Special Forces Officers: What’s an 18A / Team Leaders role ?

Рет қаралды 5,159

Valhalla VFT

2 ай бұрын

Breakdown of the officer path through their career in special forces
#greenberet #specialforces

Пікірлер: 68

@usernamealreadytaken770 2 ай бұрын

I knew SF officers had very limited time in an ODA but I didn’t realize how competitive it is for SF officers to stay in SF Groups throughout their career until now. That makes sense why I see SF officers take command positions of regular Army units.

@perfectplaylist8728 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for seeing all our comments about this topic and making a video to address the officer questions! Thank you!

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

🫡

@gabe_diaz 2 ай бұрын

If you have a war chest or a room with all your awards or anything like that, I would love to see all the different awards and decorations you got from your time in service. I know you were on a mountain team, halo team, and if I remember correctly a dive team too. So I know you definitely have a lot of different experiences in schools. I’d love to see a video breaking down all that stuff. Also you’re one of the many vets who’ve inspired me to join the military, so keep up the good shit brother. I’m shipping out to become a 11B in the Army after I finish high school this year 🇺🇸🤙

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

So my back walk in the video is pretty much that I could do a video where I show it all up close and talk about everything though, cool idea I hadn’t thought of doing.

@gabe_diaz 2 ай бұрын

@@ValhallaVFT hell yeah man

@IRACK-mq6tf Ай бұрын

The worst thing that happened when SF became a branch is that many officers who wanted to spend more time on ODA’s couldn’t. “Back in the day” if an officer wanted to spend a lotta time in SF they knew they’d be lucky to make O-5 because SF was kind of a career dead end. SF officers who wanted to make rank popped in and out of SF doing conventional time. But a lotta real SF officers didn’t care because they weren’t careerists-they just wanted to be on an ODA or ODB. When SF became a branch being an ODA commander became a ticket punch, spend too much time on an ODA as an officer and you’d be accused of, “hiding under a rucksack”.

@jimettamarna417 Ай бұрын

Good stuff…. I do a lot of volunteer work, with SOF folks in transition (e.g., volunteer with The Honor Foundation). Videos like this really help me to understand the skills/experiences of guys (and some gals) I’m working with…. FWIW, I think SF prepares people really well for certain civilian business jobs. The whole “by, with, and through” is very applicable in a number of situations.

@ValhallaVFT Ай бұрын

The honor foundation is an awesome program. Helps a lot of guys in our community out for sure.

@adamespinoza3021 2 ай бұрын

Informative video, thank you sir

@nelsonx4235 2 ай бұрын

Excellent explanation; I always wondered the dynamics between the officer and enlisted in special forces…didn’t know the senior sgt can chew the captain

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Oh ya, I’ve seen a lot of young captains get their ass chewed by their team sergeant.

@michaelbardo511 2 ай бұрын

this was awesome. I am trying to figure out whether to go officer or not....my goal is to go to SF as soon as I can, so this really helped

@justanothernothuman 2 ай бұрын

Great video as always, very informative! Decision's clear, 18X is the way to go.

@1anre 2 ай бұрын

Better be fit and mentally mature beforehand sha

@piyushkarki8119 6 күн бұрын

Thanks for the info Valhalla VFT.

@ValhallaVFT 6 күн бұрын

🫡

@brucecorey24 11 күн бұрын

Great video. And damn good job letting officers know they'll get spanked for getting out of line

@NYRalltheway14 27 күн бұрын

If only the regular infantry was like this. 2015-2016 was such a weird time all of our platoon sgts were seasoned combat vets from both Iraq and Afghanistan. By that time the war had died down. Our platoon sgt was a Fallujah vet meanwhile our LT was an ROTC vet

@lamontgreen722 2 ай бұрын

Can you do a video on warrant officers because I am very curious on how long they can stay on the team and also what they do

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Short answer: they stay on a team longer than everyone and they dont do shit(some sarcasm)

@shannongreen1520 2 ай бұрын

Love that assessment of the 18A. Here's my question to you: Does that apply to the officers who are in the 19th and 20th groups as well?

@1anre 2 ай бұрын

My exact question too. Do they stay entirely within those NG groups attached to ODAs or at a certain, they get promoted outside guard units to handle other strategic stuff?

@peterpace2150 2 ай бұрын

Same question here regarding 19th/20th, I imagine the opportunities are even slimmer in becoming an 18A in NG. Also, while an 18A is serving in that admin role/facilitator between the team and higher levels of leadership are they still getting reps in during training cycles irrespective of likely limited opportunities to flex down range?

@homerm.8176 2 ай бұрын

I don't know if you made a video on this but can you talk about a civilian with a full-time job and a family going SF? like what that transition would be like and or pros and cons.

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

My biggest video talks a lot about this, The Harsh reality of becoming a green beret. Details out the negatives and likelihoods of what’s going to likely happen.

@justindimola4277 Ай бұрын

You may have addressed this in a previous video. But i am new to your channel. Impressive presentations by the way. But the team Sgt. and intell sgt., do they come from all the other 4 MOS', or does one MOS have more potential for those positions? How does that work?

@ValhallaVFT Ай бұрын

Both the 18F and 18Z come from the normal 4 MOS. Although much later in your career in SF before you can reach those positions.

@joshuaradcliffe110 2 ай бұрын

Could you go a video on the 18F because that’s honestly the one I see the least about

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Lot of that job is classified that’s why it’s not talked about very often, hard to do a meaningful video on it.

@lukehillland Ай бұрын

Awesome video, very informative. I have no idea but do the enlisted guys respect the officers on the ODA or is there kind of a sense of hostility at all? How can the officers get the respect from the experienced enlisted guys?

@ValhallaVFT Ай бұрын

Depends on the officer. I’ve worked with some awesome ones that everybody has the ultimate respect for, and some that were the opposite of that.

@1anre 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for another in-demand question that's puzzled lots of folks. Always wished I'd be an 18A, but life happened. Does the life an officer in other SOF elements also experience what an 18A goes through? So MARSOC Raiders, or Airforce CROs, or Navy SEAL officers don't even go downrange to kick doors etc and only get to watch from the sidelines? So why do the NCOs even respect or need them on the battlefield when then warrant officers, team sergants are the ones making things happen and keeping everyone in check? Would you say non-SOF infantry officers in 82nd/75th/173rd/10th mountain which i presume are the best pure infantry units in the US, get more platoon leader time and spend more time downrange than actual SOF officers do?

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Non sof hasn’t done anything down range in 15 years in general, so no they don’t.

@IRACK-mq6tf Ай бұрын

What too many 18A’s don’t understand is that it ain’t really “your” Team. You are temporarily hand-receipted for that Team. I once saw saw an O-3 (P) try to run his ODA like a rifle squad. He genuinely believed he was the SME on every damn subject and would NEVER listen to his NCO’s. Sooooo, his Team was like, “Fine Sir-you wanna be a one man ODA? You don’t wanna listen to us and think you’re perfect? You got it….” When it came to time for the ODA present the mission brief to the battalion commander every NCO just let him run the show and acted like dummies-I mean they couldn’t even find their alternate or emergency drops zones on the map. We just sat there with our mouths hanging open watching this slow motion disaster. The colonel failed the ODA brief back, and chewed out the Team Leader. I later talked to the Team Sergeant and asked him, “WTF happened Sarge?” His eye wink said everything. But you know what? That dipsh!t Team Leader still made major…..

@ValhallaVFT Ай бұрын

lol, I’ve seen stuff like that before. But yes, great take I agree with everything you said.

@Immigrantlovesamerica 23 күн бұрын

Stop holding so many grudges. Some people need to humble up. Leadership is a learned skill.

@darkwarriormaster9644 2 ай бұрын

After seeing this video, I can understand if Special Forces has a lot of gentleman rankers. I think the SEALs do as well.

@mannyhernandez6507 Ай бұрын

Hi, you briefly mentioned warrant officers. What is their role in an ODA?

@ValhallaVFT Ай бұрын

I’ve got asked that enough that I’m gona do a video on it here eventually

@Charlie-jj8bk 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. In your experience, how likely is it for an officer to make it to 20 years and receive a pension? Doesn't have to be SF officer. From my perspective, is appears as if many leave after 6 or so years. Not sure if that's due to other better career opportunities elsewhere or if they get pushed out.

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Like I said in the video, it gets more and more competitive up the chain, so less officers make it to 20 than NCOs in comparison. Also yes, a high ranking officer easily transitions to GM/CEO level positions in the civ world, which obviously pay way more money.

@dingusmcphee5751 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the vid, man, very helpful. If an 18A were to drop his commission, would he then assume the role of a Sergeant on an ODA? How would that dynamic play out?

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Funny story, my former teammate was a major and company commander, the way he did it was to drop his commission to become a warrant officer. Got him an extra 4-5 years on an ODA. Best part is the way military retirement works, he will still retire as a Major because it was his highest rank.

@dingusmcphee5751 2 ай бұрын

@@ValhallaVFT Man, the thought of that is kinda funny. Thanks for the help again.

@thediner8929 2 ай бұрын

What if the captain was an nco in the SF? Does his opinions matter more then? How long is the 18 A course?

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

There are very few prior SF NCOs that go officer, the pay really isn’t that much better, and most NCOs that went to transition go Warrant Officer, makes much more sense. You’re going backwards in your career by going O for the most part, unlike the regular military.

@somemilsimnerd 2 ай бұрын

Which is more highly trained on radio? 18E or CCT? I want to be a radio specialist. I'm not desperate do do air traffic controller job. I just want to get in the unit that is expert of expert at radio. Which do you think gets more trained on radio?

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Specifically with radios? 18E by a large margin. CCTs use radios and are proficient with them obviously it isn’t their core function.

@lukepopson6730 2 ай бұрын

I've heard that if you are an 18A on a dive ODA you can get more team time is this true or just a myth.

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Nah, in fact a lot of officers on dive teams never even end up going to dive school. Not a requirement to be dive qualified necessarily.

@somemilsimnerd 2 ай бұрын

What kind of schools/courses can 18E normally go?(Communication stuff. Except JTAC course.)

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Generically same courses as other MOS, dive, halo, mountain, jtac, ranger school etc. There are also some technical based schools, cyber warfare type stuff as well that I’m not at liberty to talk about due to sensitivity.

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

@lalomora8615 2 ай бұрын

Hey can you talk about 75th Ranger Regiment officer route or is the same as a 18A?????

@gabe_diaz 2 ай бұрын

The 75th Ranger Regiment route to becoming an officer is similar but also different, assuming you’re talking about becoming an infantry officer in the Regiment. But from what I understand off my buddy who’s in the army as an infantry officer, you need to be the same rank to become a 11A as you do to try out for SF to become a 18A. The main difference is the way to get to both units are the selections, as SF every guy goes to selection together regardless of rank, mos, enlisted vs officer, etc: But in the 75th Ranger Regiment you go to RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program) with only other officers and NCO’s.

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

No idea how it works for you them, I was never in ranger bat.

@usernamealreadytaken770 2 ай бұрын

Most officers do a 3 year tour with the Rangers at a time, and then have to go back to a regular Army unit and then try to go back again after another tour. Since officers don’t re-enlist, they can’t simply re-enlist to stay in. They have to get out of the Rangers every time they complete their 3-year tour and hope they can get back in later.

@platcopper 2 ай бұрын

Would you do a video on the SF warrant officer?

@T1q121 2 ай бұрын

What’s does the team sergeant do?

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

He’s the actual boss.

@strawdawgs78 2 ай бұрын

I'd be infinitely more interested in what an 18F does.

@ValhallaVFT 2 ай бұрын

Unfortunately the majority of that mos is classified so I can’t really make a meaningful video out of it. I may do a video encompassing 18Z, 18F and 180A in one video though.