I knew SF officers had very limited time in an ODA but I didn’t realize how competitive it is for SF officers to stay in SF Groups throughout their career until now. That makes sense why I see SF officers take command positions of regular Army units.
If you have a war chest or a room with all your awards or anything like that, I would love to see all the different awards and decorations you got from your time in service. I know you were on a mountain team, halo team, and if I remember correctly a dive team too. So I know you definitely have a lot of different experiences in schools. I’d love to see a video breaking down all that stuff. Also you’re one of the many vets who’ve inspired me to join the military, so keep up the good shit brother. I’m shipping out to become a 11B in the Army after I finish high school this year 🇺🇸🤙
So my back walk in the video is pretty much that I could do a video where I show it all up close and talk about everything though, cool idea I hadn’t thought of doing.
Excellent explanation; I always wondered the dynamics between the officer and enlisted in special forces…didn’t know the senior sgt can chew the captain
Good stuff…. I do a lot of volunteer work, with SOF folks in transition (e.g., volunteer with The Honor Foundation). Videos like this really help me to understand the skills/experiences of guys (and some gals) I’m working with…. FWIW, I think SF prepares people really well for certain civilian business jobs. The whole “by, with, and through” is very applicable in a number of situations.
If only the regular infantry was like this. 2015-2016 was such a weird time all of our platoon sgts were seasoned combat vets from both Iraq and Afghanistan. By that time the war had died down. Our platoon sgt was a Fallujah vet meanwhile our LT was an ROTC vet
My exact question too. Do they stay entirely within those NG groups attached to ODAs or at a certain, they get promoted outside guard units to handle other strategic stuff?
Same question here regarding 19th/20th, I imagine the opportunities are even slimmer in becoming an 18A in NG. Also, while an 18A is serving in that admin role/facilitator between the team and higher levels of leadership are they still getting reps in during training cycles irrespective of likely limited opportunities to flex down range?
Thanks for this video, I keep hearing civilians say things like; you don’t want to go enlisted as a grunt, and you should go officer cuz you get treated better, when you want to be the guy kicking in doors.
Thanks for another in-demand question that's puzzled lots of folks. Always wished I'd be an 18A, but life happened. Does the life an officer in other SOF elements also experience what an 18A goes through? So MARSOC Raiders, or Airforce CROs, or Navy SEAL officers don't even go downrange to kick doors etc and only get to watch from the sidelines? So why do the NCOs even respect or need them on the battlefield when then warrant officers, team sergants are the ones making things happen and keeping everyone in check? Would you say non-SOF infantry officers in 82nd/75th/173rd/10th mountain which i presume are the best pure infantry units in the US, get more platoon leader time and spend more time downrange than actual SOF officers do?
Dont know if you were on 11 around 2014 and 2016, I had a bar in Subic that was made into a team bar (Rapscallion) Good times and good dudes . Im an old support como guy (31C) from 20th.
Thanks for the vid, man, very helpful. If an 18A were to drop his commission, would he then assume the role of a Sergeant on an ODA? How would that dynamic play out?
Funny story, my former teammate was a major and company commander, the way he did it was to drop his commission to become a warrant officer. Got him an extra 4-5 years on an ODA. Best part is the way military retirement works, he will still retire as a Major because it was his highest rank.
Awesome video, very informative. I have no idea but do the enlisted guys respect the officers on the ODA or is there kind of a sense of hostility at all? How can the officers get the respect from the experienced enlisted guys?
How would this work for an SF mustang that's already on a team and wants to go officer? Would he still have to leave and do LT stuff somewhere else and go back through SFAS or would he have an easier in back to the teams since he was already an 18 series?
You may have addressed this in a previous video. But i am new to your channel. Impressive presentations by the way. But the team Sgt. and intell sgt., do they come from all the other 4 MOS', or does one MOS have more potential for those positions? How does that work?
I don't know if you made a video on this but can you talk about a civilian with a full-time job and a family going SF? like what that transition would be like and or pros and cons.
My biggest video talks a lot about this, The Harsh reality of becoming a green beret. Details out the negatives and likelihoods of what’s going to likely happen.
The 75th Ranger Regiment route to becoming an officer is similar but also different, assuming you’re talking about becoming an infantry officer in the Regiment. But from what I understand off my buddy who’s in the army as an infantry officer, you need to be the same rank to become a 11A as you do to try out for SF to become a 18A. The main difference is the way to get to both units are the selections, as SF every guy goes to selection together regardless of rank, mos, enlisted vs officer, etc: But in the 75th Ranger Regiment you go to RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program) with only other officers and NCO’s.
Most officers do a 3 year tour with the Rangers at a time, and then have to go back to a regular Army unit and then try to go back again after another tour. Since officers don’t re-enlist, they can’t simply re-enlist to stay in. They have to get out of the Rangers every time they complete their 3-year tour and hope they can get back in later.
I'd love to pick your brain about some very specific questions if possible. I'm 33 prior AF, looking at some route to green beret but don't know which to choose. I keep seeing "if you fail, you'll meet the needs of the army" I get that, AF was the same way. Is there a way to avoid that? Would it be safer to go in on a different mos and would that allow me to keep that mos IF, I were to fail? I want most hands on in the field but I also want to be attractive to selection and future federal jobs if i decide not to make it a career.
Thanks for the video. In your experience, how likely is it for an officer to make it to 20 years and receive a pension? Doesn't have to be SF officer. From my perspective, is appears as if many leave after 6 or so years. Not sure if that's due to other better career opportunities elsewhere or if they get pushed out.
Like I said in the video, it gets more and more competitive up the chain, so less officers make it to 20 than NCOs in comparison. Also yes, a high ranking officer easily transitions to GM/CEO level positions in the civ world, which obviously pay way more money.
Which is more highly trained on radio? 18E or CCT? I want to be a radio specialist. I'm not desperate do do air traffic controller job. I just want to get in the unit that is expert of expert at radio. Which do you think gets more trained on radio?
There are very few prior SF NCOs that go officer, the pay really isn’t that much better, and most NCOs that went to transition go Warrant Officer, makes much more sense. You’re going backwards in your career by going O for the most part, unlike the regular military.
Generically same courses as other MOS, dive, halo, mountain, jtac, ranger school etc. There are also some technical based schools, cyber warfare type stuff as well that I’m not at liberty to talk about due to sensitivity.
Generically same courses as other MOS, dive, halo, mountain, jtac, ranger school etc. There are also some technical based schools, cyber warfare type stuff as well that I’m not at liberty to talk about due to sensitivity.
Unfortunately the majority of that mos is classified so I can’t really make a meaningful video out of it. I may do a video encompassing 18Z, 18F and 180A in one video though.
I knew SF officers had very limited time in an ODA but I didn’t realize how competitive it is for SF officers to stay in SF Groups throughout their career until now. That makes sense why I see SF officers take command positions of regular Army units.
Thank you for seeing all our comments about this topic and making a video to address the officer questions! Thank you!
🫡
If you have a war chest or a room with all your awards or anything like that, I would love to see all the different awards and decorations you got from your time in service. I know you were on a mountain team, halo team, and if I remember correctly a dive team too. So I know you definitely have a lot of different experiences in schools. I’d love to see a video breaking down all that stuff.
Also you’re one of the many vets who’ve inspired me to join the military, so keep up the good shit brother. I’m shipping out to become a 11B in the Army after I finish high school this year 🇺🇸🤙
So my back walk in the video is pretty much that I could do a video where I show it all up close and talk about everything though, cool idea I hadn’t thought of doing.
@@ValhallaVFT hell yeah man
Excellent explanation; I always wondered the dynamics between the officer and enlisted in special forces…didn’t know the senior sgt can chew the captain
Oh ya, I’ve seen a lot of young captains get their ass chewed by their team sergeant.
Good stuff…. I do a lot of volunteer work, with SOF folks in transition (e.g., volunteer with The Honor Foundation). Videos like this really help me to understand the skills/experiences of guys (and some gals) I’m working with…. FWIW, I think SF prepares people really well for certain civilian business jobs. The whole “by, with, and through” is very applicable in a number of situations.
The honor foundation is an awesome program. Helps a lot of guys in our community out for sure.
Thanks for all of your videos and info, Valhalla! They’re all very informative and helpful! Keep up the great work
If only the regular infantry was like this. 2015-2016 was such a weird time all of our platoon sgts were seasoned combat vets from both Iraq and Afghanistan. By that time the war had died down. Our platoon sgt was a Fallujah vet meanwhile our LT was an ROTC vet
Love that assessment of the 18A. Here's my question to you: Does that apply to the officers who are in the 19th and 20th groups as well?
My exact question too. Do they stay entirely within those NG groups attached to ODAs or at a certain, they get promoted outside guard units to handle other strategic stuff?
Same question here regarding 19th/20th, I imagine the opportunities are even slimmer in becoming an 18A in NG. Also, while an 18A is serving in that admin role/facilitator between the team and higher levels of leadership are they still getting reps in during training cycles irrespective of likely limited opportunities to flex down range?
Great video as always, very informative! Decision's clear, 18X is the way to go.
Better be fit and mentally mature beforehand sha
Thanks for this video, I keep hearing civilians say things like; you don’t want to go enlisted as a grunt, and you should go officer cuz you get treated better, when you want to be the guy kicking in doors.
this was awesome. I am trying to figure out whether to go officer or not....my goal is to go to SF as soon as I can, so this really helped
Informative video, thank you sir
Thanks for another in-demand question that's puzzled lots of folks.
Always wished I'd be an 18A, but life happened.
Does the life an officer in other SOF elements also experience what an 18A goes through? So MARSOC Raiders, or Airforce CROs, or Navy SEAL officers don't even go downrange to kick doors etc and only get to watch from the sidelines? So why do the NCOs even respect or need them on the battlefield when then warrant officers, team sergants are the ones making things happen and keeping everyone in check?
Would you say non-SOF infantry officers in 82nd/75th/173rd/10th mountain which i presume are the best pure infantry units in the US, get more platoon leader time and spend more time downrange than actual SOF officers do?
Non sof hasn’t done anything down range in 15 years in general, so no they don’t.
Dont know if you were on 11 around 2014 and 2016, I had a bar in Subic that was made into a team bar (Rapscallion) Good times and good dudes . Im an old support como guy (31C) from 20th.
Actually never went to Subic, went though AC quite a few times into country but not there.
Thanks for the vid, man, very helpful. If an 18A were to drop his commission, would he then assume the role of a Sergeant on an ODA? How would that dynamic play out?
Funny story, my former teammate was a major and company commander, the way he did it was to drop his commission to become a warrant officer. Got him an extra 4-5 years on an ODA. Best part is the way military retirement works, he will still retire as a Major because it was his highest rank.
@@ValhallaVFT Man, the thought of that is kinda funny. Thanks for the help again.
Awesome video, very informative. I have no idea but do the enlisted guys respect the officers on the ODA or is there kind of a sense of hostility at all? How can the officers get the respect from the experienced enlisted guys?
Depends on the officer. I’ve worked with some awesome ones that everybody has the ultimate respect for, and some that were the opposite of that.
How would this work for an SF mustang that's already on a team and wants to go officer? Would he still have to leave and do LT stuff somewhere else and go back through SFAS or would he have an easier in back to the teams since he was already an 18 series?
CPT’s may also be an XO to the MAJ on a B Team. C teams are above B teams which are above the A teams, or ODA
Great video. And damn good job letting officers know they'll get spanked for getting out of line
You may have addressed this in a previous video. But i am new to your channel. Impressive presentations by the way. But the team Sgt. and intell sgt., do they come from all the other 4 MOS', or does one MOS have more potential for those positions? How does that work?
Both the 18F and 18Z come from the normal 4 MOS. Although much later in your career in SF before you can reach those positions.
Thanks for the info Valhalla VFT.
🫡
Can you do a video on warrant officers because I am very curious on how long they can stay on the team and also what they do
Short answer: they stay on a team longer than everyone and they dont do shit(some sarcasm)
I don't know if you made a video on this but can you talk about a civilian with a full-time job and a family going SF? like what that transition would be like and or pros and cons.
My biggest video talks a lot about this, The Harsh reality of becoming a green beret. Details out the negatives and likelihoods of what’s going to likely happen.
Hey can you talk about 75th Ranger Regiment officer route or is the same as a 18A?????
The 75th Ranger Regiment route to becoming an officer is similar but also different, assuming you’re talking about becoming an infantry officer in the Regiment. But from what I understand off my buddy who’s in the army as an infantry officer, you need to be the same rank to become a 11A as you do to try out for SF to become a 18A. The main difference is the way to get to both units are the selections, as SF every guy goes to selection together regardless of rank, mos, enlisted vs officer, etc: But in the 75th Ranger Regiment you go to RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program) with only other officers and NCO’s.
No idea how it works for you them, I was never in ranger bat.
Most officers do a 3 year tour with the Rangers at a time, and then have to go back to a regular Army unit and then try to go back again after another tour.
Since officers don’t re-enlist, they can’t simply re-enlist to stay in. They have to get out of the Rangers every time they complete their 3-year tour and hope they can get back in later.
I'd love to pick your brain about some very specific questions if possible. I'm 33 prior AF, looking at some route to green beret but don't know which to choose. I keep seeing "if you fail, you'll meet the needs of the army" I get that, AF was the same way. Is there a way to avoid that? Would it be safer to go in on a different mos and would that allow me to keep that mos IF, I were to fail? I want most hands on in the field but I also want to be attractive to selection and future federal jobs if i decide not to make it a career.
After seeing this video, I can understand if Special Forces has a lot of gentleman rankers. I think the SEALs do as well.
Thanks for the video. In your experience, how likely is it for an officer to make it to 20 years and receive a pension? Doesn't have to be SF officer. From my perspective, is appears as if many leave after 6 or so years. Not sure if that's due to other better career opportunities elsewhere or if they get pushed out.
Like I said in the video, it gets more and more competitive up the chain, so less officers make it to 20 than NCOs in comparison. Also yes, a high ranking officer easily transitions to GM/CEO level positions in the civ world, which obviously pay way more money.
Which is more highly trained on radio? 18E or CCT? I want to be a radio specialist. I'm not desperate do do air traffic controller job. I just want to get in the unit that is expert of expert at radio. Which do you think gets more trained on radio?
Specifically with radios? 18E by a large margin. CCTs use radios and are proficient with them obviously it isn’t their core function.
Hi, you briefly mentioned warrant officers. What is their role in an ODA?
I’ve got asked that enough that I’m gona do a video on it here eventually
What if the captain was an nco in the SF? Does his opinions matter more then? How long is the 18 A course?
There are very few prior SF NCOs that go officer, the pay really isn’t that much better, and most NCOs that went to transition go Warrant Officer, makes much more sense. You’re going backwards in your career by going O for the most part, unlike the regular military.
What kind of schools/courses can 18E normally go?(Communication stuff. Except JTAC course.)
Generically same courses as other MOS, dive, halo, mountain, jtac, ranger school etc. There are also some technical based schools, cyber warfare type stuff as well that I’m not at liberty to talk about due to sensitivity.
Generically same courses as other MOS, dive, halo, mountain, jtac, ranger school etc. There are also some technical based schools, cyber warfare type stuff as well that I’m not at liberty to talk about due to sensitivity.
I've heard that if you are an 18A on a dive ODA you can get more team time is this true or just a myth.
Nah, in fact a lot of officers on dive teams never even end up going to dive school. Not a requirement to be dive qualified necessarily.
Could you drop commission after 2 years to stay with an ODA
Had a teammate who was a major and dropped commission to warrant to stay on a team after being a company commander. So yes.
Could you go a video on the 18F because that’s honestly the one I see the least about
Lot of that job is classified that’s why it’s not talked about very often, hard to do a meaningful video on it.
I'd be infinitely more interested in what an 18F does.
Unfortunately the majority of that mos is classified so I can’t really make a meaningful video out of it. I may do a video encompassing 18Z, 18F and 180A in one video though.
Would you do a video on the SF warrant officer?
What’s does the team sergeant do?
He’s the actual boss.
Why would anyone sign up for that, other than being called SF
Go army! beat navy
Electrons
Comment
can you go 18a from civilian ?
No, you have to be at least an O-2 and be promotable to O-3 to attend the q course as an officer.
@@ValhallaVFT thx can u join as regular green beret from civilian ?