Hello All,

It would be great to have your contribution for a quick questionnaire about stress. It will not take more than 3 minutes and it is super easy. Have access by clicking the link below.

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Education: I graduated May of 2021 (around 7 months ago) with Bachelor of Science in Business Admin and an MBA

Question A: Do civilians have to APPLY for Phase I within 12 months of graduation? Or do civilians have to be SELECTED for Phase II within 12 months of graduation?

I basically want to know if I should enlist as CCT/SR and use my degree later in my career to transfer into an STO (Would my 5 year old degree still work?) or will 5 months be enough time to apply and my degree be valid.

Below is the wording from the STO application that is confusing me.

{Civilians: It is Air Force policy that civilian college graduates and civilian college seniors within 12 months of graduation from an accredited school will be eligible to be placed on active duty under the Special Warfare Airman Program (SWAP) for the purpose of completing SW Assessment & Selection (SW A&S) process if the civilian completes Phase I of the STO selection.}

I am 21 with no purpose, no career goals, no motivation. I’m tired of living like this and want to do something impactful with my life. After talking with some vets. Some of which family, I know that I’d like to go SO or SF. I also know I’d like to work either 13F or TACP. With that being said, who should I contact locally in Kansas City. What are benefits to going Air Force. And how can I start preparing now, training plans, etc.

Plan to become an STO but I have an interest in electrical engineering. I know that the military sends people to pursue higher masters or Phd programs to advance in their field. If I were to become a STO, is it possible to be sent to college and study on active duty? I'm really wondering if a technical field like electrical engineering could be utilized in this career because I would really like to attain a degree while serving this position. Thanks

First off, shout out to STO AMA for all of the key info that has been put out. I've read a lot of the material that has been put out over the past several years. With that being said, I apologize if this has been addressed previously.

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Secondly, I've been lurking on reddit for...a long time, but this is my first ever post, so I apologize if I'm jacked up somehow on my delivery or how I'm engaging this.

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I've been consuming everything that I can find on the subject, but I figured I'd reach out to people that may have experienced the process firsthand. I'm current enlisted, planning on making this a career. I'm 33 years old, and I have about 9 years in right now with fairly diverse experience. I'm a prior PJ cone, ejected due to injury many moons ago. 8 years later, I have a good bit of joint and SOF work experience, have filled leadership positions both in garrison and downrange, and have knocked out just about every Army school and qualification that I can get my hands on. I have not been idle. To make a long story short, I'm finishing up my degree and have been considering hitting the pipeline on the officer side of the house. I'm older (for better or worse), stronger and smarter this time around, and have no doubt that I will crush things physically given the opportunity, so this is solely aimed at the administrative side of things.

As far as I'm tracking, you can apply for Phase I / submit a commissioning package 1 year out from completion of degree, which is fast approaching for me. My questions are as follows:

1. What makes a competitive package at Phase I? I'm aware of the servant-leader type of vibe that needs be conveyed, which is genuinely my style anyway, but what else paints the picture of "we need this guy for Phase II?"
2. Am I correct in believing that the order of march is applying for Phase I > Selection for Phase II > Completion of Phase II > Submission for OTS > Completion of OTS > PCS to Hurlburt to ride the pipeline?
3. Regarding OTS, if selected from Phase II, is that essentially a shoo-in for OTS, or is it still incredibly competitive just to get picked up as an O? If it is not a shoo-in, similar to question 1, what makes a competitive package as a STO selectee for OTS?
4. Any other general information regarding the process that may not be covered on the airforcespecialtactics site?

I'm confident in assembling a package and my writing ability, obtaining references and my overall work history, but any pointers that will help to tip the scales in my favor towards a Phase II showing would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure I'll have follow-on questions that I may have forgotten to add in this initial post. If any of this would better be addressed through global, please let me know and I can pass my contact info. Thanks for the assist.

Which operators(CCT SR TACP PJ) handle the most direct action missions? In order peferably

1. I've heard rumors of Special Tactics operating organically as 9 man teams made up of a STO as well as PJs, CCTs, and SRs. Is this a "maybe in the next 15 years" thing, or is it already happening?
2. SEAL Platoons have 2 officers, a LTJG and a LT. SF ODAs have 2 officers, a Captain and a Warrant Officer. Marine Raider Platoons have 1 officer, a Captain. Would a Special Tactics Team have 1 officer? What is the relationship between rank and team progression? For SF and MARSOC, officers are conventional first, then spend 2-4 years of Captain time as a detachment/platoon commander, before either leaving for an SMU or field grade time (i.e. not on a team/on the ground). SEALs are more similar to AFSOC in that they have a direct SOF entry. The progression in a SEAL platoon is a couple years as platoon XO (LTJG), then a couple years as platoon CO (LT), before moving to another role. What is the progression for a STO? JTAC during 1st LT time, then STT commander during Captain time? I know this is in flux, but I'm trying to get a handle on what it actually looks like/will look like over the next 6-8 years.
3. If STOs don't primarily lead organic ST teams during their junior time, are they still just farmed out to fill the role of a JTAC or CCT attachment?
4. Has the STO pipeline been updated, or is it still just a mirror of the CCT pipeline?
5. Are Special Tactics missions multi-domain operations? I understand that historically, Special Tactics has been concerned about air-ground integration, but is that now expanded to include maneuvers in cyber and space integration as well?
6. The Air Force is famous for its officer hierarchy with fighter pilots>bomber pilots>other pilots>everyone else. Where do STOs fit in and are their efforts properly appreciated by Big Blue?
7. What does a mid-grade STO do exactly? It seems like AFSOC pilot officers have claim on air maneuvers, while SEAL, SF, and MARSOC officers have claim on land and sea maneuvers. What is the role of the STO at this point?
8. Will drones and other autonomous systems dampen the need for Special Tactics Teams?
9. Do STOs lead Special Operations Surgical Teams?

How common is it for people to do AFROTC and then go into the STO pipeline? How does the commissioning process work? Do you have to compete for the STO contract?

I am currently in the 1B4 Cyber Operations training pipeline and heard the 24th has billets for 1B4s. Is this true? I am very interested in Special Ops and would like to know if any opportunities are available.

I use to love Squirrel Hunting in my youth..One time at a bar in monroe nc..I think that is the cord..I wrote on a small piece of paper with my phone number "Squirrel Sniper" and for him to call me if he needed help..Long long time ago..pretty sure it was Applebees we were drinking dead nazi's and when the bartender added hot sauce to the dead nazi it became a dead nazi in a coffin..

Hi, I post this in the PJ thread, if this not allowed (like Re-post or just in general). Let me know and I will forsure delete this :)

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I couldn't find this question anwered, so I hope this works.

Can you switch from PJ to SR?

Also, do PJ see combat action all the time? What I mean is that, sometime you have to go in the house to blow stuff up to rescue a man rather then from a helicopter (although thats the end stuff). Some times doing raids to rescue the injured or etc.

And is SR's only finding stuff? Or sometimes its direction action as well?

:)

Curiosity is bugging me! The Air Force is widely known for it's high quality of living. I know that even airmen on deployment in combat zones have their own dorms. But do special tactics operators enjoy the same living standards? I imagine navy seals, green berets, and marine raiders all bunking together (minus the officers) in a place like Syria or Afghanistan. But to imagine USAF operators living in their own dorms seems alien to me since they are a heavily used among the battlefield airmen. This post is not teasing or criticizing the air force or afsoc's way of doing things, just a genuine curiosity.

I am in the Navy cross training to a guard unit for CCT. I was asked to provide a flight class III specifically for CCT. However, I was told from the guy at the unit that not all class III physicals are the same. Do any of you dirty cones have insight on this matter? What would a CCT flight physical have to look like or what would it need to say on the physical?

For those of you in this sub that are interested in Special Warfare, if you weren’t tracking Brian Silva from beapj.com has partnered with another PJ, SR, and CCT to launch a podcast called Ones Ready. Launch date is 30 Nov and you can find it on iTunes, Spotify, iHeart, and YouTube. The purpose is to give aspiring SW candidates information, tools to improve themselves, what pool sessions are like, etc. Ones Ready has a website that you can sign up to their mailing list and once the podcast has launched, merch and other services will be available. Ones Ready is also on Instagram and Facebook for you to connect with. If there are certain topics you'd like addressed in the podcast, send your questions to them at info@onesready.com or go direct with them on the Ones Ready IG page.

*Full disclosure, I’m one of the members of Ones Ready.