Should i go into special operations

SOF perform a wide range of activities in diverse settings. On any given day, they are operating in 50 countries. Thus, it was a matter of concern in Congress to note a "significant underrepresentation" of minorities in these important units. Harrell and Sheila Nataraj Kirby assessed the minority representation in these five types of units with an eye to answering two questions: Are minorities underrepresented and, if so, are there barriers that hinder them from joining SOF?

They discovered that. The central question in gauging underrepresentation is always what the basis of comparison should be. A simple comparison between SOF and the services is apt to mislead, because SOF do not draw recruits from all parts of the services. For example, they typically fill their ranks with those holding combat rather than administrative skills.

To gain a more meaningful insight into minority representation, Harrell and Kirby compared SOF minority representation with their source populations, that is, the populations from which SOF units recruit.

They constructed the source population by applying a variety of criteria, including age, grade, and test cutoff scores to the male service populations. Furthermore, because SOF impose some stringent selection criteria such as swimming yards in less than 13 minutes, the researchers created a third comparison group—the eligible population—by adjusting the same population for the proportion of nonswimmers and those lacking clean discipline records. Their analysis shows that minority officers are underrepresented when compared with either the source or eligible population.

Figure 1 compares the SOF organizations with their source populations in the three services, typically officers in grades O1 to O3. Army Rangers are compared with combat arms CA officers, reflecting the high proportion of combat arms billets in these units. Across the board, minority officers are underrepresented.

Making the comparison with the eligible populations improves things only somewhat. The picture becomes more complex when considering the enlisted force. As Figure 2 shows, blacks are underrepresented when compared with either source or eligible populations. Civilian recruits, current Army Soldiers, and Army officers must fulfill different initial requirements to join Special Forces.

To determine your eligibility, please read the following information carefully:. Joining the Army as a Special Forces Soldier If you are interested in joining the Army and becoming a Special Forces Soldier, you must meet the following basic requirements:.

Special Forces Soldiers receive many additional benefits for their enhanced capabilities, special skills and advanced training. The most important benefits include job satisfaction, camaraderie, increased responsibility and a sense of pride in belonging to an elite Army unit. Special Forces Soldiers also enjoy increased financial benefits.

Special Forces Soldiers receive special duty assignment pay, language pay, parachute pay and special-skills pay such as military free-fall, combat diver or demolition pay.

Elite soldiers in the th Special Operations Aviation Regiment run international nighttime operations from helicopters. Discover all the ways Military OneSource is your connection to information, answers and support to help you overcome challenges, reach your goals and thrive in your military life. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense of non-U. Government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein.

Although the Department of Defense may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for Department of Defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. The selfless warrior goes the distance where all others fall short. Know, Be, Do is a basic analogy one should heavily weigh before undertaking selection and any long term goals in SOF.

Yes, the perks are there, but what one must give up to attain those perks are costly. A smart candidate will have already discovered this by asking the right questions and taking a hard look at themselves. Giving your all? SOF duty is just that, a duty not a prima-donna stage. Bless America and those who Give for it. Enjoyed the article, and agree with most — along with some of the comments below.

There are Operators, and they serve in Special Operations Forces, whatever that branch of service may be. Same thing happened after Mogadishu and the Black Hawk Down book. After that book, everyone was saying it to appear as if they knew what they were talking about — and sounding stupid in the process. Thanks for providing your opinion on the matter.

The 10th misguided reason; selfless service. There are very few people on this planet who can claim to have offered selfless service to anyone or anything; Mother Teresa comes to mind but certainly not any members of the military.