Customer Reviews

Get Selected! for Special Forces: How to Successfully Train for and Complete Special Forces Assessment & Selection

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I commend the author for putting together such a well-needed book. I am unaware of any book similar to this one and really, if you followed all the work-up training programs outlined, you would be well prepared for any special operations group regardless of the branch of service (I am a former Marine myself). The only slight exception to this being that if you intend to pursue Marine Force Recon/MARSOC or the Navy's SEALs, you will need to add a significant amount of swimming to your prep program plans in order to be properly prepared for these units' training. Swim training is not really covered in this book as it is not a primary focus for Army SF until much later, after completing training and joining your unit, when you may be assigned to either a SCUBA focused platoon or an Airborne focused platoon where you then receive further advanced training in one of those specialized areas.

This book has some great tips and tricks also, the kind only the salty "old" guys know like how to toughen your feet, etc. before going to the Indoc Course to begin your training. Many of the things discussed in the book, including the mental training and resources to further this and other key elements your success, can be advantageous to the regular infantry trooper or even support MOS's if deploying to the wars in the Middle East. For this reason I think some of you already serving with no or undecided interest in becoming a special operations operator may find the book useful and motivating to buy anyway, because even if you don't want to become one of the highly elite of your branch of service the concepts in this book may put you well ahead of the rest in your unit if you put the advice, positive thinking (essential), and self-training guidelines to use. This could equate to more rapid promotion and more important leadership roles & tasks if you are intending to stay in service a while (not so much for the person just planning to do 3-4 years service for college money, etc. or reservists).

The book is well structured, easy to navigate, and often has important points or advice in bold or in a box to catch your attention if you are looking for a few things you want to know immediately without sitting down to read entire chapters right then and there. The book is backed by many former and present SF soldiers applauding its usefulness and accuracy for improving your chances of making it through the screening and actual training. This says a lot and gives a good feeling of faith and trust in EVERYTHING the good Major has to tell you. By the way the author is the officer who was tasked with creating the prep course for SF candidates, so you are getting advice from the one man you should be taking advice from.

Also of interest to some of you, a good friend & barracks roommate that I served with in the Marines switched over to the Army after our contracts had been completed and immediately volunteered for Army Special Forces, he used this book to prepare. He completed the Special Forces training pipeline (approximately 2 years of training) on his first attempt, even with a broken foot, and earned his Green Beret. He highly recommended this book, and noted that if you follow the work ups programs (ie. rucking with a pack, running, etc.) laid out in the book and are mentally tough, you should be able to complete Special Forces Training. That is about all I think anyone needs to hear and they should be "sold" on the merit, if not absolute vitality of owning this book if you KNOW you want to be an SF soldier.

Very easy to read and understand. Full of useful information to put in your toolbox and keep for what works best for you. Things have changed a bit with "Selection" but it's the basic same course. It's not easy and the whole, "don't quit and you'll get selected" attitude a lot of people have may disappoint you. In a nut shell, to pass the course, make sure you can ruck fast and long, run fast and long, be a good leader/team player and score high on your academic tests. Log and Rifle PT suck!! Good luck to all.

This is a review from an honest to god hopeful SF student. I am currently training for SOPC and SFAS. The book refrains from giving alot of detail about the course and selection which i understand why and do not argue. Up till chapter 10 was mostly motivational speech and recommended reading material. Joe and Rex give some great tips here and there. Do not expect to read crash courses on Land nav or ruck times. Over it was a good book and i do not intend for the review reader to get a negative vibe about the book. I am simply telling you what not to expect. I will read the book several more times. I dog ear'd many pages with useful tips and advice. Also, His 31 day prep plan is really helpful. I will most definitely use it exclusively. If you have ever made a work out plan it is nothing new but it is specific as to what to build up in prep fpr sfas and selection. Good luck student! Worth buying and reading twice. Alot of SF info in regards to family and outside life as well.

I have now read a few books on Special Forces that cover the selection process, and this one provides some helpful tips. I found the advice on mindset, foot care, and why people fail especially useful. 'Chosen Soldier' is another great book, which walks you through the actual experience of selection.

This book not only teaches you how to get ready for selection but it will let you know if special forces is really something you want to do. If your looking for a cheaters guide on how to get selected than two things, special forces doesn't want you anyways, and this book won't help you. It lets you know what good books to read, how to prepare yourself mentally (the hardest part), and some great tips on feet conditioning and physical fitness preparation. This is a must for anyone serious about a career in special forces and my "go to" manual on motivation and mental strength!

Let's pick a hypothetical situation: you are within the top 5% performers in your unit located far and away from the SFAS grounds of fort bragg north carolina. You know nobody or few that have made it through special forces assessment and selection. What do you do? You can either blindly build a physical fitness program and tailor a packing list that is either full of unnecessaries or underequipped, or you can have half an idea of what you're doing.

There's a thousand different tactics, techniques and procedures for every facet of SFAS, but really it comes down to what works for you. If you don't know what your conditions are, you don't know what you need. This book gives you a glimpse of what to expect and what to prepare for. This should be your first stop if the idea even enters your head that you want to go to SFAS. I would only advise that you seek out more from there, just as the book advises you to do so.

This was a great starting point for me when I was too modest to ask my friends at Bragg what the raw deal on selection was. Nothing was more valuable to me than conditioning and training tips from folks who just made it through. Your only task after that is to take what veterans have with a grain of salt. Don't assume things will roll like a rehearsed play, word by word, but prepare for what is fundamentally unchangable in the program.

Get Selected! is a phenomenal prep manual for an aspiring QP. The detailed care and wisdom poured into this book is remarkable. I highly recommend this to anyone contemplating attending SFAS. Read, re-read and then when all is said and done, re-read! Go over every fine point. Find where you feel you might be weakest and remedy it. Tools, resources and aids, all available yet wasted if one does nothing to implement. Implement THIS. Take it to heart and your mind.


---deepheart

I've recently signed my 18X contract, and as I assume that many who are looking at this book are planning to do the same, let me assure you, this book is a great asset. Where I'm currently living, there isn't a nearby post nor a SF recruiting batt nor National Guard unit nearby, which puts me on my own for training. This book has become my trainer.

It's full of useful "tips & tricks," which are what really make the Major's book different than everything else I've read. Lots of books will talk about Selection and what occurs there, but nothing else has given me useful advice on how to lace my boots, treat my feet, take care of my back, and what resources are available to my family. This book gives me information as if I was being prepped 1-on-1 by my squad leader, which makes it very personal and easy to read.

"Get Selected," as the Major states, was intended to help quality candidates prep for, and pass, Selection. I believe that with advice contained within, hard work and discipline, we can definitely succeed at SFAS.

GET SELECTED is the Holy Grail for anyone interested in getting selected for Special Forces! Written by authors who helped shape the selection course, they know everything there is to know about how to succeed in the course and how to fail. The book gives very specific advice on how to physically prepare for selection, but, perhaps more importantly, it tells you how to prepare yourself MENTALLY. The authors describe the mental mind-set required to succeed in selection and what it takes to develop that mindset, including helpful reading and audio-book listening lists. If you're only going to buy one book, get this book - plus the proceeds go to a good cause!

The foot care was worth the book alone but the insights and encouragement was a huge bonus. From simple things about the legends and myths of spec ops to real challenges that lay a head make this worth it all. I am going for Combat Controller USAF elite operatives.