Employment

How To Become A Special Forces Officer

Updated: January 11, 2021

Anyone interested in learning how to become a Special Forces officer should know the academic and military career paths that can help land a military job in one of these specialty units.

While it’s true that the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps are interested in finding the best and most qualified candidates for any military career specialty, those selected to be Special Forces officers are considered to be the “best of the best”.

What does it take to become a Special Forces officer? The general requirements in no particular order include a willingness to maintain peak physical condition, high ASVAB scores in critical areas, a four year degree, and the ability to pass challenging tests and training environment demands.

If you want to join the military as an officer in the Special Forces, start early–talk to a recruiter as soon as possible if you are still in high school (at the start of your senior year is ideal) and if you are currently serving, contact your command support staff about Special Forces recruiting contacts.

Those who have not joined the military yet and have already graduated high school should talk to a recruiter about the type of college program that might be best for you if you are pursuing a Special Forces slot.

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Defining Special Forces

Military jargon tends to be fluid; some casually refer to any branch of military service’s elite teams as “Special Forces” while others refer only to the U.S. Army’s Green Berets program as such. For the purposes of this discussion, we’re giving advice on joining any DoD elite team as a military officer.

This includes the Navy SEALS, the Army Green Berets, Air Force Pararescue, Force Recon, and Raiders.

Joining An Elite Unit As An Officer

Those who want to join an elite unit as an enlisted member are required to meet the typical enlisted recruiting standards, but also higher fitness requirements and other benchmarks.

In general, the pathway to special forces service depends greatly on the branch of service-the U.S. Army allows recruits to request placements with the Green Berets or other units at recruitment time, and other branches may permit this, too. What isn’t allowed is to bypass the regular boot camp or basic training to attend an elite unit training course. All applicants must successfully complete basic training first.

Joining as an officer means you are required to meet that branch of service’s requirements for a four-year degree and be trained as a military officer first. You won’t be able to join the military and be accepted as a Special Forces trainee as an officer without meeting these requirements.

You can become an officer by being commissioned after completing your four-year degree, you can complete an undergraduate degree via an ROTC program, or you can attend a military service academy. Those who join the military first and later decide to apply for a Special Forces position must wait three years before applying. This applies to both officers and enlisted members.

Joining Army Special Forces

Your options to join a Special Forces unit in the Army include:

Rangers
Night Stalkers
Green Berets

Typical requirements for officers joining one of these units include:

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U.S. citizenship
The usual four-year degree and officer candidate school requirements
Must be able to obtain a Secret security clearance
Must have General Technical Scores of approximately 110 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
Must qualify for Airborne training
Must meet rigorous fitness requirements including swimming and distance running

Marine Corps and Navy Special Forces

The United States Marine Corps operates two Special Forces programs:

Marine Raiders
Force RECON units

Requirements to join one of these units include:

U.S. citizenship
4-year degree and Officer Candidate School
Must excel at swimming with or without fins and meet other rigorous fitness requirements
Must be able to obtain a Secret security clearance
Must be a graduate of the School of Infantry

The Navy Seal program requires:

U.S. citizenship
4-year degree and Officer Candidate School
Must meet age requirements (29 or younger upon entry to boot camp)
Must pass multiple fitness screening tests and meet rigorous physical standards
Must meet minimum ASVAB score requirements

Air Force Special Tactics

The U.S. Air Force has Special Tactics teams including:

Pararescuemen
Combat Controllers
Spec Ops Weathermen

Requirements to join one of these units include:

U.S. citizenship
4-year degree and Officer Candidate School
Successful completion of specialized training after basic training
Must be able to parachute and have no fear of heights
Certain specialties may require high ASVAB scores in specific areas such as Electronics

Training Provided As A Special Forces Officer

Much will depend on the nature of your Special Forces job, but in general you may be trained in the following areas:

Physical conditioning
Scuba diving
Swimming
Parachuting
Mission planning
Explosive ordnance handling
Reconnaissance
Combat
Airborne training
Special Forces Qualification Courses

Jobs Offered For Special Forces Officers

The types of jobs you may be offered as an officer in the Special Forces will vary depending on the branch of military service. Here are some of the jobs that have been offered in the past, broken down by branch of service:

Army