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Special Forces training is long and hard.
There are several phases of training to go through before one becomes a
"Green Beret". Almost all training takes place at the John
F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and
School located at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina. Prior to starting the Special Forces training
'pipeline' one must have completed Basic Training, Advanced Individual
Training (AIT), and Airborne School.
Airborne School
The first stop, usually before
heading to SOPC or SFAS (see below) is the Army's Airborne School at Fort
Benning. The link below will bring you to a 1970s vintage recruitment
video on jump school.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ6QX-OsWUc.
Special Operations Preparation Course (SOPC)
This two-week primer course prepares Soldiers for the Special Forces Assessment and
Selection course. It provides instruction in physical training, land
navigation, and other common tasks. Over time the length of the
course has changed - varying from two to four weeks long. It is designed
to prepare Special Forces candidates for the hardest physical phase of SF
training - SFAS.
Special Forces Preparation and Conditioning (SFPC)
Members of the National Guard and 18X newly enlisted members will
attend SFPC. This three-week long course will birng the National Guard and
18X candidates to a higher level of fitness and land navigation prior to
attending SFAS.
Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS)
This course is about three weeks long. You are
mentally and physically stressed and evaluated by Special Forces
instructors for suitability to continue training in Special Forces.
Learn more about the Special Forces Assessment and
Selection course.
Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC)
This course is conducted in a series of six phases
and includes major areas of instruction to include
land navigation, small unit tactics, MOS training (engineer/demo, weapons,
medic, communications), individual training, collective training,
language and cultural training. Learn more about the
Special Forces Qualification Course. Currently the
average SFQC is about 45 weeks long.
Special Forces MOS Training
Each Soldier is trained in one of four
Special Forces job specialties or Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) to include Engineer, Weapons, Medic, and
Communications. For a description of each see the link below:
https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/specialty-careers/special-ops/special-forces.html
Language Training. Each Soldier must learn a
language. There are many languages to choose from and language
training is generally six months long.
Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)
A key component of the Special Forces
Qualification Course (SFQC) is learning how to evade capture,
live off the land, and survive during
captivity. Learn more about Survival Evasion
Resistance and Escape (SERE) training.
Language Training
Special Forces Soldiers learn a language as part of
the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC). Once they are
assigned to a Special Forces detachment they will continue their language
training. In addition, they may get the opportunity to do advanced
language training while immersed in other cultures - called Live
Environment Training (LET). Learn more about
language training.
Advanced Skills Training
Once a Special Forces trainee is fully qualified and
placed on a Special Forces Operational Detachment he then is able to
attend a number of advanced skill training such as combat diver, military
free fall, SFAUC, intelligence courses, and many more. Click on the
following link to view the Special Forces
Advanced Skills training available.
Other Sources of
Information for Special Forces Training
Special Forces Training. Go Army.com.
United States Army Special Forces Selection and Training.
Wikipedia.
The SF Pipeline. Special Forces Training Forum by "Professional
Soldiers".
National Guard Special Forces.
PowerPoint CONOP Preparation. Learn how to
transition from a 5W oral order to a 45 slide PowerPoint presentation for
a Special Forces ODA CONOP. Click on the YouTube video
here.
SWCS Academic Handbook. The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy
Special Warfare Center and School Academic Handbook is a complete listing
of SWCS courses, including course number, class size, upcoming report
dates, location, course duration, prerequisites and course descriptions.
You can access the SWCS Academic Handbook
here.
www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/11817
If you are unfamiliar with terms or phrases used
on this web site then feel free to consult our
online glossary of Special Operations terms and
phrases.
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