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As the demand for special-operations Soldiers increases because of the Global War on Terrorism, or GWOT, the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the proponent for Special Forces training, has begun a transformation that will not only allow Soldiers to complete training in a more efficient manner but will also implement changes in the training program in response to lessons learned from the current battle space.
While changes are being implemented throughout the Special Forces Qualification Course, or SFQC, nowhere are they more apparent than in Phase I, the Special Forces Assessment and Selection, or SFAS, where there is a move away from a more traditional method of selection to one based on the latest technology and assessment practices.
In the past, SFAS looked primarily at a candidate's physical fitness, mental sharpness and ability to get along in a team environment. Assessments utilized long-range individual landnavigation exercises and team events as the primary assessment tools. What required further evaluation was a candidate's ability to work by, with and through indigenous personnel while operating as a team. If assessed at all, that trait was not looked at until the culmination exercise, Robin Sage, which is held at the end of the SFQC. Candidates who became non-selects at the end of Robin Sage already had millions of dollars and as many as two years invested in their training. To reduce the potential for wasted money and time, the command has adopted the "whole man" approach to its assessment and selection.
In transforming SFAS, SWCS will use the whole-man concept to redesign assessment techniques and procedures in order to enhance the program without corrupting the current successful selection practices. The approach involves bringing together multi-disciplined psychological experts, as well as combat veterans and an array of contractors, to provide input into the development of Soldiers as whole men.
Taking a page from ARSOF's past, the process will use parts of the selection process used by the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, during World War II, as well as incorporating information from works that clearly define the ideal SF Soldier (DA Pamphlet 600-3, Commissioned Officer Development and Career Management) and the SF working environment (Army Research Institute Job Analysis, 1996). SWCS also gathered valuable...