Is National Guard purely a reservist, and can you become a reserve SF right off the bat without being active Army SF for awhile first?
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National Guard SF and Army SF Difference?
- Thread starter Arf
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The first half of your question is complicated. As a National Guard Soldier you technically belong to the state and fall under the typical "weekend a month, two weeks a year" reserve status. The federal government has to ask the State for permission to use you. That said, nobody in a National Guard SOF unit has ever seen that schedule. The Team guys work a LOT more than that on their own time to keep proficiency up. They also do a lot of time on orders for training, deployments, subbing for AD Teams that need a slot filled, etc. So the answer to your question depends on what specific information you are asking about.
The second question is a solid "Yes" There's even a program like the AD 18X program called Rep 63 that allows someone to come straight into selection without ever having been military before.
The second question is a solid "Yes" There's even a program like the AD 18X program called Rep 63 that allows someone to come straight into selection without ever having been military before.
Would you have any insight on whether or not it would be any different for me as Navy SOF to cross over and go SF?
That I don't. I know it has happened, but I don't personally know anyone that has done so.
All the formal training would be the exact same ie SFAS and the Q Course. Talking NG, depending on the state, they may or may not make you do an SFRE (tryout) with them.
I have heard that SWCS is working to implement a direct cross over program for MARSOC guys though. From what I've heard they would skip SFAS and only have to complete MOS and Sage to graduate.
I love Navy Special Warfare, but 18-D is more extensive than SOCM or the new Special Operations Tactical Medic (SOTM) for SEAL and SWCC, and also the extensive cultural and language training really appeals to me. We get both of those too now that we do so much more Foreign Internal Defense, but obviously not the the extent of SF.
The two things I love the most about NSW though is being on the ocean every single day, and being able to deploy anywhere in the world.
The two things I love the most about NSW though is being on the ocean every single day, and being able to deploy anywhere in the world.
@Bypass
I don’t quite understand what PsyOps is, even after after doing research. On the surface it seems to be the same as SF. I’m sure there is some overlap. I have a friend who claims he made it through the PsyOps pipeline but he claims it was easy, which makes me SERIOUSLY doubt that he actually did it at all. All the guy does is complain so he isn’t the type of guy who goes through hell and then pretends it was easy.
Do you have way of verifying people?
I don’t quite understand what PsyOps is, even after after doing research. On the surface it seems to be the same as SF. I’m sure there is some overlap. I have a friend who claims he made it through the PsyOps pipeline but he claims it was easy, which makes me SERIOUSLY doubt that he actually did it at all. All the guy does is complain so he isn’t the type of guy who goes through hell and then pretends it was easy.
Do you have way of verifying people?
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Regarding your question. No it is not the same as SF. We train in many of the same ways though because we are required to be proficient in any of the same actions as our supported units. Most of the time we will find ourselves attached to SFODA and infantry units in a supporting role.
Not sure what you mean by verifying.
Not sure what you mean by verifying.
Ah Gotcha. Nah I can't verify him and I have been out of touch with my POG for 15 years. Just get him to show you his DD-214. That or find a way to convince him to go through the verifying process on this site. Tell him it is a fun site to hang out and chat. ;)
PSYOP is a very small community with about 150 tac guys at any one time so someone would know him if he served. When I deployed to Iraq we had to pull teams TPTs from all over the country just to make a BPSE of 12 guys. Very small community.
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He was with an “Asian unit” but then got medically discharged from the army right after training.
Convince him to join this site. I'm not the wisest guy in the ways of PSYOP but "Asian Unit"? Medical after training? I'm guessing he never deployed as a PSYOP soldier.
I know that he finished static line, I doubt he made it through anything else, but he claims he finished the entire PsyOp pipeline. He keeps telling me how “easy” and “stupid” everything was. He was discharged before any kind of deployment. I believe he was contracted at some point for the pipeline, but I just don’t believe that he made it through a selection.
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LibraryLady
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Generally, I have found if I have doubts about someone's story, aka, it doesn't pass the sniff test, then they're a full of shit wannabe. And believe you me, as a woman, the stories they try to pass off as true can be really interesting.
LL
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To play Devil's advocate as one of the few guys on here (that I know of) who have been active duty PSYOP and currently SF, the terms "easy" and "stupid" are both subjective. I can tell you in my experience, the PSYOP training was physically much easier than the Q-Course or SFAS (PSYOPers don't seem to like to hear this). While I wouldn't call any of it "stupid", there were plenty of blocks of training that I would pull from the POI (there are a few in the Q-Course that I wasn't the most impressed with either). You also need to remember PSYOP has a large number of guys who are reserve/NG who go through a different pipeline. Depending on when he went through his course, he may have gone through something we aren't even discussing. Or he could just be a liar as too many are. As someone before mentioned, check the DD214, but as we learned with Chris Kyle, even that can be very inaccurate.
If SF is the mission you want, you should go for it. If PSYOP is the mission you want, you should go for it. Plenty of posts here to give you an idea of what they each entail. Both are critical in their own ways and both will be instrumental in future operations. I only recommend you go for the one you want to actually do. I went the PSYOP way and it took me an extra three years to get where I needed to be. There are plenty of guys who should have gone straight to PSYOP who tried SFAS and the Q, they could have saved themselves a lot of heartache by choosing PSYOP to begin with. A good plan before executing is always nice. Consider this your leader's Recon, finish what you got and move out.
I’ve got it pretty good here at Naval Special Warfare. I would be giving up a lot. If I crossed over it would be to go SF Medical Sergeant for the advanced language and medical training. However, I’m getting older, so that might not even be a possibility for me.
Congratulations on being SF. When I was young that is something I always wanted to do and seeing my BPSE and unit commanders wearing their green berets always made me want to be like them. I wish I had tried for it when I was a younger man but sadly I never did. I always thought it was something that was out of reach. I just wish now looking back I had tried.
And to the OP if you still got it in you then go SF and don't look back on your military career like me wishing you had tried.
