How To Become a Green Beret

Becoming a Green Beret is more than just being in shape. Many candidates are surprised to learn that common conditions or even prescriptions render them ineligible for service and many don’t even know what they do. In this article, I will outline what a Green Beret is including roles and responsibilities, the avenues to become one including requirements, and then walk you step by step through the pipeline.

What is a Green Beret?

Green Berets are the US Army’s elite Special Forces soldiers. They’re known for their skills in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, and special reconnaissance. 

Unlike many other military units, Special Forces units partner closely in training and leading allies and local populations.

There are seven special forces groups with each oriented to a specific geographic location. Each Green Beret is required to maintain proficiency in their assigned language. This linguistic expertise enables them to deploy seamlessly into critical situations where they train and lead guerrilla forces, gather intelligence, and execute high-stakes missions.

Special Forces Structure

Special Forces Groups

Underneath 1st Special Forces Command, are the seven Special Forces Groups.

What Is a Special Forces Battalion

Each group consists of three to four battalions. These battalions are the primary operational units, responsible for conducting missions and operations. Since even at the group level, the geographic areas they cover are expansive, battalions will focus on a specific region.

What is a Special Forces Company

And within each battalion, there are about four to six companies. A company is a smaller unit, specializing in more specific tasks such as mountain warfare, underwater operations, or desert warfare. 

Special Forces ODA and Job Roles

An ODA comprises 12 Green Berets, each with a specific skill set and role.

There’s an officer and warrant officer who are responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing missions, 

After Special Forces Assessment and Selection you will be assigned either 18B (Weapons), 18C (Engineering), 18D (Medical), or 18E (Communications).

18F (Intelligence) and 18Z (Operations) are only filled by experienced Green Berets.

How To Become a Green Beret

Individuals can try out to become an enlisted or Officer Green Beret on Active Duty or through the National Guard. 

Active duty is a full-time commitment and will be your sole responsibility. National Guardsmen are full-time for the duration of their training, which could be 2 to 3 years, before they return to part-time capacity. 

1. Civilian to Active Duty or National Guard Enlisted (18X)

If you’re a civilian and want a guaranteed shot at becoming a Green Beret, you should look at the US Army’s 18X contract which includes Special Forces Assessment and Selection in your contract, provided you maintain your fitness and perform throughout the pipeline.

Army 18X Requirements:

• 20 – 34 years old
• Be a U.S. citizen 
• Have a minimum general technical (GT) score of 110 and minimum combat operation score of 100; if you do not have the required score, then you will need to take the AFCT/ASVAB to attempt to raise your line scores.
• Be a high school diploma graduate. Or have a General Education Development (GEDs) which is waiverable on a case-by-case basis.

For those of you enlisting in the National Guard, you may be required to be selected at a Special Forces Readiness Evaluation (otherwise known as SFRE) to earn your 18X contract. It varies based on your state, but it typically includes push ups, sit ups, pull ups, a 5 mile run, 12 mile ruck, and other activities to test your determination before earning a contract.

2. Civilian to Active Duty or National Guard Green Beret Officer

For civilians who want to become a Special Forces Officer in the National Guard or on Active duty, the path is not guaranteed. 

You first must be commissioned as an officer. Then, be in the target year group for the captain’s board and have a pay grade of O-1 promotable, O2, or O3. 

Also, it’s worth pointing out that the officer slots are more selective and the most qualified will be chosen. National Guard candidates will also take their state’s SFRE.

Green Beret Officer Requirements:

• Pay grade of O-1(P), O-2, or O-3 and in the targeted year group for the captain’s board
• Must have at least a SECRET security clearance prior to final packet approval and meet eligibility criteria for a TOP SECRET clearance
• Must have completed the Officer Basic Course
• Must have been successful in your branch assignments prior to applying to SF

3. Active Duty Military to Special Forces

For Active Duty and National Guard personnel who want a shot at becoming a Green Beret, you can also put in a packet.

Green Beret Requirements for Active Duty:

• Be at least 20 years old and no older than 36
• You must have a minimum rank of E-3 and must be 20 years old at the start of Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) with a waiver
• You must not be older than 36 years (waiverable) for SFAS attendance
• You must be eligible for a Secret security clearance
• You must be airborne qualified or volunteer for airborne training
• You must have no more than 14 years time in service (E-3 to E-6)
• You must have no more than 12 years time in service and nine months time-in-grade when applying for the SFAS course (E-7)
• You must be either Airborne or Ranger qualified (E-7)
• You must attend the SFAS course within 90 days of volunteering and be able to PCS to the SFQC within 6 months of selection at SFAS (E-7)
• You must sign a Master Sergeant (MSG) declination statement prior to attending SFQC (E-7)
• You must have an ASVAB General Technical (GT) score of 100 or above
• You must pass a Special Forces physical in accordance with AR 40-501
• You must be able to reclassify from your current MOS or branch
• You must have a minimum of 36 months remaining time in service at the time you graduate SFQC
• You must not have 30 days or more lost time under USC 972 within your current or preceding enlistment.

While this is a long list, as long as you are an E-3 to E-6 with no more than 14 years time in service, you should be ok.

4. Interservice Transfers to Join Special Forces

Those serving in the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, or reserve components of the Army can qualify and attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS).

Here is a link to a Special Forces Recruiter, so you can discuss it with them.

5. Prior Service to National Guard (18X/Try On)

For prior service and actively serving members, the most overlooked avenue to Special Forces is the National Guard’s Try One contract. 

Active Duty Army Soldiers and Service Members from the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard can transition to the 19th or 20th Special Forces Group by enlisting with a “Try One” contract.  This allows Soldiers to have a 1-year contract into the Readiness Enhancement Company (REC) where soldiers are assessed to determine their readiness for SFAS. 

If a soldier successfully completes the Special Forces Readiness Evaluation (SFRE) and goes on to get selected at selection, he will have to extend his contract for three years to complete the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC).

But, if you fail there are no strings attached.

Green Beret Medical Requirements

When you go to your recruiter, you will fill out a series of medical questions to determine your eligibility.

If you are healthy with good vision and have no active or previous alarming prescription history, you will be able to enlist. However, there are several common disqualifications which will require a waiver.

1. Asthma

2. Poor Vision

3. Psychiatric medication including for ADHD or depression

While in years past, recruiters and candidates would fail to disclose this medical history and still be able to enlist, the new MHS Genesis system will scan your medical records including prescription history and doctor visits.

You will share your medical history with your recruiter to the best of your knowledge, and the MHS Gensis system will double-check it for accuracy. It‘s no longer possible to forget you were given medication or received a diagnosis, even if it was years ago.

You can read the full list of disqualifications here.

Fitness Requirements for Special Forces

At that same time you’re being cleared for medical, you must train hard.

The requirements to earn an 18X contract are not difficult but remember that fewer than 1/3 of candidates who attend selection will actually make it.

Here are the minimum standards to earn an 18X contract:

Push Up – 57
Sit Up – 66
2 Mile Run – 14:24
Pull Up – 6
5 Mile Run – 40 minutes
12 Mile Ruck w/55lbs – 3 hours (15 minute mile pace)

I have trained over 100 candidates for careers in special operations, and I recommend they leave for selection only after they have reached the following standards.

Endurance Standards for Special Forces:
2 Mile Run – 13:00
Pull Up – 15
5 Mile Run – 27 minutes
12 Mile Ruck w/55lbs – 3 hours (15-minute mile pace)

Strength Standards for Special Forces:
Back Squat – 275lbs
Deadlift – 335lbs
Standing OHP – 135lbs

Why Is Special Forces Assessment and Selection So Hard?

While the minimum standards will get your foot in the door, strength and rucking are the two most overlooked aspects of training. According to a study published in 2021 on 795 candidates, rucking performance was the greatest predictor of SFAS success, and muscle mass was the greatest anthropometric predictor.

This makes sense because rucking combines two disparate aspects of fitness (strength to carry 65 or more lbs and then rucking to cover 12+ miles at a swift pace). While everyone attending selection is screened for endurance in the form of their 2 and 5-mile runs, there is no physical strength screener.

US Army Green Beret Pipeline

Once you have cleared MEPS, earned your contract, and are in shape, it won’t be long before you head off to Fort Benning, GA for Infantry OSUT, which is your infantry basic training. 

Infantry OSUT (16 weeks)

You will learn the fundamentals of being a soldier, infantry tactics, map reading, and communication. If you’ve trained hard leading up to Infantry OSUT, expect to detrain during this time. Infantry OSUT is at Fort Benning, GA.

Airborne School (3 Weeks)

For three weeks, you will learn how to jump out of an airplane at Fort Benning, GA.  

• Week 1 – Ground Week
• Week 2 – Tower Week
• Week 3 – Jump Week

Special Forces Preparation Course (6 Weeks)

From there, you’ll head up to Ft Bragg to prepare to class up for the Special Forces Prep Course, where 18X candidates will have a six-week crash course to build fitness and learn land navigation prior to attending selection. 

Special Forces Assessment and Selection (3 Weeks)

Next, is Special Forces Assessment and Selection, This is where the journey to becoming a Green Beret truly begins. SFAS is a demanding 3-week course designed to test physical endurance, mental fortitude, and leadership abilities. Only the most resilient candidates make it through this phase, and historically that number has been 1/3 or less of the class.

Unlike other programs, it is not uncommon to make it to day 21 (the final day only to be not selected. Remember, you can’t just survive to the final day. Peer evaluations, physical performance, and character are all aspects on which you’re graded.

Special Forces Qualification Course (56 Weeks):

After completing SFAS, the journey to becoming a Green Beret is not over yet. In fact, it requires at least another year of training known as the Special Forces Qualification Course. While many believe that SFAS is the biggest hurdle towards earning the Green Beret, the real hard work starts during the Q course. However, the attrition rates for the Q course have been as high as 50%. It is difficult to say why it happens, but some may not be interested in committing an additional year of their life for training and then starting again as a new member in an ODA.

1. Intro to Unconventional Warfare (6 weeks)
2. Small Unit Tactics and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (13 weeks)
3. MOS Training (16 weeks – 1 Year Plus)
   MOS Training is considerally longer for medics (18Ds).
4. Robin Sage (4 weeks)
5. Language and Culture (25 weeks)
6. Graduation and Military Free Fall (5 weeks)

Conclusion

Becoming a Green Beret will require a few years, and that’s not including the months of arduous training required to be fit enough to enlist.

Read this article on how to plan your training to BULLET PROOF yourself for selection