Read everything you can get your hands on and follow instructions. Don't be a spring-butt.

You can start right here on this very forum.

Never was a fan of spotlight rangers. I have been spending a good amount of my free time reading this forum and will continue to do so in the future. Thanks!

You might want to start your reading with the board rules, and comply with them.

So far, you are missing something.

TR

No obvisous "glaring differences" other than SF requires a higher level of intelligence and the ability to follow instructions in the absence of direct supervision.

Have a very SF day!

If I might add to that, and please correct me if I am wrong, its a self-motivated course. There are no Cadre trying to push or motivate through the course, minus a few brief instances. You must motivate yourself to make the next mile or find the next point. Just my $.02. I'll take cover now for speaking out of line.

I had to start doing all my map checks standing up on day #2.

Invitation to Selection?
 

Hello Gentlemen,

Had a quick question about being invited to the selection. Quick background on me. I'm an ADA guy who's serving as a company XO (1LT) in 1st Space BDE, located in Colorado springs, CO. Reason i'm posting this thread is i got rejected to go to Selection. I submitted my SF packet in 2010 August and was training for it (following the 12 week program that was on SORB website and "Get Selected) until i found out this month that i wasn't invited. I just wanted to ask the QPs here that what i need to improve in my packet in order to earn the chance to go to the selection, now that i'm preparing for out of year group waiver. Far as i know i wasn't missing anything from the packet (my recruiter and I went over everything in fine tooth comb) and was under the impression that everyone was invited to the selection. I had decent PT score at the time I submitted (290 then, 300 now), I already had spoken another language (3/3 in Korean) that was indicated in the ORB, and I have, not that it matters much, TS clearance. I searched for this type of thread/post on the website but couldn't find anything. Any advise will be appreciated it gentlemen. Thank you.

A better search and some more reading here might help.

You might also try calling SF Branch and speaking with the Accessions Officer.

No, not all officer applicants are invited to SFAS. They have a list, and select the top applicants from each Year Group. The board looks at a number of factors, to include academic transcripts, OERs, physical fitness, etc.

Some YGs might have a lot of applicants, some not so many. We can usually afford to be picky, so we are. Priority goes to the current YG, out of YG accessions are usuallly to fill a weak YG with better qualified officers.

Hope that answers your question, best of luck.

TR

Having recently served my time in purgatory (aka SF Branch at HRC), I can say that the the number of officers desiring to try out for SF far outstrips the available SFAS slots. SF has always been a popular choice for young officers, more so now given our recent history. That said, ARSOF board members are very selective on who they pick to attend SFAS and they look for discriminators---a Ranger Tab and combat time as a platoon leader are at the top of the list.

I follow the military.com ranger/sf prep guide as well as run about 20-30 miles a week (just finished my first half marathon/and am working to complete a full). Anything else I could do to improve my physical preperation. I welcome the advice from any Quiet Professionals or welcome any other canidates to let me know what is working or has worked.

jko337: I am in the same boat as you are. I was confident I had a strong packet (108 DLAB, 300+ PT, strong resume) and was confused when I was notified that my packet was not selected. I went back to my recruiter to get copies of all my paperwork only to find that all of my updated documents that I had submitted to my recruiter were not included in my packet (old PT card, old ORB, old resume, no DLAB memo, etc.).

For your Out of Year Group packet, make sure you have strong letters of recommendation. I talked to the guys over at SORB and along with one from your BN commander, they suggested having one or two LORs from an SF officer if at all possible (the higher ranking the better). Obviously don't submit a PT card with anything less than a 300. Because of my experience with my initial packet, I will be hand-carrying my OOYG packet to proponency. Once they receive your packet you should hear something back in a few weeks. They told me ideally I could still go to SFAS within the calendar year if I re-submit my packet ASAP.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Read everything, become a student of history, literally.

I got laid off a little while ago and not having a job is draining my finances so...

Since I don't have access to a gym nor do I know someone with lift equipment, I just workout with what I have.

I run every other day, alternating distance for time with speed/hill workouts. I typically run between 2 and 6 miles, depending on the weather and my schedule (which is pretty much nonexistent).

The days I don't run, I ruck. I packed an old backpack of mine full with textbooks and got it up to 40lbs dry. It had a strap for back support but it broke on my last 8-miler so I tied some twine across it and cinched the shoulder straps as high as they'll go and I haven't had any problems. I do between 4 and 12 miles for rucks, alternating between timed and "beat up my feet for distance" on a gravel/asphalt/dirt/wood-chip trail that runs through town.

I don't have lift equipment so I do pushups, both traditional and handstand. I do them all day long, all the time, using other stuff for pacers. Wash a few dishes, do pushups, commercials on TV, do pushups, finish a chapter, do pushups. I do the same with situps and pullups, alternating between the variations of each, including towels for the pullups.

I did so many situps in a day last week, I wore a carpet burn on my rear-end that's still bothering me. I think I overdid that one a little bit.

So far, my upperbody's ok. I can do 30 pullups straight, 110 pushups, but my situps are lacking (down in the 60 range). My run times need a lot of work and my ruck times are averaging 13:30min/mile.

I don't do just pushups, situps and pullups. I do all the variations thereof plus pretty much anything I can do here at home or out on the trail without the equipment I don't have.

Wednesday is PT/Future Soldier Training with the local recruiters. If we don't do PT, that and Sunday are my rest days.

A fellow 18xer was kind enough to send me his copy of "Get Selected." I'm waiting for it to come in the mail. I am very excited to have that incoming.

My Preperation
 

I’ve tailored a workout to fit my needs on what I feel that I need to improve and for what I want to sustain. For endurance, I am currently preparing for a full marathon in September. Bagram Airfield will be hosting a marathon for the Air Force Birthday. I am able to ruck march once a week, and have been steadily working to increasing mileage.

For strength and muscular endurance, I alternate a strength training day, with a kettlebell circuit day. I have been able to steadily increase my strength while also increasing my functional strength.

Running: I try to log a minimum of 25 to 30 miles a week, with increasing
mileage each week.

Strength: Every other day: Bench Press – 5 sets of 5 reps
Deadlift – 5 sets of 5 reps
Pull-Ups – 5 sets of Max reps

I round this off with abdominal and core exercises.

Kettlebell: I do circuits on opposite days of strength. I start with a short 15 to 20 minute interval run to warm up. For the Kettlebell, I vary the exercises to keep it fun, but I keep the basics such as the Kettlebell swing, the snatch and the clean & press. I pick 10 exercises, perform 10-15 reps per exercise and do at least three circuits. I finish the circuits with a full body exercise, such as Burpees, using the Tabata method.

Eventually, I will incorporate rope climbing into my regiment. They just put a rope up near our gym tent and one of the soldiers deployed with me, teaches ROTC cadets how to climb. I will learn from him and practice until I am very proficient at the task.

Mentally: When I have down time, I read books. The books I have with me are the Army Map and Land Navigation FM and Get Selected. I just reread them when I’m finished. I also read the forums on Professional Soldiers.

5 Week plan I put together.
Leaving in September.
Couldn't upload to the forum so I uploaded it to an external site.
Enjoy.

http://www.2shared.com/file/AMfwp9Ht..._Weights_.html