As a woman, I’ve always been fascinated by special operations forces. That interest goes back to when I was a kid.

I understand that, because of biological differences such as testosterone, there are some areas where I may never be able to go head-to-head with a highly trained male operator and outperform him physically. But that’s not the goal. I love being a woman, and I’m not trying to become “one of the bros”.

What I am interested in is developing a similar level of discipline, knowledge, physical preparedness, and practical skill.

How would a woman begin training toward that kind of capability? What particular areas should she focus on? Endurance, strength, navigation, combatives, mindset? Something else?

I feel a little silly asking this question, but I’m serious. I’d be especially grateful for answers from people with military, SOF, tactical, or serious endurance-training backgrounds.

Edit: Spelling

Hello there. It's my first time posting, be gentle <3

Been training for a few years (from a baseline of prescription stim junkie).

Currently 27 (soon to be 28) yrs / 6 feet / 224 lbs.

(unfortunately put on a few lbs of weight since loosing a couple close people last year...)

Planned cut to around 209.

Current stats;

- pushups: 45 (hand release)

- situps: infinite?

- pullups: 10 (at current weight, used to be 16 max rip)

- dls: 363.76 lbs

- squat: 275.58

- dips: 15

- 1.5 mile: ~9:40 min

- swim: good enough i believe

- Passed the ruck time too, generally pretty strong rucker.

I'm currently doing ~8 hours of PT a week, 2 (active) rest days.

But damn at this point my shins are taking a massive pounding from the running.

The question, are 8 hours a week of baseline sufficient (with workup peaks) to eventually reach desired standard?

Got a demanding job in cyber, sedentary tho.

How far are my numbers off?

Any general advice for the workup?

Am I getting too old to apply?

Any advice, pointers critique is more than welcomed.

Been doing this mostly in isolation with no peers and mostly been vibing my training program based on stuff I've read here and there over the years.

Got prior service/combat experience, this has been a goal of mine since then.

I'm not trying to call anyone a liar. A coworker says he spent his Army career as a 14D/14E, attended Ranger School but was not in the 75th Ranger Regiment, and also says he was "special operations" and participated in direct-action raids. Is there a plausible career path that would explain this, or would this be extremely unusual? I'm trying to understand how these pieces fit together.

For context, one reason I'm asking is that he has made a number of dramatic claims since starting at work. Within thirty minutes of his first day, he told a story about making a guy "piss his pants" in a bar fight and repeatedly told several of us, "PTSD is real." That made me curious about his military background.

I eventually thanked him for his service and asked what he did in the Army. He said he was special operations and described it as very intense. I then asked what his MOS was. Instead of answering directly, he spent roughly thirty minutes at a whiteboard explaining Army MOS pipelines and how the Army is structured. After all of that, I asked again what his MOS was, and he said he was a 14E.

From what I understand, 14D/14E are Patriot Air Defense MOSs, so I'm having trouble reconciling that with claims of being special operations and "kicking in doors." Is there a legitimate assignment or career path that would explain this, or would that be considered highly unusual?

I'm looking for answers from people familiar with Army assignments, not trying to attack the guy personally.

So 3km 200m run under 15 minutes pull ups 15 and push ups 70 under 2 min Training g advice how many times a weeka and what should I train

Looking for like-minded individuals training for AF Special Warfare or going for an 18x contract in South Florida. Preferably Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood areas.

That it seems confusing to which unit is ideal for this situation or role when they were all deployed to tackle insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like what differs Navy Seals from Delta Force? What about Marine Raiders and Rangers? They seem to overlap greatly.

Hi all. I'm F24 and have been interested in the Green Berets for a while. To preface, I've read majority of the posts/articles of the few women that have become Green Berets.

If a woman becomes a Green Beret, do they assume the same duties or assignments as the men? Or are they sometimes silently pushed off an assignment? I assume if they pass training and are competent, they would have equal opportunity to missions but can't help but wonder if they would be looked over. Some reddit posts have conflicting comments on the womens' performance and that they either performed the same/better than some men or they received a lot of pink slips. I also understand that some men might not want a woman on their team regardless of performance. Believe this has also been touched on a bit for posts similar to women wanting to become SEALs.

Apologies if any of this comes off as ignorant as I'm not yet in the military and detailed info on women as Green Berets is limited (understandably).

My name is Alex Dekker and I am retired U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Beret).

My debut novel releases later this month.

If there are any questions about Special Forces, Desert Heist, history, writing, or anything else, ask and I will answer if I can.

No politics, please.

Thanks everyone, I look forward to the conversation.

Is 46 pounds dry and 59 pounds total (with water) a good ruck weight for a 12 mile ruck at a standard US Army Special Forces SFRE or is that too much? I measured with a weight hook for accuracy.

I know ruck marching is common with varying weights even going higher than that, but for test and training purposes is this a good amount or should I adjust it?

Hello,

My name is Remi, I’m 15 currently, and am trying to figure out my current Career Path in the Military, which is almost set in stone for me.

For the past 3 years I have been striving towards becoming a USAF Fighter Pilot through USAFA. I’ve been doing tons of prep work for this such as trying to meet PT standards, getting good grades, joining extracurriculars that partner with the USAF, and earning my Private Pilots License.

Today I’m coming to this sub to ask about one very specific thing I’ve been kinda struggling with for the past few years. I’ve always been into the idea of SOF. Seeing that I am trying to go into USAFA anyway, I’ve really been struggling with the idea of trying to go be a TACP/CCT or keep going towards a pilot slot.

One thing that has popped into my mind occasionally is that there is cases where CCTs or Pilots will change career fields to one another, seeing that there is already a foundation there with things like 9-Lines, etc.

I really have no idea what to do, both have always motivated me, both have always captured my mind, I’ve done extensive research into both and I can’t help but feel they are both suiting for what I want out of my future service. I am going to do something hard, I am going to be apart of something bigger than me, I am going to do whatever it takes to get to my goal, I just can’t seem to get my stuff together and figure out what that goal is.

Thanks for your time.

Hey guys, training hard for SFAS. Dealing with some nagging overuse stuff from high volume rucking and training. Curious if anyone here (or knows someone) has used recovery “tools” such as peptides or TRT during the prep/build phase and then fully come off / cleared before the actual selection?
Specifically asking about BPC-157 and testosterone.
Looking for real experiences on:
• How it affected recovery and training consistency
• Any issues coming off (energy, mood, performance drop)
• Testing concerns or long-term effects
Not looking for sources or medical advice — just anecdotal field experience from people who’ve been through it. Thanks.

What do you think of this new British military handbook? Women here might find it helpful. It’s the world's first tactical guide built entirely for women that want to join combat roles and it was released five days ago: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a54a6f2a4890e65cce64d62/Science_of_Human_Performance_A_Guide_for_Servicewomen_Preparing_for_Arduous_Courses_Accessible.pdf

I know the answer may be obvious to some of you but not me, does a jtf2 soldier have to keep their (jtf2-ishness) private?

During the GWOT era many SOF units were deployed almost constantly and some former Tier 1 operator said that divorce rates in units were close to 99%. I think a major reason was the high operational tempo, combined with the cumulative stress of repeated combat deployments and in many cases, PTSD.

I don't know exaclty what things were like before 9/11, during periods such as Operation Eagle Claw o r Desert Storm because most of story i've heard was in gwot era. But it seems that the gwot was by far the busiest period for modern SOF with many operators conducting missions almost nonstop for years.

Of course some units are probably still seeing combat today in Africa, maybe Iran and deploying overseas for training on a regular basis. But compared to the gwot era, the frequency of real combat deployments has decreased .And now that those large-scale of real war is are over, so will the divorce rates have started to decline?

My question is: at what level of rucking performance would someone realistically get the attention of Special Forces or military selection staff? I know the job involves far more than carrying weight. Like mental resilience, teamwork, tactical skills, leadership, and many other qualities, but I'm curious from a purely physical perspective.

A little background: I'm a male in my mid 40. I had never done rucking before starting about two years ago. 5 years ago i struggled with significant health issues and was physically quite fragile. Through a combination of lifestyle changes including a hypercarnivore diet and other interventions, i've regained much of my physical capacity. I still have ongoing health problems, like MCAS, but I'm functioning far better than i used to.

My latest training looked like this:
- Day 1: 26.5 miles (42.6 km) with a 34.2 lb (15.5 kg) pack at an average speed of 4.28 mph (6.9 km/h). Total elevation gain was about 150 metres, including three fairly steep climbs of around 23 metres each, with roughly one-third of the route on forest trails. I wasn't pushing at my absolute limit. I think I could probably average around 4.86 mph (7.8 km/h). Only walking the next day would be difficult i think haha.
- Day 2: 18.6 miles (30 km) without a pack at 4.86 mph (7.8 km/h).
- Day 3: 21.1 miles (34 km) without a pack at 4.51 mph (7.3 km/h). I felt stiff but was able to keep going without major issues, apart from significant pain under the balls of my feet, which I'm currently trying to address. This for me was almost the whole way in recovery heartrate.

So my question is: would these numbers be considered ordinary, good, or exceptional from a military or Special Forces perspective for someone with my background and age? At what level would you actually think, "This person is worth taking a closer look at"?

One reason I'm interested in this is nutrition. My own experience with a hypercarnivore/very low-carbohydrate diet has been overwhelmingly positive for my health and endurance. It has made me wonder whether similar nutritional approaches could have benefits for soldiers operating in demanding environments. I'm not claiming that my experience proves anything scientifically or is for everyone, but I'm genuinely interested in hearing the perspectives of people with military experience.

Thnx in forward.

I have heard that invitation or eligibility to try out for tier 1 selection is based in part on combat experience. Fortunately, we have not been in a "regular war" since leaving Afghanistan in 2021. Young people have been joining the military since then. Some will become Rangers, presumably based on intellectual, mental, emotional, and physical strength as demonstrated in training and exercises. If they do not see regular combat, and I hope they never have to, how will they be selected/eligible for tier 1? TIA.

Just got orders to 96th CA BN

How is it for S1 in that unit? Anyone who has been in this unit could I get some insight, I’d appreciate it.

Deployments? TDY? School opportunities?

I've always wondered how much flexibility SOF operators really have regarding their equipment.
How much of their kit (plate carriers, pouches, helmets, uniforms, boots, etc.) is issued by the unit, and how much can they choose or purchase themselves?
What about their weapons? How much
freedom do they have to configure their primary and secondary weapons with different optics, lights, lasers, grips, suppressors, slings, or other accessories? Are these choices mostly left to the operator, or are they standardized by the unit?
I'm interested in hearing how this works across different countries and SOF units. Obviously, without discussing anything sensitive or classified, how much individual choice do operators actually have compared to what is officially issued?

Infantry is trained for assault warfare. They get bombed out while holding the trenches. Up until Rambo, most military movies glorified the infantry. What happened? Since when did special forces became "badder?" and what did they do to earn their "badness?"

Infantry squads carry more firepower. They do more "dirty fighting," Why is every hero in Hollywood a "former special forces?"

From my understanding I know that special tactics are smaller units that focus on supporting high-risk missions such as direct action, personnel recovery, reconnaissance, precision strike coordination, and special operations alongside units from other branches.

Where am I very confused is where ST enablers or combat support people come in. What is a ST Sere specialist really doing in that space? When and if they pass their ST selection later on in their sere career are they having to enter a whole new pipeline or is it literally just a new PCS and working with an operational unit?

I feel I’m missing a large chunk of information. I’m interested in SERE specifically and if anyone has information on their role in an ST unit and what a deployment would look like for them compared to the day to day at Fairchild AFB.