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HH6/Resident Beerwench
Group: Community Supporter
Last Login: 12/13/2008 6:58 AM
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Army recruiting civilians for Special Forces training
By Susanne M. Schafer
Associated Press
Clint DeVoe, 23, left, and Nathan Tuten, 20, are civilians recruited for Special Forces training. — Lou Krasky / AP photo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Unconventional warfare in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq taught the Army it needed more unconventional warriors.
To increase its pool of potential Special Forces members, officials are selectively recruiting civilians for a program that could make them Green Berets in about two years.
The new program is attracting hundreds more recruits than anticipated and the young men entering “off the street” appear to be doing well, Army officials say.
“What’s amazing is ... those who are coming in are qualifying,” said Leslie Ann Sully, spokeswoman for the local Army recruiting office that covers South Carolina, western North Carolina and eastern Georgia.
“And not just anyone can be Special Forces. You have to be a much more mindful soldier. It means using your brain. It means being a teacher. It means more than just using your muscles,” Sully said.
The move comes as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld prods the U.S. military to become more agile and lethal.
Army Special Forces work in 12-man teams, often on secret missions. Each soldier is an expert in weapons, communications, engineering or medicine. Each knows a foreign language and is trained to work with local populations.
The Army has approximately 6,250 Special Forces soldiers in its active duty ranks and counts 2,500 in National Guard units, said Maj. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Gen. Kevin Byrnes, in charge of overall Army doctrine and training, said officials realized they needed to attract more men into the field.
“We had [Special Forces] units operating at less than 100 percent. After Afghanistan, we fixed that,” Byrnes said. “We realized ... the operating tempo of our Special Forces was so high, we decided to look at recruiting opportunities outside the Army.”
The effort began last year with more than 460 men; women are not allowed to join. This year, the Army wanted to recruit 600 civilians for the program, and an official at the Army’s recruiting headquarters at Fort Knox, Ky., said there won’t be any problem meeting that goal.
Kolb said some of the first recruits in the program “are about to finish up in six months or so. ... They are some of the best recruits we’re getting. They are very smart guys.”
Clinton DeVoe, 23, of Wilmington, N.C., said he began looking at Special Forces after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He leaves for basic training July 8 after completing his studies in philosophy at the University of South Carolina.
“After 9/11, I decided I wanted to protect people here. ... I’m comfortable with the idea of a military life,” he said, adding that his grandfather and uncle had careers in the military.
With “a dabbling” of Japanese, Korean and French languages, DeVoe said he wants to work in Asian nations.
Only men between 18 and 29 years old can join. They must be U.S. citizens and have a high school diploma. They must sign up for at least five years of service and score well on intelligence tests. Recruits also are screened for the aptitude to learn at least one foreign language.
In return, they undergo nine weeks of basic training. That’s followed by about two years of intensive training in such things as infantry tactics, parachuting, land navigation, small unit tactics and survival skills. Each man is eligible for a $13,000 enlistment bonus if they remain in the service for five years.
So far, those who have entered the program appear to just the kind of people the military is looking for. “They are highly motivated,” said Lt. Gen. Dennis Cavin, who’s in charge of Army recruiting.
“A lot of people wanted to do this very elite thing, but it just wasn’t available,” Cavin said. “It’s opened up, and people want to go do the fun thing.”
- "Hundreds of thousands of American servicemen and women are deployed across the world in the war on terror. By bringing hope to the oppressed, and delivering justice to the violent, they are making America more secure. "
George W. Bush
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FNG
Group: Registered User
Last Login: 1/4/2004 7:56 AM
Posts: 4,
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| The first "off the street" SF guys are already qualified and at group.
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