a more broad range of mission sets, an individual SEAL could do VBSS/GOPLAT missions, hydrographic reconnaissance, special reconnaissance, and HVT direct action raids all in one deployment. It all looks good on paper but how do I know as someone looking from the outside in if I really want to do that? How do I know that if I were to become a Ranger I would look at "having a broad range of mission sets" and laugh at it? How do I know I won't want to be a Ranger and live strictly in the direct action realm, be in QRFs, and do Ranger things? How do I know if I can be bold enough to take the SEAL Challenge because "I'd rather be a SEAL because garrison life in the 75th is tougher."? Or if I should decide to enlist with a Ranger contract because "If I were to fail selection for whatever reason I can fall back on Airborne instead of being an undesignated seaman."

I'm asking you SOF personnel as people with experience what should be on my list of priorities and how should I rank them? For example I was just on Yahoo Answers and read someone wanted to be a Marine infantryman simply because they want to see as much combat as possible. In their mind (as someone with no experience in what they're talking about) that could be a perfectly valid reason to become an infantryman, but in hindsight that could be absolutely foolish. Or someone wanting to become a Pararescueman over X because PJs receive their EMT-P and they could be easily employed after their enlistment. I want to ensure that I avoid making mistakes like the person on Yahoo Answers. What do you wish you would've taken into consideration more prior to enlisting in the SOF you're in? What really matters?

Thanks in advance.

I just got my rating 3 months ago and my first set of crows 1 month ago...
There's no "magical bullet". Just like with any job (military or civilian), nothing is going to be perfect. You're going to have to make sacrifices/compromise no matter what you choose to do. YOU have to decide where those are made, no one can tell you.
Just my non-SOF $.02

Latest PST:
104 pushups in 2:00
96 situps in 2:00
21 pullups
4 mile - 26:05
500 yard swim - 8:18

I'm still trying to get consistant with the CSS, once I do that I see my swim time decreasing significantly. I wouldn't go to BUD/S with my current swim time and ability but I still have junior and senior year to train. If for some reason my swimming ability isn't where I want it to be then avoiding the non-Army SOF pipelines would be wise of me.

Were you undesignated at one point?

Acknowledged, part of the reason I'm asking though is I refuse to show up to any SOF pipeline less than overly prepared physically (if that's possible). If I were to somehow come to the conlusion that I want to be a SEAL over Ranger then I would adjust my training to compensate for the swim requirements of BUD/S, if I were to decide on the 75th then I would use the time I spend every day in the pool for running, PT, rucking, etc.

Your main focus before you enlist should be to understand that you may fall short or decide you just plain "don't wanna do it" even after all of this prep. You haven't seen the elephant. Look at 25m target like staying in good shape. Chances are, no matter which pipeline you go through, you're probably not even going to be doing what you think you're going to do--or what anyone else thinks you will, either. A lot of your experiences will be based upon chance/luck if you make it through and the needs of the community.

Everything changes constantly and your primary goal should not be to do certain kinds of cool missions, but to be the man prepared to do whatever is necessary when the time comes. To be honest, I think the only real question you should have when deciding between trying out in BUDS or Ranger School is "Do I want to swim for hours a day or ruck for hours a day?" That's all that it's going to matter to you. By the time you're actually doing some "cool stuff" your mind will be so numb from the day-in day-out grind of getting in the pool/patrolling for weeks/months/years on end that it won't matter.

My son is a junior in HS. This is what I tell him...

1) Stay physically fit
2) Do well in school
3) Stay away from drugs & alcohol
4) Don't do anything you know is wrong
5) Don't let anyone talk you into anything

Everything else will come with adulthood. Don't be in too big a hurry to grow up; it isn't everything it's cracked up to be.

Understood.

Trust me man I do plently of that. More than most people do in a lifetime.

Last week I was kicked out of my house for throwing a house party, the next day my mom found a bottle of Captain Morgan in my cats litter box and a broken bong and 12 pack in the bushes. I moved in with my best friend, his mom doesn't care about what we do, he is all about partying and selling marijuana, and his 2 sisters are crazy. We threw 5 consecutive house parties, last night was the first night since I've been living here that we haven't, and that's only because we were asleep when everyone was blowing up our phones asking to come over. My girlfriend has been very "kind" to me since I've been kicked out, and my friends 15 year old sister has been curiously flirty with me since day 1. I don't want to have sex with her for a multitude of reasons, but it's tempting simply because even though that would complicate so many things it would be awesome to live in a house where I could have sex with someone at any time. My friend buys an ounce of marijuana, sells it in an average of 3 days, re-ups, and repeats. He profits 4 grams of marijuana each re-up so that can be either personal or he can sell it off for personal money (which he usually spends on alcohol anyway). My living situation has gotten crazy. It's been nothing but money, intoxicants, freedom, my girlfriend, and fighting the urge to fuck my friends little sister who has made it clear she's DTF any time we're alone. At one of the parties someone told me they made a kick ass drink, turns out they secretly put DXM in it. For 12 hours I was tripping balls. I was convinced I was the internet, at one point I was telling everyone that my forehead was the Google search bar, when I went to lay down I "was" sofrep.com, I cannot explain to you how much I was convinced I was sofrep.com or what that even feels like. I was a giant at one point, I felt like an octopus, I couldn't walk or speak, I took a shit and the moment it came out the room turned frosty, etc.

Also not once in that entire post did I say I did any illegal substances. When I tripped on DXM that is technically legal because it's described as a cough syrup overdose.

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. Thank you.

Never.
However, judging by your last post, you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near paint.

There goes your clearance...

I'm out; I think this is a put up.

Agreed, troll...

Lol

I don't think I can lose my clearance over hosting a party where others did illegal activities, living in a house where others do illegal activities, sexual intercourse, or unintentionally overdosing on a perfectly legal off the shelf cough syrup.

There is another way:

You can do all of the above by training to be so well rounded that you could pass SEAL or Ranger screening. To do so, you'd need to be extremely tough.

Step 1: dip your balls in honey
Step 2: squat over a red ant hill.

If you can make it past 20 minutes without moving, you can make it into any unit in the military.

Nevermind...I'm out too.

You could have stopped there; you don't know what the hell you are talking about. You are making guesses and showing your age and im/maturity level with each following post.

You are quickly drawing [negative] attention from those you were initially seeking advice from. Stop while you are ahead and can still post. Continue to post like you have in this thread and I can guarantee you will be reading posts from the outside of this community.

As my father once told me, "Son when you find yourself in a hole put down the shovel." Wise advice - you should consider it.

Crip

I appologize for my unnecessary and stupid responses, I did not intend for this thread to get out of hand.

Sure you did. You were trying to impress us with your little fucking drug stories. I hope you never make it into the military. We don't need pieces of shit like you. Maybe one day one of us will have the joy of locking you and your buddies up.