Applying for the U.S. Army Special Forces Program

Special Forces (Spec Ops) Overview
The mission of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command is to organize, train, educate, man, equip, fund, administer, mobilize, deploy and sustain Army special operations forces to successfully conduct worldwide special operations, across the range of military operations, in support of regional combatant commanders, American ambassadors and other agencies as directed.

Army Special Operations Forces or ARSOF consist of Special Forces, Ranger, Special Operations Aviation, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, as well as Signal and Combat Service Support units:

• Rangers are the masters of special light infantry operations. These include attacks to temporarily seize and secure key objectives and other light infantry operations requiring unique capabilities. Like their Special Forces counterparts, Rangers can infiltrate an area by land, by sea or by air.
  
  
• The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is a unique unit. It provides support to Special Operations Forces on a worldwide basis with three types of modified helicopters. The capabilities of the aviation units include inserting, resupplying and extracting U.S. and Allied SOF personnel. They also assist in SOF Search and Rescue, and Escape and Evasion activities. In addition to general aviation support to the SOF community, these units provide airborne command and control, and fire support.
  
  
• The mission of Psychological Operations (PSYOP) is to disseminate truthful information to foreign audiences in support of U.S. goals and objectives. PSYOP units accomplish their mission by disseminating messages in the form of leaflets, posters, broadcasts and audiovisual tapes. Each unit has its own intelligence and audiovisual specialists.
  
  
• The Civil Affairs units are designed to prevent civilian interference with tactical operations, to assist commanders in discharging their responsibilities toward the civilian population, and to provide liaison with civilian government agencies.
  
  
• In late 1995, the U.S. Army Special Operations Support Command (Airborne) was formed to centrally manage signal and combat service support to Special Operations units.
  
  
  • The 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion (Airborne) provides communications links and service between the command, joint controlling agencies or commands, and U.S. Army special operations commands in two theaters of operation.
    
    
  • The 528th Special Operations Support Battalion (Airborne) enhances USASOC's medical, maintenance, supply and transportation capabilities.

Special Operations are defined as operations conducted by specially trained, equipped and organized Department of Defense forces against strategic or tactical targets in pursuit of national military, political, economic or psychological objectives. These operations may be conducted during periods of peace or hostilities. They may support conventional operations, or they may be undertaken independently when the use of conventional forces is either inappropriate or unfeasible.

The mission of the Special Forces Groups is to plan, prepare for, and when directed, deploy to conduct unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance and direct actions in support of U.S. national policy objectives within designated areas of responsibility.

The units continually train to conduct unconventional warfare in any of its forms -- Guerrilla Warfare, Evasion and Escape, Subversion, and Sabotage. The soldiers are also schooled in direct action operations and special reconnaissance.

Approximately 1,400 soldiers are assigned to each group. The 12-man "A" Team is the key operating element of the Special Forces Group.


Eligibility Requirements
To Apply for the Army Special Operations you must meet the following Criteria:

• All personnel volunteering for service in SF require screening, assessment, and qualification. To accomplish this, all soldiers must attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS), the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC), and language school.
• All Special Forces qualified soldiers, enlisted and officer, not currently serving on AD in Special Forces require screening, assessment and revalidation prior to acceptance into the AD SF. This includes prior service personnel, personnel currently serving in the RC, and SF qualified personnel on AD, who are not serving in a CMF/SSI 18 skill. Enlisted Personnel Accession Process.
• Volunteers will be accessed on AD under a conditional contract in accordance with USAREC policy. Conditions of contract will specify that, upon successful completion of assessment and review board appearance, soldiers will serve on AD in CMF 18.
• Soldiers who do not meet assessment prerequisites or board criteria will be reclassified to another MOS as directed by PERSCOM IAW the needs of the Army.
• Assessment of the soldier's military records to include performance evaluations, academic evaluations and administrative actions will be conducted by the Commander, USASOC and executed through a review board chaired by the CSM, USASOC.
• Volunteers will personally appear before the review board with complete application packets.
• Prior service soldiers accepted into CMF 18 will be assigned to active duty groups to provide the most impact and enhancement of operating inventory and operational readiness. Exceptions to this policy will be at the discretion of the CSM, USASOC.
• Screening and assessment process. An evaluation of the soldier’s physical ability, duty performance, psychological stability and security clearance will be conducted by USAJFKSWCS prior to board appearance. Screening and evaluation will be conducted at Fort Bragg by the 1st Special Warfare Training Group, USAJFKSWCS. The Special Operations Proponency Office (SOPO) CMF 18 Manager is designated as executive agent for the screening and evaluation process prior to review board appearance. Screening and evaluation criteria may only be modified by the Commander, USASOC. They are as follows:
  • Complete physical examination Army Physical Fitness Test APFT (Minimum score of 240 points for age group)
  • Psychological testing and evaluation
  • 12-mile road march with 55-lb ruck sack and weapon in 4.5 hours.
  • Participation in a USAJFKSWCS 1st Special Warfare Training Group training event.
  • RC soldiers who have recently graduated (within one year) from SFQC will be exempt from the APFT and the 12-mile road march if they can provide documentation of completion of these events during SFQC. Any issues concerning this specification will be resolved by the CSM, USAJFKSWCS.
  • USASOC Assessment and Review Board.
  • The board, conducted at Fort Bragg, NC will be convened once candidates have completed assessment and evaluation criteria. Review board composition is as follows:
    • President of the Board -- CSM USASOC.
    • Members: CSM USAJFKSWC, CSM USASFC, Group CSM, SGM USASOC DCSOPS, CMF 18 Manager.
  • The USASOC Psychologist will provide the review board with documentation concerning a candidate's psychological stability.

Application Summary
Applicants who are approved by respective review boards will be accessed into AC Special Forces in accordance with PERSCOM and USAREC guidelines. Applicants failing to successfully complete any portion of the above criteria will not be considered for reevaluation for a minimum of 12 months. Questions concerning individual application should be directed to the POC for this program:

Special Operations Proponency Office,
USAJFKSWCS,
(910) 432-9002/8423