Australian Special Forces

What kind of people join Special Operations groups?

I have been curious about what kind of personalities those that become the best in the military have, what kind of childhood? I've met many athletes that would join the military as last resort and that itself tells me that they probably dont have the right motivation, do non-athletes succed in special operations feild, what if they are extremely motivated?

Public Comments

1. Ever hear the saying "You don't have to be crazy to work here but it helps". Those are Spec Ops. Ask me how I know.
2. It has nothing to do with your background, you will meet soldiers/marines with a ton of different backgrounds some rich, some poor. It's all about your motivation and how far you are willing to push yourself. I come from a very wealthy background and am giving that up to work towards an officer commission in the USMC. I am doing this because I believe in serving this country and I hope to make the 1st recon battalion. So it isnt so much background as it is how far you want to go.
3. Well I do know a few SOF guys. I have read a few books, If your interested read Chosen Soldier, Masters of Chaos, Lone survivor,(you should read this book any way) No Excuse Leadership and The Warrior Elite. Basically from the guys I've spoken too, you have to KNOW you want it. Alot of it is will power, They also don't want "loners" in the special operations, they want guys that can work as a membar of a team. Plenty of Non-Athletes have Made it through special forces, Ironically from darn near everything I've heard and read it's the smart dorky type that make it(funny how that works out huh?).I was told by this SGM who now works at SOCOM that back when he started out he was in a National Guard Armour Unit, then got interested in SF after reading about it, he transfered to an SF support unit, worked hard and let pretty much everyone know his goal, when he got the chance to go through the "Q" course back in 86 he told himself he is either leaving with his green beret or in a body bag.Every SOF guy I've met has been real intellegent and down to earth, as well as extremely motivated. I really think that the book Chosen Soldier by Dick Couch would answer your questions way better than I could. It breaks it down to every stage of Army Special Forces training as well as sort interviews with SOF students, and veterens, the author himself is a former Navy Seal. If your interested reading is the best way to get an idea, in my opinion.